The scriptures provide the strength of authority to our declarations when they are cited correctly. They are always available when needed. Their use provides a foundation of truth that can be awakened by the Holy Ghost.

Abstract: This paper explores foundational principles for effective gospel teaching in seminary: being Christ-centered, learner-focused, and scripture-based. It highlights the integration of Come, Follow Me and Life Preparation lessons to address students’ spiritual and practical needs. Teachers are encouraged to balance exegesis (understanding scripture’s original intent) and eisegesis (personal application) for meaningful, doctrinally accurate lessons. Through creative and purposeful scripture study, educators can align lesson objectives with students’ lives, fostering deeper conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Keywords: Come, Follow Me, Life Preparation lessons, teaching the gospel

On my desk I keep a small yellow note my mentor gave me while I was learning to teach seminary. It contains the foundation of gospel teaching that will lead to conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The paper has three overlapping circles, like a Venn diagram, respectively labeled “Christ-centered,” “learner-focused,” and “scripturally based.” When he drew it for me, my mentor explained that each lesson that is taught in seminary should be centered on our Savior, focused on the learners in the classroom, and based in scripture. The intersection of all three objectives signifies the best chance a gospel teacher has at guiding students to conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Students will be more deeply converted to the gospel when a lesson can accomplish all three objectives. During preparation, teachers can employ many techniques as they study scripture (scripture-based) to help students feel the lesson is relevant to them (learner-focused) and know Christ better (Christ-centered). This paper will address specific skills that teachers can employ during preparation to study the scriptures with more depth and purpose. As it says in Doctrine and Covenants 26:1, “You shall let your time be devoted to the studying of the scriptures.”

Seminary is always evolving to meet the needs of students. In January 2020, Seminaries and Institutes (S&I) aligned with the greater Church in teaching lessons according to the Come, Follow Me pacing. Significant spiritual learning has been experienced in seminary classes because of this shift. Students have started comments with “My dad said the other day . . .” or “In Sunday School we learned that . . . .” This spiritual learning is occurring because of the aligned course of study between seminary, home, and Church meetings. This change has also brought some difficulties for seminary teachers in lesson pacing and scheduling and has necessitated some philosophical shifts in how S&I can accomplish its objective of helping students come unto Jesus Christ and be converted to his gospel.

Additionally, other recent changes have further escalated the pacing challenges teachers face, as well as the spiritual learning seen in students’ lives. In January 2024 S&I added Life Preparation lessons to the curriculum as a pilot program. These lessons are timely for today’s seminary students. They are designed to help students learn specific life skills that allow them to apply the gospel in ways seminary teachers haven’t distinctly been touching on in the past. These include lessons under the categories of “Missionary Preparation,” “Temple Preparation,” “Physical and Emotional Health,” “For the Strength of Youth,” and “Succeeding in School,” to name a few. These are important subjects, and the lessons often focus on scriptures from all over the standard works, as well as on the current Come, Follow Me block. While it is good to draw from the deep well of all scripture in gospel teaching, additional power can be obtained by helping the youth see how these Life Preparation principles are rooted in the things they are currently studying. Tying the Life Preparation lessons to the current Come, Follow Me block can help students see the relevance, truth, and applicability of these principles to all aspects of living.

It can be difficult to find scriptures in the Come, Follow Me pacing that will teach the subjects discussed during specific Life Preparation lessons. There are often good reasons why the curricula for these Life Preparation lessons use the scriptures they do. For example, one lesson emphasizes the truth “As we rely on Jesus Christ, he can strengthen and empower us to change our habits.” The curriculum directs students to look at stories of Alma the Younger (Mosiah 27:8–37; Alma 36:6–24), Zeezrom (Alma 11:21, 46; 12:1, 7–11; 14:6–7; 15:1–3), and King Lamoni (Alma 18:1–6, 14, 22–23, 36–42; 19:1–16, 28–33). All these stories illustrate the principle. However, this principle could also be seen in a myriad of other scriptures. For example, Nephi changes his habits throughout his narrative as he learns to turn more fully to the Savior.[1] With a little creativity, well-informed study, and the guidance of the Spirit, teachers can find ways to discover or highlight these Life Preparation principles in whatever scripture block they are currently studying in Come, Follow Me. Indeed, it can be an incredibly beneficial experience for a teacher to search a Come, Follow Me block with a specific Life Preparation principle in mind because this often yields discoveries and insights that otherwise may not have been noticed. Elder Richard G. Scott has said, “The scriptures provide the strength of authority to our declarations when they are cited correctly. They can become stalwart friends that are not limited by geography or calendar. They are always available when needed. Their use provides a foundation of truth that can be awakened by the Holy Ghost.”[2]

