Table of Contents
Section 89
As a consequence of the early brethren using tobacco in their meetings, the Prophet was led to ponder upon the matter; consequently, he inquired of the Lord concerning it. This revelation, known as the Word of Wisdom, was the result.
Word of Wisdom
The Word of Wisdom helps me be healthy in body and spirit.
Come, Follow Me—For Home and Church: Doctrine and Covenants 2025 & Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021
- To introduce section 89, perhaps you and your children could look at a picture of a temple or sing a song about physical health, such as “The Lord Gave Me a Temple” (Children’s Songbook, 153), to teach that our bodies are like temples for our spirits. Help your children act out ways they can care for their bodies.
Friend August 2019 “Your Body is a Temple” Activity comparing how the body is like a temple.
Friend August 2021 “The Word of Wisdom”
- To learn about the Lord’s commandments in Doctrine and Covenants 89:10–17, you and your children could draw or look at pictures of good things we can eat or do to keep our bodies healthy (see the picture and activity page at the end of this outline).
Friend August 2025 “Teach Me about the Gift of My Body”
- What has the Lord warned us not to use? Help the children understand that alcohol, tobacco, tea, coffee, and other harmful drugs hurt our bodies and the Lord has warned us not to use them. Invite the children to choose something they can do this week to keep their bodies healthy.
- Invite the children to take turns drawing a picture on the board that represents something taught in the Word of Wisdom. Let the rest of the children guess what each person is drawing. Talk about the Lord’s commandment in section 89 that relates to the drawing.
- For Older Kids: Create fill-in-the-blank statements using phrases from Doctrine and Covenants 89, such as “ is ordained for the use of man and of beasts” or “And shall and not faint” (verses 14, 20). Invite the children to work in pairs to find the answers in section 89. The children could sort the statements into the following categories: good things for our bodies, bad things for our bodies, and blessings.
Liahona August 2021 Run and Not Be Weary
In Doctrine and Covenants 89, the Lord gave a revelation called the Word of Wisdom.
- After reading section 89, have everyone stand in the middle of a room.
- Designate one side of the room to be the “good” side and the other side of the room to be the “not good” side.
- Have a family member read verses 5–17.
- The other family members will move to either the “good” or “not good” side of the room, depending on the description in that verse. Is the substance good for our bodies or not?
- Why does He want us to care for our bodies?
Friend June 2022 “Why Should I Take Care of My Body?”
Primary 5: Doctrine and Covenants and Church History“ Lesson 24: The School of the Prophets and the Word of Wisdom,” See lesson for additional teaching ideas.
What harm can come from not obeying the Word of Wisdom? (Answers may include illness and disease, poverty, dishonesty, addictive habits, automobile accidents, inactivity in the Church, and sins resulting from loss of good judgment.) Explain that in Joseph Smith’s time people did not know all that we know now about the bad effects of smoking and alcohol use. But the Lord knew about these bad effects, and he warned the people (see D&C 89:4). The Lord also knew that people who disobey the Word of Wisdom lose the desire to obey the other commandments and to become like Jesus Christ. Physical desires become more important to them than spiritual desires.
I Will Be Blessed as I Obey the Word of Wisdom.
- Use the following example, or others you think of, to show how we are blessed by obeying the Word of Wisdom (see Doctrine and Covenants 89:18–21). Do a simple exercise together, such as walking or running in place, and then pretend to “be weary” or “faint” (verse 20). Testify of the Lord’s promises.
Friend August 2025 “Treasures of Knowledge” God has promised us “wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures” when we keep the Word of Wisdom (Doctrine and Covenants 89:19). That means He will bless us to learn and grow and give us spiritual blessings, which are like treasures in our lives. Find the treasures hiding in the picture. How have you been blessed by living the Word of Wisdom?
Doctrine and Covenants Coloring Book “Word of Wisdom”
- Help the children role-play how they might respond if someone, even a friend, offers them something that is against the Word of Wisdom. How does obeying the Word of Wisdom protect us?
- Elder Gary E. Stevenson counseled young people to plan in advance what they will do when tempted with alcohol or drugs. Then he taught, “You will find that temptation has less control over you. You will have already made the decision of how you will react and what you will do. You won’t need to decide every time” (“Your Priesthood Playbook,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 48). Encourage the children you teach to decide now—for the rest of their lives—to live the Word of Wisdom.
Friend August 2021 “How to Say No” What do you do when someone offers you something that you know is against the Word of Wisdom? Write what you could say in the bubbles below.
Friend August 2025 “Saying No” A boy turns down a cigarette because he remembers that Heavenly Father wouldn’t want him to smoke because it’s bad for the body.
Discussion: What promises are included in Doctrine and Covenants 89:18–21? How can taking care of our bodies improve our spiritual relationship with the Lord?
What does the Word of Wisdom say is good for our bodies? Game
Friend August 2021 “Scripture Time Fun for Little Ones”
Have family members draw pictures of ways to care for their body (like eating healthy foods or playing outside). Help your little ones say, “I can take care of my body.”
For additional teaching ideas see Word of Wisdom and Resources for Teaching Children: Word of Wisdom
Section 90
This revelation is a continuing step in the establishment of the First Presidency (see the heading to section 81); as a consequence thereof, the counselors mentioned were ordained on March 18, 1833.
