Institute
The Restored Gospel and Christian History: Course Outline


“The Restored Gospel and Christian History: Course Outline,” Institute Secondary Electives Student Readings and Selected Course Outlines (2016)

“The Restored Gospel and Christian History: Course Outline,” Institute Secondary Electives Student Readings

The Restored Gospel and Christian History (Religion 390R): Course Outline

Course Objective: This course will help students understand the history of Christianity leading to the Restoration of the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Lesson 1: Introduction and Overview

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • The gospel and the plan of redemption were prepared from the foundation of the world and have been taught by all of God’s prophets from Adam to our day (see 1 Nephi 10:18; Alma 22:13; Moses 5:58–59).

Lesson 2: Dispensations, Apostasies, and Restorations: The Pattern and the Foreshadowing

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • “In every dispensation, God’s loving desire to bless His children is manifest in the miraculous restoration of the gospel truth to the earth through living prophets” (M. Russell Ballard, “Learning the Lessons of the Past,” 32).

Lesson 3: The Great Apostasy as Foreseen by the Ancient Prophets

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • Ancient prophets foretold a period of apostasy where there would be a famine of hearing the word of the Lord (see Amos 8:11–12).

Lesson 4: The Imminent Coming of the Great Apostasy as Foretold by the Savior and His Apostles

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • The Savior and His Apostles prophesied of great apostasy.

Lesson 5: The Beginnings of the Great Apostasy as Witnessed by the Savior’s Apostles

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • The Savior’s Apostles witnessed a falling away from the truth in the early Church and warned the Saints against apostasy.

Lesson 6: External Forces: A Season of Intense Persecution

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • Many of the early Christian Saints and the leaders of the Church were persecuted and martyred.

Lesson 7: Internal Apostasy: Rejection of the Gospel and the Apostles

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • “The apostolic and prophetic foundation of the Church was to bless in all times, but especially in times of adversity or danger, times when we might feel like children, confused or disoriented, perhaps a little fearful, times in which the devious hand of men or the maliciousness of the devil would attempt to unsettle or mislead” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Prophets, Seers, and Revelators,” 7).

Lesson 8: The Holy Bible

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

Lesson 9: The Loss of Many Plain and Precious Truths

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • Many plain and precious truths were lost during the apostasy, causing many of Heavenly Father’s children to stumble (see 1 Nephi 13:29).

Lesson 10: The Reformation and the Reformers

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • “The reformers were pioneers, blazing wilderness trails in a desperate search for those lost points of reference that they felt would lead mankind back to the truth Jesus taught” (Thomas S. Monson, “Led by Spiritual Pioneers,” 4–5).

Lesson 11: The Contributions of Key Reformers in Preparing for the Restoration

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • “Those forerunners to Joseph Smith, the long-prophesied seer of the last days … , did not have access to the fulness of the gospel, but their efforts were vitally important in laying the foundation for him” (Garr, “Preparing for the Restoration,” 34).

Lesson 12: The Coming Forth of the Bible to the Common Man

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • “William Tyndale was not the first, nor the last, of those who in many countries and languages have sacrificed, even to the point of death, to bring the word of God out of obscurity. We owe them all a great debt of gratitude” (D. Todd Christofferson, “The Blessing of Scripture,” 32).

Lesson 13: Preparing the Earth for the Restoration

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • “Let us now look at the momentous events that gave us the Bible in English—one of the most important of the instruments that helped to bring about the restoration of the gospel” (Matthews, “A Bible! A Bible!” 24).

Lesson 14: The Discovery and Preparation of America as the Cradle of the Restoration

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • The Lord’s hand was in the founding of America so that the Restoration of the gospel could move forward.

Lesson 15: The Great Awakenings: Prelude to the Restoration

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • “Prior to the Restoration, the heavens had been closed for centuries. But with prophets and apostles upon the earth once more, the heavens were opened once again with visions and revelations” (James E. Faust, “The Restoration of All Things,” 67).

Lesson 16: The Restoration of the Gospel in the Meridian of Time

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • “Our benevolent Father came from His vast creations to this earth to clarify truth, to disperse the intense clouds of spiritual darkness, to establish His true identity, to restore a fulness of truth, and to provide the only way to obtain secure, spiritual guidance” (Richard G. Scott, “Truth Restored,” 80).

Lesson 17: Joseph Smith: A Choice Seer

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • Joseph Smith was foreordained and chosen by God to be the prophet of the Restoration.

Lesson 18: Joseph Smith and the First Vision

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

Lesson 19: Joseph’s Time of Angelic Tutoring and Preparation: 1823–29

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • “The monumental work of bringing forth the Book of Mormon was foretold by ancient prophets. … A work of such magnitude requires careful preparation” (Church History in the Fulness of Times Student Manual, 41).

Lesson 20: The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • “There are three ways in which the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. It is the keystone in our witness of Christ. It is the keystone of our doctrine. It is the keystone of testimony” (Ezra Taft Benson, “The Book of Mormon—Keystone of Our Religion,” 5).

Lesson 21: The Organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • “We have basic cornerstones on which this great latter-day Church has been established by the Lord” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “Four Cornerstones of Faith,” 4).

Lesson 22: The Restoration Continues: Additional Scripture, the Priesthood, and Messengers with Keys from Earlier Dispensations

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • “The place of the President of the Church and that of the Quorum of the First Presidency in having responsibility for the entire Church in all the world is clearly set forth in these revelations recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Quorum of the First Presidency,” 46–47).

Lesson 23: The Restoration of Many Plain and Precious Truths

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • “These last records … shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them” (1 Nephi 13:40).

Lesson 24: The Restoration Continues: The Ordinances of the Holy Temple for Both the Living and the Dead and the Doctrine of Eternal Marriage and Family

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • “The proclamation on the family helps us realize that celestial marriage brings greater possibilities for happiness than does any other relationship” (Russell M. Nelson, “Celestial Marriage,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 93).

Lesson 25: Joseph Smith: The Great Prophet of the Final Restoration—His Legacy

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts

  • “[The Prophet Joseph Smith] was the instrument in the hands of the Almighty. He was the servant acting under the direction of the Lord Jesus Christ in bringing to pass this great latter-day work” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “A Season for Gratitude,” 2).

Lesson 26: The Restoration Continues: The Dispensation of the Fulness of Times

Suggested Lesson Material

Key Doctrine, Principles, and Concepts