This paper focuses on specific scripture study skills teachers can employ during their preparation to combine Come, Follow Me lessons and Life Preparation lessons to make scripture more applicable to everyday situations and lead students toward deeper conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Exegesis and Eisegesis

While scripture reading is a personal journey, caution should be used when applying the verses to something outside of their original context. If we do so, we should make it clear to our students what we are doing. As seminary teachers study scripture, they strive to pull meaning and revelation from the verses that will be relevant to their students. They also struggle to discover the message the author intended and then apply that message to high school students. As teachers study the scriptures, exegesis and eisegesis should be carefully considered. Exegesis, in the original Greek, means “to lead out” and refers to gaining inspiration through a careful study of the text. A teacher asks questions such as “What is the author’s original intent?” and “What does the historical context have to do with that intent?” A careful approach should be taken to understand the author’s original intent and not insert opinions or ideas not intended by the author. “Through such careful and methodical reading, students and teachers alike can correctly understand how a principle applied ‘to them, there, then’ before applying it ‘to us, here, now.’”[3]

Reading a text and applying it to “us, here, now” is called eisegesis. This term literally means “to lead into” and refers to finding interpretation based on subjective, nonanalytical reading. Questions such as “How could this apply to me or my students?” and “What should I do because of this principle?” are commonly asked. This is done as teachers and students try to follow the advice of Nephi in 1 Nephi 19:23: “For I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.”

Care needs to be taken not to let eisegesis overcome exegesis nor to take scriptures out of context. This is one way someone could wrest the scriptures and go “far astray” (Alma 41:1). While studying scriptures to teach students, teachers are tasked with pointing students toward application that will lead students to conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, while searching for application, care needs to be taken not to imply a scripture means something it does not or, in other words, to wrest scripture from the author’s original intent. Instead, teachers need to develop skills of scripture study that lead to the original intent of the author while also promoting conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. A teacher should read and understand the original text (exegesis) then discover questions that will then lead the students to discover the important principles and doctrines in that text (eisegesis).

For example, Isaiah 9, in the KJV, contains a phrase repeated three times in verses 12, 17, and 21: “For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.” This phrase follows three sections of the Lord enumerating the sins of Israel against him. This verse has commonly been read to mean the Lord is extending his hand of mercy to us poor sinners. However, the exegetical reading illustrates that the Lord’s hand is stretching out in justice and destruction, not mercy. Other translations of the Bible render this line in a clearer manner: “For all this his anger has not turned away; his hand is stretched out still,”[4] “Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised,”[5] “Yet His anger has not turned back, and His arm is outstretched still.”[6] Finally, in Robert Alter’s landmark translation of the Hebrew Bible[7] we find, “Yet His wrath has not turned back, and His arm is still outstretched.”[8] This phrase’s intended meaning is when we transgress the commandments of God, he will visit us with destruction. This also applies to Corianton’s confusion in Alma 41, as well as Nephi’s admonition in 2 Nephi 28:8. In both places people ask if the judgments of God will really be all that bad. “And if it be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.”

Once a teacher has fully understood and absorbed the message that God will not look on sin favorably, eisegetical reading can help lead to conversion. For example, a teacher may explain, “Isaiah may have intended more than one meaning with the phrase ‘his hand is stretched out still,’ because the Lord’s hand can be extended for both justice and mercy.”[9] However, perhaps a better place to teach the lesson of God’s mercy and the necessity to repent in our daily lives could come from 2 Nephi 28:32: “For notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts.”

Teachers can, of course, entertain other principles and ideas after they have read the scriptural text, yet they need to be careful to teach the actual doctrine in the text of the scriptures (exegesis) and then entertain other principles and ideas (eisegesis) with an exegesis-informed lens.

Both exegesis and eisegesis are important when studying scriptures to prepare a lesson for seminary students. Teachers shouldn’t try to wrest, twist, or malign a scripture into saying something it wasn’t meant to say. While striving to teach Life Preparation lessons in the context of Come, Follow Me pacing, teachers may be tempted to allow students to think that a scripture is connected to a principle it’s not. The goal to allow Come, Follow Me pacing to influence Life Preparation lessons should not be more important than the careful teaching of the important principles put forth in Life Preparation lessons. If there is not a scripture in the Come, Follow Me block that will illuminate the Life Preparation lesson for that week, it’s OK to move on without it.

