Teaching the Gospel

in the Saviors Way

A Guide to Come, Follow Me: Learning Resources for Youth

This guidebook belongs to

THOUGHTS AND IMPRESSIONS

As you study and ponder, you may want to record thoughts and impressions about the youth
in your quorum or class, the principles you are learning, and how to follow the example of the
Savior. Referring back to this booklet will help you continue to learn and grow in your calling.

2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. 8/12. PD50035334.

Teaching the Gospel

in the Saviors Way

A Guide to Come, Follow Me: Learning Resources for Youth

Contents
Welcome

Your Purpose

Teaching in the Saviors Way

Principles of Teaching Youth

Strengthen the Family
Prepare Spiritually
Counsel Together
Minister to the Youth
Teach the Gospel

6
6
6
6
6
7

Determining What to Teach

Learning Outlines

Increasing Your Effectiveness

Using the Learning Outline

10

The Purposes of Each Organization and Auxiliary

Families
Aaronic Priesthood
Young Women
Sunday School
Seminary

12
12
12
12
12
13

Uniformity and Adaptation

13

Basic Doctrinal Principles

14

WELCOME
Beloved Parents, Teachers, Advisers, and Leaders of Youth:
You are called by the Lord to help youth become
converted to the gospel. What a wonderful blessing
this is! You have the opportunity to establish lifelong
relationships with the precious youth the Lord has entrusted to your care. As you understand their unique
needs and desires, you will be able to help them experience for themselves the blessings of learning and
living the gospel every day.
The most important part of your service will
be your own daily spiritual preparation, including
prayer, scripture study, and obedience to the commandments. We encourage you to dedicate yourself
to living the gospel with greater purpose than ever
before. As you do, you will understand how to help
youth learn the gospel by their own study and faith,
to discover the truthfulness of the gospel for themselves, and to strengthen their families and others by
sharing their experiences, insights, and testimony.
As your love for each youth grows, you will be
filled with a desire to help them establish patterns of

personal prayer, scripture study, and obedience that

will lead them to conversion. Pray for the youth each
day, and counsel with parents, leaders, and teachers
to coordinate your efforts. You will be richly rewarded as you encourage, mentor, and support youth in
every opportunity.
This booklet has been prepared as a guide and as
a personal record of impressions you receive as you
fulfill your sacred responsibility to teach the youth.
We encourage you to study and follow the principles
it contains. Every worthy Latter-day Saint can teach
the gospel in the Saviors way. As you follow His
example, the Holy Ghost will help you know what to
do. Your own testimony will grow, your conversion
will be deepened, and you will be strengthened to
meet the challenges of life.
May our Heavenly Father bless you in your service to His beloved youth.

The First Presidency

Your Purpose
The First Presidency has taught that your purpose as a teacher of youth is to help them become
converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The path to conversion is a personal one.
Conversion does not happen in a meeting, class,
or activity alone. Ultimately, youth are converted
by diligently living the gospel each daypraying,
studying the scriptures, keeping the commandments,
fulfilling priesthood and other duties, attending the
temple, serving their families and others, and sharing
the gospel. As they do these things, their desires,
attitudes, and actions begin to align with Heavenly
Fathers will. They become happy and confident, and
they delight to act . . . and not to be acted upon
(2 Nephi 2:26). They strive to obey the promptings
of the Holy Ghost, resist temptation, and do many
[good] things of their own free will (D&C 58:27).
They become saint[s] through the atonement of
Christ (Mosiah 3:19).

All of us are converted as we learn to walk the

gospel path for ourselves. In your role, the way you
befriend, encourage, and support youth in their personal spiritual devotion, and the way you teach and
learn with them in both formal and informal settings,
will help them stay on the path and progress toward
personal, lifelong conversion.

TEACHING IN THE SAVIORS WAY

Reflect for a moment on what you know about
the Savior. Can you see Him in your mindwith His
disciples gathered around Him? Can you see Him
teaching the multitudes beside the Sea of Galilee or
speaking personally to the woman at the well? What
do you notice about His way of teaching and leading?
How did He help others learn, grow spiritually, and
become converted to His gospel?
He loved them, prayed for them, and continually served them. He found opportunities to be with
them and to express His love. He knew their interests,
hopes, and desires and what was happening in their
lives.
He knew who they were and who they could
become. He found unique ways to help them learn
and growways meant just for them. When they
struggled, He did not give up on them but continued
to love them and minister to them.
He prepared Himself to teach by spending time
alone in prayer and fasting. In daily, private moments,
He sought His Heavenly Fathers guidance.
He used the scriptures to teach and testify
about His mission. He taught people to think about

