Table of Contents
Section 129
Instructions given by Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Nauvoo, Illinois, February 9, 1843, making known three grand keys by which the correct nature of ministering angels and spirits may be distinguished.
Section 130
Items of instruction given by Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Ramus, Illinois, April 2, 1843.
1–3, The Father and the Son may appear personally to men; 4–7, Angels reside in a celestial sphere; 8–9, The celestial earth will be a great Urim and Thummim; 10–11, A white stone is given to all who enter the celestial world; 12–17, The time of the Second Coming is withheld from the Prophet; 18–19, Intelligence gained in this life rises with us in the Resurrection; 20–21, All blessings come by obedience to law; 22–23, The Father and the Son have bodies of flesh and bones.
Heavenly Father wants me to focus on eternal things.
Doctrine and Covenants 130:2, 18–19; 132:13, 19
Come, Follow Me—For Home and Church: Doctrine and Covenants 2025 & Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 “Doctrine and Covenants 129-132”
- How might you use these verses to help your family prioritize things that last eternally? Maybe you could pack a suitcase or backpack together with items representing things that, according to Doctrine and Covenants 130:2, 18–19; 132:19, we can take with us into the next life, such as family pictures or scriptures. What does Doctrine and Covenants 132:13 teach us about things of the world? This could lead to a discussion about focusing on things that have eternal significance.
Heavenly Father Wants Me to Gain Knowledge and Intelligence.
Doctrine and Covenants 130:18–19
Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 “Doctrine and Covenants 129-132”
Many things we obtain in this life will not go with us into the next life. But our “knowledge and intelligence” will (Doctrine and Covenants 130:19).
- Ask the children to share with you something they are learning about in school or from their parents. Invite them to read Doctrine and Covenants 130:18–19 to find out what will happen to our knowledge and intelligence in the next life.
- What does verse 19 teach about how we gain knowledge and intelligence? How can we be diligent and obedient as we seek to learn? (For more on this topic, see “Education” in For the Strength of Youth [pages 9–10].)
Elder Neal A. Maxwell clarified what the word intelligence means in Doctrine and Covenants 130:18–19: “If we ponder just what it is that will rise with us in the resurrection, it seems clear that our intelligence will rise with us, meaning not simply our IQ, but also our capacity to receive and apply truth (applying the knowledge we obtain for righteous purposes). Our talents, attributes, and skills will rise with us; certainly also our capacity to learn, our degree of self-discipline, and our capacity to work” (We Will Prove Them Herewith [1982], 12).
Friend August 2017 “Three Classrooms” There are three different classrooms in life.
Family Evening Resource Book: “Learning” Learning Is Important
Discuss the following ideas to show the importance of gaining knowledge:
- Perfect knowledge is one of God’s attributes (see 2 Nephi 9:20).
- The commandment to study and learn is repeated many times in the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C 88:118, 130:18–19, and D&C 131:6).
- Peter said knowledge was necessary to become like Heavenly Father (2 Peter 1:5–9).
Discuss how learning can help us become more like our Father in Heaven.
“Learn!” (September 2011 Friend)
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf tells of how he loved learning as a child and how it is important for everyone to learn as much as they can.
Friend August 2021 “Scripture Time Fun for Little Ones” Help your littles ones say, “Heavenly Father wants me to learn.” Talk about good things we learn at church and school. Have your little ones draw something they have learned.
God blesses me as I obey His laws.
Doctrine and Covenants 130:20–21; 132:5, 21–23
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- Share a simple comparison with the children that shows how important it is to follow instructions; for example, talk with them about the steps we must follow to prepare food or play a game or build something. (Or you could ask them to give you directions to walk somewhere, like to a school or Church building.) What happens when we don’t follow the instructions/directions? (Maybe you have a personal experience you can share.) Read Doctrine and Covenants 130:21, and compare these instructions to the commandments we must follow to receive blessings from Heavenly Father.
Latter Day Kids “Obeying God’s Commandments Leads to Happiness” Lesson ideas
- You might also sing together a song about obedience, such as “Keep the Commandments” (Children’s Songbook, 146–47), and look for words in Doctrine and Covenants 130:20–21 and 132:5 that are similar to those in the song. How does God bless us as we strive to keep His commandments?
- Read together Doctrine and Covenants 132:21–23, and invite the children to draw pictures to represent what they learn from these verses. Encourage them to be creative, and suggest that they include in their drawings the laws or commandments that help us stay on the narrow way to eternal life.