Scripture Study Skills

The remainder of this paper focuses on specific scripture study skills a careful teacher can employ while trying to build a Life Preparation lesson within the Come, Follow Me block. While the following list is not exhaustive, it can start a journey toward reading scriptures with a new eye toward application for students. These skills may entice a teacher to look at scriptures in a new way that may feel new and uncomfortable. Trust in the Spirit is vital as teachers prepare in this way. He will help you know if a scripture will help to clarify or to confuse.

Each skill below will have a brief explanation followed by an example from scripture. Each skill comes from my experience in teaching the Life Preparation lessons in conjunction with Come, Follow Me in the first semester of 2024. These skills help change the way a teacher looks at scriptures to discover how the scriptures can be more relevant to students and to deepen their conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. “As we learn to become inheritors of all our Father has, the gospel mentors us to look beyond what we see. To look beyond what we see, we must look at others through the eyes of our Savior. . . . We must look past the easy assumptions and stereotypes and widen the tiny lens of our own experience.”[10]

Change Your Lens

Many stories told in seminary classrooms are well-known and clearly delineated. Because the principles are clear and easily discerned, teachers may stop looking for new ways to read scripture for application and conversion. They may get used to looking through one lens at one part of the story and choose not to change the lens. However, looking at an old scripture story in a new way can yield potent scriptural understanding that will be beneficial for teachers and students to apply.

For example, in 1 Nephi 16:18–32 Nephi tells the story of breaking his bow and his struggles precipitating from that event. Most teachers will focus on the beautiful truth of trusting the prophet, as when Nephi goes to his father for direction on where to find food. Principles surrounding prayer, obedience, and humility are also easily discerned from the text. However, what if the Life Preparation lesson being taught this week focused on physical health, as it recently did in the school year of 2023–24? How could a teacher relate a lesson that would draw on the Come, Follow Me pacing as well as teach a profound lesson about the need to maintain good physical health to follow the commandments of the Lord?

One answer may be to focus on what Nephi had to do to fix this problem of the broken bow and the resultant starvation. First Nephi 16:23 says, “I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow.” A teacher might ask herself, “What kind of physical effort did Nephi have to put into making a bow and an arrow? Did he need to walk very far to find a tree that had suitable branches to make a bow and arrow? Did he have to climb that tree once it was found? How did his physical health affect his ability to follow the commandments of the Lord?”

Next, look at verses 30–32. Nephi continues his narrative: “I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top of the mountain. . . . I did slay wild beasts. . . . I did return to our tents, bearing the beasts which I had slain.” Again, a teacher could ask, “What kind of physical effort did Nephi exert to accomplish the objectives of the Lord?” Nephi not only had to make a bow and arrow, but he also had to climb a mountain, slay wild beasts, and then carry those beasts down to his family. Each of these tasks—and the cumulative burden they amounted to—would be physically taxing.

This scriptural example explains why we need to take care of our physical bodies to fulfill the Lord’s commandments. Additionally, this example of Nephi aligns with Come, Follow Me pacing, allowing the teacher to emphasize the same stories her students are learning as well as align with Life Preparation lessons. Changing the lens with which a teacher looks at a scripture story will lend learner-focused relevance and Christ-centered depth that will lead to conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Ask a Different Question

As scripture stories become more familiar and teachers share them multiple times, a teacher may fall into the trap of asking the same questions that are always asked of the text. Nothing is wrong with this approach. What’s worked before may very well work again. However, asking a different question that’s never been asked before can help deepen application and conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

First Nephi 8 portrays the familiar vision of the tree of life given to Lehi. Many observations naturally arise as teachers study this chapter in preparation for class. Teachers should spend time to understand all the different pieces and symbols in the dream. They can watch the people as they press forward along the rod of iron toward the tree to partake of the delicious fruit. They can sorrow with Lehi as Laman and Lemuel choose not to embark on the path toward the tree. They can deeply learn about the Savior and how he gives salvation to those who hold to the rod of iron and partake of the fruit each day. Further into the dream, Nephi enumerates four groups of people seen “pressing forward” (verse 21) toward the tree. Many teachers will naturally focus on these four groups of people. “Who are they? How do their actions determine where they end up in the dream? Which group do you identify with?”

