Doctrinal Mastery: Ephesians 2:19–20

The Church Is Founded on Jesus Christ and His Apostles and Prophets

All the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are seated or standing with the Christus Statue and statues of the Original Twelve at the Visitors’ Center in Rome, Italy. Front Left to Right: Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Jeffrey R. Holland, M. Russell Ballard, Dallin H. Oaks, Russell M. Nelson, Henry B. Eyring, David A. Bednar, Quentin L. Cook, D. Todd Christofferson, Gary E. Stevenson, Ronald A. Rasband, Neil L. Andersen, Dale G. Renlund, Gerrit W. Gong, Ulisses Soares

In your study of Ephesians 2, you learned that the Church of Jesus Christ is built on a foundation of apostles and prophets and that Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone. This lesson is intended to increase your mastery of these teachings as you memorize the reference and key scripture phrase for Ephesians 2:19–20, explain the doctrine, and apply the doctrine and the principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge in a real-life situation.

Student preparation: Consider telling students the practice application scenario from this lesson and inviting them to ponder how they could use the principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge to help their friend.

Possible Learning Activities

This doctrinal mastery passage lesson is designed to be taught after the lesson “Ephesians 2,” which is the contextual lesson for the doctrinal mastery passage Ephesians 2:19–20. If this doctrinal mastery passage lesson needs to be moved to a different week, be sure to teach the corresponding contextual lesson during that week as well.

Memorize and explain

To help you memorize this doctrinal mastery reference and key scripture phrase, write the following at least three times in your study journal: “Ephesians 2:19–20. The Church is ‘built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.’”

You could write the phrase in a way that also illustrates this truth. For example, you could draw a rectangle around the phrase to symbolize a foundation and draw a church on top of it. Or, if you drew an example of this foundation for the previous lesson, you could write the key phrase on or near that drawing.

Global Visual Library Low-Fidelity Symbol Knockout

Read Ephesians 2:19–20, and ponder the message it contains.
Think of a question someone may have about prophets and apostles that Ephesians 2:19–20 could help answer. Some examples may be “Why does your church have prophets and apostles?” “What do the scriptures teach about prophets and apostles?” or “What is the relationship between the Savior and prophets and apostles?” Write down your question.
Using Ephesians 2:19–20, write what you would say to answer the question.

Instead of inviting students to write their answers for step C, consider asking them to work in pairs and answer each other’s questions. Listen to their answers and evaluate how well students understand. If necessary, review Ephesians 2:19–20 with students and any necessary material from the “Ephesians 2” lesson.

Practice application

During the following activity, evaluate students’ knowledge of the principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge, and help them as needed.

The following activity can help you review the principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge. Match each statement with the appropriate principle of acquiring spiritual knowledge. If needed, use paragraphs 5–12 in the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document (2022) to help you.  

1. Sincere seekers of truth should be wary of unreliable sources of information.	a. Act in faith.
2. As we are faithful to the truth and light we have already received, we will receive more.	b. Examine concepts and questions with an eternal perspective.
3. As we stay anchored to our trust in our Heavenly Father and His plan of salvation, we are able to see issues more clearly.	c. Seek further understanding through divinely appointed sources.

Invite a few students to share one of the pairs they matched and explain why the particular statement they chose can help them acquire spiritual knowledge.

Imagine that your close friend Estelle feels conflicted. She has a testimony of prophets and apostles, but she opposes a current Church teaching. In fact, she has strong feelings against it. She asks you for help to know what to do. In that moment you do not know what to say, but you decide to follow the principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge you have used in seminary to prepare to help your friend.

Use the following chart to reflect on your own thoughts and feelings about prophets and apostles and how you could help Estelle.

Consider writing the following information on the board or preparing the questions on a piece of paper for students to use.

How have I learned to trust in and follow apostles and prophets?	How might I help my friend?
How have I learned to trust in and follow apostles and prophets? What experiences have I had when I acted with faith in Jesus Christ to follow His apostles and prophets? Which experience may be helpful to share with Estelle?	How might I help my friend? What questions could I ask Estelle to help her consider how the Lord may want her to act in faith?
How have I learned to trust in and follow apostles and prophets? What do I already know about Heavenly Father, His plan, and how He interacts with His children that might help Estelle in this situation?	How might I help my friend? What questions could I ask Estelle to help her see her concern with an eternal perspective?
How have I learned to trust in and follow apostles and prophets? What divinely appointed sources have helped me trust in apostles and prophets? How have they helped me?	How might I help my friend? What divinely appointed sources would I recommend Estelle turn to?

If students need assistance with questions to help Estelle see her concern with an eternal perspective, consider using the following examples:

What do you already know about the role of prophets and apostles in Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation?
What are your concerns about this particular teaching? What principles in the gospel of Jesus Christ may help you better understand it?
How might the decision to follow the prophets and apostles, or to not follow them, affect you over time? How might it impact your relationship with your Heavenly Father?

If students need help recommending divinely appointed sources for Estelle to study, consider inviting them to read Doctrine and Covenants 21:4–6 and 1 Nephi 2:11, 16, 19. They could also be invited to read what President Henry B. Eyring said about following the counsel of prophets and apostles in his talk “Finding Safety in Counsel” (Ensign, May 1997, 25), available on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Invite students to role-play what they might say to Estelle with a partner or in a small group. Students could also draw a comic strip with stick figures and speech bubbles.

Consider asking follow-up questions like “In what ways do you feel confident using the principles of acquiring knowledge to help others? Why?” “In what areas would you like more help or practice?”

Compliment students on ways they are using principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge well and ways they are improving.

Consider sharing a personal experience or testimony to encourage students.

Doctrinal mastery review

Use an activity like the following to review this doctrinal mastery passage in an upcoming lesson.

On the board, draw a simple outline of a church building with a rectangle beneath it to represent the foundation. Within this rectangle, write the following: Ephesians _:19–20, The Church is “built upon the of and , Jesus Christ himself being the chief .” Invite the class to fill in the blanks. Finish this review by inviting students to recite the reference and key scripture phrase several times, erasing a few words each time.

Supplemental Learning Activity

Alternate scenario

Consider using the following scenario in place of the one in the lesson:

Imagine that your close friend Estelle and her family still believe Jesus Christ and the Bible but are thinking about leaving the Church because they do not agree with some things that the prophet and apostles are currently teaching. She asks you for help to know what to do.