Guide for Teaching Missionary Preparation

Welcome to missionary preparation! This course can play an important role in the lives of youth and young adults who are preparing for missionary service. It can also bless young people who are not planning on missionary service but want to improve their ability to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The missionary purpose is to “invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end” (Preach My Gospel [2023], 1). This purpose is how we gather Israel, and it is the responsibility of each member of the Church.

How can this class bless youth and young adults?

Everything in this course is intended to help learners strengthen their conversion to Jesus Christ and His restored gospel. With conversion comes an increased desire and capacity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others. To create conditions that foster conversion, class members will be invited to:

Immerse themselves in Preach My Gospel so they can experience the power and importance of this manual. They will also be introduced to Adjusting to Missionary Life (2013).
Learn the missionary purpose (see Preach My Gospel, 1) and see how it can guide them, both in their lives today and in all aspects of missionary work.
Make commitments that will help them live the gospel of Jesus Christ, prepare for missionary service, and share the Savior’s gospel with family and friends.
Learn and practice teaching the truths found in chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel.
Practice skills that can help them become better gospel teachers and more emotionally resilient.

How are the course materials organized?

This manual includes two types of learning experiences: core lessons and skill practices.

Core Lessons

The core lessons are the primary resource for this course. They focus on chapters 1–6 and 11 of Preach My Gospel. These chapters are the most relevant for youth and young adults who are not currently serving a mission.

The following is a list of the core lessons:

Lesson 1: We Invite Others to Come unto Christ
Lesson 2: Introduction to Preach My Gospel
Lesson 3: Fulfill Your Missionary Purpose (Preach My Gospel, chapter 1)
Lesson 4: Search the Scriptures and Put on the Armor of God (Preach My Gospel, chapter 2)
Lesson 5: Study and Teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Preach My Gospel, chapter 3)
Lesson 6: Practice Teaching (Helps for Teaching Lessons from chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel)
Lesson 7: The Invitation to Be Baptized and Confirmed (Preach My Gospel, chapter 3)
Lesson 8: Seek and Rely on the Spirit (Preach My Gospel, chapter 4)
Lesson 9: Use the Power of the Book of Mormon (Preach My Gospel, chapter 5)
Lesson 10: Seek Christlike Attributes (Preach My Gospel, chapter 6)
Lesson 11: Help People Make and Keep Commitments (Preach My Gospel, chapter 11)
Lesson 12: Adjusting to Missionary Life
Lesson 13: Go Forward in Faith

The Importance of Chapter 3

Three of the core lessons focus on chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel. This chapter contains the four lessons missionaries teach as well as a section about the invitation to be baptized and confirmed. Make the study of chapter 3 a high priority.

Lesson 6: “Practice Teaching” helps class members learn and teach from the lessons in chapter 3. You could dedicate more than one class period to this lesson. You might also spend parts of other class periods using ideas from lesson 6. Doing so will give class members repeated opportunities to study, learn, teach, and live principles from chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel.

Organization of the Core Lessons

Core lessons invite participants to learn by faith so they can strengthen their conversion to Jesus Christ. Learning by faith requires effort and action. Consider how the following design elements can help members of your class learn by faith and draw closer to the Savior.

Review and Follow Up

At the beginning of each lesson, learners reflect on the commitments they made in prior classes. Use this as an opportunity to help class members recognize their spiritual growth.

Learning Activity Options

Most core lessons include multiple learning activity options. Assess the needs of your class members and seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost as you select the learning activities you will use. You could also ask class members which lessons and learning activities would most benefit them.

You do not need to use all the learning activity options in a lesson in one class session. Focus on conversion, not coverage. If your pacing schedule allows, you could spend more than one class period per lesson to focus on different learning activities.

Each learning activity has these parts:

Study. Ideas to engage learners in study that encourages faith-inspired actions, such as reading, searching, highlighting, pondering, recording, discussing, and testifying.
Practice. Suggestions to help class members put what they have learned into practice. This usually involves summarizing, explaining, and teaching.
Set a goal. Time dedicated for class members to assess what they have learned and what commitments they could make to learn, grow, and improve. You could invite learners to bring a personal study journal to record their goals throughout the course.

Instructions for teachers or discussion leaders in the lessons

Most often learning activities will be led by a teacher. However, there might be circumstances where a learning activity is used by a Church leader, parent, young adult, or youth. To reflect these possibilities, lessons include instruction boxes labeled “discussion leader.”

Discussion leader: Give class members time to reflect on what they have learned and to set goals. You could display the following to help them.

These instructions can guide teachers or discussion leaders in their preparation and teaching.

Skill Practices

This course includes 10 skill practices at the end of the manual. Skill practices are designed to help learners develop skills for effective teaching and emotional resilience.

