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 202—The Book of Mormon Is a Conversion Tool: Using the Book of Mormon to Prepare to Share the Gospel

“Lesson 202—The Book of Mormon Is a Conversion Tool: Using the Book of Mormon to Prepare to Share the Gospel,” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual (2025)

“The Book of Mormon Is a Conversion Tool,” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual

Lesson 202: Missionary Preparation

The Book of Mormon Is a Conversion Tool

Using the Book of Mormon to Prepare to Share the Gospel

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friends reading the scriptures

The Book of Mormon is a gift God has given us to gather latter-day Israel to Jesus Christ. For students to use this gift to help gather others, it is important that they receive their own witness from God that it is true. This lesson can help students feel the importance of strengthening their testimonies of the Book of Mormon in preparation to share the Savior’s gospel.

Possible Learning Activities

An instrument to gather Israel

Consider listing on the board or displaying a variety of tools familiar to your students. Some examples are a hammer, screwdriver, toothbrush, stapler, and so on. Invite students to talk about the functions of the tools using questions like the following.

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tools

When was the last time you used one of these tools? How did you use it?
How would some of the other tools work to perform the same function?

To help students understand that certain tools are better at performing certain tasks, consider asking a student to perform a task such as stapling some papers together using a screwdriver or a toothbrush.

Help students understand that these tools accomplish specific jobs. Similarly, God has provided tools to accomplish specific parts of His work, one of which is to gather people to Jesus Christ.
What are some tools Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have provided to gather people to Them?

Students could read the following statement to confirm their answers to the previous question or to see additional answers.

Elder Shayne M. Bowen of the Seventy taught:

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Elder Shayne M. Bowen

We are gathering Israel for the last time and are doing so with the Book of Mormon—a book that, combined with the Spirit of the Lord, is the most powerful tool of conversion. (Shayne M. Bowen, “The Role of the Book of Mormon in Conversion,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 83)

Why do you think the Book of Mormon can be such a powerful tool for converting and gathering people to Jesus Christ?

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency taught:

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President Henry B. Eyring

For us to know that the Book of Mormon is true, we must read it and make the choice found in Moroni: pray to know if it is true. When we have done that, we can testify from personal experience to our friends that they can make that choice and know the same truth. (Henry B. Eyring, “A Voice of Warning,” Ensign, Nov. 1998, 34)

What did you learn from President Eyring’s statement and Moroni 10:3–5?

As students share what they learned, they might identify a truth like the following: Gaining our own witness of the Book of Mormon enables us to help others learn its truthfulness.

To help students consider their own experiences with this truth, you could invite them to silently evaluate their responses to the following statements.

Using a scale of one to five, with one being “not true of me” and five being “very true of me,” rate the following statements:

I can explain to a friend what the Book of Mormon is and how it can bring people to Christ.
I am studying the Book of Mormon in a way that is deepening my personal conversion to Jesus Christ.
I have had experiences that allow me to testify to others that the Book of Mormon is true.

Consider inviting students to seek inspiration on how to invite the power of God into their lives and others’ lives through the Book of Mormon.

Valuing God’s gift of the Book of Mormon

In a revelation given to Joseph Smith, the Lord emphasized the importance of the Book of Mormon by sharing how he feels when people treat it too lightly.

Read Doctrine and Covenants 84:54–57, and think about how these verses might apply to members of the Lord’s Church who are preparing to share His gospel.

What did you find that could apply to those who desire to share the Savior’s gospel?
What are some ways we might show how important the Book of Mormon is in our lives?

Personal knowledge and witness of the Book of Mormon

The following scenario, or another one you create, could help students express what they have learned and felt during the lesson. Consider reading the scenario as a class and giving students time to think about what they might share with Annie.

Annie just attended a missionary preparation class. She asked the recently returned missionary teachers for suggestions on preparing to share the gospel. Both teachers counseled her to strengthen her knowledge and testimony of the Book of Mormon. Of all the ways they could have responded, studying the Book of Mormon was not the answer Annie expected.

Invite students to move around the room and tell at least two other students what they might share with Annie.

Consider how to create an opportunity for the Holy Ghost to bear witness of the Book of Mormon to your students. You could invite volunteers to share with the class favorite Book of Mormon passages or their experiences gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon. You might share a passage that has helped you know the Savior better. Give students time to prepare. If many students want to share, invite them to do so in small groups so that all have an opportunity.

