Introduction to the Teacher Manual

Our Purpose

The Objective of Seminaries and Institutes of Religion states:

“Our purpose is to help youth and young adults understand and rely on the teachings and Atonement of Jesus Christ, qualify for the blessings of the temple, and prepare themselves, their families, and others for eternal life with their Father in Heaven” (Gospel Teaching and Learning: A Handbook for Teachers and Leaders in Seminaries and Institutes of Religion [2012], 1).

As an institute teacher, you achieve this purpose through living the gospel, teaching the gospel to students, and administering programs appropriately. This manual will help you fulfill the purpose of teaching the gospel: “We teach students the doctrines and principles of the gospel as found in the scriptures and the words of the prophets. These doctrines and principles are taught in a way that leads to understanding and edification. We help students fulfill their role in the learning process and prepare them to teach the gospel to others” (Gospel Teaching and Learning, x).

The following Fundamentals of Gospel Teaching and Learning will help you and your students meet the Objective of Seminaries and Institutes of Religion as you study the scriptures together:

• “Teach and learn by the Spirit.

• “Cultivate a learning environment of love, respect, and purpose.

• “Study the scriptures daily, and read the text for the course.

• “Understand the context and content of the scriptures and the words of the prophets.

• “Identify, understand, feel the truth and importance of, and apply gospel doctrines and principles.

• “Explain, share, and testify of gospel doctrines and principles.

• “Master key scripture passages and Basic Doctrines” (Gospel Teaching and Learning, 10).

The teaching suggestions in this manual model ways to achieve these outcomes in your teaching. (Note that the Fundamentals of Gospel Teaching and Learning should be seen as outcomes rather than teaching methods.) “When implemented wisely and in harmony with each other, [these fundamentals] contribute to the students’ ability to understand the scriptures and the doctrines and principles they contain. They also encourage students to take an active role in their learning of the gospel and increase students’ ability to live the gospel and teach it to others” (Gospel Teaching and Learning, 10).

Purpose of This Manual

The New Testament is your primary text as you prepare and teach this course. Prayerfully study the scripture blocks you will teach. This manual and the corresponding New Testament Student Manual are designed to aid newly called teachers as well as teachers with many years of experience. As you become familiar with the context and content of each scripture block, this manual will help you to identify converting doctrines and principles contained in the scriptures.

You are encouraged to select teaching ideas that best meet the needs of your students and personalize them to your teaching style. The Holy Ghost will guide you in this process. You may choose to use all or part of the curriculum suggestions to teach a scripture block, or you may adapt the suggested ideas to the needs and circumstances of your class. Regarding the value of thoughtfully using the curriculum, President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency taught:

President Henry B. Eyring

“Those called by the prophet to assure the correctness of doctrine taught in the Church review every word, every picture, every diagram in that curriculum which you receive. We can unlock the power of the curriculum simply by acting on our faith that it is inspired of God. …

“Sticking with the content of the curriculum as well as its sequence will unlock our unique teaching gifts, not stifle them” (“The Lord Will Multiply the Harvest” [evening with a General Authority, Feb. 6, 1998], 4–5).

How This Manual Is Organized

Religion 211–212 is designed as a two-semester course. Religion 211 guides students in studying the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which give accounts of Jesus Christ’s life, ministry, Atonement, and Resurrection. Religion 212 covers the books of Acts through Revelation, which deal with the growth and challenges of the early Christian Church and describe the Savior’s continuing guidance of His Church through the ministry of the Holy Ghost and the Apostles. This teacher manual contains 56 lessons, 28 for each half of the New Testament. Each lesson is designed to be taught during a 50-minute class period. If your class meets twice each week, you would teach one lesson from the manual each time the class meets. If your class meets only once each week for 90 to 100 minutes, it is recommended that you teach two lessons from the manual during that class period.

In most seminary and institute scripture courses, the books and chapters of scripture are taught in the sequence in which they appear in the standard works (see Gospel Teaching and Learning, 38). Teachers of Religion 211, however, may choose whether they will teach the Gospels sequentially (teaching each gospel individually from Matthew through John) or as a harmony (teaching the life and ministry of Jesus Christ chronologically, referring to all four Gospels in the process). This manual takes the sequential approach. One advantage of teaching the Gospels sequentially is that it more easily allows students to see the individual themes, purposes, and points of emphasis of each Gospel writer. It also “provides the basis for understanding the full scope of the message the inspired writer intended to convey” (Gospel Teaching and Learning, 38). Just as members of the Church today benefit from hearing many individual testimonies of their fellow Latter-day Saints in sacrament meetings, we benefit from studying the Gospel accounts in ways that allow us to appreciate the individual testimonies of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Another advantage of treating each book of the New Testament separately is that students may more easily find commentary and insights in the student manual as they study the scriptures on their own.