The following is a list of the skill practices:

Skill Practice 1: Introduce the Book of Mormon to People
Skill Practice 2: Use the Scriptures in Your Teaching
Skill Practice 3: Teach People How to Pray
Skill Practice 4: Ask Inspired Questions
Skill Practice 5: Strive to Memorize Scriptures
Skill Practice 6: Talk with Everyone
Skill Practice 7: Respond to Feelings of Inadequacy
Skill Practice 8: Intentional Breathing
Skill Practice 9: Use Technology Righteously
Skill Practice 10: Develop Healthy Thinking Patterns

Skill practices can be taught during the same class period as a core lesson. Some core lessons provide suggestions of relevant skill practices.

Skill practices are designed to take about 15 to 20 minutes, but you can adapt them to be longer or shorter. You don’t have to teach every skill practice, and you can teach them in any order. While skill practices are important, most of your teaching time throughout the course should be spent on the core lessons.

Who can benefit from attending this course?

While many of the learners who attend this class will be preparing for a teaching mission, some might be preparing for a service mission. Others might have no plans to serve a full-time mission, but have desires to learn how to share the gospel more effectively and help gather Israel. Be sensitive to the needs of all participants, not just those preparing for a teaching mission. Look for opportunities to help all learners see the blessings and benefits of this course. For example, you could take some time during the course to review the opportunities and blessings of a service mission (see ChurchofJesusChrist.org/service-missionary for more information).

Can class members receive institute credit for this course?

For information about how to receive credit toward institute graduation or credit that can be transferred to Church schools, see InstituteCredit.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

How can I best organize this course for the people attending my class?

This course is flexible. It can be used by branches, wards, stakes, and institutes. It can be used by a class that is only a few weeks long or for one that takes place over several months. It can also be adapted for home use.

The following table shows how a 50-minute class period could be organized:

50-Minute Class	50-Minute Class	50-Minute Class
50-Minute Class Review and Follow Up 5 minutes	50-Minute Class One Learning Activity 30 minutes	50-Minute Class Skill Practice 15 minutes

50-Minute Class

Review and Follow Up

5 minutes

50-Minute Class

One Learning Activity

30 minutes

50-Minute Class

Skill Practice

15 minutes

Classes that meet for several months could spend more than one class on a given lesson.

90-Minute Class	90-Minute Class	90-Minute Class
90-Minute Class Review and Follow Up 5 minutes	90-Minute Class One Learning Activity 60 minutes	90-Minute Class Skill Practice 25 minutes

90-Minute Class

Review and Follow Up

5 minutes

90-Minute Class

One Learning Activity

60 minutes

90-Minute Class

Skill Practice

25 minutes

The following examples illustrate different approaches to teaching the content in this course.

Example 1: Stake Class (20 sessions; 60 minutes per class)

Brother Lawal is preparing to teach a missionary preparation course for his stake in Accra, Ghana. His class will meet weekly. Brother Lawal makes this plan:

Teach a core lesson on the first and third Sundays of the month.
Since the class has many new Church members and some who are not members of the Church, Brother Lawal decides to place extra emphasis on core lesson 6. He decides to do a learning activity from core lesson 6 on the second and fourth Sundays of each month. This will give his class multiple opportunities to study and teach the essential doctrine from chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel.
He also identifies four skill practices that he wants to use in his class. He determines that he will do a skill practice every other week. One skill is so important for his class that he decides he will use it in two different class sessions.

Example 2: Stake Class (7 sessions; 60 minutes per class)

Brother and Sister Green are preparing to teach missionary preparation for their stake in Provo, Utah. Their class will meet every other week.

After counseling with their stake president, they decide to teach core lessons 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12. They will use three class sessions to focus on core lesson 6. Doing so will give the class multiple opportunities to learn, understand, and practice teaching essential truths from chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel.
Based on counsel from their stake president, the Greens will also find time during the course for the skill practices “Develop Healthy Thinking Patterns” and “Talk with Everyone.”

Example 3: Institute Class (14 sessions; 90 minutes per class)

Sister Silva is preparing to teach a missionary preparation class for her institute in Manaus, Brazil. Her class will meet weekly for 90 minutes. Sister Silva decides to do the following:

She will spend 50 minutes the first 11 weeks on different core lessons. Knowing that several of her class members have questions about the Holy Ghost, she decides to spend at least two classes on core lesson 8: “Seek and Rely on the Spirit.”
Sister Silva wants to help her class members increase their confidence to share the gospel with others. She determines that in the first 11 weeks, 6 of the classes will include 30 minutes using core lesson 6 to help class members learn and teach the doctrine in chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel. She also decides that in weeks 12 and 13, they will dedicate the entire class to preparing and teaching short lessons to each other.
Sister Silva has identified several skills that her class members would be blessed to practice. She decides to do those skill practices during the first 11 weeks on days when they are not scheduled to teach from chapter 3.
On the last day, she plans on concluding the course with core lesson 13: “Go Forward in Faith.”

Create a plan that is customized for your class. As you plan your schedule, you might want to seek input from class members about which topics would be of greatest interest and relevance to them.

Remember, the underlying goal is conversion to Jesus Christ, not coverage of material. Don’t overschedule your classes. Spiritual growth cannot be rushed or forced. Be at peace with what you can accomplish in a meaningful way in the time you have.