Lesson 4 Teacher Material

Introduction to Prophetic Sources: The Divine Gift of Grace

When seeking answers for our gospel questions, it is important to focus on and give priority to the word of God. The scriptures and teachings of modern apostles and prophets are primary sources to find His divine word. In this lesson, students will practice using the Guide to the Scriptures and general conference talks to discover what the scriptures and the Lord’s modern apostles and prophets have taught on the topic of grace. They will also be introduced to the following learning model that will be used throughout this course: (1) discuss the topic’s relevance, (2) deepen understanding, (3) articulate, and (4) reflect and record.

Suggestions for Teaching

Based on students’ needs, you could begin class with one of the following:

1. A microtraining from appendix A

2. A “What’s New?” discussion about news reports from the Church’s Newsroom (see handout 1 in appendix B)

3. A discussion about today’s topic

A Pattern for Learning. All of the remaining lessons in this course follow the same pattern: (1) discuss the topic’s relevance, (2) deepen understanding, (3) articulate, and (4) reflect and record. It may be helpful to display this pattern each week for students. As teachers and students follow this pattern, they will be better able to have edifying discussions and will deepen their learning. Lessons 4–6 have preselected topics, while lessons 7–14 provide a generic outline so teachers and students may select topics they want to discuss.

Discuss the Topic’s Relevance

Consider sharing a scenario like the following:

Imagine you are talking about religion with a close friend not of our faith. During the conversation the topic of grace comes up. At one point your friend says, “I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and am saved by His grace. I heard that members of your church don’t believe they need Christ’s grace to be saved. Instead, you believe that you can earn your salvation through good works. Is that true? What does your church teach about grace?”

Invite some students to share their initial thoughts about this scenario. You could then ask:

• Where could you go to find the Lord’s teachings on grace?

• Why might it be important to first learn what the scriptures and modern apostles and prophets say about grace, even though we can find teachings by many other people about it? (You could have students read 1 Nephi 15:23–24 and Doctrine and Covenants 1:37–38.)

Explain that Gospel Library contains many valuable resources to enhance study and learning. However, since those the Lord calls as prophets and apostles, both ancient and modern, have a special calling and gift to “declare the mind and will of God to his people,” their words should receive priority over all other sources (D. Todd Christofferson, “The Doctrine of Christ,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2012, 87). In this lesson we will use the Guide to the Scriptures and general conference talks as an important means to discover what the Lord has revealed through His prophets and apostles.

Search Gospel Library. Depending on the skill level of your students, you could take some time to show your students how to use the search feature in Gospel Library. Remember, on the app the search feature will search only content that has been downloaded.

Deepen Understanding

Invite students to work in small groups. Have some group members search “Grace” in the Guide to the Scriptures and the others search “Grace” using the General Conference Topics tool. As students search their respective resources, encourage them to look for answers to the question “What does your church teach about grace?”

After allowing time for study, invite group members to share with each other scriptures and statements from general conference that can help answer the above question.

You could then ask the class the following questions:

• What did you learn that helped you better understand grace?

• How did your study of grace influence your faith in and testimony of Jesus Christ?

Articulate

Select one of the following activities for your students to do, or create one of your own, so that students can practice articulating what they have learned about the Lord’s teachings about grace. You could give the instructions for either of the first two activities to students as handouts.

Responding to someone who disagrees. Working with a partner, imagine you meet someone who says, “I don’t hear members of your church talk about grace. Don’t you believe in it?” Based on what you have learned, share an answer that reflects the Savior’s teachings on this topic. You could also discuss different ways our beliefs about grace might be misunderstood and how to best address those misunderstandings.

Sharing a two-minute overview. In small groups, discuss the different ways members of the Church might misunderstand the doctrine of grace. For example, what misunderstanding of grace might be implied by the following statements: “I’m just not good enough.” “I will never be celestial material.” Then imagine you have been asked to give a brief overview of the Church’s teachings about grace in your ward or branch council. Drawing on what you have learned today, have each group member prepare a two-minute overview that captures what the Lord has taught about His grace. Then choose different people in the group to present. After each presentation, the other group members could ask the presenter one or two questions. Allow all group members to share their own version of the two-minute overview as time permits.

Asking and answering questions. Invite students to write on a slip of paper a question someone not of our faith might have about grace. Collect students’ questions, and put them in a container. Randomly select a question, and invite a student to share a response that is consistent with Church teachings. Discuss the strength of the response and how it could be improved, and then draw another question for a different student to answer. Repeat as time permits.

Reflect and Record

Provide students time to ponder what they have learned and felt from this lesson. To prompt students, you could display some of the following questions or some of your own. You could then invite students to focus on the question or questions that are most relevant to them and record their thoughts:

• What did you learn today that has helped you to better understand the Church’s teachings on grace? What impressions did you receive from the Holy Ghost?

• Who might you share this increased understanding with? When and how could you share with them in a Christlike way what you have learned and felt?

• In what ways did today’s class experience help to strengthen your faith in Jesus Christ and His restored Church? What more can you do to increase your understanding and faith related to this topic?

• How has this experience increased your confidence that we are led by living prophets who receive revelation from the Lord?

As appropriate, invite a few students to share what they learned from their experience today. Consider testifying of what you have felt or learned today. You might also testify of the Lord’s grace that will attend students in their continued search for gospel answers to their questions.

For Next Time

Share with students that in the next class we will be discussing important resources on combating pornography that are available in the Life Help section of Gospel Library. Invite students to take some time during the week to explore this resource.