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Look Unto Me

Look Unto Me in Every Thought

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“Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.” Doctrine and Covenants 6:36

Look unto Christ. Remember Christ. Talk of Christ. Rejoice in Christ. Act through Christ.

Read D&C 6:32-37Study Rejoice in Christ

Doctrine and Covenants 6:36 is not an isolated slogan. In context, the Lord directs Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery away from fear and toward Himself. The same Christ-centered movement appears across scripture: Paul tells disciples to rejoice in the Lord and rejoice in Christ Jesus, while Nephi declares, “we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ.” Together these passages form a study pattern for focusChrist: attention, remembrance, discipleship, and joy centered in the Savior.

The revelation in context

An interpretive rural lane approaching a modest early nineteenth-century farmhouse

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Harmony, Pennsylvania: a setting of revelation

A quiet lane leads toward a farmhouse. Turn to the account from Harmony, Pennsylvania, where Oliver Cowdery sought assurance and received the Lord’s tender command to look to Christ in every thought.

Read Doctrine and Covenants 6

The Setting: Oliver Cowdery Comes to Harmony

Oliver Cowdery arrived at Joseph and Emma Smith's home in Harmony, Pennsylvania, on April 5, 1829. He began writing as Joseph's scribe on April 7. Before their meeting, Oliver had boarded with Joseph's parents and prayed about what he learned of the plates. The Church's historical account describes a private experience of peace that he had not shared. Doctrine and Covenants 6 recalled that experience while addressing his participation in the work.

Earlier in the revelation, the Lord reminds Oliver of an experience of peace: “Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter?” (D&C 6:23). That reminder gives verse 36 added depth. Looking to Christ includes remembering light already received rather than allowing present fear to erase it.

Read Oliver Cowdery's GiftStudy D&C 6, 8, and 9
Look Unto Me: D&C 6 Seminary Study resource preview

Study lesson

Look Unto Me: D&C 6 Seminary Study

Explore the lesson’s questions about doubts and fears, and read the Savior’s invitation in its scriptural setting.

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Read the verses as a sequence

Jesus Christ facing the viewer with a calm attentive expression

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Turn attention toward Christ

Christ meets the viewer with a calm, reassuring gaze. In the quiet light of the setting sun, His expression offers a simple invitation: look to Him, remember His words and keep walking with faith.

Read Doctrine and Covenants 6:32-37

Doctrine and Covenants 6:32–37

Read the complete passage first. The reflections below follow its movement from Christ's presence to faithful action and His promise of eternal life.

Verse 32: Christ is in the midst

Jesus recalls His promise to disciples gathered in His name and applies it to Joseph and Oliver. Their work begins with His presence. Before asking how strong their faith feels, notice who speaks and where He says He is.

Verse 33: Fear not to do good

The Lord joins courage to goodness through the image of sowing and reaping. Consider a good action fear has made difficult: offering help, telling the truth, or making amends. This is an invitation to act faithfully, not a timetable for a particular result.

Verse 34: Build upon His rock

The verse acknowledges opposition rather than promising its absence. Christ's rock is the foundation of the reassurance. Ask what supports your choices when approval, comfort, or circumstances change.

Verse 35: Receive mercy and continue

Christ's words of non-condemnation accompany a call to leave sin and perform the commanded work soberly. Mercy and responsibility belong together. A useful reflection is: what can I turn from, and what work can I return to with greater care?

Verse 36: Look unto Me

The invitation directs attention to a person, Jesus Christ. Read it with the verses on either side: His presence, goodness, mercy, and sacrifice give trust its substance. Looking to Him can shape what you choose even before every question is settled.

Verse 37: Behold the wounds

The final verse directs attention to the Savior's wounded side, hands, and feet, then invites faithfulness and obedience. The Church's student manual says it is not known whether verses 32 and 37 refer to a literal or figurative experience. We can study what His words teach without deciding whether a visitation occurred.

Why do Christ's wounds follow the invitation to look?

The Seminary lesson pairs these verses and invites students to consider His Atonement and Resurrection. Compare 3 Nephi 11:10-17: the risen Lord identifies Himself and invites the people to feel His wounds, becoming witnesses for themselves.

