Doctrinal Mastery Review 9

Understanding and Explaining Truths

Doctrinal mastery passages contain important truths about Jesus Christ and His gospel. This lesson can help you understand the doctrine taught in the doctrinal mastery passages and explain them to others.

Help learners develop the ability to discuss gospel beliefs with others. Explaining doctrine and principles, sharing insights and relevant experiences, and testifying of divine truth clarifies students’ understanding of gospel doctrine and principles and improves students’ ability to teach the gospel to others. Provide frequent opportunities for students to explain what they are learning.

Student preparation: Invite students to come prepared to share about a time when their lives were blessed through someone explaining the scriptures to them or when they were able to bless the life of someone else by using or explaining the scriptures.

Possible Learning Activities

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

Explaining truths from the scriptures

Display the following question for students and invite them to write their responses on the board.

• What are some circumstances when your ability to understand and explain the scriptures could make or has made a difference in someone’s life?

Elder Arnulfo Valenzuela of the Seventy shared an experience when he was able to bless others by clearly teaching the scriptures. Watch the video “Deepening Our Conversion to Jesus Christ” from time code 6:34 to 7:31, available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, or read the statement below.

Deepening Our Conversion to Jesus Christ

Elder Valenzuela teaches that we can deepen our conversion as we study the scriptures and learn more about Jesus Christ.

While serving a mission as a young man, I observed that by our teaching with the scriptures, the lives of many people were transformed. I became aware of the power in them and how they can change our lives. Each person to whom we taught the restored gospel was a unique individual with different needs. The holy scriptures—yes, the prophecies written by the holy prophets—brought them to a faith in the Lord and to repentance and changed their hearts.

The scriptures filled them with joy as they received inspiration, direction, consolation, strength, and answers to their needs. Many of them decided to make changes in their lives and began to keep God’s commandments. (Arnulfo Valenzuela, “Deepening Our Conversion to Jesus Christ,” Liahona, Nov. 2021, 60)

• Why do you think the scriptures had such a profound effect on the people Elder Valenzuela taught?

  Students may need some time to reflect on the following questions. It may be helpful to ask the questions and invite students to think about their answers as you share your own response.

• When has your life been blessed through someone explaining the scriptures to you?

• When have you been able to bless others through explaining the scriptures to them?

Ponder how you could further develop your abilities to understand and explain the scriptures. Think of how doing so can help you become more like the Savior, who often used the scriptures to teach others (see Luke 24:27; John 10:34–36).

Book of Mormon doctrinal mastery

The first 12 Book of Mormon doctrinal mastery passages are listed below. Consider marking these passages and their key scripture phrase if you have not yet done so.

Display the following chart so students can refer to it throughout the lesson.

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.”

© 2023 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

Consider how using the following pattern could help you better understand and explain truths from the scriptures.

Display or otherwise provide students with the following three-step pattern.

• Step 1: Understand the context of the scripture and determine how to explain it in your own words. The context might include where the events are taking place and who is speaking to whom and why. Reading the chapter heading and a few surrounding verses can help in this effort.

• Step 2: Understand the truths found in the scripture enough to be able to explain them. To help you, consider asking yourself questions such as the following: What are the main messages the author is trying to share? What does the passage teach about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ? How can I state the truths in a simple way? What are some situations where someone might benefit from understanding this message?

• Step 3: Think about how the truths you discovered could help the person you are explaining them to. Think about their life circumstances and the problems they are facing. Make connections between the truths and these circumstances and problems.

Practice

Choose one or two doctrinal mastery passages from the chart above that you want to understand better or that you feel would be a blessing to you or someone you know. Use the pattern you just learned to write down how you would explain them to someone else.

After sufficient time to study and prepare, consider inviting students to role-play explaining scriptural truths to one another.

When you have finished, answer the following questions:

• How did using this pattern deepen your understanding? How did it help you as you prepared and explained the passage to others?

• How might the truths you understood and explained help you with your own personal circumstances?

• How can using this pattern to understand and explain the scriptures more consistently help you become more like the Savior?