What can I learn from living prophets and apostles?

The living prophets and apostles receive revelation to guide the Church, and their counsel reflects the will of the Lord, who knows us perfectly and understands our challenges. Their teachings can help us with the challenges we face today. We are blessed to be led by living prophets and apostles and to receive their counsel every six months during general conference.

Prepare yourself spiritually

How have the teachings of the prophets and apostles helped you overcome challenges? What experiences can you share that will strengthen the youth you teach?

What are some of the challenges the youth are facing today? How can the teachings of the prophets and apostles help them face those challenges?

As you study these resources, look for truths that will help the youth learn the value of the teachings of the living prophets in their lives.

Mosiah 8:16–18 (A seer can be a great benefit to his fellow men)

D&C 1:38; 68:3–4 (When the Lord’s servants speak by the Spirit, what they say is scripture)

Henry B. Eyring, “Where Two or Three Are Gathered,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 19–22

Ronald A. Rasband, “I Stand All Amazed,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2015, 89–90

Gary E. Stevenson, “Plain and Precious Truths,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2015, 91–92

Dale G. Renlund, “Through God’s Eyes,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2015, 93–94

Recent general conference addresses by members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve

“Prophets,” True to the Faith (2004), 129–30

Make connections

During the first few minutes of every class, help the youth make connections between things they are learning in various settings (such as personal study, seminary, other Church classes, or experiences with their friends). How can you help them see the relevance of the gospel in daily living? The ideas below might help you:

Invite the youth to share a recent experience in which someone asked them a question about the gospel. How did they respond?
Ask the youth to share a talk that impressed them from the most recent general conference. Ask them why it was meaningful to them.

Learn together

Each of the activities below will help the youth find answers to their challenges through the words of the living prophets. Following the guidance of the Spirit, select one or more that will work best for your class:

In his talk titled “Where Two or Three Are Gathered,” President Henry B. Eyring uses the parable of the sower to explain the importance of preparing our hearts to receive the word of God. Invite the youth to review the portion of President Eyring’s talk where he shares the parable and draw a picture that represents what they learned. What “seeds” could they plant in their hearts from the most recent general conference? You might want to bring in copies of a talk that you feel is relevant to the youth you teach and ask them to read it and find seeds of truth that they could act upon.
Help the class make a list of challenges that youth face today. Invite each youth to select one of these challenges and search the most recent general conference talks to find counsel that could help someone overcome that challenge. Suggest that they use the “Topic Index” in the most recent conference issue of the Ensign or Liahona.
Show a recent general conference talk given by President Thomas S. Monson. Ask the youth to listen for advice and counsel that is particularly important for their age group and prepare a five-minute talk using the counsel they found. Let them practice giving the talks to one another in class.
As a class, listen to or watch a general conference talk that might be meaningful to the youth you teach. Ask the youth to identify eternal truths, scriptures, invitations to action, and blessings promised in the talk. (If time is short, consider watching only certain portions of the talk.)
Invite class members to read together “Prophets” from True to the Faith. Ask them to look for roles of prophets described in what they read and to write these roles on the board. Give each youth one of the following talks: “I Stand All Amazed” by Elder Ronald A. Rasband, “Plain and Precious Truths” by Elder Gary E. Stevenson, and “Through God’s Eyes,” by Elder Dale G. Renlund. Invite the youth to look for and share examples of Elder Rasband, Elder Stevenson, and Elder Renlund fulfilling these roles, as well as any additional roles of prophets they find. How have the youth been blessed by prophets fulfilling their roles?

Ask the youth to share what they learned today. Do they understand what they can learn from living prophets and apostles? What feelings or impressions do they have? Do they have any additional questions? Would it be worthwhile to spend more time on this topic?

Gospel study skills

Studying general conference and other addresses. In this lesson, the youth are invited to search general conference talks. The following ideas can help them study: Encourage them to summarize in their own words the main ideas. They could ask themselves: What does the Lord want me to learn from this talk? What does He want me to do? Is there something in this talk that helps me with a current challenge in my life? Remind the youth that they can use questions like these when they study talks during their personal and family gospel study.

Invite to act

Invite the youth to study the most recent general conference talks as part of their gospel study. Encourage them to share with the class what they learn.

As the next general conference approaches, encourage the youth to prepare by making a list of questions they have, and invite them to prayerfully listen for answers in the conference talks.