Then read Alma 7:11-13. Alma teaches of Christ taking upon Himself suffering, infirmities, death, and sins, and knowing how to help His people. Together, these passages direct our attention to both His power to redeem and His knowledge of human suffering. The wounds invite trust in the Savior who suffered and lives.

Reflect: When you pray about pain, guilt, or fear, how might remembering the living Redeemer change what you ask Him for? Give yourself room to seek forgiveness, strength, or companionship without demanding that grief disappear.

Elder Benjamin M. Z. Tai speaking at April 2025 general conference

Church video and transcript

The Love of God

Elder Benjamin M. Z. Tai connects Peter's appeal for rescue with looking to Christ in every thought. Watch for his invitations to remember God's love, pray for someone in need, and act. Which invitation could shape your next ordinary day?

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Bring the scripture into the day

A woman recording a question beside an open book at a quiet overlook

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Bring an honest question with you

Beside the open scriptures, a woman pauses to write down a question she has not yet resolved. The wide ocean and quiet moment remind us that faith can keep growing even before every answer comes.

Read Doctrine and Covenants 6:22-23

Looking to Christ When Life Is Uncertain

You can begin with the question you are carrying.

What does “in every thought” mean?

In Seek Christ in Every Thought, Elder Ulisses Soares describes bringing our minds and desires into harmony with Christ and choosing what is good each day. He also acknowledges that unwelcome thoughts can arise despite sincere effort. His teaching concerns how we respond and what we cultivate.

Consider ordinary moments: preparing for work, listening to someone, or deciding how to answer a difficult message. A personal application is to pause and ask, “What would honesty, patience, and love require here?” Returning your attention to Christ can become a repeated practice.

How does looking address doubt and fear?

Read Matthew 14:27-33 all the way through. Peter becomes afraid and begins to sink, but he also calls for help. Jesus immediately reaches for him. The account includes rescue as well as correction.

As a study application, distinguish a question you need to investigate from a fear that is preventing a good action. You can seek evidence, ask for help, and keep turning toward Christ. Do not use this passage to measure another person's faith by how calm they appear.

Jesus and Peter grasp each other’s forearms as Christ looks toward Peter with reassuring resolve

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Immediately Jesus reached for him

Peter sees the wind, becomes afraid, and cries for help. Matthew records that Jesus immediately reaches out and catches him. This scene invites us to notice the Savior’s response as carefully as Peter’s fear.

Matthew 14:30–31

What does Christ’s immediate response help you notice in this account? Ask about this part of the study.

Brother Bradley R. Wilcox speaking at October 2024 general conference

October 2024 general conference

O Youth of the Noble Birthright

“You’ve got this because Jesus Christ has got you!”

Brother Bradley R. Wilcox describes covenants as a relationship in which we hold more closely to Jesus Christ and receive His strength to live differently from the world.

What would it mean to rely on His strength in the responsibility you are carrying today?

Read the passage about holding to Christ

Bradley R. Wilcox · The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

What if an answer has not come?

Oliver's remembered peace concerned a particular question. Remembering it did not make every later question identical. The historical account continues through his desire to translate, his unsuccessful attempt, further counsel, and his return to serving as scribe.

Try writing two short notes: what you have reason to trust, and what remains unresolved. Preserve earlier light without treating it as a prediction about a new outcome. Hebrews 12:1-3 places looking to Jesus within patient endurance. The next step may be continued study, a conversation, or a responsibility you can fulfill while waiting.

What if I do not know what God wants?

In Jesus Christ Is the Strength of Youth, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf explains that gospel principles guide decisions without providing a separate yes or no for every possible choice. Christ remains the guide, and the person still chooses.

For a decision before you, identify the relevant teaching, gather needed information, consider who is affected, and pray. Distinguish what is clearly right from a preference about an uncertain outcome. Choose a responsible next step and remain willing to learn. The video below can deepen this reflection; Prayer and Personal Revelation continues the study.

Alma 37:36-37 brings this attention into an ordinary day: actions, thoughts, affections, counsel with God, rest at night, and gratitude in the morning. Choose one of those moments as a reminder to turn toward Him.