One challenge of teaching the Gospels sequentially is dealing with shared accounts—teachings and events in the Savior’s life that are recorded in more than one of the Gospels. A key to avoiding repetitiveness in teaching the Gospels is to be aware of the distinctive contributions and themes of each Gospel writer and to decide where a repeated account should be emphasized and where it may be summarized. This manual has been prepared to guide you in that process. Generally, this manual recommends that a shared account be taught with most emphasis from the Gospel where it contains the greatest detail or the most prominent thematic role. The appendix contains a chart titled “Shared Accounts in the Gospels.” The chart illustrates where teachings and events in the Savior’s life have been given emphasis in this manual. Referring to this chart and paying close attention to the teaching suggestions in this manual will help you avoid treating the shared material of the four Gospels in a superficial or redundant way.

For teachers who choose to teach the Gospels as a harmony, the chart “Teaching the Gospels as a Harmony,” found in the appendix of this manual, shows how you might organize the sections of the manual to fit a harmony approach.

Each lesson in the manual consists of five sections:

• Introduction and Timeline

• Chapter Overviews

• Suggestions for Teaching

• Teaching Helps

• Supplemental Teaching Ideas

Introduction and Timeline

Each lesson begins with a brief introduction of the scripture passages covered in that lesson. These introductions, also found in the student manual, will familiarize you with the basic scriptural content of each lesson.

The timeline and map provide a general idea of when and where the events contained in that particular lesson took place.

Chapter Overviews

Chapter overviews found near the beginning of each lesson summarize the contents of each chapter of scripture covered in that lesson. Institute teachers face the difficult task of teaching relatively lengthy passages of scripture in limited time and thus must be selective about what material to study in detail and what material to summarize in class. When you need to summarize material, these chapter overviews may be helpful.

Suggestions for Teaching

This section provides suggestions for how to teach specific scripture passages. As the teacher, you should carefully study these suggestions. They demonstrate how to incorporate the Fundamentals of Gospel Teaching and Learning into your teaching in order to bring about greater conversion in students. You may personalize these suggestions to meet student needs, observe time constraints, and follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost. You might adapt lesson ideas in this manual by choosing to give greater emphasis to a particular doctrine or principle than is given in the lesson material or by choosing to give less emphasis to a segment of the scripture block than is given in the lesson material. Seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost to help you make these adaptations as you prepare and teach.

Each lesson in this manual focuses on a passage of scripture rather than on a particular concept, doctrine, or principle. This format will help you and your students study the scriptures sequentially and consider doctrines and principles in context as they emerge naturally from the scripture text.

In the body of each lesson, you will find that several key doctrines and principles are highlighted in bold. These doctrines and principles are identified in the curriculum because (1) they reflect a central message of the scripture block, (2) they are particularly applicable to the needs and circumstances of the students, or (3) they are key truths that can help students deepen their relationship with the Lord. President Henry B. Eyring has counseled: “As you prepare a lesson, look in it for converting principles. … A converting principle is one that leads to obedience to the will of God” (“Converting Principles” [evening with a General Authority, Feb. 2, 1996], 1). Be aware that this manual does not attempt to identify all doctrines and principles that might be found in the New Testament.

The teaching suggestions in this manual follow the pattern described in chapter 3 of Gospel Teaching and Learning. You will see that in each lesson not all segments of a scripture block are taken to the feeling level, which means to feel the truth and importance of a doctrine or principle, and the application level. Some segments receive less attention because they are less central to the overall message of the inspired writer or because they might be less applicable to young adults. You have the responsibility to adapt these materials according to the needs and interests of the students you teach.

The teaching suggestions in this manual provide students with many opportunities to identify doctrines and principles in the scriptures. The lesson also suggests places where you as the teacher may choose to identify a doctrine or principle. As students speak about the truths they discover, their words may differ from how a doctrine or principle might be stated in the manual. They may also discover truths that are not mentioned in the lesson outline. Be careful not to suggest that students’ answers are wrong simply because the words they use to express them differ from those used in the manual or because they identify a truth that is not mentioned in the curriculum. However, if a student’s statement could be more accurate, consider carefully how you could clarify his or her understanding. If a student’s statement is doctrinally incorrect, it is your responsibility to kindly help the student correct his or her statement while maintaining an atmosphere of love and trust.

Teaching Helps

Teaching helps are included with the teaching suggestions in each lesson. These teaching helps offer guidance on the effective use of various teaching methods, skills, and approaches, and they occasionally provide insight on basic principles of religious education. As you come to understand the principles contained in the teaching helps, look for ways to apply them consistently in your teaching.

