Doctrine and Covenants 138

Between 1869 and 1918, President Joseph F. Smith experienced the heartache and sorrow associated with the death of family members. He buried thirteen children, nine of whom died in childhood, and one wife. President Smith wrote the following in a letter to his wife Edna when his firstborn child, Mercy Josephine, died when she was not quite three years old.

“I scarcely dare to trust myself to write, even now my heart aches, and my mind is all chaos; if I should murmur, may God forgive me, my soul has been and is tried with poignant grief, my heart is bruised and wrenched almost asunder. I am desolate, my home seems desolate and almost dreary, yet here are my family and my little babe; yet I cannot help but feel that the tenderest, sweetest and yet the strongest cord that bound me to home and earth is severed, my babe, my own sweet Dodo is gone! I can scarcely believe it and my heart asks, can it be? I look in vain, I listen, no sound, I wander through the rooms, all are vacant, lonely, desolate, deserted. I look down the garden walk, peer around the house, look here and there for a glimpse of a little golden, sunny head and rosy cheeks, but no, alas, no pattering little footsteps. No beaming little black eyes sparkling with love for papa; no sweet little enquiring voice asking a thousand questions, and telling pretty little things, prattling merrily, no soft little dimpled hands clasping me around the neck, no sweet rosy lips returning in childish innocence my fond embrace and kisses, but a vacant little chair. Her little toys concealed, her clothes put by, and only the one desolate thought forcing its crushing leaden weight upon my heart—she is not here, she is gone! But will she not come back? She cannot leave me long, where is she? I am almost wild, and O God only knows how much I loved my girl, and she the light and the joy of my heart.

“The morning before she died, after being up with her all night, for I watched her every night, I said to her, ‘My little pet did not sleep all night.’ She shook her head and replied, ‘I’ll sleep today, papa.’ Oh! how those little words shot through my heart. I knew though I would not believe, it was another voice, that it meant the sleep of death and she did sleep. And, Oh! the light of my heart went out. The image of heaven graven in my soul was almost departed” (in Joseph Fielding Smith, Life of Joseph F. Smith [1938], 455–56).

Elder D. Todd Christofferson:

“The scriptures are the touchstone for measuring correctness and truth” (“The Blessing of Scripture,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 34).

Doctrine and Covenants 138:11

Elder D. Todd Christofferson:

“When I say ‘study,’ I mean something more than reading. … I see you sometimes reading a few verses, stopping to ponder them, carefully reading the verses again, and as you think about what they mean, praying for understanding, asking questions in your mind, waiting for spiritual impressions, and writing down the impressions and insights that come so you can remember and learn more” (“When Thou Art Converted,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2004, 11).

Doctrine and Covenants 138:14–17, 50

Elder David A. Bednar:

“Our physical bodies make possible a breadth, a depth, and an intensity of experience that simply could not be obtained in our premortal existence. Thus, our relationships with other people, our capacity to recognize and act in accordance with truth, and our ability to obey the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ are amplified through our physical bodies. …

“The Father’s plan is designed to provide direction for His children, to help them become happy, and to bring them safely home to Him with resurrected, exalted bodies” (“We Believe in Being Chaste,” Ensignor Liahona, May 2013, 41, 43).

Doctrine and Covenants 138:57

President Joseph F. Smith:

“These good sisters who have been set apart, ordained to the work, … will be fully authorized and empowered to preach the gospel and minister to the women while the elders and prophets are preaching it to the men” (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. [1939], 461).

Doctrine and Covenants 138:58

Elder Richard G. Scott:

“Do you young people want a sure way to eliminate the influence of the adversary in your life? Immerse yourself in searching for your ancestors, prepare their names for the sacred vicarious ordinances available in the temple, and then go to the temple to stand as proxy for them to receive the ordinances of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. As you grow older, you will be able to participate in receiving the other ordinances as well. I can think of no greater protection from the influence of the adversary in your life” (“The Joy of Redeeming the Dead,” Ensignor Liahona, Nov. 2012, 94).

Doctrine and Covenants 138:58–59

Elder Richard G. Scott:

“Any work you do in the temple is time well spent, but receiving ordinances vicariously for one of your own ancestors will make the time in the temple more sacred, and even greater blessings will be received” (“The Joy of Redeeming the Dead,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2012, 93–94).