Application

Consider inviting students to quietly respond to the following question in their study journals.

What could you do to deepen your relationship with Jesus Christ through the Book of Mormon?

You could suggest a few options, such as the following: reading the entire Book of Mormon in a certain period of time, looking for verses to share with others, or asking Heavenly Father for a witness through the Holy Ghost that the book is true.

You could also show the video “The Book of Mormon” (2:10), available on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. In this video, Elders Jeffrey R. Holland and Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles share how their mission president invited them to learn of Christ through the Book of Mormon. Students might choose to follow that same invitation.
How might doing what you wrote prepare you to share the Book of Mormon in everyday life or as a full-time missionary?

It could be helpful to share your testimony of how the Book of Mormon has helped you draw closer to Jesus Christ.

Additional Resources

How and why should I share the Book of Mormon?

Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared:

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Elder Ronald A. Rasband

I invite you, this day, to give a Book of Mormon to your friends and family, your associates at work, your soccer coach, or the produce man at your market. They need the words of the Lord found in this book. They need answers to the questions of everyday life and of eternal life to come. They need to know of the covenant path laid out before them and the Lord’s abiding love for them. It’s all here in the Book of Mormon.

When you hand them a Book of Mormon, you are opening their minds and hearts to the word of God. You do not need to carry printed copies of the book with you. You can easily share it from your mobile phone from the scriptures section of the Gospel Library app.

Think of all those who could be blessed by the gospel in their lives, and then send to them a copy of the Book of Mormon from your phone. Remember to include your testimony and how this book has blessed your life. (Ronald A. Rasband, “This Day,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 27)

How can the Book of Mormon lead us to Jesus Christ?

Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared:

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Elder Ulisses Soares

I studied the Book of Mormon, little by little, as I completed the weekly assigned seminary lessons. I remember, like it was yesterday, that a warm feeling gradually began swelling in my soul and filling my heart, enlightening my understanding, and becoming more and more delightful, as described by Alma in his preaching the word of God to his people. That feeling eventually turned into knowledge that took root in my heart and became the foundation of my testimony of the significant events and teachings found in this sacred book.

Through these and other priceless personal experiences, the Book of Mormon indeed became the keystone that sustains my faith in Jesus Christ and my testimony of the doctrine of His gospel. It became one of the pillars that testifies to me of Christ’s divine atoning sacrifice. It became a shield throughout my life against the adversary’s attempts to weaken my faith and instill disbelief in my mind and gives me courage to boldly declare my testimony of the Savior to the world. (Ulisses Soares, “The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2020, 34)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Helping others come to Jesus Christ through the Book of Mormon

Students may find it challenging to share the gospel with others. It might be helpful to show the following video of a young man who shared the Book of Mormon with a friend. Alternatively, students could tell about times they have shared the Book of Mormon with someone who was then blessed by reading it.

Students could discuss why sharing the Book of Mormon would be a good way to discuss the gospel with someone.

You might show students different ways to share the Book of Mormon electronically. They can do this in the Gospel Library app by opening the scriptures tab and tapping “Share” or “Share Now” at the top of the page. Or they can share the Book of Mormon app. Both options offer the Book of Mormon in over 100 languages free of charge. The following website has instructions for downloading the app and includes a video to help students know how to share it:

Share the Book of Mormon App

Role-play sharing the Book of Mormon

It could be helpful to give students a chance to share the Book of Mormon in a missionary-type setting. Students could role-play in partnerships. Each partner could take turns doing the following as though they are talking to a friend of another faith:

Explain what the Book of Mormon is.
Invite your friend to read it.
Tell your friend why you want them to read it.

It may be helpful for students to read and follow the suggestions for sharing the Book of Mormon found under “Teaching Insights” on page 42 of Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Missionary Service (2023).

Introduction to the Book of Mormon. “Abiding by its precepts”

Consider having students read the sixth paragraph of the introduction to the Book of Mormon. This can help them see an important way to invite the blessings of the Book of Mormon into their lives. Ask them to look for the promise given. The following discussion questions could be helpful:

In addition to reading the Book of Mormon, what do we need to do to get closer to God?
When have you acted on something you learned from the Book of Mormon?

The Book of Mormon speaks for itself

To help students better understand the Book of Mormon’s power to point people to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, you could watch the following video. It shows people of different religions around the world reading a random page of the Book of Mormon and looking for how it testifies of God.