Learn of the Savior

Jesus speaks gently with three adult listeners who have paused beside a stone courtyard wall.

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Come unto me

Jesus invites those who are weary to come to Him and learn of Him. His promise of rest draws us toward a relationship of trust and discipleship.

Matthew 11:28–30

Questions, knowledge, and revelation

Stand Forever

Explore Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge’s devotional, its four primary questions, and a guided study of faith and revelation on the dedicated study page.

Open the Stand Forever study →

A practical way to study

Guided Study: Look, Remember, Talk, Rejoice, Act

1. Look

Read D&C 6:32-37 and mark every statement about Jesus Christ. Ask what the passage teaches about who He is and what He promises.

2. Remember

Read D&C 6:22-23. Record one experience of peace, truth, help, or spiritual clarity you do not want fear to erase.

3. Talk

Read 2 Nephi 25:26. Share one thing you are learning about Christ with someone willing to listen, or write it for yourself. Speak honestly about what you understand and what you are still seeking.

A father and adult daughter talking while washing dishes together

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Talk about what you are learning

A father and daughter share an unhurried conversation while washing dishes together. Faith becomes part of family life when we speak of Christ with warmth, listen to one another and learn side by side.

Read 2 Nephi 25:26

5. Act

Choose one faithful action consistent with Christ's teachings. Continue praying and studying without forcing certainty that has not come.

Journal prompts

What thought most often pulls my attention away from Christ? What truth in D&C 6:32-37 answers it? What has Christ already done that gives me reason to rejoice? What good action am I postponing because of fear? What would one faithful next step look like today?

2027 Church theme connection

Rejoice in Christ

The Church's 2027 youth theme is “Rejoice in Christ.” Church leaders have connected the theme with Philippians 4:4, and the same phrase is being used for the 2027 Salt Lake Temple Celebration. That creates a natural companion to D&C 6:36: the Savior we are invited to look toward is also the Savior in whom disciples rejoice.

Philippians 4:4

“Rejoice in the Lord alway.” Read the surrounding chapter and notice how rejoicing is linked with prayer, gratitude, peace, disciplined thought, and strength through Christ.

Philippians 3:1-8

Paul says believers “rejoice in Christ Jesus” and place no confidence in the flesh. Compare that with D&C 6:36: confidence shifts away from self and toward Christ.

2 Nephi 25:23-26

Nephi explains why he writes and teaches so openly of the Savior: “we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ.”

2 Nephi 11:4-8

Nephi explains that he includes Isaiah so readers can lift up their hearts and rejoice. Prophecy, covenant, gathering, and the Messiah all become reasons to rejoice in Christ.

How does looking to Christ become rejoicing in Him?

Philippians 4:4-13 develops the connection. Paul moves from rejoicing to prayer with thanksgiving, then to peace guarding hearts and minds through Christ. He names things worthy of attention and urges disciples to practice what they have learned. His testimony of strength follows his account of both abundance and hunger. Joy in Christ does not depend on calling every circumstance pleasant.

In Philippians 3:7-14, Paul places knowing Christ above his former advantages and continues pressing forward. In 2 Nephi 11:4-8, Nephi delights in the Redeemer, God's covenants, grace, and plan of deliverance. These are reasons for rejoicing rooted in who Christ is and what God provides.

Read the purpose at the end of 2 Nephi 25:23-26. Nephi's speaking, writing, and rejoicing help his children know where to look for forgiveness. Talking of Christ is therefore part of helping someone else turn toward Him. It can be a quiet conversation, a shared scripture, or an honest account of something you are learning.

Reflect: What about the Savior gives you reason for gratitude today? How could you speak of that without minimizing someone else's pain?

These scriptures create a simple Focus pattern: look unto Christ, remember Christ, talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ, and act through Christ. D&C 6:36 gives the direction of our attention. Philippians and 2 Nephi show what can grow from that attention: confidence in Him, peace, gratitude, testimony, and joy.

