Doctrinal Mastery Review 6

Understand and Explain

One of the purposes of doctrinal mastery is to help you understand Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s teachings contained in the doctrinal mastery passages and be able to explain them in your own words. This lesson can help deepen your understanding of and explain truths from one or more of the doctrinal mastery passages from the Book of Mormon.

Expressing love and high expectations. When teachers truly love their students, they will care too much about their progress and success to be satisfied with only a little effort on the students’ part. Lovingly encourage your students to reach their potential as learners and disciples of Jesus Christ.

Student preparation: Invite students to review the passages from the chart in this lesson and select one that they would like to better understand. Ask them to read the passage they selected and try to understand it better. This might include searching for other supporting scriptures, writing their thoughts about it in their journal, or asking someone else what they understand from the passage. Invite them to come prepared to share what they did and what they learned.

Possible Learning Activity

You may need to teach a doctrinal mastery passage lesson in place of this lesson. Refer to the pacing schedule provided by your area or region director or coordinator to ensure that each doctrinal mastery passage lesson will be taught when seminary is in session.

Strategy

Display the following images or some like them. Place students in partnerships or small groups and invite them to discuss their favorite sports or games and why they enjoy them. They could then discuss the following questions with one another.

• What strategies are helpful in winning your favorite sport or games? Why?

• Why is it important to have a strategy or plan in a game?

To see an example of two young men using strategies to succeed in their sports and in their relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, watch “Staying Spiritually Fit” (3:31), available on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

• In addition to reading the scriptures, how could it help you to have strategies for better understanding God’s words in the scriptures?

• What strategies have you used that have helped you understand the scriptures?

There are many strategies to help you understand the scriptures more deeply. In this lesson you will have an opportunity to try a strategy to better understand one or more Book of Mormon doctrinal mastery passages.

Below is a list of the doctrinal mastery passages from the first half of the Book of Mormon. Select one or more that you would like to more deeply understand.

Display the following chart so students can refer to it throughout the lesson. Invite willing students to share what they learned as they did the activity to prepare for class.

First 12 Doctrinal Mastery Passages and Key Phrases

Book of Mormon Teacher Manual (2024)

Scripture Reference	Key Scripture Phrase
Scripture Reference 1 Nephi 3:7	Key Scripture Phrase “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded.”
Scripture Reference 2 Nephi 2:25	Key Scripture Phrase “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”
Scripture Reference 2 Nephi 2:27	Key Scripture Phrase “They are free to choose liberty and eternal life … or … captivity and death.”
Scripture Reference 2 Nephi 26:33	Key Scripture Phrase “All are alike unto God.”
Scripture Reference 2 Nephi 28:30	Key Scripture Phrase God “will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept.”
Scripture Reference 2 Nephi 32:3	Key Scripture Phrase “Feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.”
Scripture Reference 2 Nephi 32:8–9	Key Scripture Phrase “Ye must pray always.”
Scripture Reference Mosiah 2:17	Key Scripture Phrase “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”
Scripture Reference Mosiah 2:41	Key Scripture Phrase “Those that keep the commandments of God … are blessed in all things.”
Scripture Reference Mosiah 3:19	Key Scripture Phrase “[Put] off the natural man and [become] a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord.”
Scripture Reference Mosiah 4:9	Key Scripture Phrase “Believe in God; … believe that he has all wisdom.”
Scripture Reference Mosiah 18:8–10	Key Scripture Phrase Be “baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness … that ye have entered into a covenant with him.”

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Deepen your understanding

Read the passage or passages you chose.

• What from these passages would you like to better understand? What strategies could you use to do so?

Use the following strategy, or another you know, to deepen your understanding of the passage or passages you selected. You will have an opportunity to explain what you learned later in the lesson.

If students already have a strategy that they would like to use for this activity, invite them to use it. Otherwise, give them the following instructions as one strategy they could use to better understand the passages they chose.

The For the Strength of Youth magazine often includes a scripture-study activity called “Line upon Line,” which explains or defines a handful of key words or phrases from a scripture passage. To see an example of a “Line upon Line” activity, see “Fear Not,” For the Strength of Youth, Feb. 2021, 32 or “Lay the Foundation,” For the Strength of Youth, Jan. 2021, 19.

Create your own “Line upon Line” for one of the doctrinal mastery passages listed above. If you enjoy art, consider adding drawings or colors to your “Line upon Line” page. Use the following instructions to help you create it:

Help and encourage students as needed or as prompted by the Holy Ghost. Consider asking questions about students’ work to help you better understand them.

1. At the top of the page, write all the words of the scripture passage you chose.

2. Choose at least five words or phrases from that scripture passage and list them down the left side of the page. Leave enough room to make notes next to each word or phrase.

3. Find and list definitions, explanations, examples, related scriptures, or statements from Church leaders that could help to deepen your understanding of these key words or phrases from the scripture passage. List them next to the word they are associated with. You could use tools such as the Guide to the Scriptures, Topical Guide, conference talks, or Church magazines.

4. Somewhere on your document, add a paragraph about what you learned or want to remember from this passage. Include what it teaches you about the Savior, His Church, or His mission to save us.

If desired, repeat this activity with another doctrinal mastery passage from the list.

Consider placing students in groups of three or four, with each individual having a different passage so every student can learn about multiple passages. Invite each student to share his or her “Line upon Line” page with his or her group and to explain what he or she learned about the passage. You could also invite volunteers to share their pages with the class. Consider inviting students to hang their pages around the room, or make copies or take pictures of their pages to display.