Imagine that in the same week as Lehi’s dream, a teacher is asked to share a Life Preparation lesson on divine identity. A teacher asks himself this question after having studied the four groups of people: “How connected did each group of people feel to the Savior?” This question leads to a thought experiment about how people can be better connected to the Savior. It also leads the teacher to explore some common pitfalls of not being connected to the Savior. He may wonder which group he is in and how that reflects on his individual relationship with the Savior and his individual divine identity. Students will be blessed the next day by these insights as they prepare to study divine identity. They will wrestle within themselves to know how personally connected they feel to the Savior.

Look for Gaps

In his book The Poetics of Biblical Narrative: Ideological Literature and the Drama of Reading, Meir Sternberg introduces the idea of looking in a narrative for gaps that demand some sort of closure, and Grant Hardy also notes the importance of Sternberg’s method.[11] Teachers will find new insight into scripture while looking for meaningful gaps in the text.

Hardy identifies a gap in 1 Nephi 5, noting the absence of Lehi’s reaction when his sons return from Jerusalem. Nephi doesn’t tell the reader what his father thought about their safe return, other than to say he was eager to read the plates (verse 10). A teacher might ask why Nephi includes how his mom, Sariah, reacted (verse 8), but not his dad, Lehi. Why do we have an expression of faith from Lehi that his sons will be returned to them (verse 5) but not his actual reaction to their return? Identifying the gap and then attempting to answer these questions to fill in the gap can lead to deeper application and conversion.

Another interesting gap is found in Doctrine and Covenants 121. This section is an epistle to the Church written by Joseph Smith the Prophet while he was a prisoner in the jail at Liberty, Missouri. Joseph was taken to Liberty Jail in November 1838 and stayed there until April 1839. This section is dated March 20, 1839. The section starts off with Joseph seemingly in despair. “O God, where art thou? . . . How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries? Yea, O Lord, how long shall they suffer . . . before thine heart shall be softened toward them, and thy bowels be moved with compassion toward them? . . . Remember thy suffering saints” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:1–4, 6).

A reader can hardly miss the abrupt change in tone when the Lord begins speaking in verses 7–8: “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shall triumph over all thy foes.”

Hearing the voice of the Lord is difficult in times of despair and questioning. How did Joseph change his mindset so completely as to be able to hear these words from the Lord? A student would benefit from further explanation as to how to get out of crippling doubt or the severe depression Joseph experienced at the beginning of the section. A teacher could stop and ask himself, Why the sudden change in mindset, and why was there no reason given for that change?

Further research, in this case, reveals the answer. This section of the Doctrine and Covenants is an excerpt from a longer letter, only parts of which are canonized in scripture. In part, the section left out between verse 6 and 7 (with original spelling and punctuation) reads:

We received some letters last evening one from Emma one from Don C[arlos] Smith and one from Bishop Partridge all breathing a kind and consoling spirit we were much gratified with there contence [their contents] we had been a long time without information and when we read those letters they were to our soles <souls> as the gentle air, <is> refreshing . . . and we need not say to you that the flood gates of our harts were hoisted and our eyes were a fountain of tears but those who have not been inclosed in the walls of a prison without cause or provocation can have but a little ideah how sweat [sweet] the voice of a friend is one token of friendship from any sorce whatever awakens and calles into action every simpathetick feeling . . . until finally all enmity malice and hatred and past differences misundertandings and mismanagements lie slain victoms at the feet of hope and when the hart is sufficiently contrite and <then> the voice of inspiration steals along and whispers my son pease be unto thy soul.[12]

Joseph had received a letter from his wife, his brother, and his friend. His soul was refreshed by the reminder of close association. He was able to stop worrying and find hope again in his own contrite heart. He was then able to hear the words the Lord needed to share with him. While most scripture cannot be easily extracted from a larger document to give the reader more context, the skill of looking for a gap and learning to ask why it’s there can yield deeper understanding.

Imagine a Life Preparation lesson on how we hear the Spirit. Many students live in the place in between despair and hope. A place of numbness and uncertainty in their relationship with the Savior. Noticing the gap in Joseph’s narrative helps students to find the application needed to crawl out of their own gap in understanding how the Savior talks to them and ultimately helps them. They may decide that if Joseph could find a way out, then so can they. They will find patience in the continued narrative of the struggles of Joseph Smith and how they coincide with their own struggles. Again, teaching the Life Preparation lesson inside of the Come, Follow Me block yields significant spiritual learning in the classroom. By looking for gaps, teachers can prepare to guide students into new ways of thinking about and asking questions of the scriptural text.