God gives me prophets to guide and protect me.
5 And all they who receive the oracles of God, let them beware how they hold them lest they are accounted as a light thing, and are brought under condemnation thereby, and stumble and fall when the storms descend, and the winds blow, and the rains descend, and beat upon their house.
Come, Follow Me—For Home and Church: Doctrine and Covenants 2025 & Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021
- Show the children pictures of ancient prophets, and tell them how these prophets warned the people in their day. (For ideas, see “Follow the Prophet,” Children’s Songbook,110–11.)
Friend March 2010 “Follow the Prophet”
- How has God blessed His children through His prophets?
Ensign June 2016 “We Believe in Following the Prophet”
- Why should we listen to God’s prophets? (see Doctrine and Covenants 90:5). Then you and your children could look at a picture of the living prophet and share some things the Lord has taught or warned us about through him.
Friend September 2015 – ” How Can I Stay Safe….in Life” – Air traffic controller guides plane through fog. Prophets guide us.
Friend October 2017 “A Friendly Primary Visitor” A pilot comes to Primary and acts out flying and what could happen if he didn’t listen to the control tower. He likens the control tower to the prophet.
Friend March 2021 “Trust in the Prophet”
- Help the children think of ways we can follow the prophet. Share your testimony of the truths taught in Doctrine and Covenants 90:5. (Note that “oracles” means revelations or the prophets who receive them.)Talk about how you “receive the oracles [revelations or prophets] of God.” How can we show that they are not “a light thing” to us?
Friend June 2022 “I Will Follow the Prophet”
Friend November 2019 “Dear Student Dictionary” After President Nelson’s special youth devotional, Matthew looked for ways to be a youth-battalion member. He was kind to others and stood up for kids being teased. After President Nelson’s conference talk about calling the church by its correct name, he wrote a letter to a student dictionary that used the name “Mormons” and explained what the correct name of the church was.
Following His Words from Conference
Friend May 2019 “Service for Suzie” Ophelie’s favorite part of conference is when the prophet asked them to do acts of service. Ophelie’s family decide to look for ways to help others. They find out that a neighbor is having eye surgery and Ophelie asks if they can make dinner for her.
The First Presidency Holds “The Keys of the Kingdom.”
Doctrine and Covenants 90:2, 5, 14–16
The Lord’s instructions about the First Presidency in 1833 (Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams) can help the children strengthen their testimony of today’s First Presidency.
- Invite the children to search Doctrine and Covenants 90:14–16 and write down some of the things the Lord asked the First Presidency to do. Show the children a picture of the current First Presidency, and share something about them. (You can read their biographies under “Living Prophets and Church Leaders” at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.) Share your testimony of their divine callings and the blessings you have received from following their counsel.
Review recent messages from members of the First Presidency. How do their words “unfold the mysteries of the kingdom” to you? (verse 14). How do they “set in order all the affairs of this church and kingdom”? (verse 16).
Section 91
Revelation given to Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Kirtland, Ohio, March 15, 1833. The Prophet Joseph Smith was at this time engaged in the translation of the Old Testament. Having come to that portion of the ancient writings called the Apocrypha, he inquired of the Lord and received this instruction.
The Spirit can help me know what is true.
Come, Follow Me—For Home and Church: Doctrine and Covenants 2025 & Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021
As you read what the Lord told Joseph Smith about the Apocrypha, think about how this counsel could help the children discern between the truth and error they will encounter throughout their lives.
- You could summarize the section heading for Doctrine and Covenants 91 to help your children understand why this revelation was given. They could then think of places, such as in the media, where we find “many things … that are true” and “many things … that are not true” (verses 1–2).
- Then invite the children to search section 91 to learn what the Lord said we can do to discern between truth and error. What do verses 4–6 teach us about the Holy Ghost? How does the Holy Ghost help us know what is right?
Friend May 2018 “How You Can Know What’s True” What do you do when you feel an urgent need to know or understand something?
Friend November 2023 “Listening to the Holy Ghost” The Holy Ghost brings us messages from Heavenly Father. This is called revelation. Have you ever had a warm, happy feeling when you sing in Primary? Or had a thought to help someone? Those good thoughts and feelings come from the Holy Ghost! Ask these questions to help you know when the Holy Ghost is speaking to you.
Book of Mormon Seminary Student Manual (2024) “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge, Part 3” Reflect for a moment on the significance of water in your life.
- When does having water matter the most to you?
- Why is the source of the water you drink important?
Seeking truth can be like drinking water: the source matters. Think of sources you turn to when you have questions or concerns. [such as the Internet] How confident are you that these sources provide true answers? Heavenly Father desires to answer your sincere questions and has provided trustworthy sources to guide you. [The prophet, from the scriptures, from the Holy Ghost. Don’t drown in the depths of filthy water. Go to the source of living water.]
Section 92
The revelation instructs Frederick G. Williams, who had recently been appointed a counselor to Joseph Smith, on his duties in the United Firm (see the headings to sections 78 and 82).
Additional Resources
Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources “Doctrine and Covenants 89-92”
Come Follow Me Kid Lesson ideas
Latter Day Kids “The Word of Wisdom” Lesson ideas
The Red Crystal Lesson ideas
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