Lessons from the Doctrine and Covenants 2025
Lesson No. Six

Look Unto Me in Every Thought; Doubt Not, Fear Not - D&C 6

D&C 6:1-9 – The Lord uses repetition to stress the importance of what is being repeated – D&C 6:1-9 are identical to D&C 11:1-9, and D&C 6:1-5 are identical to D&C 12:1-5 and also D&C 14:1-5. The message of D&C 6:1-9 is of universal importance to all members of the Restored Church, and it is what will be discussed in this Leason. It should be noted that D&C 6:1-27 is to Oliver Cowdery and verses 28-37 are given to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery jointly.

D&C 6:1 – “A great and marvelous work is about to come forth unto the children of men.” The great and marvelous work, in the most complete way, includes the ongoing restoration of the gospel. (See The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ – A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World) This phrase is also used to speak about individual aspects of the ongoing restoration: President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “I urge you…to utilize the temples of the Church. Go there and carry forward the great and marvelous work which the God of heaven has outlined for us” (O That I Were an Angel and Could Have the Wish of Mine Heart, general conference, October 2002).

D&C 6:2 – “Behold, I am God; give heed unto my word, which is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword…” “The word quick in the King James Version of the Bible does not mean swift but rather ‘living, alive (Bible Dictionary, Quick). To be quickened by the Spirit means to be given spiritual life. The word of the Lord is quick and powerful because it is a source of life, energy, and power. Many swords of ancient times had only one cutting edge. When someone decided to make a two-edged sword, the effectiveness of the weapon was increased tremendously. Now it could cut in any direction. Thus, we are reminded that the word of God has power to touch our soul and penetrate our heart, and it can cut through error and falsehood with double-edged efficiency.

D&C 6:3 – “Behold the field is ripe already to harvest.” The Lord further explained: “and it is the eleventh hour, and the last time that I shall call laborers into my vineyard” (D&C 33:3). In the early days of the Restoration many thousands receive the gospel. Whole congregations were baptized. In England Wilford Woodruff baptized over two thousand converts in less than a one year. Tens of thousands joined the Church in the decade after it was organized. Nor is the harvest over. Now, there are over 17 million members of the Church worldwide, and hundreds of thousands of people join the Church each year. They help to fill temple around the world. The harvest will accelerate, and the truth taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done” (Joseph Smith, Standard of Truth, 1842).

D&C 6:3-4, 9 – “….whoso desireth to reap, let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God. Yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is called of God.…Say nothing but repentance unto this generation; keep my commandments, and assist to bring forth my work, according to my commandments, and you shall be blessed.” The Lord is teaching that valiant service, which includes keeping His commandments, saves those who labor in His kingdom.

D&C 6:5-6 – “Therefore, if you will ask of me you shall receive; if you will knock it shall be opened unto you. Now, as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion.” The establishment of Zion is the grand purpose of the Restoration, and was the Lord’s counsel given to Oliver one year before the Church was organized. Regarding Zion, the Prophet Joseph Smith later declared: “The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age; it is a theme upon which prophets, priests and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight; they have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and fired with heavenly and joyful anticipation they have sung and written and prophesied of this our day;…we are the favored people that God has made choice of to bring about the Latter-day glory; it is left for us to see, participate in and help to roll forward the Latter-day glory” (History of the Church, 4:609-10).

D&C 6:7 – “Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich.” During His mortal ministry Jesus taught: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26).

D&C 6:8 – “Verily, verily, I say unto you, even as you desire of me so it shall be unto you; and if you desire, you shall be the means of doing much good in this generation.” The greatest good we can do is to bring souls unto Christ.

Testimony – In 2021 I experienced some health challenges, and it was easy to doubt and fear. Over a period of months I prayed for relief. Then one day as I read D&C 6:36-37 I had a Joseph Smith like experience (see Joseph Smith History 1:11-12). The Lord spoke to my heart saying: “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not” (Vs 36). Then as I read the next verse I understood that because of His atoning sacrifice for me personally that I need not doubt or fear: “Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen” (Vs 37). I have learned that relief always comes, in one way or another as the Lord knows best, as we wait patiently upon Him.

“Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not” Those ten words have changed my life. It has become a wonderful blessing to look for ways every day to apply this invitation from the Lord. Furthermore, we are taught that, “There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated - And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated” (D&C 130:20). I know by personal experience that if we look to the Lord in every thought the promised blessing always comes, and there will be no doubt, neither will we fear.

Released on February 8th. 2025.