Visualization and Personification

The scriptures are full of symbols. Symbols are designed to lead the reader to deeper understanding of and even introspection on a concept or principle. By focusing on an object or an animal, truths can be taught as a teacher learns to apply the qualities of an object to themselves. By seeking to see the scene or setting of a scripture story, she can begin to ask questions she may not have asked before and gain insights she may not have gained.

For example, the Life Preparation curriculum has a lesson on developing healthy habits. Teaching this through the scriptures can be a daunting challenge. Consider perhaps Jeremiah 18:2–4:[13] “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, . . . and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.”

Jeremiah is teaching his readers about the qualities of clay and how the potter works with it. The clay must be soft and pliable to be wrought on the wheel. It must allow the potter to mold and shape it. Jeremiah is also considering the potter. When something goes wrong, no fault is even hinted at, just the fact that something went wrong. Then the potter simply makes it again using the same clay, perhaps softer and more malleable than before because of the previous marring.

Jeremiah is not just telling a story about how to throw a clay pot; he is teaching his readers about the nature of God. We are the clay and God is the potter. We need to take steps in our lives to become softer and bend our will to the touch of his hand. We need to understand that if we are marred by something in our lives, God does not just throw us away and start again with another lump of clay. He patiently and carefully starts to mold us again into the vessel that he knows we can become.

In studying for the Life Preparation lesson on developing healthy habits, a teacher might start by asking, “How is throwing a clay pot like developing a good habit?” or “What can the clay do, if anything, to be softer and more malleable?” Also, “What does it mean that the potter simply ‘makes it again’ when something goes wrong?” “What can be learned about the character of God?” Through using a scripture from Come, Follow Me, she is learning not just about healthy habits but also about God’s role in creating those habits. The teacher, by seeing herself as the creation in the hand of a Creator, can gain invaluable insights that will bless her students.

Change Your Point of View

Many times, we read the scriptures and we see ourselves as Nephi or the woman with an issue of blood, as Moses or as Joseph in the Sacred Grove. We are the hero, the protagonist, the person who is effecting change in the story. We gain new insights as we look through the eyes of different characters or objects in the story.

For example, Doctrine and Covenants 4 is a strong missionary section. Missionaries throughout the world memorize it in their mission language and repeat it often to each other. The section heading reads: “1–4, Valiant service saves the Lord’s ministers; 5–6, Godly attributes qualify them for the ministry, 7, The things of God must be sought after.” We are the ones who thrust the “sickle with [our] might” to bring in the “harvest.”

However, what would happen if a teacher considered himself as the wheat to be harvested? What does it mean to be harvested? Is he “white,” meaning pure and ready? Is he bursting with potential to be laid “up in store?” If he is the wheat yearning for that harvest, who is the one who thrusts in the sickle to harvest him? What does focusing on the harvester teach about the nature of God?

Life Preparation lessons about our responsibility to share the gospel focus on what we can do for others to bring them to the gospel. Using a common missionary scripture to teach that it is in fact we who need to be harvested and gathered can help the teacher to teach in a deeper and more meaningful way about how to prepare for missionary service, with or without the tag on the chest.

Another example is found in Doctrine and Covenants 25, written to Emma Smith. Many promises and blessings are given to her. “I will preserve thy life, and thou shalt receive an inheritance in Zion” (verse 2), “thy sins are forgiven” (verse 3), “thou shalt be ordained under his hand to expound scriptures, and to exhort the church, according as it shall be given thee by my Spirit” (verse 7), and “a crown of righteousness thou shalt receive” (verse 15).

Emma went through a lot because of her marriage to the Prophet Joseph. She was moved from place to place and served the people who always seemed to need serving. She is wholly deserving of each of these blessings promised to her. However, the last verse expands the section to more than just her. “And verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my voice unto all. Amen” (verse 16). As a teacher prepares to teach this section to students, he may consider putting himself in Emma’s shoes. In what ways does this section apply to him? In what ways doesn’t it? How can he change his life to be worthy of the blessings and promises given to Emma?[14] In verse 11, Emma was asked to create a selection of sacred hymns. A teacher might ask what the Lord is asking him to do to build the kingdom of God.

This can apply in Life Preparation lessons that deal with ideas of setting goals, being better disciples of Jesus Christ, or ministering to others. Because in Come, Follow Me we may be already studying the Doctrine and Covenants and the characters from Church history such as Emma Smith, the examples in the Life Preparation lessons are strengthened. Changing the point of view from which a teacher presents the story can lead teachers to ask different questions and garner new ways to apply scriptures to students.

Turn the Negative into the Positive

Many passages in the scriptures bring light and life to the soul of the reader. Doctrine and Covenants 45:66 says, “And it shall be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God.” Doctrine and Covenants 138:14–15 says, “All these had departed the mortal life, firm in the hope of a glorious resurrection, through the grace of God the Father and his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. I beheld that they were filled with joy and gladness, and were rejoicing together because the day of their deliverance was at hand.”

It’s easy to feel uplifted and hopeful when reading scriptures such as these. But what if these scriptures were included in the Come, Follow Me block for that week?

Behold, thus saith the Lord unto my people—you have many things to do and to repent of; for behold, your sins have come up unto me, and are not pardoned, because you seek to counsel in your own ways.

And your hearts are not satisfied. And ye obey not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness.

Wo unto you rich men, that will not give your substance to the poor, for your riches will canker your souls; and this shall be your lamentation in the day of visitation, and of judgment, and of indignation: The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved!

Wo unto you poor men, whose hearts are not broken, whose spirits are not contrite, and whose bellies are not satisfied, and whose hands are not stayed from laying hold upon other men’s goods, whose eyes are full of greediness, and who will not labor with your own hands! (Doctrine and Covenants 56:14–17)

What could a teacher ask herself to feel hopeful and joyful in these seemingly negative and heavy scriptures? What could she do to teach a Life Preparation lesson emphasizing the positive aspects of repentance, especially in light of President Nelson’s many statements about repentance? For example, “Nothing is more liberating, more ennobling, or more crucial to our individual progression than is a regular, daily focus on repentance. Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind.”[15] Perhaps she could turn each negative thing toward the positive. In preparation, perhaps she could rewrite the entire passage switching the negative to positive. For example:

Behold, thus saith the Lord unto my people—you have many things to do and to repent of (repentance is a good thing); but behold, you have repented of your sins and they have been pardoned because you seek only the ways of God.

Your hearts are satisfied. (What does it mean to have your heart satisfied?) You obey the truth and have pleasure in righteousness. (When in your life have you had pleasure in righteousness?)

God is happy with rich men who give of their substance to the poor. (What do you have in abundance that you could give to other people? Can riches signify more than money?) For your riches will be used to lift others as well as yourself and you will be joyful in the day of visitation, and of judgment. The harvest is past, and the summer is ended, and I have been gathered in to the Lord’s storehouse with those my money has helped. (How do you think it feels to be gathered?)

This approach is eisegetical, helping teachers to view the scriptures in new ways and ask questions that can guide students toward conversion to the gospel.

Looking at the next verse leads to more introspection: “But blessed are the poor who are pure in heart, whose hearts are broken, and whose spirits are contrite, for they shall see the kingdom of God coming in power and great glory unto their deliverance; for the fatness of the earth shall be theirs” (Doctrine and Covenants 56:18). Teachers could compare their positive verse with the one provided in verse 18, leading to new ways to see these verses that turn negative ideas into positive ones: “God is happy with poor men whose hearts are broken (What does being poor have to do with your heart being broken?), and whose spirits are contrite, and whose bellies are satisfied, and whose hands are not stayed from serving their fellow man, whose eyes are full of goodness, and who will labor with their own hands.”

Look for Jesus Christ and His Attributes

In my personal reading, studying, and searching over a period of years, I have focused many times upon the doctrine of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. No event, knowledge, or influence has had a greater impact on me during my fifty-four years of mortality than repeatedly reading about, studying in depth, and searching for connections, patterns, and themes related to the doctrine of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This central, saving doctrine has gradually distilled upon my soul as the dews from heaven over time; has influenced my thoughts, words and deeds; and has become for me a well of living water.[16]

In the Venn diagram I mentioned at the beginning of this paper, one of the circles is labeled “Christ-centered.” Many times in the scriptures, we hear the words of Jesus Christ or have stories from his life and ministry. These direct quotations are valuable to a teacher in catching the attention and curiosity of students. However, even these direct quotations can have greater significance when looked at in a different way. A teacher might notice how Christ refers to himself in the scripture and what promises he makes.

Doctrine and Covenants 61 has the phrase “I, the Lord” nine times. While noticing the repetition of the phrase “I, the Lord” notice what can be learned about Christ. A teacher might organize his study in a table like the one below. Doing so will lead to valuable insights that can be shared with students and a deeper understanding of the nature and attributes of Jesus Christ. This activity can be nicely inserted in a Life Preparation lesson on faith in Jesus Christ to build spiritual self-reliance.

In addition to references to Christ in scripture, there are stories of many people who exhibit Christlike attributes in their lives. Looking for these examples, as a teacher prepares Life Preparation lessons in the Come, Follow Me block, can help students see Christ more often and discuss his attributes in every class. Of the many people in the Doctrine and Covenants who exhibit Christlike attributes, I offer one example: the Prophet Joseph Smith.

In the Doctrine and Covenants, Joseph Smith is referred to often as “my servant Joseph.” In fact, those words are used ninety-seven times in thirty-five different sections. Sometimes the Lord is referring to the Prophet Joseph for the benefit of other people as instructions are given. Other times Joseph is being addressed individually to be given commendation or advice. Sometimes other people are being compared to Joseph either to point out good qualities or qualities to improve. In each instance, the Lord is referring to Joseph by a title that he himself took on during his ministry.

Consider the story of Christ washing the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper found in John 13. This task was often given to the lowest servant of the household. Feet of guests were dirty from dusty or muddy roads, and sandals were the common footwear of the time. To perform the task, one had to kneel in a humble posture before the person being washed. It may be understandable to see the reason Peter objects to his Master participating in such a menial task, saying, “Thou shalt never wash my feet” (verse 8). However, just hours before his suffering in Gethsemane, the Savior needed to ensure that this one, last lesson was understood by all who were there. In John 13:12–16 Christ says, “Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.” By referring to Joseph Smith as “my servant,” Christ is again teaching this direct lesson: being a servant is a quality to aspire to, not to reject. Being a servant is to be as Christ is. Noticing the qualities and attributes of Christ in the Come, Follow Me block will assist teachers in teaching the Life Preparation lessons with far greater weight of meaning.

The Holy Ghost Will Help

In almost every lesson, there is more material in the scriptures than can possibly be presented in one lesson. The decision to choose one principle or doctrine over another can be difficult, especially in a text rich with meaning. Before a teacher starts to read the text in preparation for a lesson, she needs to take extra care to invite the Holy Ghost to be with her. Doctrine and Covenants 8:2 states, “Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.” Doctrine and Covenants 68:3–5 says, “And this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost. And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation. Behold, this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my servants.”

The Holy Ghost is essential in lesson planning. Selecting the two or three principles or doctrines that are most relevant to the teenagers in the class can only be done through the power of the Holy Ghost. A teacher needs to take special care to invite the Spirit to be with her as she prepares and while she teaches. This practice will lend learner-focused relevance and Christ-centered depth that will lead to conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

I was asked to teach the Life Preparation lessons during the semester starting in January 2024. I was concerned about my ability to do it effectively. I’d been well versed in how to teach scripture, especially scripture in context, but I felt insecure about my ability to teach the topics found in the Life Preparation lessons. Lessons on anxiety, anger management, sadness, and depression seemed especially daunting to me. During Thanksgiving break 2023, I set about to see how many scriptures were included in the Life Preparation lessons. I found that every lesson had scriptures included and the scriptures taught the lessons beautifully. However, as I looked at the provided pacing guide, I noticed that many of the scriptures would not grow out of the Come, Follow Me pacing. This concerned me because I didn’t know how these new lessons would harmonize with the amazing lessons that were being learned in my classroom by following the Come, Follow Me pacing.

I went into the new semester filled with fear and trepidation, and with hope that if it came from my leaders then I could make it happen. Each Friday I would sit down and make sure I knew what I’d be teaching for the next week from my pacing guide and the school’s schedule. This meant that I would try to read the scripture block, the seminary curriculum, and the Life Preparation curriculum the week before I taught it. I found that as I read the scriptures with the Life Preparation lesson in mind, I found new insights I’d never seen or thought of before. The idea excited me as I considered whether every Life Preparation lesson could be applied to the Come, Follow Me scripture block where it was placed in my pacing guide.

