“March 22–28. Doctrine and Covenants 29: ‘Jesus Christ Will Gather His People,’” Come, Follow Me—For Sunday School: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 (2020)
“March 22–28. Doctrine and Covenants 29,” Come, Follow Me—For Sunday School
Every Knee Shall Bow, by J. Kirk Richards
March 22–28
Doctrine and Covenants 29
Jesus Christ Will Gather His People
The most important way to prepare to teach Doctrine and Covenants 29 is to study it prayerfully and seek the guidance of the Spirit. Consider other ways to invite the Spirit into your life, such as fasting, attending the temple, or serving others.
Record Your Impressions
Invite Sharing
In Doctrine and Covenants 29:5, the Lord told the Saints, “Lift up your hearts and be glad.” You could invite class members to share something that they learned in their personal or family study that causes them to “lift up [their] hearts and be glad.”
Teach the Doctrine
Heavenly Father prepared a plan for our exaltation.
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One way to encourage learning at home is to build on activities found in the current week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families. For example, you could list on the board parts of the plan of salvation, such as premortal life, Creation, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and so on. Class members could share what they learn from Doctrine and Covenants 29 about these parts of the plan. You might even have them share what they would teach from this section to someone who doesn’t know about God’s plan.
Doctrine and Covenants 29:1–8, 14–21
Jesus Christ will gather His people before His Second Coming.
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To help class members understand why Jesus Christ gathers His people, you could invite them to read verses 1–8 and discuss questions about the gathering, such as: How have we experienced Christ gathering and protecting us, like a hen gathers and protects her chickens? How do we gather to the Savior? (see, for example, verse 2). Class members could share how they have been blessed by gathering and worshipping with other members of the Church.
Imagehen and chicksHow Many Times, by Liz Lemon Swindle
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To help class members think about their responsibility to help Heavenly Father gather His children, you could share President Russell M. Nelson’s words in “Additional Resources.” Or you could show the video “A Witness of God” (ChurchofJesusChrist.org). What do we learn about the gathering from these messages? How do these messages reinforce what the Lord says in Doctrine and Covenants 29:1–8?
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Some of the latter-day events described in Doctrine and Covenants 29:14–21 may be distressing to class members. Let them share how they feel. Why does the Lord warn us about these events? What reassuring truths do we learn about the Savior and the gathering from verses 1–8? How does gathering help us look forward to these events with faith instead of fear? As part of your discussion, you could sing a hymn about gathering, such as “Israel, Israel, God Is Calling” (Hymns, no. 7), and discuss what the hymn teaches about the gathering of Israel.
Doctrine and Covenants 29:34–35
Every commandment of the Lord is spiritual.
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Even though some commandments may seem temporal, all commandments are spiritual to the Lord. To understand this truth, class members could read together verses 34–35 and list some commandments on the board, along with the spiritual principles and blessings related to each. They could share examples from their lives or from the scriptures that have helped them see the spiritual nature of God’s commandments. How does this activity affect the way we see commandments?
Additional Resources
Participating in the gathering of Israel.
President Russell M. Nelson taught:
“These surely are the latter days, and the Lord is hastening His work to gather Israel. That gathering is the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty. And if you choose to, if you want to, you can be a big part of it. You can be a big part of something big, something grand, something majestic!
“When we speak of the gathering, we are simply saying this fundamental truth: every one of our Heavenly Father’s children, on both sides of the veil, deserves to hear the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. They decide for themselves if they want to know more. …
“Our Heavenly Father has reserved many of His most noble spirits—perhaps, I might say, His finest team—for this final phase. Those noble spirits—those finest players, those heroes—are you!” (“Hope of Israel” [worldwide devotional for youth, June 3, 2018], ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
Improving Our Teaching
Teach clearly and simply. Rather than trying to entertain your class, teach doctrine clearly and simply. You can trust that “the virtue of the word of God” will have a “more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than … anything else” (Alma 31:5).