Introduction to the Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual

The objective of Seminaries and Institutes of Religion is “to help youth and young adults deepen their conversion to Jesus Christ and His restored gospel, qualify for the blessings of the temple, and prepare themselves, their families, and others for eternal life with their Father in Heaven” (“The Objective of Seminaries and Institutes” [2022], Gospel Library).

To help accomplish this objective, this manual provides students with a variety of learning experiences through two different types of lessons: Old Testament lessons and Life Preparation lessons. Old Testament lessons correspond with the scripture blocks emphasized each week in Come, Follow Me—For Home and Church. Life Preparation lessons help students learn to draw strength from Jesus Christ and apply His teachings to prepare for life challenges.

By using the teaching suggestions found in these lessons and following the direction of the Spirit, you can help students draw upon the power of Jesus Christ in many aspects of their lives. You will also help them prepare for their future with faith in Jesus Christ.

This teacher manual is in the Gospel Library online at ChurchofJesusChrist.orgwith a PDF download available. A printed version of the manual can be requested from your local coordinator or program administrator.

Tools to Help You Prepare to Teach

For both Old Testament and Life Preparation lessons, the following tools will help you prepare to teach.

The Scriptures

Studying along with the Come, Follow Me scripture block is an important way to prepare to teach students. The lessons contained in this manual need a teacher who regularly studies the scriptures and seeks the companionship of the Holy Ghost. As you do this, you can be confident that through His Spirit, Heavenly Father will inspire you with how to use these materials to meet your students’ needs.

Overviews

An overview is provided at the beginning of each week of Old Testament lessons and each category of Life Preparation lessons. These overviews provide lesson-specific information to help you prepare teaching materials in advance, including the following:

• Lesson purposes (these are also included as the final sentence of the introduction of each lesson)

• Student preparation ideas

• A list of object lessons, handouts, images, videos, or other materials that may need to be prepared in advance

Find the weekly overview for the next week of lessons you will be teaching.

• What information do you find here that is helpful for you to know in advance?

• How might you use this information as you prepare to teach?

Teaching Tips

Each overview that precedes Old Testament lessons contains a teaching tip that explains recommended practices or principles from Teaching in the Savior’s Way: For All Who Teach in the Home and in the Church. These tips are marked with this icon: . As you feel ready, try implementing these practices and principles while teaching. You will notice that incorporating these suggestions can help improve your teaching abilities.

Most teaching tips point to a lesson that models the recommended practice or principle. The training icon in the lesson highlights an example of how to use the tip. These training tips highlight Teacher Development Skills that can help you learn more about the recommended practice or principle emphasized. Implementing these practices and principles can help you improve your teaching abilities.

Review the teaching tip in the overview for an upcoming week of lessons you will teach.

• How could you practice this teaching suggestion?

Pacing Suggestions

Most overviews for categories of Life Preparation lessons include pacing suggestions. These suggestions provide ideas of where these lessons could be included in a pacing guide. Coordinators and program administrators can use these suggestions as they create their pacing guide.

For an example, see the pacing suggestion in the Overview for Building Self-Reliance.

Student Preparation

Each overview includes suggestions for inviting students to prepare their minds and hearts for each lesson. You could review these ideas at the beginning of the week and prayerfully select those you feel would best help your students. You do not need to use every student preparation suggestion. You could adapt them or create your own ideas. These suggested invitations are designed to be given to students at least a day before the learning experience.

Review the student preparation ideas in the overview for an upcoming week of lessons you will teach. Consider which ideas you will use, adapt, or not use. If you decide to invite your students to prepare, how will you share the preparation idea with them? For example, you could share it verbally or display it at the end of the preceding class. As appropriate, you could send it via Wise or a messaging app.

Possible Learning Activities

Each lesson contains ideas of possible ways you could approach the learning experience. For your students to have the best experience possible, use the content of this section as a guide rather than a script. If you are just beginning as a seminary teacher, it may be best to start by following the suggested learning activities closely. With more experience, your ability to adapt the content of this manual to best meet the needs of your students will increase.

Many suggested learning activities will invite students to use a study journal. A PDF of a study journal is available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org/si/seminary/manuals. Where available, students could also use the notebook feature in the Gospel Library app to respond to journal prompts in lessons.

Teaching Instructions

In the lessons, you will notice boxes that contain teaching instructions for teachers. These instructions are designed to help you prepare for and use the learning activities that are suggested in the lesson. They might explain the purpose of lesson activities or offer suggestions on how to adapt the lesson content to better meet students’ needs. These suggestions may include alternative approaches, questions, or activities that help you adjust the content and activities as necessary.

Review some of the teaching instructions in a lesson you will be teaching soon.