Supplemental Teaching Ideas

Supplemental teaching ideas appear at the end of each lesson. These provide suggestions for teaching doctrines and principles that may not be identified or emphasized in the main body of the lesson. In some instances they offer an alternative approach to teaching a scripture block. You should not feel obligated to use these teaching ideas. You should make decisions about whether to use these suggestions based on the time available, the needs of your students, and the guidance of the Spirit.

In some lessons you will find references and links to media pieces you might choose to show students during the course of instruction.

Some teachers may, with the approval of their institute director, choose to take two semesters to teach Religion 211 and two semesters to teach Religion 212. Teachers who make this decision may find the supplemental teaching ideas to be a valuable resource.

Decide How to Teach

As you select teaching methods for your lessons, plan methods that will help students experience a learning process similar to what you experienced during lesson preparation. You might ask yourself: (1) What methods or learning activities will help my students understand the context and content they need to know? (2) What will help my students identify, verbalize, and understand key doctrines and principles? (3) What methods will lead my students to feel the truth and importance of those doctrines and principles? (4) What is an effective way to help students see how they might apply these principles in their lives?

You can expect students to be spiritually mature and to take their role as learners seriously. Speaking to religious educators, Elder Richard G. Scott (1928–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated: “Make your objective to help students understand, retain, and use divine truth. Keep that objective foremost in every aspect of your preparation and teaching. … Assure that there is abundant participation because that use of agency by a student authorizes the Holy Ghost to instruct. It also helps the student retain your message. As students verbalize truths, they are confirmed in their souls and strengthen their personal testimonies” (“To Understand and Live Truth” [evening with a General Authority, Feb. 4, 2005], 2–3).

When preparing to teach, consider the difference between a teacher-centered lesson and a student-centered lesson. There is a big difference between a teacher who asks, “What will I do in my class today?” and one who asks, “What will my students do in class today?” Similarly, there is a big difference between a teacher who asks, “What will I teach today?” and one who asks, “How will I help my students discover what they need to know today?” In each case, the second approach produces deeper, longer-lasting, and more meaningful learning than the first. Part of the process of preparing a lesson is to ask, “What is important for the students to learn?” and “What is important for me to study, prepare, and teach so that the students are able to learn what is being taught?” The following suggestions may be helpful during your lesson preparation and presentation:

• Encourage students to read assigned sections of the New Testament and the student manual before each lesson.

• Expect students to fulfill their role as learners.

• Lead students to search the scriptures for understanding and to discover truths of the gospel for themselves. Students are edified when they are led through a learning process that is similar to what the teacher has experienced during lesson preparation. They should then be given opportunities to explain the gospel in their own words and to share and testify of what they know and feel.

• Use a variety of methods and approaches. Variety in teaching means varying the methods used in each class and also from day to day.

• Create an environment where students feel the Spirit of the Lord and have the privilege and responsibility to teach and to learn from one another (see D&C 88:78, 122).

Generally, as the lesson progresses from understanding the context and content of a scripture passage to discovering, discussing, and applying doctrines and principles, the importance of students taking an active role increases. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

Elder David A. Bednar

“I have observed a common characteristic among the instructors who have had the greatest influence in my life. They have helped me to seek learning by faith. They refused to give me easy answers to hard questions. In fact, they did not give me any answers at all. Rather, they pointed the way and helped me take the steps to find my own answers. I certainly did not always appreciate this approach, but experience has enabled me to understand that an answer given by another person usually is not remembered for very long, if remembered at all. But an answer we discover or obtain through the exercise of faith, typically, is retained for a lifetime” (“Seek Learning by Faith” [evening with a General Authority, Feb. 3, 2006], 5).

New Testament Student Manual

The Religion 211–212 New Testament Student Manual contains valuable commentary, much of it by General Authorities and other leaders of the Church. The student manual can be a valuable resource to help you during lesson preparation. The teacher manual regularly refers you to commentary found in the student manual. You will bless the lives of your students by encouraging them to use this resource in their personal study of the New Testament.

Each chapter of the student manual concludes with sections titled “Points to Ponder” and “Suggested Assignments.” Many of these questions and activities can be adapted into teaching ideas for use in class.

Adapting the Manual to Those with Disabilities

When instructing students with disabilities, you may adapt the lessons to meet student abilities. For example, to adapt lessons for students who cannot read, you might consider reading aloud yourself, having fellow students read, or using prerecorded materials to narrate the scriptures (such as an mp3, CD, or audiotape). When lessons call for written responses, you might encourage students to give oral responses instead.

For more ideas and resources, consult the Disability Resources page at disabilities.lds.org and the Seminaries and Institutes of Religion policy manual section titled “Adapted Classes and Programs for Students with Disabilities.”