scriptures for themselves and use them to find answers

to their own questions. Their hearts burned within
them as He taught the word of God with power and
authority, and they knew for themselves that the scriptures are true.
He shared simple stories, parables, and real-life
examples that made sense to them. He helped them
discover gospel lessons in their own experiences and
in the world around them. He spoke of fishing, of
childbirth, of working in the fields. To teach about
watching over each other, He told stories about rescuing lost sheep. To teach His disciples to trust Heavenly Fathers tender care, He urged them to consider
the lilies of the field.
He asked questions that caused them to think
and feel deeply. He was sincerely interested in their
answers and rejoiced in their expressions of faith. He
gave them opportunities to ask their own questions
and share their own insights, and He responded to
their questions and listened to their experiences. Because of His love, they felt safe sharing their thoughts
and personal feelings.
He invited them to testify, and as they did, the
Spirit touched their hearts. Whom say ye that I am?

He asked. As Peter responded, his testimony was

strengthened: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God.
He trusted them, prepared them, and gave them
important responsibilities to teach, bless, and serve
others. Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature, He charged them. His purpose
was to help them become converted through their
service to others.
He invited them to act in faith and live the
truths He taught. In all His teaching, He focused on
helping His followers live the gospel with all their
hearts. To accomplish this, He found opportunities for
them to learn through powerful experiences.
When He appeared to the Nephites, He
invited them to come to Him one by
one, that they might see, feel, and
know Him for themselves. When He
sensed that they did not fully understand His message, He invited them
to go home and prepare themselves to
come back and learn more.

In every setting, He was their example and mentor. He taught them to pray by praying with them. He
taught them to love and serve by the way He loved
and served them. He taught them how to teach His
gospel by the way He taught it.
Clearly, the Saviors way of teaching is different
from the worlds way.
This, then, is your sacred callingto teach as the
Savior taught. As you do, the youth will give place in
their hearts for the seed of the gospel to be planted, to
swell, and to grow. This will lead to conversionthe
ultimate goal of your teaching. As you help youth
become converted, you help them prepare
to follow the Savior throughout their
livesto worthily attend the temple,
receive the Melchizedek Priesthood,
serve missions, make sacred covenants, raise righteous families, and
build Gods kingdom in all the world.
How great will be your joy!

Principles of Teaching Youth

How do you put into practice the principles of the Saviors way of teaching? Here are a few simple suggestions.
Formore information, see Handbook 2: Administering the Church (2010), 1.4, 3.2.

Strengthen the Family

Counsel Together

The ideal place for youth to learn and live the gospel is at home, under the loving guidance of righteous
parents. A Christ-centered home gives youth the best
preparation to receive the sacred ordinances of the
gospel. (See Teaching, No Greater Call,12743.)
For this reason, the auxiliaries, activities, and programs of the Church (including the Duty to God and
Personal Progress books, For the Strength of Youth, and
youth curriculum materials) exist to support parents
as they help their sons and daughters become converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Helping youth become converted requires the

combined efforts of parents, leaders, advisers, and
teachers, including seminary teachers. Counsel
together about the needs of the youth. Find out what
they are learning at home, at church, and in seminary
so that you can build on it as you teach them. Together you will be able to create a much more powerful
learning experience for the youth than you could
accomplish separately.
There are many opportunities for parents, teachers, advisers, and leaders to counsel together. Here are
some examples:

Prepare Spiritually
The Lord commanded, First seek to obtain my
word (D&C 11:21). Part of preparing spiritually is
studying for yourself the doctrine you will teach.
The Spirit will guide you to that which will be most
relevant and helpful to the youth. Then, as you strive
to live what you teach, you will be able to testify of the
truthfulness of the gospel from your own experience.
(See Teaching, No Greater Call,1220.)

Leadership meetings, such as ward council or

bishopric youth committee meetings.
Brief, informal gatherings before or after regular
Church meetings.
Telephone or e-mail communications.

Minister to the Youth

Teach the Gospel

Teaching youth means more than just imparting

information. Christlike teaching involves mentoring
and encouraging the youth in their personal efforts to
live the gospel in daily life. It may include reaching
out to them beyond regularly scheduled meetings,
classes, and activities.
Try to love the youth as Heavenly Father loves
them. He sees the best in them; He has patience as
they grow. He encourages them even when they struggle to do what is right, and He never gives up. (See
Teaching, No Greater Call,3139.)

