“June 21–27. Doctrine and Covenants 67–70: ‘Worth … the Riches of the Whole Earth,’” Come, Follow Me—For Sunday School: Doctrine and Covenants 2021 (2020)
“June 21–27. Doctrine and Covenants 67–70,” Come, Follow Me—For Sunday School
June 21–27
Doctrine and Covenants 67–70
“Worth … the Riches of the Whole Earth”
Preparing to teach means more than thinking about what you will say and do as the teacher. It should also include considering what learners can do to teach each other. How will you invite class members to share experiences or insights they have had reading these scriptures?
Record Your Impressions
Invite Sharing
You could write on the board This week the Lord taught me … and invite class members to finish the sentence with something they learned.
Teach the Doctrine
The revelations given through Joseph Smith are true and come from God.
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Understanding the historical background of Doctrine and Covenants 67 could be helpful to a discussion on this section. Perhaps a class member could summarize the circumstances that led to this revelation (see Doctrine and Covenants 67, section heading; Saints, 1:140–43). If we were present in the meeting where publishing the revelations was discussed, what reasons could we give in favor of the idea? What could we say to people who were concerned about imperfections in Joseph Smith’s language? What does section 67 teach us about prophets and revelation? Class members could also share how they have come to know for themselves that these revelations are true.
The inspired words of the Lord’s servants are the Lord’s words.
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To help class members discuss Doctrine and Covenants 68:1–6, you could invite them to read these verses in small groups and share with each other the truths they learn about the teachings of the Lord’s servants. Invite groups to share with each other how they know the principles taught in verse 4 are true. Class members could share experiences when they spoke or taught as “moved upon by the Holy Ghost” (verse 3) and how the Lord was with them and stood by them (see verse 6).
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If you’d like to discuss how these verses apply to the teachings of the Lord’s servants in general conference, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s statement in “Additional Resources” could be helpful. Class members could also share recent conference messages that strengthened their faith in the doctrine found in these verses.
Doctrine and Covenants 68:25–31
Parents have a responsibility to teach their children.
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Are there parents in your class—or future parents? Maybe they would benefit from talking about the Lord’s counsel to parents in section 68. For example, perhaps some parents in the class could pick a principle from verses 25–28 and talk about how they try to teach these things to their children (verses 29–31 also have some important principles). Or class members could talk about how their parents have taught them gospel principles.
Why is the home the best place for children to learn the gospel? What would we say to parents who feel inadequate or overwhelmed by the duty to teach their children?
God has given parents the responsibility of teaching their children.
We are accountable for the revelations the Lord has given us.
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The Lord gave certain brethren stewardship over the revelations to take them to Missouri and oversee their publication. In what sense can we see ourselves as stewards over the revelations? What other teachings from this section about stewardship can apply to us?
Additional Resources
God speaks to us today.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland shared how the principle taught in Doctrine and Covenants 68:4 applies to general conference: “I ask you to reflect in the days ahead not only on the messages you have heard but also on the unique phenomenon that general conference itself is—what we as Latter-day Saints believe such conferences to be and what we invite the world to hear and observe about them. We testify to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people that God not only lives but also that He speaks, that for our time and in our day the counsel you have heard is, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, ‘the will of the Lord, … the word of the Lord, … the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation’ [Doctrine and Covenants 68:4]” (“An Ensign to the Nations,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 111).
Improving Our Teaching
Help learners lift each other. “Each individual in your class is a rich source of testimony, insights, and experiences with living the gospel. Invite them to share with and lift each other” (Teaching in the Savior’s Way, 5).