Seminary
Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge, Part 3

Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge, Part 3

Seek Further Understanding through Divinely Appointed Sources

young man looking at computer

One of the purposes of doctrinal mastery is to help you learn and apply principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge. This lesson can help you understand the importance of seeking truth through sources that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have lovingly provided.

Student preparation: Invite students to think about where they normally turn for information when they have questions about God or the Church. Invite them to ponder the meaning of this statement by Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “Spiritual questions deserve spiritual answers from God” (“Joseph Smith,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2014, 28, 30).

Possible Learning Activities

Where do you search for answers?

If resources to find the following information are not available in class, ask students where they would most likely turn to find the information. Another alternative would be to substitute more relevant or interesting pieces of information for students to look up.

  • The weather for the coming weekend

  • The name of the capital city of Greenland

  • A recipe for a pasta or rice dish

Consider the following questions.

  • What sources did you (or would you normally) use to search for the information?

  • Why do you trust these sources for information about these kinds of questions?

Where can we find answers from God?

  • Where would you suggest that people search for answers to important questions about God, the Church, or the plan of salvation?

Consider writing students’ answers on the board under the heading “Divinely Appointed Sources.” Consider adding to this list throughout the lesson as students learn about additional sources of truth from God.

Think of any questions you have about God, the Church, or the plan of salvation. This could include information you have read or heard that you wonder about or find unsettling. Seek for the Holy Ghost to guide you in learning principles in this lesson that can help you.

Read the following passages, looking for how the sources of truth taught about in these passages can bless us.

Students could work in pairs, with each student reading two of the following passages and sharing what they found with their partner.

As students answer the following questions, consider adding to the list of divinely appointed sources on the board.

  • What sources of truth did you find in these passages? Why can we fully trust these sources?

  • Where might many people look for information about spiritual questions that you would caution them about? Why?

What if I’m not sure how trustworthy a source of information is?

Consider asking students what advice they would give to someone who uses the internet to find answers to important spiritual questions. Based on their answers, determine if some or all of the information in the following paragraph would be helpful to share.

One of the most common ways to search for information today is by using the internet. Through the internet, we have access to many good sources of information. At the same time, the internet exposes us to many unreliable and untrue sources of information. Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles warned:

Elder Neil L. Andersen

Internet information does not have a “truth” filter. Some information, no matter how convincing, is simply not true.

(Neil L. Andersen, “Joseph Smith,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2014, 29)

Read paragraph 12 of the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document. Consider marking why it is dangerous to seek answers to spiritual questions from unknown or untrustworthy sources.

When you encounter new information about God, the Church, or the plan of salvation, it is helpful to ask yourself questions like the following about the source of the information. As you read through these questions, look for the ones that you think would be most helpful when deciding whether or not to trust a source. (You could also study each of the accompanying scripture references.)

Color Handouts Icon Provide students with the following questions as a handout. Encourage students to place this handout where they can easily access it for future use.

Some Questions for Evaluating New Information

  • What did I feel from the Holy Ghost when I read or heard this information? (See Doctrine and Covenants 50:23–24.)

  • Does this information bring me closer to Jesus Christ and His Church? (See Moroni 7:15–17.)

  • Does this information encourage me to keep God’s commandments?

  • Does it agree with what the scriptures and modern prophets teach? (See 2 Timothy 3:15–17; Doctrine and Covenants 1:38.)

  • Does it confirm what I have already felt the Holy Ghost tell me is true, or does it encourage me to doubt gospel truths? (See Moroni 10:5.)

  • Does the information come from a source that the Savior or His Church leaders would consider trustworthy?

  • What would my parents or Church leaders say about this information? (If I feel tempted to keep it from them, what does that tell me about its source?)

Evaluation questions for new information.

  • Which of these questions do you think would be most helpful for you? Why?

  • What other questions do you think someone should ask about information they encounter?

For the following practice activity, students could work individually or in small groups. After sufficient time, invite several students not only to share what they found but to show the class step by step how they found the trusted information.

Time permitting, an alternate activity could be showing the video “Divinely Appointed Sources,” suggested in the “Commentary and Background Information” section of the lesson. This video portrays real-life experiences of youth searching for answers about God and the Church.

Choose a piece of information you have heard or a question you have about God, the Church, or the plan of salvation. Then take a few minutes to practice searching for answers using divinely appointed sources. Among other things, you might consider

  • praying;

  • searching the scriptures using the Topical Guide, Bible Dictionary, Guide to the Scriptures, or doctrinal mastery passages;

  • searching general conference talks, the Gospel Topics page on ChurchofJesusChrist.org, or the Gospel Library app;

  • reading relevant sections in Church materials such as For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices (booklet, 2022) or Gospel Topics, topics.ChurchofJesusChrist.org;

  • contacting someone you know and trust, such as a parent, bishop, youth leader in your ward or branch, or seminary teacher, to help you find answers.

    Students may only have enough class time to begin their study. If so, encourage them to continue their study outside of class.

  • What did you learn during this lesson that will help you when you encounter new information about God or the Church?

  • Why do you think the sources you turn to for answers and information matter to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?

Consider bearing testimony of the love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ demonstrate by providing us with divine sources of truth.

Commentary and Background Information

What should I do if I can’t find an answer to a question through divinely appointed sources?

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

Elder Neil L. Andersen

Not all answers will come immediately, but most questions can be resolved through sincere study and seeking answers from God. …

Faith never demands an answer to every question but seeks the assurance and courage to move forward, sometimes acknowledging, “I don’t know everything, but I do know enough to continue on the path of discipleship.”

Immersing oneself in persistent doubt, fueled by answers from the faithless and the unfaithful, weakens one’s faith in Jesus Christ and the Restoration.

(Neil L. Andersen, “Faith Is Not by Chance, but by Choice,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2015, 66)

Why should I be wary of seeking answers about the Church from those who have left it?

Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said:

Elder Neal A. Maxwell

Some insist upon studying the Church only through the eyes of its defectors—like interviewing Judas to understand Jesus. Defectors always tell us more about themselves than about that from which they have departed.

(Neal A. Maxwell, “All Hell Is Moved” [Brigham Young University devotional, Nov. 8, 1977], 3, speeches.byu.edu)

How can the sources of information I choose affect me spiritually?

Watch the video “Divinely Appointed Sources” (9:16), located at ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Look for how the youth in the video were affected by who they chose to listen to and where they chose to search for answers.

9:16

The video “In Search of Truth” (3:03), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, may also be useful.

3:3

Supplemental Learning Activity

Object lesson

Consider displaying the phrase “Truth from God” on one side of the room and “Lies from Satan” on the other side of the room.

Invite students to imagine that every source of information on earth (including divinely appointed sources as well as other sources such as books, social media posts, opinions, research, news articles, and so forth) is represented by the gap between these two phrases. Explain that if a given source of information provides more truth from God than another source does, it would be placed closer to the phrase “Truth from God” than the other source would. Ask students the following questions:

  • What sources of truth should be placed closest to the phrase “Truth from God”?

  • What sources are harder to place next to one phrase or the other because they contain both truth and error?