In all gospel teaching, the Spirit is the real teacher.

If you seek His guidance, He will touch your heart
and inspire those you teach.
One of the best ways to invite the Spirit is to
engage the youth in discussing the scriptures and the
most recent teachings from living prophets. The online
learning outlines will help you find the most relevant
resources.
Often the youth have their own spiritual experiences and insights to share. They can do this in family
home evening, in classes or quorum meetings, in Mutual activities, as guests in Primary, or in many other
formal and informal settings. When they share their
testimonies with each other, the Spirit bears witness,
and all are edified. (See Teaching, No Greater Call,5059.)

Determining What to Teach

Come, Follow Me: Learning Resources for Youth is organized into units based on principles of the restored
gospel of Jesus Christ (for an overview of some of
these principles, see pages 1416 of this guidebook).
Each unit includes several learning outlines that
advisers and teachers can use to prepare for Aaronic
Priesthood quorum meetings and Young Women and
Sunday School classes. Parents are also invited and
encouraged to use them in their families.
The units have been arranged into a monthly
schedule to help coordinate the gospel-learning
experiences of the youth across the Church. There
are often more learning outlines in a unit than can be
taught in one month. Ward leaders and teachers of
youth should counsel together to determine which
learning outlines to teach from each unit. If you are

an adviser in the Aaronic Priesthood or Young Women, counsel with your quorum and class presidencies
when selecting learning outlines. You can also invite
quorum and class members to discuss what they
want or need to learn.
As you plan what to teach, prayerfully think
about your youth. What experiences are they having?
What challenges or temptations do they face? What
questions do they have? What doctrine will they need
to understand to prepare for their future? You may
find that you need to make your plan flexible enough
that you can adapt it as new needs or questions arise.
For example, you may find that the youth need more
than one week to discuss a topic. Let the needs of
the youth, not a predetermined schedule, guide your
teaching.

Learning Outlines
Each learning outline focuses on questions that
youth may have and doctrine that can help them find
answers to those questions. Learning outlines are not
meant to prescribe what you will say and do as you
teach. They are designed to help you learn the doctrine
for yourself and prepare to engage the youth in powerful learning experiences. Tailor these experiences
to their interests and needs. Consider ways you can
inspire them to act for themselves in seeking, finding,
and sharing answers to their own gospel questions.

Each outline includes references and links to

recent teachings from the living prophets and other
Church leaders, especially those given in general conference and the general Young Women meeting. These
teachings are continually updated so that you can help
youth learn and live the counsel of living prophets
soon after it is delivered. Refer back to these outlines
often for the most current teachings of Church leaders.
To learn more, see pages 1011.

Increasing Your Effectiveness

Learning outlines also include links to brief videos about helping youth become
converted. Also, training videos for the Aaronic Priesthood, Young Women, and
Sunday School are available in the Leadership Training Library.
All of these videos feature real-life examples of leaders and teachers who are helping youth become converted to the gospel. You can
study them individually or with other teachers to better understand the interactive nature of learning and teaching with youth.

USING THE LEARNING OUTLINE

Select an outline
Leaders and teachers select outlines, based
on the interests and needs of the youth. What
is relevant to their lives? What does Heavenly
Father want them to discover today?

Review the doctrine

Read brief summaries of doctrine and
principles taught in this outline.

Prepare mind and heart

Prayerfully consider how the doctrineand principles apply in your
lifeand the lives of the youth.

Study updated resources

Find the most recent and relevant
youth messages from the living
p
rophets, or use other approved
Church resources.

Teach like the Savior

Consider how the Savior teaches,
and modelyour teaching after Him.

10

Begin with the youth

Help youth engage in active learning by providing
them an opportunity to ask questions and discuss
what theyre learning and experiencing.

Create learning
experiences
Engage youth in searching
the scriptures, sharing personal examples, and teaching, serving, and strengthening each other.

Improve teaching
and learning
Find links to real-life examples
of teaching for conversion.
These include testimonies,
illustrations, and experiences
of members who are teaching
youth just as you are.

Support personal
conversion
Support the youth in their
p
ersonal efforts to learn
andlive the gospel.

11

The Purposes of Each Organization and Auxiliary

Families, Aaronic Priesthood quorums, and Young Women, Sunday School, and seminary classes have unique purposes in helping youth to become converted to the gospel. Knowing about these purposes can help you understand
the experiences your youth are having as they learn the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Families
Heavenly Father established families as a central
part of His plan to help His children learn the gospel
in a loving atmosphere and prepare for eternal life.
Parents have the primary responsibility to teach their
children (see D&C 68:2528), which includes preparing them to receive the ordinances of exaltation. No
one can take the place of parents in this God-given
responsibility. Priesthood quorums, auxiliaries, and
Church programs exist to support and strengthen
families.
Aaronic Priesthood
Aaronic Priesthood holders are to
become converted, fulfill their sacred
priesthood duties, be standing ministers (D&C 84:111), prepare to
receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and temple ordinances,
and become worthy
missionaries, husbands,
and fathers. They meet
together in a Sunday
quorum meeting,
which is more than
just a class. Each
meeting is prayerfully planned by the
quorum presidency
with the assistance of
advisers, but always
under the direction of
the quorum president,
who holds priesthood
keys. As instructed in the
Doctrine and Covenants,
the quorum president presides
in the quorum meeting, sits in
council with quorum members,
and teaches them their duties (see D&C
107:8587, 99100). Quorum meetings also
provide an occasion to conduct quorum business,
which may include making assignments, reporting

12

and following up on previous assignments, and communicating and coordinating activities. These
meetings also provide an opportunity for
young men to encourage and support
each other in their Duty to God
efforts, especially as they share
what they are learning.
Young Women
Young Women
Sunday classes provide unique learning
experiences that
help young women
become worthy to
enter the temple
and prepare for
their eternal roles
as covenant women,
wives, and mothers.
Each lesson begins
with sharing the Young
Women theme and focuses on the Book of Mormon
and teachings of the living
prophets. Lessons also provide
opportunities to learn and live the
Young Women values and the standards in For the Strength of Youth. As young
women exercise their agency to participate in
learning experiences that invite the Holy Ghost, they
are enlightened, encouraged, and strengthened to live
the gospel personally and in their families. Personal
Progress and Mutual activities play an integral role
in the conversion process as young women practice
what they are learning. To ensure that each young
woman has sufficient opportunity to accept and act
on the doctrine, multiple weeks may be spent on one
lesson topic.
Sunday School
Sunday School strengthens faith in Heavenly
Father and Jesus Christ by providing opportunities for

young men and young women and their teachers to

learn and teach the doctrine of the gospel together and
to strengthen one another in living it. Sunday School
provides a unique and essential opportunity for youth
to make connections between what they are learning
in their personal study and their experiences at home,
in seminary, in other Church meetings and classes,
and in daily life. In Sunday School, special emphasis
is given to helping youth develop skills and confidence to become Christlike learners and teachers. Members of the ward Sunday School
presidency serve as specialists in efforts
to improve learning and teaching in
the ward (see Handbook 2: Administering the Church [2010], 12.5).
Seminary
Seminary provides weekday religious education for
the youth. Its purpose is to
help youth understand and
rely on the teachings and
Atonement of Jesus Christ,
qualify for the blessings
of the temple, and prepare
themselves, their families,
and others for eternal life with
their Father in Heaven. Seminary teachers and students study,
and are encouraged to apply, the
principles of the gospel as found in
the scriptures and words of the prophets. They seek to teach and learn by the
Spirit in an environment of love, respect, and
purpose and in a way that leads to understanding and edification. Students are expected to take
an active role in the learning process and are given
opportunities to explain, share, and testify of gospel
doctrine and principles. They are encouraged to study
the scriptures daily, read the scriptural text for the
course, and master key scripture passages and basic
doctrinal principles.

Uniformity and Adaptation

Many suggestions in this guidebook can
be adapted to work in local circumstances. As
teachers and leaders understand the purpose
of these suggestions, they will be inspired to
find alternatives that meet the needs of their
youth. The following principles should not be
adjusted:
Leaders and teachers select and prepare
lessons from the unit recommended for
the month. They base their selections on
the needs of the youth they teach.
Wherever possible, teachers (including
seminary teachers) coordinate and reinforce each others efforts.
Advisers and teachers earnestly try to
teach as the Savior taughtengaging the
youth in discovering the gospel through
participation in learning experiences.
These may include searching the scriptures together, discussing ideas, sharing
personal experiences and insights, and
bearing testimony.
Youth are encouraged to share what they
are learning with their families and with
others. They should also be given opportunities to teach in Church meetings and
activities.
All learning at Church should encourage,
build upon, and lead to private spiritual
experiences in personal prayer, scripture
study, pondering, living the gospel in daily
life, and serving others. Ultimately, this
personal effort is the key to conversion.

13

Basic Doctrinal Principles

1. Godhead
There are three separate personages in the Godhead: God the Eternal Father; His Son, Jesus Christ;
and the Holy Ghost (see Articles of Faith 1:1; Acts
7:5556). The Father and the Son have tangible bodies
of flesh and bone, and the Holy Ghost is a personage
of spirit (see D&C 130:2223). Although the members
of the Godhead are distinct beings with distinct roles,
they are one in purpose. They are perfectly united
in bringing to pass Heavenly Fathers divine plan of
salvation.
Related references:Galatians 5:2223; D&C 76:2224
2. Plan of Salvation
In the premortal existence, Heavenly Father
introduced a plan to enable us to become like Him
and obtain immortality and eternal life (see Moses
1:39). The scriptures refer to this plan as the plan of
salvation, the great plan of happiness, the plan of
redemption, and the plan of mercy (see Alma 42:5, 8,
11, 15). The plan includes the Creation, the Fall, the
Atonement of Jesus Christ, the Resurrection, the Final
Judgment, and all God-given laws, ordinances, doctrine, and commandments. Moral agency, the ability
to choose and act for ourselves, is also essential in
Heavenly Fathers plan. The Holy Ghost is provided
to guide us in our choices.
Because of the plan of salvation, we can be perfected through the Atonement, receive a fulness of joy,
and live forever in the presence of God. Our family
relationships can last through the eternities.
Related references:Genesis 1:2627; 2 Nephi 2:25;
31:1920; Moses 6:5262; Abraham 3:2226; The
Family: A Proclamation to the World
3. Atonement of Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ was the only one capable of making
a perfect Atonement. His Atonement included His
suffering for our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane,
His death on the cross, and His Resurrection from
the tomb. In addition to suffering for our sins, He
also took upon Himself our pains, sicknesses, and
infirmities (see Alma 7:1113). Jesus Christ overcame
physical and spiritual death. Because of His Atonement, everyone will be resurrected (see 1 Corinthians

14

15:2022). Those who repent, obey the commandments, receive the saving ordinances, and keep their
covenants will receive the gift of eternal life (see
Articles of Faith 1:3).
Related references:Isaiah 53:35; Luke 24:3639;
2 Nephi 2:27; 25:23, 26; Jacob 4:11; D&C 18:1011;
19:1619; 76:4041; The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles
4. Dispensation, Apostasy, and Restoration
A dispensation is a period of time when the Lord
reveals His gospel doctrine, ordinances, and priesthood. It is a period in which the Lord has at least
one authorized servant on the earth who bears the
holy priesthood and who has a divine commission to
dispense, or proclaim, the gospel to the inhabitants
of the earth. Today we are living in the last dispensationthe dispensation of the fulness of times (see
Ephesians 1:10).
Apostasy results when people turn away from
the principles of the gospel and no longer have priesthood keys (see 2 Thessalonians 2:13). Periods of general apostasy have occurred throughout the history
of the world, often followed by a new dispensation
when the Lord restores His doctrine, ordinances, and
priesthood (see Acts 3:1921).
Restoration refers to Gods reestablishment of
the truths and ordinances of His gospel among men
on earth. The most recent and last restoration (often
referred to as the Restoration) began in 1820 when
God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared
to Joseph Smith in response to his prayers (see Joseph
SmithHistory 1:1520). The fulness of the gospel
has been restored, and The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints is the only true and living church
upon the face of the whole earth (D&C 1:30).
Related references:Isaiah 29:1314; Daniel 2:4445;
Revelation 14:67
5. Prophets and Revelation
A prophet is a person who has been called by God
to speak for Him (see Amos 3:7). Prophets testify of
Jesus Christ and teach His gospel. They make known
Gods will and true character. At times, they prophesy

of future events. God has called prophets to speak for

Him in our day (see D&C 1:38).
Revelation is communication from God to His children. When the Lord reveals His will to the Church, He
speaks through His prophet. The scripturesthe Bible,
Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of
Great Pricecontain revelations given through ancient
and latter-day prophets. The President of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Gods prophet on
earth today.
Individuals can receive revelation to help them
with their specific needs, responsibilities, and questions and to help strengthen their testimonies. Most
revelations to leaders and members of the Church
come through impressions and thoughts from the
Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost speaks to the mind and
heart in a still, small voice (see D&C 8:23). Revelation can also come through visions, dreams, and
visitations by angels.
Related references:Psalm 119:105; Ephesians
4:1114; D&C 21:46
6. Priesthood and Priesthood Keys
Priesthood is the authority and the power that
God has granted to men on earth to act for Him.
There are two priesthoods in the Church, the Aaronic
and the Melchizedek (see D&C 107:1, 6). Priesthood
keys are given to men to direct Gods kingdom on
earth. Through these keys, priesthood holders can be
authorized to preach the gospel, administer the ordinances of salvation, and govern the kingdom of God
on the earth. All who serve in the Church are called
under the direction of one who holds priesthood
keys. Thus, they are entitled to the power needed to
serve and fulfill the responsibilities of their calling.
Through the priesthood, God created and governs the heavens and the earth. Through this power He redeems and exalts His children. God gives
priesthood authority to worthy male members of the
Church so they can act in His name for the salvation
of His children. The blessings of the priesthood are
available to allmen, women, and children.
Related references:Matthew 16:19; D&C 13;
50:2627; 84:1920, 33; 107:8; 121:36, 4142
7. Ordinances and Covenants

truths. Ordinances are performed by the authority of

the priesthood and under the direction of those who
hold priesthood keys. Some ordinances are essential to exaltation and are called saving ordinances.
They include baptism (see John 3:5; renewed by the
ordinance of the sacrament), confirmation (see Acts
2:3638), and, for men, ordination to the Melchizedek
Priesthood (see D&C 84:3334). Other saving ordinancesthe endowment and the marriage sealingare performed only in temples. The temple is
one of the most sacred places on earth. It is the house
of the Lord. All of the saving ordinances can also be
performed vicariously for the dead in the temple.
Vicarious ordinances become effective only when the
deceased persons accept them in the spirit world and
honor the related covenants (see D&C 138:3234, 58).
All saving ordinances of the priesthood are
accompanied by covenants. A covenant is a sacred
agreement between God and man. God gives the conditions for the covenant, and we agree to do what He
asks us to do. God then promises us certain blessings
for our obedience. The sacrament allows us to renew
the covenants we have made with the Lord.
Other ordinances, such as administering to the
sick and the naming and blessing of children, are also
important to our spiritual development.
Related references:Exodus 19:56; Ezekiel 11:20;
1Corinthians 15:29; Alma 30:3; D&C 42:78; 82:10;
136:4; Articles of Faith 1:3, 4
8. Marriage and Family
Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God, and the family is central to His plan of
salvation and to happiness (see Genesis 2:24). Parents
are to multiply and replenish the earth, to rear their
children in love and righteousness, and to provide
for their physical and spiritual needs. Husband and
wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for
each other. Happiness in family life is most likely to
be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the
Lord Jesus Christ, such as faith, prayer, repentance,
forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and
wholesome recreational activities. (See The Family:
A Proclamation to the World.)
Related references:Psalm 127:3; D&C 131:14;
132:1520

An ordinance is a sacred, formal act that has

spiritual meaning. Each ordinance teaches spiritual

15

9. Commandments
Commandments are the laws and requirements
that God gives to mankind. When we keep the commandments, we manifest our love for the Lord and
receive blessings from Him (see Leviticus 26:312;
John 14:15; Mosiah 2:41). We are commanded to love
God with all our heart, soul, and mind and to have
Christlike love for others (see Matthew 22:3639;
John13:3435).
The Ten Commandments were revealed to Moses
anciently and are still vital today (see Exodus 20:317).
They include keeping the Sabbath day holy (see Exodus 20:811; Isaiah 58:1314; D&C 59:913), keeping the
law of chastity (see Exodus 20:14; Genesis 39:79; Alma
39:9), and being honest (see Exodus 20:16). Examples of

16

other commandments include paying a full tithe (see

Malachi 3:810), fasting (see Isaiah 58:67), praying
(see 3 Nephi 18:15, 2021; D&C 10:5), and observing
the Word of Wisdom (seeD&C 89:1821).
We have also been commanded to become as our
Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, in our
desires, thoughts, words, and actions (see 3 Nephi
12:48). The Lord has given us eternal truths, or principles, that help govern our decisions and actions.
These principles lead us to live as the Savior and
receive His promised blessings.
Related references:James 1:56; 2 Nephi 32:89;
Mosiah 4:3; Alma 37:35; D&C 82:810; 105:5; 121:36;
130:1819; 138:4

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