sheep following Jesus

Going Home, by Yongsung Kim

July 12–18

Doctrine and Covenants 77–80

“I Will Lead You Along”

Remember that the activities in this outline are only suggestions. As you prayerfully study Doctrine and Covenants 77–80, the Spirit will guide you to know how best to teach your class members.

Record Your Impressions

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Invite Sharing

Some members of your class might be more likely to share their insights if you ask them in advance. Consider contacting some of them a few days before class to ask if they would come prepared to share something that impressed them from Doctrine and Covenants 77–80.

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Teach the Doctrine

Doctrine and Covenants 77

God reveals His mysteries to those who seek to know them.

• Class members could share insights they found about the symbols in the book of Revelation during their study of section 77 this week. Talking about the answers Joseph Smith received could lead to a discussion about how class members can seek understanding when they study the scriptures. What do we learn from the types of questions Joseph asked? Class members might be willing to share experiences when their gospel questions led to greater understanding.

Doctrine and Covenants 78:17–19

The Lord will lead us along.

• To begin a discussion of Doctrine and Covenants 78:17–19, you could show pictures of a few of your class members as children (ask them ahead of time to bring these pictures to class). Let the class guess who is in each picture. The class members who brought the pictures could talk about how they have changed since those pictures were taken. Then the class could read Doctrine and Covenants 78:17–19 and ponder questions such as these: How are we like little children to the Lord? In what ways does He want us to be like children (see Mosiah 3:19), and in what ways does He want us to grow? What counsel does He give us in these verses to help us grow?

  To expand your class members’ understanding of how the Lord may “lead [us] along” (verse 18), consider sharing the statement in “Additional Resources.”

Doctrine and Covenants 79–80

The call to serve God matters more than where we serve.

• There may be people in your class who felt disappointed at first with a calling they received in the ward or branch or with the place they were assigned to serve as a missionary. A few of them might be willing to share their experiences. How could the Lord’s counsel in Doctrine and Covenants 80:3 help us in these circumstances? What could the phrase “it mattereth not” mean? Or the phrase “ye cannot go amiss”? What might matter most to the Lord when it comes to our callings? Elder David A. Bednar’s insights on section 80 in his address “Called to the Work” could also be helpful (Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 68).

• The revelations in sections 79 and 80 were originally addressed to people called to preach the gospel, but they contain principles that can apply to all of us in our service to the Lord. To help class members find these principles, you could ask them to pretend they have a friend who recently joined the Church and just received his or her first calling. Invite class members to write their friend a letter of support and counsel, and encourage them to quote from sections 79 and 80 as they do. Then a few class members could share what they wrote.

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  The Lord is pleased when we serve Him and others.

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Additional Resources

The Lord will lead us through the Holy Ghost.

President Henry B. Eyring shared an experience when he prayed for guidance on a critical decision and learned to be led by the Lord:

“I prayed, but for hours there seemed to be no answer. Just before dawn, a feeling came over me. More than at any time since I had been a child, I felt like one. My heart and my mind seemed to grow very quiet. There was a peace in that inner stillness.

“Somewhat to my surprise, I found myself praying, ‘Heavenly Father, it doesn’t matter what I want. I don’t care anymore what I want. I only want that Thy will be done. That is all that I want. Please tell me what to do.’

“In that moment I felt as quiet inside as I had ever felt. And the message came, and I was sure who it was from. It was clear what I was to do. I received no promise of the outcome. There was only the assurance that I was a child who had been told what path led to whatever He wanted for me” (“As a Child,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2006, 16).

Improving Our Teaching

Start with the scriptures. Before turning to supplementary resources, diligently study and ponder the scriptures. This will invite the Spirit to help you draw upon what you have studied as you teach (see Teaching in the Savior’s Way, 12).