“Lesson 163—The Living Christ, Part 2: ‘We Offer Our Testimony of the Reality of His Matchless Life,’” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual (2025)
“The Living Christ, Part 2,” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual
Lesson 163: The Living Christ
The Living Christ, Part 2
“We Offer Our Testimony of the Reality of His Matchless Life”
Just like the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles bear testimony of the living Christ, we too can declare that Jesus Christ lives! This lesson can help students share their thoughts and feelings about Jesus Christ with others.
Possible Learning Activities
Reasons to share
To help students prepare to learn, you could bring something you love and want to share with your class. This could be a picture, an experience, or a favorite food. Invite students to think of things they recently shared or wanted to share with someone else.
-
What did you want to share?
-
Why did you want to share it?
On the board make a list of reasons students wanted to share something.
-
Which reasons on the list can apply to sharing an experience or testimony of Jesus Christ with others?
-
What could you add to your list as specific reasons to testify of Jesus Christ?
Invite students to think about how they feel about talking more about Jesus Christ with others and why they feel that way.
Preparing to testify of Jesus Christ
Invite a student to read the following statement.
Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
There are many on the earth who know very little of Jesus Christ, and in some parts of the world where His name has been proclaimed for centuries, faith in Jesus Christ is diminishing. … [A] worldwide … study predicts that in the decades ahead, more than twice as many will leave Christianity as will embrace it. …
… If the world is going to speak less of Him, who is going to speak more of Him? We are! (Neil L. Andersen, “We Talk of Christ,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 88–89)
-
What thoughts or feelings do you have about this declaration by Elder Andersen?
The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are examples of sharing about Jesus Christ. One example is the proclamation “The Living Christ.” Take a few minutes to review this document, pondering the benefits we may experience because they shared their testimony of Jesus Christ.
Invite students to share any benefits they think of.
Students’ thoughts and feelings about speaking more of the Savior might vary significantly. Identifying a principle from the scriptures could help them understand how important it is to do this. You could use the following scripture.
Read 2 Nephi 25:26, looking for an additional reason to bear testimony of Jesus Christ.
-
What truths can we learn from Nephi’s reason?
One of the truths students could identify is that as we talk and rejoice about Jesus Christ, others can know that He can save them from their sins.
-
How can knowing what Jesus Christ can do for others influence your desire to bear testimony or share your thoughts and feelings about Him?
Recall the truths you found about the Savior in “The Living Christ” during the previous lesson. You can select the one you focused on in that lesson or select another that you would like to share with others.
These are examples of the many truths students could have identified:
-
Under the direction of the Father, Jesus Christ created the earth.
-
Jesus Christ gave His life to atone for the sins of all mankind.
-
Jesus Christ was resurrected and lives today.
-
Jesus Christ is the light, the life, and the hope of the world.
-
Jesus Christ’s way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come.
The following activities can take the remainder of class time and can help prepare students to share. Choose one activity you feel would be helpful for your students, or provide each activity as options for students to select. To help students select the most applicable activity, they could think about who they want to share their testimony with.
Activity A: Memorize
One way to prepare to share about Jesus Christ is to memorize a portion of “The Living Christ.”
Take several minutes to memorize a portion that teaches the truth you selected. You might write it down, repeat it several times, or record yourself reading it and listen to it several times. (You could also memorize scripture excerpts you found in the previous lesson that testify of the same truth.)
To help inspire students to memorize part of “The Living Christ,” you could show “Memorize the Living Christ: Goal Setting Ideas” (2:05).
Then write down when and how you might share with someone else what you memorized. Include why the phrases you chose are meaningful to you and how you hope they would help others turn to Jesus Christ.
Activity B: Make a poster, meme, or digital image
One way to help you share your thoughts and feelings about Jesus Christ is to make a poster, meme, or digital image.
Consider choosing different images that capture the meaning of the truth you chose. For example, you might choose to share the truth and importance of Jesus Christ’s baptism. This is illustrated in the following phrase from “The Living Christ”: “Though sinless, He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness.” You might want to include this line in your project along with a favorite image portraying the Savior’s baptism. You could also include lines from scripture that deepen your understanding.
Then add your explanation of why this knowledge is important to you.
If students would like to make this on their phones, those who know how to use the Church’s media library could teach others how to find images. If students would like to make their projects on paper, you could bring Church magazines and allow students to cut out images or words.
Activity C: Prepare a talk
One way to tell others about Jesus Christ is to give a talk.
Imagine that you have agreed to speak on Sunday in your ward or branch. You could share what you are learning about Jesus Christ and why it matters to you. Write at least a few paragraphs you could use in your talk. Be sure to include statements from “The Living Christ,” scripture passages, and why these are meaningful to you.
Time to share
Give students time to share what they prepared. Encourage various students to participate. Consider pausing occasionally to ask what students like or think is meaningful about what their classmates share. Emphasize that these insights are blessings of speaking and testifying of the Savior.
Encourage students to look for ways to share these things outside of class. If applicable, you might share blessings you have received from talking to others about Jesus Christ. Or you could share what others have testified to you. Consider ending class by asking students the following question:
-
How might your relationship with Jesus Christ improve as you share your thoughts and feelings about Him with others?