Learning and Applying the Gospel in the Home

By Elder Paul B. Pieper

First Counselor in the Africa Central Area

Each member of the restored Church of Jesus Christ accepts a commitment expressed initially by our baptism and subsequently by partaking of the sacrament to become a true disciple of Jesus Christ. In response to our commitment, the Lord makes it possible for us to always have His Spirit to be with us and guide us along the covenant path.

One important commitment of discipleship is to continue learning more about Jesus Christ and His gospel and to apply what we learn to our daily lives. In Matthew, Jesus invited his followers to “take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29, emphasis added).

The Lord instructed members of His newly restored Church to “learn of me, and be meek and lowly in heart” (Doctrine and Covenants 32:1, emphasis added) and to “seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118, emphasis added).

In these passages, the Lord invites us to continue studying and learning as an important part of our discipleship.

In many religions, gospel instruction and worship take place only in church buildings or mosques. In the Book of Mormon, Alma and Amulek found a people that believed they could only worship in the synagogue. Amulek taught them that they could and should also worship (pray, study and sing) in their homes and other places. President Russell M. Nelson taught us at general conference in October 2018, “As Latter-day Saints, we have become accustomed to thinking of ‘church’ as something that happens in our meetinghouses, supported by what happens at home. We need an adjustment to this pattern. It is time for a home-centered Church, supported by what takes place inside our branch, ward, and stake buildings.” He further explained that this would “fortify our members and their families.”

At that same general conference, the Church announced the reduction of Sunday meetings from three hours to two and introduced Come Follow Me, a curriculum for family and individual gospel study in the home. The purpose of these changes was explained by Elder Quentin L. Cook: “Our purpose is to balance the Church and the home experiences in a way that will greatly increase faith and spirituality and deepen conversion to Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

As individuals and parents, we have the responsibility to study the gospel at home and to apply what we learn in our family and community life. Our study and learning are home-centered. The Church helps by providing materials to support our study including:

Scriptures
General conference teachings
Come, Follow Me Home and Church Study Guide
Hymns
Videos
Church magazines including the Liahona, For the Strength of Youth and The Friend

All of these resources can be found in the Gospel Library.

Families and individuals organize their gospel study based on their own needs and schedules. The number of ways to study is as varied as families. The important elements to include are:

Read passages from the scriptures;
Share and discuss what you learn and feel based on your reading;
Talk about how you can apply what you have learned to your life that day.

Regular gospel discussions provide our families with a foundation of true principles to guide our daily decisions and activities. They help our children learn and apply gospel truths in their lives.

When Sister Pieper and I were raising our family, we wanted to teach them good nutrition. We planned nutritionally balanced meals and encouraged our children to try eating each food served. As an incentive, we created a rule that only those who took at least one bite of each food served would be able to have sweets that day. One evening at dinner, our son Chris said that he did not want to eat his peas. We encouraged him to try at least one bite and reminded him of the rule that if he did, he would be able to have ice cream for dessert. Chris said that he wanted ice cream. We reminded him that if he wanted ice cream, he would first have to take a bite of his peas. He continued to insist that he wanted ice cream but refused to eat his peas. As a result, he watched while his brothers and sisters ate ice cream for dessert, complained the rule wasn’t fair.

The next day in family scripture study we were reading Alma’s teachings to his son Corianton about laws and punishments. We read that there are always consequences when laws are broken. Suddenly, Chris blurted out, “that’s peas and ice cream.” We had a good discussion of how we have agency to choose what we will do but we cannot choose the consequences of our actions. This helped us all learn important principles and apply them in our lives.

These home-centered learning experiences are supported by Come Follow Me lessons at Church on Sunday in Primary and Sunday School. At Church, teachers should provide opportunities for children, youth and adults to share what they have been learning during their study of the gospel at home with other members of the class. This permits members to share the things they are learning and provides strength and encouragement to all members. The purpose of our classes is not to get through a lesson, but to share and learn together.

This home-centered, Church-supported approach to gospel study and learning is the pattern of worship that the Lord has established in these latter days to help each individual and family receive the spiritual strength to endure the trials we face each day. As we make this new pattern part of our lives, God’s prophet has promised that “Sabbath days will truly be a delight. [Our] children will be excited to learn and to live the Savior’s teachings, and the influence of the adversary in [our] life and in [our] home will decrease. Changes in your family will be dramatic and sustaining.”

I testify that these promises are true and invite us all to focus on improving gospel study and learning in our homes during 2025.