Friend March 1997 “My Choices Have Consequences” Turn the top disk to see a commandment from Heavenly Father. Read the scripture in the other window to find out what blessings are promised to those who keep that commandment. (Link has additional lesson ideas.)
Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 “Doctrine and Covenants 129-132” You could sing a song about gratitude, such as “Count Your Blessings” (Hymns, no. 241), and make a list of the blessings your family has received for obeying God’s laws. What blessings do we hope to receive? How can we receive those blessings?
For additional teaching ideas see Commandments, Obedience and Resources for Teaching Children: Commandments, Obedience
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have Immortal Physical Bodies.
Come, Follow Me—For Home and Church: Doctrine and Covenants 2025 & Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 “Doctrine and Covenants 129-132”
- After reading Doctrine and Covenants 130:22 together, you and your children could look at a picture of Jesus Christ and point to His eyes, His mouth, and other parts of His body. Your children could point to those same parts of their own bodies. Read from Doctrine and Covenants 130:22: “The Father has a body of flesh and bones … ; the Son also.” Testify that our bodies are like Heavenly Father’s and Jesus’s bodies.Tell them why it’s important to you to know that our bodies look like Heavenly Father’s and Jesus’s bodies.
- Invite the children to draw pictures of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and themselves. Help them see how our bodies are like Heavenly Father’s and Jesus’s.
Friend August 2016 “God is Our Father” God our Father has ears with which to hear our prayers. He has eyes with which to see our actions. He has a mouth with which to speak to us. He has a heart with which to feel compassion and love. He is real. He is living. We are his children made in His image. We look like Him and He looks like us.
Friend November 2020 “Like Him”
Section 131
Section 131 Instructions by Joseph Smith the Prophet, given at Ramus, Illinois, May 16 and 17, 1843. 1–4, Celestial marriage is essential to exaltation in the highest heaven; 5–6, How men are sealed up unto eternal life is explained; 7–8, All spirit is matter.
Section 132
Section 132 Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Nauvoo, Illinois, recorded July 12, 1843, relating to the new and everlasting covenant, including the eternity of the marriage covenant and the principle of plural marriage. Although the revelation was recorded in 1843, evidence indicates that some of the principles involved in this revelation were known by the Prophet as early as 1831. See Official Declaration 1.
Heavenly Father Made it Possible for Families to be Together Forever.
Come, Follow Me—For Home and Church: Doctrine and Covenants 2025 & Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 “Doctrine and Covenants 129-132”
- Help your children find examples of things that do not last forever—food that spoils, flowers that wilt, and so on.
- Select key phrases from 132:19 (such as “everlasting covenant,” “sealed,” “through all eternity,” and “forever and ever”), and ask the children to find these phrases in the verse. What do these phrases teach us about marriage?
- (See also “Chapter 55: A Revelation about Marriage,” in Doctrine and Covenants Stories, 198, or the corresponding video in Gospel Library.) Ask the children to listen for and be prepared to share what we must do so that our families can be eternal.
- You could also look at pictures of your family and testify that the Lord has made it possible, through the ordinances and covenants of the temple, for families to last forever.
- Help the children make paper dolls representing members of their family (see this week’s activity page). Cut them out, and put them in an envelope or attach them together with a paper clip to represent the sealing power that can make our families eternal.
- Testify that no matter our current family situation, we can prepare ourselves to be part of an eternal family.
Doctrine and Covenants 131:1–4; 132:15, 19
Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 “Doctrine and Covenants 129-132”
Through the Lord’s sealing power and the ordinances of the temple, our family relationships can last eternally if we keep our covenants.
Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 “Doctrine and Covenants 129-132”
- Ask some of the children to read Doctrine and Covenants 131:1–4 and others to read 132:15. Help them discover what these verses teach about marriage.
- Sing “Families Can Be Together Forever” (Children’s Songbook, 188). Ask the children to listen for and be prepared to share what we must do so that our families can be eternal. Testify that no matter our current family situation, we can prepare ourselves to be part of an eternal family.
Doctrine and Covenants Coloring Book “Eternal Marriage”
Friend November 2021 “Families Are Forever” Coloring Page
Additional Teaching Resources
- Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources “Doctrine and Covenants 129-132“
- Institute Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual “Chapter 50: Doctrine and Covenants 129–30”
- Institute Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual “Chapter 51: Doctrine and Covenants 131; 132:1–33”
Come Follow Me Kid Lesson ideas
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