• What do you notice about how these teaching instructions can help you prepare to teach?

Additional Resources

Most lessons contain an “Additional Resources” section at the end of the lesson. This section includes information that can help deepen learning. You can find possible questions students might have and statements by Church leaders that could help address these questions. These statements from Church leaders could be included in the lesson. This section is only available in the Gospel Library app or the Gospel Library online at ChurchofJesusChrist.org. The “Additional Resources” section is not included in the PDF version of the teacher manual.

See if the lesson you are teaching next includes “Additional Resources.”

• Are there any resources in this section that may be beneficial to share with your students?

Supplemental Learning Activities

This section, also included at the end of the lesson, has additional ideas for approaching the learning experience. These learning activities include ways to adapt current activities in the lesson or ways to teach material not included in the lesson. Supplemental learning activities are only included in the teacher manual if you are accessing it through the Gospel Library app or the Gospel Library online at ChurchofJesusChrist.org. This section is not included in the PDF version of the teacher manual.

If your upcoming lesson includes a “Supplemental Learning Activities” section, review these activities.

• Are there any that you think would be beneficial to use with your students in addition to or in place of the learning activities included in the main section of lesson?

Old Testament Lessons and Life Preparation Lessons

Students should be taught both Old Testament lessons and Life Preparation lessons throughout the year. The following information can help you understand the purpose of the different lessons in the teacher manual.

Old Testament Lessons

Old Testament lessons correspond with the scripture blocks emphasized each week in Come, Follow Me. These lessons give students opportunities to have in-depth experiences studying the word of God in the Old Testament. Doctrinal Mastery Practice lessons and Assess Your Learning lessons are included in the Old Testament lesson section of the manual.

Doctrinal Mastery Practice Lessons

Doctrinal Mastery Practice lessons are intended to help students work toward accomplishing the outcomes of doctrinal mastery. These outcomes include helping students to do the following:

Learn and apply divine principles for acquiring spiritual knowledge.

Master the doctrinal mastery scripture passages and the doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ that they teach.

Mastering the selected passages and the doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ that these passages teach means students will be able to do the following:

Know and understand the doctrine taught in the doctrinal mastery scripture passages.

Explain the doctrine clearly using the associated doctrinal mastery scripture passages.

Apply the doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge in their daily choices and in their responses to doctrinal, personal, social, and historical issues and questions.

Remember and locate the doctrinal mastery passages and memorize the key scripture phrases.

The Doctrinal Mastery App can help students accomplish some of the outcomes of doctrinal mastery. It is designed to help students practice memorizing the references and key scripture phrases for each of the doctrinal mastery passages. You may want to use the app in class and encourage students to download it on their own devices, if possible. It is available for iOS and Android devices.

For more information about the purposes of doctrinal mastery, watch “What Is Doctrinal Mastery?” (3:56), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

For more information about how to help students accomplish the outcomes of doctrinal mastery, see “Doctrinal Mastery Training” in the Seminary Curriculum Training.

Assess Your Learning Lessons

Assessment is an important part of learning. Opportunities to pause and reflect on learning can be a positive experience for students. Periodic assessments can motivate students in their continued growth and development toward becoming more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. By assessing their learning, students can become active participants in the learning process and take more accountability for their learning.

The Assess Your Learning lessons give students opportunities to explain key doctrine from the Old Testament, reflect on their feelings, attitudes, and desires related to Heavenly Father’s plan and the gospel of Jesus Christ, and review plans or goals they are working on to apply what they are learning and deepen their discipleship to Jesus Christ. These lessons can help students recognize their growth and identify future areas for additional progress. Students will receive course credit by participating in at least one Assess Your Learning lesson in each half of the course.

For more information about how to implement Assess Your Learning lessons, see “Assessment Training” in the Seminary Curriculum Training.

Life Preparation Lessons

Life Preparation lessons give students opportunities to apply the Savior’s teachings to the following:

• Handle difficult questions and challenging life circumstances

• Make inspired choices using the teachings of Jesus Christ and His prophets.

• Build self-reliance to provide for themselves and their family.

• Become more physically and emotionally healthy.

• Make plans to prepare for future education and employment.

• Develop skills to succeed in school.

• Prepare for missionary and church service.

• Prepare to make and keep covenants in the temple.

Try to teach two Life Preparation lessons each week. Some weeks you may teach more than this and other weeks you may teach fewer, but on average you should try to teach two lessons a week as often as possible. This will provide an opportunity for students to be taught all of the lessons during the school year.

Be sure to obtain a copy of a pacing guide provided for you by your coordinator or program administrator.

For more information about Life Preparation lessons see “Life Preparation Lessons Training” in the Seminary Curriculum Training.