Great For: Helping Students Find Meaning in the Scriptures

These teaching techniques will help students find meaning in the scriptures.

December 31, 2012
Different Lenses

Read the same block with different eyes looking for different things, as if you were wearing a new pair of glasses with different lenses. A parent, a bishop, a missionary, a teenager, someone tired and depressed, someone newly married, someone needing repentance, someone who doesn't get along with their parents, etc. For example, ask the […]

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December 31, 2012
Action Words

Sometimes the way the Lord uses verbs, or action words, is very specific and powerful. Look for words that describe actions, what people are doing or to do, etc. Ponder why the Lord chose such language and not another similar but different word. Look For: Look for the words that are action words--that describes what […]

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December 31, 2012
Overview Not "Over You"

Sometimes we get into the habit of saying that this particular chapter has nothing to do with us and there is no way to apply it to us or find something meaningful to our situations. But sometimes we must take a step back and look at the overview and then compare similarities to our lives. […]

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December 31, 2012
Equal Signs

The Lord often uses "formulas" to show how to obtain certain blessings or outcomes. Mark these with an equal signs. They signal a plain truth of the gospel. Look For: Look for places where the Lord defines something or ties two or more things together. Words like "is," "like," or "in other words" Example: D&C […]

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December 31, 2012
AP Seminary Questions

When I am about to ask my students a difficult question, I say, "And here's the AP Seminary question..." They know this means that I am about to stretch them a little bit. I think the little verbal cue helps the students buckle down and recognize that a serious question is coming. They up their […]

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December 31, 2012
Oaths & Covenants

Anciently, making an oath or covenant was the strongest form of commitment one could use. When the Lord swears something to us, this should be very serious to us. Look for such language as "As I the Lord liveth," "I am the Lord," or when the Lord uses a certain Name (ie. "the Lord of […]

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December 31, 2012
Mark a list

Oftentimes the Lord makes a list of attributes or qualities that are worth noting and titling in our margins. Have students "mark a list' of items in their scriptures. Look for items set off by commas, or lists of things to get a certain result. The items may be contained in more than one verse. […]

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December 31, 2012
That Cute Curly Thing

The pilcrow symbol can be very helpful in understanding the Bible. It marks off a new paragraph. Use it to identify main themes between "paragraphs" and new trains of thought. Just look for that cute little curly backwards 'P'--¶! Example: In Jeremiah 21, the man who throws Jeremiah in the stocks asks a question in […]

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December 31, 2012
Role Playing

This is a familiar but underused teaching technique. When you invite students to role play, "The students' job is to shore up their friend, and they almost always bear testimony in the process -- almost without realizing it." (Becoming a Great Gospel Teacher, Eaton and Beecher, p 91) "We've had our students play everything from […]

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December 31, 2012
If ... Then Statements

Many scriptures make promises and conditions by putting them in a formula, usually stated as a "If [this happens], then [that will happen]." Look For: Watch for the words like "If..." and "then..." CAUTION: many times the "then" part is implied and the word "then" word is left out. Example: 1 Nephi 2:20 "Inasmuch as […]

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