Doctrine and Covenants 9:5–6, 11

President Joseph Fielding Smith:

“Oliver’s failure came because he did not continue as he commenced, and the task being a difficult one, his faith deserted him” (Church History and Modern Revelation [1953], 1:51).

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:

“In the process of revelation and making important decisions, fear plays a destructive, sometimes paralyzing role. To Oliver Cowdery, who missed the opportunity of a lifetime because he didn’t seize it in the lifetime of the opportunity, the Lord said, ‘You did not continue as you commenced.’ Does that sound familiar to those who have been illuminated and then knuckled under to second thoughts and returning doubts? …

“… After you have gotten the message, after you have paid the price to feel His love and hear the word of the Lord, go forward. Don’t fear, don’t vacillate, don’t quibble, don’t whine. … Dismiss your fears and wade in with both feet” (“Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence,” Ensign, Mar. 2000, 10).

Doctrine and Covenants 9:7–9

Elder Richard G. Scott:

“What do you do when you have prepared carefully, have prayed fervently, waited a reasonable time for a response, and still do not feel an answer? You may want to express thanks when that occurs, for it is an evidence of His trust. When you are living worthily and your choice is consistent with the Savior’s teachings and you need to act, proceed with trust. As you are sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit, one of two things will certainly occur at the appropriate time: either the stupor of thought will come, indicating an improper choice, or the peace or the burning in the bosom will be felt, confirming that your choice was correct. When you are living righteously and are acting with trust, God will not let you proceed too far without a warning impression if you have made the wrong decision” (“Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2007, 10).

Pres. Dallin H. Oaks:

“I have met persons who told me they have never had a witness from the Holy Ghost because they have never felt their bosom ‘burn within’ them.

“What does a ‘burning in the bosom’ mean? Does it need to be a feeling of caloric heat, like the burning produced by combustion? If that is the meaning, I have never had a burning in the bosom. Surely, the word ‘burning’ in this scripture signifies a feeling of comfort and serenity. That is the witness many receive. That is the way revelation works.

“Truly, the still, small voice is just that, ‘still’ and ‘small’” (“Teaching and Learning by the Spirit,”Ensign, Mar. 1997, 13).

Doctrine and Covenants 9:8

Elder Richard G. Scott:

“The feeling of peace is the most common confirming witness that I personally experience. When I have been very concerned about an important matter, struggling to resolve it without success, I continued those efforts in faith. Later, an all-pervading peace has come, settling my concerns, as He has promised” (“Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2007, 10).

“That [stupor of thought], for me, is an unsettling, discomforting feeling” (“Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer,” 10).

Doctrine and Covenants 11:2

Elder Orson Pratt:

“A message of simple truth, when sent from God—when published by divine authority, through divinely inspired men, penetrates the mind like a sharp two-edged sword, and cuts asunder the deeply-rooted prejudices, the iron-bound sinews of ancient error and tradition, made sacred by age and rendered popular by human wisdom. It severs with undeviating exactness between truth and falsehood—between the doctrine of Christ and the doctrines of men; it levels with the most perfect ease every argument that human learning may array against it. Opinions, creeds invented by uninspired men, and doctrines originated in schools of divinity, all vanish like the morning dew—all sink into insignificance when compared with a message direct from heaven” (“Divine Authority—or was Joseph Smith Sent of God?” Orson Pratt’s Works on the Doctrines of the Gospel [1945], 1:1).

Doctrine and Covenants 11:9

President Joseph Fielding Smith:

“When the Lord calls upon his servants to cry nothing but repentance, he does not mean that they may not cry baptism, and call upon the people to obey the commandments of the Lord, but he wishes that all that they say and do be in the spirit of bringing the people to repentance. Any missionary who fails to do this in his ministry is derelict in his duty” (Church History and Modern Revelation, 2 vols. [1953], 1:57).

True to the Faith:

“Repentance is one of the first principles of the gospel (see Articles of Faith 1:4). It is essential to your happiness in this life and throughout eternity. Repentance is much more than just acknowledging wrongdoings. It is a change of mind and heart that gives you a fresh view about God, about yourself, and about the world. It includes turning away from sin and turning to God for forgiveness. It is motivated by love for God and the sincere desire to obey His commandments” (True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference[2004], 132).

Doctrine and Covenants 11:25

President Joseph Fielding Smith explained that this counsel to Hyrum Smith would serve as “good counsel for all of us today. There are some members of the Church who seemingly complain because the Lord is not giving revelations to be placed in the Doctrine and Covenants, as in the beginning, and they ask why revelation has ceased in the Church. Usually it is the case that these critics are not faithfully keeping the commandments the Lord has already given and their eyes are blind to the fact that revelation and the guidance of the Lord is being meted out to the Church constantly. No one with the spirit of discernment can fail to see that the hand of the Lord has guided this people from the beginning and this guidance is manifest today as in other times to all who are humble and have a contrite spirit. (See Jacob 4:8.)” (Church History and Modern Revelation, 2 vols. [1953], 1:57; see also Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, 2nd ed. [Church Educational System manual, 2001], 26).

Doctrine and Covenants 12

Joseph Smith:

“Joseph Knight, Sen., … has been faithful and true, and even-handed and exemplary, and virtuous and kind, never deviating to the right hand or to the left. … He is a righteous man” (History of the Church, 5:124).