Scripture Study Skills: Lesson 167

Finding Gospel Truths in the Scriptures

Learning to Identify Doctrine and Principles

Scripture study can be much more powerful if we are actively looking for gospel truths that bring us closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. This lesson can help students increase their ability to find gospel truths in the scriptures that help them come closer to the Lord.

Student preparation: Invite students to mark or record in their scriptures something that they learn from their personal scripture study. They could then ask a friend or family member to read the same scripture passage, share what they learn from it, and compare insights.

Possible Learning Activities

The scriptures preserve gospel truths

To help students understand the value of finding gospel truths in the scriptures, the following metaphor may offer helpful insights about how scripture stories preserve gospel truths. Consider bringing to class a banana (or a different fruit that has a peel) that people in your culture don’t normally eat. Ask for a volunteer to eat the fruit. After the student peels it and takes the first bite, you might act surprised and ask why he or she didn’t bite the peel. Then ask the following question.

(If fruit isn’t available, you could adjust this section to create a similar discussion by displaying a picture of fruit or drawing one on the board.)

• Why is a banana peel still important even if we don’t eat it?

  You might help students understand that the peel protects, preserves, and keeps clean the part of the fruit that we eat.

  Then invite students to share their insights about the following with the class or a partner.

• If we compare stories in the scriptures to a banana peel, what might the part we eat represent? (In other words, what are the stories protecting, preserving, and keeping pure for us?)

If needed, explain that to learn more from the scriptures, we need to look beyond the stories to discover truths God would have us learn. The stories themselves could be like a peel that holds and preserves gospel truths that then help us come to know and follow Christ.

Share the following statement and invite students to look for why it’s important to search for gospel truths as we study.

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

I know that the doctrine and principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ are the foundational sources of direction for our lives and of enduring joy in mortality and eternity. … I joyfully witness that our living Savior is the fount from which these truths flow. (“The Principles of My Gospel,” Liahona, May 2021, 126)

• How would you summarize what you learn from Elder Bednar?

You might help students identify a truth from Elder Bednar’s statement like this one: Gospel doctrine and principles come from Jesus Christ and are sources of direction and enduring joy.

(Note: Distinctions between doctrine and principles will not be addressed in this lesson. For the purposes of this lesson, both doctrine and principles will be addressed by the more general term “gospel truths.” There are statements in the Additional Resources of this lesson that you could use if you feel it would be helpful for your students to distinguish between doctrine and principles.)

To help students evaluate their ability to find gospel truths in the scriptures, you could invite them to silently ponder the following statements.

Rate on a scale of 1–5 how true the following statements are of you. (1 = rarely true; 5 = almost always true)

• I am confident in my ability to find gospel truths in the scriptures.

• I regularly search for truths in the scriptures that bring me closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Encourage students to seek the Holy Ghost to help them better recognize truths in the scriptures that Heavenly Father has preserved for us.

For the following activities, you may wish to work through the “Define” and “Model” portions of each skill first and then invite students to practice both skills at the same time. You could use either of the scripture ideas listed in the “Practice” portions of the skills.

Skill: Identify clearly stated truths

Define

One type of gospel truth you can discover in your study is a clearly stated truth. Such truths are stated in a simple sentence or phrase in the scriptures.

Model

Show students an example of a clearly stated truth by reading the following scripture or one of your favorite verses that has a clearly stated truth.

Read Proverbs 3:5–6, looking for and marking a clearly stated truth.

• What did you mark?

  Students might identify a truth such as “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart … and He shall direct thy paths.”

• Why is the truth you marked important to you?

Practice

One way for students to practice would be to invite them to open up to the Doctrinal Mastery Scripture Passages and Key Scripture Phrases in the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document (2023). Students could then open several verses looking for clearly stated truths.

After students have had time to complete the activity, they could turn to a partner or small group and share the truth(s) they identified.

Skill: Identify implied truths

Define

Another type of gospel truth you can discover in your study is an implied truth. These truths are implied in larger passages or storylines that require us to ponder what Heavenly Father wants us to learn from them. We can find these truths by asking questions like the following.

You may want to display or list these questions on the board.

• Are there any important ideas, phrases or symbols that teach you something about Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ?

• Are there any cause-and-effect (if/then) relationships in this story?

• Why do you think the writer was inspired by God to include these events or passages?

Model

Consider inviting a volunteer to read Numbers 21:5–9 aloud to the class. It is the account of God teaching and healing the Israelites who had been bitten by poisonous serpents. As they listen, encourage students to look for implied truths in the account by asking themselves the questions listed above.

After reading, ask volunteers to share any implied truths they found. You might encourage students to write a truth next to these verses in their scriptures.

Possible implied truths from this account include:

• Speaking against God and His prophets will eventually lead to sorrow.

• The prophet points us to Jesus Christ.

• God is merciful and makes a way for us to be healed.

