Doctrinal Mastery: Finding Answers to My Questions

Doctrinal Mastery: Finding Answers to My Questions

Overview

Participating in doctrinal mastery can help students build their spiritual foundation on Jesus Christ. As part of doctrinal mastery, students will learn key scripture passages as well as learn and apply the principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge: act in faith, examine concepts and questions with an eternal perspective, and seek further knowledge through divinely appointed sources. These principles can help them address questions or concerns while maintaining faith in Jesus Christ.

Pacing suggestion: It may be best to teach these lessons toward the beginning of the school year. If your students are already familiar with doctrinal mastery from previous years, you might consider scheduling Lesson 161: “Strengthening Your Spiritual Foundation” midway through the school year. This lesson could be used to remind students of important concepts associated with doctrinal mastery as they continue their studies.

Prepare to teach

The following information provides you with ideas of what you may need to prepare for each lesson.

Strengthening Your Spiritual Foundation

Lesson purpose: To help students understand how doctrinal mastery can bless their lives and help them build their spiritual foundation on Jesus Christ.

• Student preparation: Invite students to read Helaman 5:12 before coming to class. Students could look for blessings promised for building their foundation on Jesus Christ.

• Content to display: Scenario at the beginning of the lesson

• Video: “What is Doctrinal Mastery?” (3:56)

Seeking Personal Revelation for My Questions

Lesson purpose: To help students understand how they can receive guidance and revelation from Heavenly Father through the Holy Ghost.

• Student preparation: Invite students to read “Recognizing the Promptings of the Holy Ghost” from the “Revelation” section of Topics and Questions in Gospel Library. As students read, they could think about questions they have about receiving revelation from Heavenly Father. They could bring their questions to class. As an alternative to using Topics and Questions, students could read Joseph Smith—History 1:10–13 and look for what Joseph Smith did to seek and prepare to receive revelation.

• Content to display: Personal questions for students to ponder toward the beginning of the lesson, question about smartphones in the middle of the lesson

• Items to display: A smartphone or a picture of a smartphone

• Materials: Images of smartphones from the handout in the lesson

• Video: “Receiving Revelation” (4:17)

Acting in Faith to Find Answers

Lesson purpose: To help students act with faith in Jesus Christ as they seek answers to their gospel questions.

• Student preparation: Invite students to review paragraphs 5–7 of the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document (2023). They could prepare to share why they think our actions are important when seeking answers to questions or concerns about the gospel.

• Images: The woman of Zarephath; Naaman; Enoch

• Video: “Act in Faith: The Stonemason” (4:57)

• Content to display: Instructions for advice students could give in the “Actions that show our faith in Jesus Christ” section of the lesson

Examining Gospel Topics and Questions with an Eternal Perspective

Lesson purpose: To help students examine concepts and questions with an eternal perspective.

• Student preparation: Invite students to create an object lesson or analogy that can illustrate the value of seeing things from a different perspective. They could be given the opportunity to share their ideas at the beginning of class.

• Images: Two items that both appear to be real from a limited perspective; same two items from a different perspective that shows one is real and the other is not

• Materials: Piece of paper for each student

• Video: “Examining Questions with an Eternal Perspective” (2:56)

Turning to Divinely Appointed Sources to Help Find Answers

Lesson purpose: To help students seek truth from sources that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have lovingly provided.

• Student preparation: Invite students to consider which sources they turn to when they have a question about the following: homework, an interest or hobby, historical events, the Savior’s gospel and Church. Invite them to ponder why they turn to the sources they identify.

• Images: A fake image and an accurate image toward the beginning of the lesson; Moses being confronted by Satan

• Video: “In Search of Truth” (3:03)

• Content to display: Question at the end of the “Discern between truth and error” section of the lesson; three false statements in the “Practice” section of the lesson

• Materials: Small piece of paper for each student; a container that students can place their papers in