Emphasis Scriptures

The word 'cannot' occurs 412 times in the standard works.

99 of those occurances are found in the list of scriptures highlighted below. These verses have the highest concentration of the word 'cannot' in the standard works and contain 24% of all occurances. Assuming 30 seconds per verse, it would take about 36 minutes to read the entire list.

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D&C 88:22-24 (5 in 3 verses)

D&C 132:17-21 (5 in 5 verses)

Moro. 7:10-11 (4 in 2 verses)

Alma 11:37 (3 in 1 verse)

Job 23:8-9 (3 in 2 verses)

2 Cor. 12:2-3 (3 in 2 verses)

D&C 132:61-62 (3 in 2 verses)

Job 28:15-17 (3 in 3 verses)

Isa. 44:18-20 (3 in 3 verses)

Mark 3:24-26 (3 in 3 verses)

Ruth 4:6 (2 in 1 verse)

Eccl. 1:15 (2 in 1 verse)

Isa. 38:18 (2 in 1 verse)

Isa. 59:1 (2 in 1 verse)

Jer. 10:5 (2 in 1 verse)

1 Cor. 10:21 (2 in 1 verse)

Mosiah 4:29 (2 in 1 verse)

Mosiah 15:27 (2 in 1 verse)

Alma 12:18 (2 in 1 verse)

Alma 18:3 (2 in 1 verse)

Alma 30:15 (2 in 1 verse)

Alma 34:34 (2 in 1 verse)

Hel. 13:31 (2 in 1 verse)

3 Ne. 5:8 (2 in 1 verse)

D&C 10:37 (2 in 1 verse)

D&C 105:5 (2 in 1 verse)

D&C 128:15 (2 in 1 verse)

D&C 135:7 (2 in 1 verse)

Isa. 56:10-11 (2 in 2 verses)

Luke 14:26-27 (2 in 2 verses)

John 8:21-22 (2 in 2 verses)

Heb. 12:27-28 (2 in 2 verses)

1 Ne. 15:33-34 (2 in 2 verses)

2 Ne. 27:17-18 (2 in 2 verses)

Alma 32:9-10 (2 in 2 verses)


Hel. 16:20-21 (2 in 2 verses)

 16:20 But behold, we know that this is a wicked tradition, which has been handed down unto us by our fathers, to cause us that we should believe in some great and marvelous thing which should come to pass, but not among us, but in a land which is far distant, a land which we know not; therefore they can keep us in ignorance, for we cannot witness with our own eyes that they are true.

 16:21 And they will, by the cunning and the mysterious arts of the evil one, work some great mystery which we cannot understand, which will keep us down to be servants to their words, and also servants unto them, for we depend upon them to teach us the word; and thus will they keep us in ignorance if we will yield ourselves unto them, all the days of our lives.




Moro. 7:42-43 (2 in 2 verses)

Moro. 9:18-19 (2 in 2 verses)

D&C 103:32-33 (2 in 2 verses)

D&C 104:8-9 (2 in 2 verses)

D&C 124:71-72 (2 in 2 verses)

D&C 131:3-4 (2 in 2 verses)

Exact Word Count

  FULL PART ALL
OT 113 0 113
NT 71 0 71
BM 131 0 131
1 Ne. 10 0 10
2 Ne. 18 0 18
Jacob 5 0 5
W of M 1 0 1
Mosiah 8 0 8
Alma 39 0 39
Hel. 16 0 16
3 Ne. 11 0 11
Morm. 3 0 3
Ether 7 0 7
Moro. 13 0 13
DC 89 0 89
PGP 8 0 8
TOTAL 412 0 412

Hel. 3:14
But behold, a hundredth part of the proceedings of this people, yea, the account of the Lamanites and of the Nephites, and their wars, and contentions, and dissensions, and their preaching, and their prophecies, and their shipping and their building of ships, and their building of temples, and of synagogues and their sanctuaries, and their righteousness, and their wickedness, and their murders, and their robbings, and their plundering, and all manner of abominations and whoredoms, cannot be contained in this work.

Hel. 5:12
And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

Hel. 5:26
And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did stand forth and began to speak unto them, saying: Fear not, for behold, it is God that has shown unto you this marvelous thing, in the which is shown unto you that ye cannot lay your hands on us to slay us.

Hel. 5:33
And also again the third time the voice came, and did speak unto them marvelous words which cannot be uttered by man; and the walls did tremble again, and the earth shook as if it were about to divide asunder.

Hel. 8:3
For behold, Nephi had spoken unto them concerning the corruptness of their law; yea, many things did Nephi speak which cannot be written; and nothing did he speak which was contrary to the commandments of God.

Hel. 8:24
And now, seeing ye know these things and cannot deny them except ye shall lie, therefore in this ye have sinned, for ye have rejected all these things, notwithstanding so many evidences which ye have received; yea, even ye have received all things, both things in heaven, and all things which are in the earth, as a witness that they are true.

Hel. 12:22
And wo unto him to whom he shall say this, for it shall be unto him that will do iniquity, and he cannot be saved; therefore, for this cause, that men might be saved, hath repentance been declared.

Hel. 13:31
And behold, the time cometh that he curseth your riches, that they become slippery, that ye cannot hold them; and in the days of your poverty ye cannot retain them.

Hel. 13:36
O that we had repented in the day that the word of the Lord came unto us; for behold the land is cursed, and all things are become slippery, and we cannot hold them.

Hel. 14:1
And now it came to pass that Samuel, the Lamanite, did prophesy a great many more things which cannot be written.

Hel. 15:2
Yea, except ye repent, your women shall have great cause to mourn in the day that they shall give suck; for ye shall attempt to flee and there shall be no place for refuge; yea, and wo unto them which are with child, for they shall be heavy and cannot flee; therefore, they shall be trodden down and shall be left to perish.

Hel. 16:6
But the more part of them did not believe in the words of Samuel; therefore when they saw that they could not hit him with their stones and their arrows, they cried unto their captains, saying: Take this fellow and bind him, for behold he hath a devil; and because of the power of the devil which is in him we cannot hit him with our stones and our arrows; therefore take him and bind him, and away with him.

Hel. 16:16
Some things they may have guessed right, among so many; but behold, we know that all these great and marvelous works cannot come to pass, of which has been spoken.

Hel. 16:20
But behold, we know that this is a wicked tradition, which has been handed down unto us by our fathers, to cause us that we should believe in some great and marvelous thing which should come to pass, but not among us, but in a land which is far distant, a land which we know not; therefore they can keep us in ignorance, for we cannot witness with our own eyes that they are true.

Hel. 16:21
And they will, by the cunning and the mysterious arts of the evil one, work some great mystery which we cannot understand, which will keep us down to be servants to their words, and also servants unto them, for we depend upon them to teach us the word; and thus will they keep us in ignorance if we will yield ourselves unto them, all the days of our lives.