“Look for symbols that testify of Jesus Christ,” Teacher Development Skills: Focus on Jesus Christ (2023)
“Look for symbols that testify of Jesus Christ,” Teacher Development Skills: Focus on Jesus Christ
Focus on Jesus Christ: Teach about Jesus Christ No Matter What You Are Teaching
Look for symbols that testify of Jesus Christ.
Skill
Ask questions that help students learn about Jesus Christ through symbols in the scriptures.
Define
In Teaching in the Savior’s Way, it says: “‘All things,’ the Lord declared, ‘are created and made to bear record of me’ (Moses 6:63; see also 2 Nephi 11:4). With that truth in mind, we can [help students] learn to see a multitude of symbols in the scriptures that testify of the Savior. … You can even find parallels to the Savior’s life in the lives of prophets and other faithful men and women in the scriptures. Looking for symbols reveals truths about the Savior in places you might otherwise overlook” (page 7). We can help students learn to see Jesus Christ by asking questions that help them consider how people, places, events, or items in the scriptures teach, testify, relate to, or remind us of Him. These questions can be asked before or after you invite students to read. Examples of these types of questions might include the following.
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What characteristics of Jesus Christ do you see in ?
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How might the items in these verses relate to Jesus Christ?
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How does this account testify of Jesus Christ?
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What symbols of Jesus Christ can you see in this story?
The models and practices below are general examples. Training will be more effective if models and practice opportunities are connected to the next lessons that will be covered in the curriculum.
Model
As the teacher leads the class through John 10, he or she asks the following questions:
Practice 1
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What questions could you ask in Acts 3:1–7 that help students see Jesus Christ in this account?
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As you look at upcoming scripture blocks in the curriculum for the next two weeks, what questions can you ask that will help your students see Jesus Christ?
Discuss or Ponder
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What value do you see in inviting others to learn to see Jesus Christ in all things?
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How has seeing the Savior in the scriptures impacted your life?
Incorporate
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In each lesson moving forward, consider the symbols of the Savior found in the scriptures and ask questions to help students discover them.
Want more?
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Chad H Webb, “We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice in Christ” (Seminaries and Institutes of Religion annual training broadcast, June 12, 2018), broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Skill
Help students have a sensory experience with scriptural objects that symbolize Jesus Christ.
Define
Prophets and apostles often use symbols to teach about Jesus Christ and His Atonement. The Savior Himself incorporated symbols in His teaching and declared, “All things are created and made to bear record of me” (Moses 6:63). One way teachers can help students better understand the Savior’s mission and Atonement through scriptural symbols is by allowing students to have a sensory experience with objects. A sensory experience is when students are invited to touch, smell, hear, see, or taste a symbolic object before, during, or after reading a scripture block. This can deepen students’ understanding of the symbol and what it can teach about the Savior. Teachers can help students have a sensory experience by:
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Presenting the object from the scripture block you want students to have an experience with.
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Stating what students will do with the object.
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Asking a question that will help students connect the symbol to the Savior.
The models and practices below are general examples. Training will be more effective if models and practice opportunities are connected to the next lessons that will be covered in the curriculum.
Model
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Sister Jones is teaching Helaman 5:12. She brings a medium rock for students to pass around. While they experience the rock, she tells the students, “As you hold the rock, ponder why you think Helaman chose a rock to compare to the Savior and the foundation on which we should build.”
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Brother Gonzalez gives each student a small cup of water and invites students to study John 4:10–14 while they consider the water. He asks the students, “What do you know about water that might cause the Savior to use the idea of ‘living water’ to teach about His role in Heavenly Father’s plan?”
Click here to see a video of this model.
Practice
For the following scripture blocks and items, write down how you will present the object, what you will have students do with the object, and a question that will help students connect the object to the Savior:
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Isaiah 11:1: rod, stem, and branch
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Doctrine and Covenants 25:12: song of the righteous
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John 6:30–35: bread
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Something from an upcoming lesson
Discuss or Ponder
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What are you learning through your practice?
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How does giving students a sensory experience with a symbolic object differ from just talking about the symbol?
Incorporate
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As you prepare lessons, look for opportunities to help students have a sensory experience with an object that symbolizes Jesus Christ from the scripture block.
Want More?
“Understanding Symbolism in the Scriptures,” Scripture Study Skills (2024), Gospel Library