Come, Follow Me
Why was a Restoration necessary?

Why was a Restoration necessary?

Prepare Yourself Spiritually

During His mortal ministry, Jesus Christ established His Church with priesthood authority. It was led by prophets and apostles who taught true doctrine and received revelation that was recorded as scripture. With the death of the apostles, priesthood authority was taken from the earth, revelation ceased, and essential doctrines were lost or corrupted. Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Church that Jesus Christ established was restored.

Resources to Help You Prepare

These resources are to help you prepare for the “Learn together” section of the meeting.

Questions to Ponder before You Teach

What effects of the Apostasy have you seen in the world? How has the Restoration of the gospel blessed you?

What do the young women need to know about the Apostasy and the Restoration? How can an understanding of the Apostasy and the Restoration help them?

What can the young women do to prepare to learn? For example, they could read a talk, watch a video, or study a scripture related to this doctrine.

Teaching in the Savior’s Way

The Savior asked questions that caused his followers to think and feel deeply. They knew He loved them, and they felt safe sharing their thoughts and personal feelings. As you sincerely listen and show interest in the young women’s answers and insights, you will help them to feel the Savior’s love.

Meeting Outline

1. Counsel Together and Share Experiences

Led by a member of the class presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

Lead a discussion about items such as the following:

  • Our class: Who is missing today? What visits do we need to make? Who should we invite to an upcoming activity? Who needs our help and prayers?

  • Our responsibilities: What assignments do we need to make? What assignments have we fulfilled? How have we invited others to come unto Christ, and how can we invite others now?

  • Our lives: Remind the class of the discussion from the last meeting. What experiences have we had with applying what we learned? What experiences have we had in the past few weeks that strengthened our testimonies of the gospel?

If possible, discuss these items beforehand in a class presidency meeting.

2. Learn Together

Led by a leader or teacher or a member of the class; approximately 25–35 minutes

After studying the above resources and following the inspiration of the Spirit, you may select one or more of the activities below to help class members understand the doctrine.

  • Invite the young women to search Elder D. Todd Christofferson’s talk “Why the Church,” looking for insights about the Restoration and the role of the Church in the latter days. You might also invite ahead of time several young women to come prepared to share why they are grateful for the restored Church. With permission from the bishop, you could also invite a recently baptized member into your class to share his or her testimony of the Church and the restored gospel.

  • Write the words Apostasy and Restoration on the board. Ask the young women what these words mean (see True to the Faith, 13–14, 135–39). Write the scripture references listed in this outline, or others you may find, on the board. Invite the young women to read each one and decide whether it belongs with Apostasy or Restoration. Ask the young women how their lives might be different if the gospel had never been restored.

  • Show pictures of events from the Restoration (for some examples, see Gospel Art Book [2009], nos. 90–95). Ask the young women to read “Events of the Restoration,” found in True to the Faith (pages 136–38), and match the pictures with the events. Invite each to share an event and what was restored. How are we blessed because of the Restoration of these things?

  • Give each young woman the name of a person mentioned in Elder Robert D. Hales’s talk “Preparations for the Restoration and the Second Coming: ‘My Hand Shall Be over Thee’” (such as William Tyndale, Johannes Gutenberg, and Martin Luther). Ask the young women to read or watch the talk and find out what the person did to prepare the world for the Restoration. Invite them to share what they found. How have the sacrifices these people made affected the lives of the young women today?

  • Read Joseph Smith—History 1:5–6 as a class. Ask the young women to name some false or incomplete doctrines people believe today (for example, that God does not have a body, that infants should be baptized, that we do not need prophets today, and so on). Ask them to share how the truths of the Restoration can help them overcome confusion.

3. Plan to Act

Led by a member of the class presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

  • Ask the young women to discuss any feelings or impressions they had during the meeting. What was meaningful to them? Is there something they can do personally or as a class to apply what they have learned?

  • Give the young women a few minutes to record what they will do in the coming weeks to act on their impressions. Invite them to share their ideas.

  • Remind the young women that they will have the opportunity to share their experiences at the beginning of the next meeting.

Related Youth Activities

Plan a Mutual activity that will help the young women apply what they learned in this lesson.