Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual

Contents
Title Page
Introduction to the Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual
Doctrine and Covenants Lessons
- The Restoration Proclamation
- Doctrine and Covenants 1
- Joseph Smith—History 1:1–26
- Doctrine and Covenants 2; Joseph Smith—History 1:27–65
- Doctrine and Covenants 3–5
- Doctrine and Covenants 6–9
- Doctrine and Covenants 10–11
- Doctrine and Covenants 12–17; Joseph Smith—History 1:66–75
- Doctrine and Covenants 18
- Doctrine and Covenants 19
- Doctrine and Covenants 20–22
- Doctrine and Covenants 23–26
- Doctrine and Covenants 27–28
- Doctrine and Covenants 29
- Doctrine and Covenants 30–36
- Doctrine and Covenants 37–40
- Doctrine and Covenants 41–44
- Doctrine and Covenants 45
- Doctrine and Covenants 46–48
- Doctrine and Covenants 49–50
- Doctrine and Covenants 51–57
- Doctrine and Covenants 58–59
- Doctrine and Covenants 60–63
- Doctrine and Covenants 64–66
- Doctrine and Covenants 67–70
- Doctrine and Covenants 71–75
- Doctrine and Covenants 76
- Doctrine and Covenants 77–80
- Doctrine and Covenants 81–83
- Doctrine and Covenants 84
- Doctrine and Covenants 85–87
- Doctrine and Covenants 88
- Doctrine and Covenants 89–92
- Doctrine and Covenants 93
- Doctrine and Covenants 94–97
- Doctrine and Covenants 98–101
- Doctrine and Covenants 102–105
- Doctrine and Covenants 106–108
- Doctrine and Covenants 109–110
- Doctrine and Covenants 111–114
- Doctrine and Covenants 115–120
- Doctrine and Covenants 121–123
- Doctrine and Covenants 124
- Doctrine and Covenants 125–128
- Doctrine and Covenants 129–132
- Doctrine and Covenants 133–134
- Doctrine and Covenants 135–136
- Doctrine and Covenants 137–138
- The Articles of Faith and Official Declarations 1 and 2
- The Family: A Proclamation to the World
- The Living Christ
Life Preparation Lessons
- Doctrinal Mastery: Finding Answers to My Questions
- Scripture Study Skills
- For the Strength of Youth: Making Choices
- Building Self-Reliance
- Physical and Emotional Health
- Preparing for Future Education and Employment
- Succeeding in School
- Missionary Preparation
- Temple Preparation
- Teachings of Church Leaders
Appendix

Lesson 163—The Living Christ, Part 2: “We Offer Our Testimony of the Reality of His Matchless Life”

“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”

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youth holding a picture of Jesus

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:

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Elder Neil L. Andersen

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.)

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?

Additional Resources

Who does Jesus Christ invite to testify of Him?

Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared:

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Elder Gary E. Stevenson

Imagine with me, for a moment, standing on a mountain in Galilee, witnessing the wonder and glory of the resurrected Savior visiting His disciples. How awe-inspiring to consider personally hearing these words, which He shared with them, His solemn charge to “go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” [Matthew 28:19]. Surely these words would empower, inspire, and move each of us, as they did His Apostles. Indeed, they devoted the rest of their lives to doing just that.

Interestingly, it wasn’t only the Apostles who took Jesus’s words to heart. Members of the early Church, from the newest to the most seasoned, took part in the Savior’s great commission, sharing the good news of the gospel with those they met and knew. The determination to share their testimony of Jesus Christ helped His newly established Church grow expansively.

We too, as Christ’s disciples, are invited to heed His commission today, as if we were there on that mountain in Galilee when He first proclaimed it. (Gary E. Stevenson, “Love, Share, Invite,” Liahona, May 2022, 84–85)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Testifying in different settings

Help students learn how to testify in both formal and informal settings. You might share the following statement by Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

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Elder Gary E. Stevenson

As a member of the Church, you have opportunities to bear your spoken testimony in formal Church meetings or in less formal, one-on-one conversations with family, friends, and others. …

Each time you bear vocal witness or demonstrate through your actions your commitment to follow Jesus Christ, you invite others to “come unto Christ” [Moroni 10:32]. (Gary E. Stevenson, “Nourishing and Bearing Your Testimony,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 112)

Invite students to list different settings in which they might testify of Jesus Christ to others. Students could select meaningful lines from “The Living Christ” and think about the settings they might share this message in.

Strengthened by the testimony of Jesus Christ’s Apostles

Invite students to explain how their testimonies are strengthened by hearing the testimony of Jesus Christ’s Apostles. They could look up videos of Church leaders bearing testimony of Jesus Christ. They could share one of these videos on social media or play it for family members or friends. Encourage students to add their own witness of the Savior. The following videos are examples of Jesus Christ’s Apostles sharing their witness.

“Living Apostles Testify of Jesus Christ” (2:16)

Videos on the “Special Witnesses of Christ” page at ChurchofJesusChrist.org

Telling the stories of Jesus using Bible and Book of Mormon videos

If students are interested in telling stories about Jesus, they could become familiar with the details by studying scripture verses and watching videos. They could use The Life of Jesus Christ Bible Videos (video series) or Book of Mormon Videos depicting 3 Nephi.

Consider inviting students to choose a line from “The Living Christ” and to find a video that illustrates that line. Students could share the video along with their personal testimony of the Savior.

Sharing how to always remember Jesus Christ

An important line in “The Living Christ” testifies that Jesus Christ “instituted the sacrament as a reminder of His great atoning sacrifice.” Students could prepare to help someone remember what Jesus Christ did for us through His Atonement. Invite students to reference Topics and Questions, “Atonement of Jesus Christ,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org. They could use the resources listed at the end of the page to choose what to share with others. One option is to create a small book for Primary children with images and messages to help them quietly focus their minds and hearts on the Savior. Another option is to create something for teenagers that includes scriptures, hymns, images, and testimonies. Help students think of meaningful ways to share their thoughts and feelings about Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice.