The Restoration Proclamation

The Restoration Proclamation

Overview

During His mortal ministry, the Savior established His Church on the earth and called His Apostles to lead it. The Apostles were eventually slain, which led to a period known as the Great Apostasy. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ began the process of restoring the gospel to the earth by appearing to the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1820. The 200th anniversary of the First Vision was commemorated in 2020 in “The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World.” Joseph Smith recorded the revelations he received from the Lord, and many of them are found in the Doctrine and Covenants, which serves as a witness that Jesus Christ speaks in our day.

Encourage a habit of daily scripture study. Few things will have a more powerful and long-lasting influence for good in the lives of students than helping them learn to love the scriptures and study them on a daily basis. One way to do this is to invite students to set a reading goal and make a personal plan to study each day. For more on how the Savior did this, see the section “The Savior Encouraged Others to Come to Know Him by Studying His Word” in Teaching in the Savior’s Way: For All Who Teach in the Home and in the Church (2022). You can also see an example of how to do this in the lesson this week entitled “Introduction to the Doctrine and Covenants.”

Prepare to teach

The following information provides you with ideas of what you may need to prepare in advance for each lesson.

The Great Apostasy

Lesson purpose: This lesson is intended to help students understand the need for a restoration of Jesus Christ’s true Church in the latter days.

• Student preparation: Invite students to find the meaning of apostasy using the Gospel Library app or other resources available to them. Encourage them to come to class prepared to share what they learned.

• Videos: “What Is the Restoration?” (5:13; watch from time code 0:32 to 2:08); “Dispensations: The Pattern of Apostasy and Restoration” (6:52)

“The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World”

Lesson purpose: This lesson is intended to help students feel the truth and importance of the ongoing Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

• Student preparation: Invite students to come prepared to share blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ that are most meaningful to them.

• Item to bring to class: Copies of the bicentennial proclamation on the Restoration for students who may not be able to access it digitally (if they do not have study journals that include it)

• Video: “The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World” (9:24; watch from time codes 0:00 to 2:21)

Introduction to the Doctrine and Covenants

Lesson purpose: This lesson is intended to help students prepare to learn to know the Savior better as they begin their study of the Doctrine and Covenants.

• Student preparation: Consider inviting students to identify some of their favorite passages from the Doctrine and Covenants and prepare to explain why those passages are meaningful to them.