Explore the 2027 Youth ThemeRejoice in Christ Temple Celebration
Strength and Joy in Christ resource preview

Study lesson

Strength and Joy in Christ

The 2027 Come, Follow Me lesson on Philippians and Colossians offers a companion study of peace, endurance, and strength through Christ.

Preview artwork: Light of the World, by Walter Rane.

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We Talk of Christ: 2 Nephi 25:26 resource preview

Scripture picture quote

We Talk of Christ: 2 Nephi 25:26

Open the Church’s picture quote, then read the complete verse. Notice how speaking of Christ points the next generation toward Him.

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Find courage in His peace

Jesus addresses attentive disciples in a softly lit stone passage after dusk.

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Be of good cheer

Before His arrest, Jesus spoke to His disciples about the trouble ahead and the peace they could find in Him. His words invite courage even while life remains difficult.

John 16:32–33

Trace the theme through scripture

Cross-References for Deeper Study

Matthew 14:22-33

Peter walks toward Jesus, then begins to sink as fear overtakes his attention. Compare his experience with D&C 6:36.

Numbers 21:4-9

Israel is invited to look and live. Scripture repeatedly connects faithful looking with trust in God's provided deliverance.

Alma 37:36-37

Alma teaches that thoughts should be directed unto the Lord and that disciples should counsel with Him in all their doings.

Hebrews 12:1-3

Disciples run with patience while “looking unto Jesus.” Compare the language of attention, endurance, and joy.

Turn attention into discipleship

Watch, Listen, and Take a Faithful Step

Let each message lead back to the Savior’s words. Choose one question to carry into the seven-day study below.

Two young women exchanging a notebook with attentive smiles outside a school

Church video

Jesus Christ Is the Strength of Youth

Hear Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s teaching about choosing with Jesus Christ as your guide. What makes a decision Christ-centered?

Official Church talk; original focusChrist artwork

Elder D. Todd Christofferson speaking at October 2025 general conference

Church video and transcript

Look to God and Live

Elder D. Todd Christofferson connects D&C 6:36 with Alma 37 and daily decisions. His message also addresses grief. Consider what it would mean to seek God's counsel while some questions remain unanswered.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Rejoice in Christ: Youth Resources resource preview

Resource collection

Rejoice in Christ: Youth Resources

Visit the official youth resource hub for the theme and available materials. This is a growing collection, not a single video.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Listen to Look Unto Christ on the Church website

Read Rejoice in Christ: testimonies of the Savior

A seven-day Christ-centered study

Seven Days of Looking and Rejoicing

  1. Day 1: D&C 6:22-23. Remember peace already received.
  2. Day 2: D&C 6:32-37. Mark what Christ says, promises, and commands.
  3. Day 3: Matthew 14:22-33. Notice what changes when Peter's attention shifts.
  4. Day 4: Philippians 3:1-8. Ask where you place confidence.
  5. Day 5: Philippians 4:4-13. Trace rejoicing, prayer, peace, thought, and strength.
  6. Day 6: 2 Nephi 25:23-26. Write why you talk of Christ and rejoice in Christ.
  7. Day 7: Hebrews 12:1-3. Choose one burden, one faithful action, and one reason to keep looking unto Jesus.
A neighbor helping repair a small garden gate

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Let study lead to something good

A neighbor kneels to repair a small garden gate. The work is ordinary, but willing hands can answer the Lord's simple invitation to do good right where we are.

Read Doctrine and Covenants 6:33

Make room for someone

A seated woman lifts her bag to make room while a woman with a rollator pauses beside the bench.

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Choose one good thing

Making room for someone can be a small beginning. Looking to Christ can shape the attention and kindness we bring to the person beside us.

Doctrine and Covenants 6:33–37

Verify and continue

Official Sources and Further Study

The Meaning of 636 at @theRisen636

The “636” in @theRisen636 points to Doctrine and Covenants 6:36. The expanded study gives that name a fuller scriptural frame: look unto Christ, speak of Christ, rejoice in Christ, and help others turn toward Him.

Ask a QuestionPrayer and Personal Revelation

Continue studying

Remember Him in the next ordinary day. Continue with two practical invitations from Elder Andersen: think more often of the Savior and read the Book of Mormon again.