You might point out that Jesus Christ used this account to teach that those who believe and follow Him will have eternal life (John 3:14–16).

Practice

To begin this activity, consider drawing a partially peeled banana on the board.

Consider displaying the following instructions and scripture references and inviting students to complete the activity individually or with a partner. As they study, invite students to come to the board each time they identify a truth and write it on the board near the banana.

Choose one of the scripture accounts below to study, or another account of your choosing.

1. As you read, mark any truths that are already clearly stated in the scriptures.

2. When you are done reading, record in your own words at least one implied truth that you learned from the account.

3. Ponder why the truths you found are important to you and how you feel Heavenly Father would have you use them.

1 Samuel 17:44–49 (David facing the giant, Goliath)

2 Kings 6:14–18 (a Syrian army surrounding the city to capture Elisha)

Judges 6:11–16 (Gideon’s call to save his people from an invading army)

When students are finished, invite them to point out truths that are meaningful to them that other students wrote on the board. Students could share why the truth is important to them and how they could apply that truth in their lives. You could also ask if anyone has had an experience that helped them know that something on the board is true.

Conclusion

Consider reminding students of the personal scripture study goal they have made for this semester. If they have not yet set a goal, encourage them to do so.

Invite students to have their goal in mind while they answer the following questions in their study journals. Invite them to be open to adjusting their goal if they feel impressed to do so.

• What skills stood out to you that could help you in your personal or family scripture study?

• How could finding and pondering gospel truths in your scripture study help you draw closer to the Savior?

Consider inviting one or more students each day for the next several lessons to share one truth they found in their personal or family scripture study. Look for other opportunities in future lessons for students to continue practicing this important skill.

Additional Resources

How can studying the scriptures help us receive revelation from Heavenly Father?

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained:

Because they expound the doctrine of Christ, the scriptures are accompanied by the Holy Spirit, whose role it is to bear witness of the Father and the Son (see 3 Nephi 11:32). Therefore, being in the scriptures is one way we receive the Holy Ghost. Of course, scripture is given through the Holy Ghost in the first place (see 2 Peter 1:21; D&C 20:26–27; 68:4), and that same Spirit can attest its truth to you and me. Study the scriptures carefully, deliberately. Ponder and pray over them. Scriptures are revelation, and they will bring added revelation. (“The Blessing of Scripture,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 35)

What is a gospel principle?

Elder Richard G. Scott (1928–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained:

Principles are concentrated truth, packaged for application to a wide variety of circumstances. A true principle makes decisions clear even under the most confusing and compelling circumstances. (“Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge,” Ensign, Nov. 1993, 86)

What is doctrine?

Teaching in the Savior’s Way states that:

Doctrine is eternal truth—found in the scriptures and the words of latter-day prophets—that shows us the way to become like our Father in Heaven and return to Him. (Teaching in the Savior’s Way [2022], 20)

How can I make my scripture study more effective?

President Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

Ponder [and] examine every word, every scriptural gem. … Hold it up to the light, and turn it, look and see what’s reflected and refracted there. … Such an examination may unearth a treasure hidden in a field: a pearl of great price; a pearl beyond price. (“Students Need Teachers to Guide Them” [address given at the Church Educational System satellite broadcast, June 20, 1992], 4)

President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018) encouraged:

Become acquainted with the lessons the scriptures teach. … Study them as though they were speaking to you, for such is the truth. (“Be Your Best Self,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2009, 68)

President Mark L. Pace, Sunday School General President, said:

To be most effective, your experiences with the scriptures must be your own. Reading or hearing about another person’s experiences and insights can be helpful, but that won’t bring the same converting power. There is no substitute for the time you spend in the scriptures, hearing the Holy Ghost speak directly to you. (“Conversion Is Our Goal,” Liahona, May 2022, 111)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Finding less-obvious truths in the scriptures

To help students understand that looking more deeply into a scripture story can help them discover less-obvious truths, you could display a picture of the Savior like the following. Ask students to quickly write down the first thing they learn about Jesus Christ from the picture. Then give them one or two additional minutes to think more deeply about the picture and write down any additional insights they learn from it.

Invite several students to share the original truth they learned about Christ. Then have them share additional truths they found and what they saw in the picture or remembered from the account that helped them notice these truths.

Help students make the connection that, like the picture, some truths in the scriptures are easy to see, while others take more time, thought, and effort to find.

Youth experiences with identifying truths in the scriptures

It may be helpful during the “Model” sections of the lesson for students to hear experiences of youth identifying truths in the scriptures. You could show the video “Identifying Doctrines and Principles: Students’ Testimonies” (2:39). After the video, you might ask students to share experiences when they found a truth in the scriptures that blessed their lives.

Alternate way to begin the lesson

Show the video “Flecks of Gold” from time code 0:00 to 2:26. It is about a man searching for gold who learned the value of accumulating small flecks of gold over time rather than searching only for rare, large nuggets. Invite students to think about how this story could relate to their scripture study.