Lesson 70

The Restoration (Part 4)

Introduction

The teaching materials for this doctrinal mastery topic are divided into four parts. Part 4 contains a practice exercise that is intended to help students relate the doctrine taught in the doctrinal mastery scripture passage Ezekiel 37:15–17 and in the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document to a modern circumstance. This lesson also includes a doctrinal mastery cumulative review for all of the doctrinal mastery scripture passages that students have studied so far.

Note: You could do the following practice exercise and the doctrinal mastery cumulative review in a single class session or in two separate class sessions, sharing class time with a regular sequential scripture lesson from the Old Testament.

Suggestions for Teaching

Help students find answers to their questions

It is not a teacher’s responsibility to answer every question asked by a student. Assist students in applying the principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge so they can discover answers for themselves. Encourage students to faithfully turn to and trust in the Lord. It may be helpful to identify divinely appointed sources they can turn to and then to act as a guide as they search for answers.

Practice Exercise (20 minutes)

Review with students the following principles from the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document: act in faith, examine concepts and questions with an eternal perspective, and seek further understanding through divinely appointed sources. You could do this by dividing students into groups of three and assigning each group one of these three principles. Ask students to read through the paragraphs pertaining to their principle and to prepare to summarize what they read. After sufficient time, invite students to share a summary of their paragraphs with their group.

(Note: You may want to adapt the following scenario according to students’ experiences and needs and to substitute names that are more common where you live.)

Read or invite a student to read the following scenario to the class:

Megan is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Rachel, a Christian of another faith, and Megan have been friends for a long time. They talk about a variety of topics, including religion. One day while they are riding on the bus, Rachel says to Megan, “Help me understand something. Like you, I believe the Bible to be the word of God. Why would we need the Book of Mormon if we already have the Bible?”

To help students understand how the three principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge and the doctrinal mastery passage Ezekiel 37:15–17 could apply to this situation, ask the following questions:

Act in Faith:

• How could having a testimony of the Book of Mormon help Megan to act in faith as she responds to Rachel’s concern?

Examine Concepts and Questions with an Eternal Perspective:

• What views or assumptions might have led Rachel to ask this question?

• What gospel teachings might Megan use that could relate to Rachel’s question?

Seek Further Understanding through Divinely Appointed Sources:

• What doctrinal mastery passage in the Bible could Megan use to help answer Rachel’s question? (Ezekiel 37:15–17.)

• How does Ezekiel 37:15–17 help answer this question?

• What are some other divinely appointed sources Megan could use to help answer Rachel’s question?

Divide students into pairs, and provide each pair with a copy of the following handout. Invite students to work together in their pairs and to follow the instructions on the handout. As students work through the handout, consider visiting the groups and providing assistance as needed.

Why Is the Book of Mormon Essential?

The following statement is an example of a divinely appointed source that can help answer questions about why the Book of Mormon is essential. With your partner, read the following statement by Elder Tad R. Callister of the Presidency of the Seventy. As you read this statement, look for why we need both the Bible and the Book of Mormon.

“Why is the Book of Mormon so essential if we already have the Bible to teach us about Jesus Christ? Have you ever wondered why there are so many Christian churches in the world today when they obtain their doctrines from essentially the same Bible? It is because they interpret the Bible differently. If they interpreted it the same, they would be the same church. This is not a condition the Lord desires, for the Apostle Paul declared that there is ‘one Lord, one faith, one baptism’ (Ephesians 4:5). To help bring this oneness about, the Lord established a divine law of witnesses. Paul taught, ‘In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established’ (2 Corinthians 13:1).

“The Bible is one witness of Jesus Christ; the Book of Mormon is another. Why is this second witness so crucial? The following illustration may help: How many straight lines can you draw through a single point on a piece of paper?” (Tad R. Callister, “The Book of Mormon—A Book from God,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 75).

1. Draw multiple lines through the following single dot. Then continue reading the statement by Elder Callister.

“How many straight lines can you draw through a single point on a piece of paper? The answer is infinite. For a moment, suppose that single point represents the Bible and that hundreds of those straight lines drawn through that point represent different interpretations of the Bible and that each of those interpretations represents a different church.

“What happens, however, if on that piece of paper there is a second point representing the Book of Mormon? How many straight lines could you draw between these two reference points: the Bible and the Book of Mormon?” (Tad R. Callister, “The Book of Mormon—A Book from God,” 75).

2. Draw a straight line between the following two dots. Then continue reading the statement by Elder Callister.

“How many straight lines could you draw between these two reference points: the Bible and the Book of Mormon? Only one. Only one interpretation of Christ’s doctrines survives the testimony of these two witnesses.

“Again and again the Book of Mormon acts as a confirming, clarifying, unifying witness of the doctrines taught in the Bible so that there is only ‘one Lord, one faith, one baptism’ [Ephesians 4:5]” (Tad R. Callister, “The Book of Mormon—A Book from God,” 75).

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After students complete the handout, invite them to report what they learned from it. Ask the class:

• If Rachel is to learn for herself why we need the Book of Mormon, what would she need to do to act in faith?

If there is sufficient time, consider asking students to role-play the scenario with their partners, using what they have learned so far. (You may want to explain that this method of drawing a straight line through two dots to teach that the Book of Mormon is a second witness of Jesus Christ is often used by full-time missionaries. Students could also role-play being full-time missionaries teaching that the Book of Mormon is a second or confirming witness of Jesus Christ.) Consider sharing your testimony of how the Bible and the Book of Mormon together have strengthened your testimony of Jesus Christ and His Church.

Doctrinal Mastery Cumulative Review (20 minutes)

This is a cumulative review of all the doctrinal mastery scripture passages that students have learned so far in the course. So far students have studied Proverbs 3:5–6; Isaiah 5:20; Moses 1:39; Abraham 3:22–23; Genesis 1:26–27; Joshua 24:15; Isaiah 1:18; Isaiah 53:3–5; Moses 7:18; Isaiah 29:13–14; Ezekiel 37:15–17; and Daniel 2:44.

Divide students into pairs. Invite each partnership to use the Doctrinal Mastery Reference Guide to review the doctrinal mastery passages they have studied so far and their accompanying key phrases. After sufficient time, students can quiz each other. One partner can read the key phrases, and the other partner can state the references to the associated doctrinal mastery passages from memory. Once both students have had the opportunity to be quizzed on the references, invite them to quiz each other by asking one student to read the doctrinal mastery references and to see if the other student can state the associated key phrases. (Note: Each key phrase is intended to be an abbreviated reflection of the words in the doctrinal mastery passage. These phrases can help students remember the teachings contained in the passages. Students do not need to be able to recite the key phrases verbatim.) You might give students a brief quiz on the scriptures they studied in pairs, to test their memory of the references and key phrases.

As an alternative to this activity, if students have electronic devices, consider giving them time to download the Doctrinal Mastery app. The Doctrinal Mastery app is free and available for Apple and Android devices. Invite students to search for “LDS Doctrinal Mastery” in the App Store (for Apple devices) and Google Play (for Android devices). After students have downloaded the app, consider giving them a few minutes to do one or more of the memorization activities in the app.

After students have had sufficient time to review all of the doctrinal mastery scripture passages listed above, you may want to do the following activity. This activity can help students understand that knowing the references of the doctrinal mastery passages can assist them as they teach the gospel to others and find answers to questions. Invite students to think of a scenario in which they could use one of the doctrinal mastery scripture references to respond to a question or concern. Suggest that they write this scenario down in their study journal and how they would respond. Ask a few students to read and explain their scenario and doctrinal mastery scripture reference to the class.