My experience has been that the scriptures are richer in meaning and application than I ever thought possible. I’ve seen things in scripture that I’d glossed over before. I’ve tried activities in my classroom that I never would have tried. I’ve been abundantly blessed in my own personal testimony of the scriptures as well as my testimony of Jesus Christ. I know the scriptures can change lives. I know the topics presented in the Life Preparation lessons are vitally important. Combining these two created meaning and depth I had not imagined was possible. As I further studied, I wondered if, because of the universal applicability of the Life Preparation lessons, any Life Preparation lesson could be taught out of any Come, Follow Me lesson. I suspect this is the case. For me, using the scripture study skills cited above made all the difference in seeing these parallels.

The study of the word of God as found in the scriptures helps me to prepare to teach my students. The list of scripture study skills described in this paper has inspired deeper study and brought forth learner-focused and Christ-centered ideas that have helped in my classroom. By changing my lens, asking different questions, looking for gaps and blanks, using visualization and personification, changing my point of view, turning the negative into the positive, looking for Jesus Christ and his attributes, and using the Holy Ghost to guide me, I have been more effective at guiding my students into the scriptures more often. With the addition of Life Preparation lessons, I have learned that the ability to deeply read scripture is vital for every type of lesson I have been asked to teach.

The Lord truly trusts seminary teachers as his servants to determine what to teach and how to teach. With the Lord at our side, all things are possible. Employing the scriptures in the methodical teaching of my classroom has lent learner-focused relevance and Christ-centered depth that I hope has led my students to conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have learned this by study.

Notes

[1] For example, when Nephi and his brothers attempt to retrieve the brass plates, Nephi states at the outset that he “will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded” (1 Nephi 3:7). Then in verse 11 he consults his brethren, and they cast lots. Laban is sent to retrieve the plates and is unsuccessful. The second time he relies on his own idea and tries to buy the plates with “gold and silver, and all manner of riches” (1 Nephi 3:16). The whole time he is citing that the Lord has sent them and will prepare a way, but he is still learning what reliance on the Lord will really mean. The second time is also unsuccessful. The third time Nephi goes by himself, stating in 1 Nephi 4:6 that “I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.” Finally he is successful, in part because he learned what wholly relying on the Lord means.

[2] Richard G. Scott, “The Power of Scripture,” general conference talk, October 2011, www.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[3] Eric D. Huntsman, “Teaching Through Exegesis: Helping Students Ask Questions of the Text,” Religious Educator 6, no. 1 (2005): 110.

[4] Isaiah 9:12, 17, 21 New Revised Standard Version.

[5] Isaiah 9:12, 17, 21 New International Version.

[6] Isaiah 9:12, 17, 21 The Jewish Study Bible, Second Edition (Oxford University Press, 2014), 785–86.

[7] Robert Alter is an emeritus professor at UC Berkeley. He translated the entire Old Testament over the course of two decades. His translation stands out as the only one accomplished by a single individual.

[8] Isaiah 9:12, 17, 21 Robert Alter, trans., Prophets, vol. 2 of the The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary (W. W. Norton, 2019), 652–54.

[9] Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2015), lesson 118.

[10] W. Craig Zwick, “Lord, Wilt Thou Cause That My Eyes May Be Opened,” general conference talk, October 2017, www.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[11] Grant Hardy, Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader’s Guide (Oxford, 2010), 20, and Meir Sternberg, The Poetics of Biblical Narrative: Ideological Literature and the Drama of Reading (Indiana University Press, 1987), 236, as cited in Hardy, Understanding the Book of Mormon.

[12] Doctrine and Covenants 121: Letter to the Church and Edward Partridge, 20 March 1839, 6, www.josephsmithpapers.org; see Letter to Edward Partridge and the Church, circa 22 March 1839, www.josephsmithpapers.org.

[13] This scripture was employed in my classroom after pointing out the words of 2 Nephi 27:27: “Surely, your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay. But behold, I will show unto them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that I know all their works. For shall the work say of him that made it, he made me not? Or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, he had no understanding?”

[14] An interesting study would include all the things the Lord asks Emma to be obedient to in order to qualify for the named blessings. For example, be faithful and walk in the paths of virtue (verse 2), murmur not (verse 4), lay aside the things of this world (verse 10), lift up thy heart and rejoice and cleave unto the covenants which thou hast made (verse 13), continue in the spirit of meekness and beware of pride (verse 14), and keep my commandments continually (verse 15).

[15] Russell M. Nelson, “We Can Do Better and Be Better,” general conference talk, April 2019, www.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[16] David A. Bednar, “A Reservoir of Living Water,” BYU devotional, February 4, 2007, https://speeches.byu.edu.