Come, Follow Me Aaronic Priesthood 1 Learning Resources for Youth teaching and learning for conversion Aaronic Priesthood January–June 2013 About This Manual More Online The lessons in this manual are organized into You can find additional resources and teaching units that address doctrinal fundamentals of ideas for each of these lessons at lds.org/ the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Each lesson youth/learn. Online lessons include: focuses on questions that youth may have and • Links to the most recent teachings from the doctrinal principles that can help them find living prophets, apostles, and other Church answers. The lessons are designed to help you leaders. These links are updated regularly, prepare spiritually by learning the doctrine for so refer back to them often. yourself and then plan ways to engage the youth in powerful learning experiences. • Links to videos, images, and other media that you can use to prepare yourself spiritually and to teach the youth. • Videos that demonstrate effective teaching to enhance your ability to help the youth become converted. • Additional teaching ideas. Published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © 2012 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved English approval: 9/12 10693 000 Contents January: The Godhead How can I know my Heavenly Father? What do we know about the nature of the Godhead? Why is Jesus Christ important in my life? What are the roles of the Holy Ghost? Who am I, and who can I become? February: The Plan of Salvation What is my role in fulfilling Heavenly Father’s plan? What is the plan of salvation? What happened in the premortal life? What is the purpose of life? Why do the choices I make matter? Why do we have adversity? How can I find comfort when someone I care about dies? Why should I treat my body like a temple? March: The Atonement of Jesus Christ How do I help others receive the blessings of the Atonement? What is the Atonement of Jesus Christ? What does it mean to have faith in Jesus Christ? What does it mean to repent? What is grace? Why do I need to forgive others? What is the resurrection? How can the Atonement help me during my trials? April: The Apostasy and the Restoration How can I invite all to come unto Christ? Why was a restoration necessary? How was the priesthood restored? What was Joseph Smith’s role in the Restoration? Why is the First Vision important? Why do we need the Book of Mormon? May: Prophets and Revelation Why is it important to study the scriptures? Why is it important to listen to and follow the living prophets? How do I receive personal revelation? How can I make my prayers more meaningful? How can I strengthen my testimony? What has President Monson taught Aaronic Priesthood holders? How can a patriarchal blessing help me? June: Priesthood and Priesthood Keys How does worthiness affect priesthood power? What is the priesthood? What are the keys of the priesthood? What are my duties as an Aaronic Priesthood holder? Why should I serve a mission? Quorum Meeting Agenda Presiding  Date Conducting (member of the quorum presidency) Sit in Council a member of the quorum presidency Conduct business (Activities, events, assignments) Teach duties (Explain and counsel together about how to fulfill priesthood duties) Invite sharing (What experiences are the members of the quorum having? What gospel principles have they been noticing and learning? What are they learning while fulfilling Duty to God?) Learn Together quorum adviser or quorum member This week’s gospel discussion: Teacher: Commit to Act member of the quorum presidency • Share testimony of what was learned. • Invite quorum members to live by the principles they learned together and prepare for next week’s meeting. UNIT OVERVIEW January: The Godhead “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost” (Articles of Faith 1:1). The outlines in this unit will help the young men understand the true nature of the members of the Godhead and the roles of each in fulfilling Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation. This knowledge will help the young men come to understand better their own divine identity and purpose as sons of God. Learning outlines Prepare yourself spiritually Seek the inspiration of the Spirit as you select from the To help the young men learn the doctrine of the outlines below. Let the questions and interests of the Godhead, you must understand and live the doctrine young men guide you as you decide which outlines to yourself. Study the scriptures and other resources teach and how long to spend on a topic. provided in the learning outlines, and look for state- ments, stories, or examples that may be especially These outlines are not meant to prescribe what you will relevant or inspiring. Then use the learning outlines to say and do in the quorum meeting. They are designed plan ways to help quorum members discover truths for to help you learn the doctrine for yourself and prepare themselves, gain a testimony of them, and live by what learning experiences adapted to the needs of the young they learn. men you teach. Counsel together To make Duty to God part of the Sunday quorum meeting, you may consider teaching the Duty to God Counsel with the quorum presidency and with other outline below during this unit. teachers, leaders, and parents about the young men. What questions and needs do the young men have? How can I know my Heavenly Father? (Duty to God) What are they learning about the Godhead in other What do we know about the nature of the Godhead? settings—at home, in seminary, in Sunday School? Why is Jesus Christ important in my life? How will this influence your preparation to teach this What are the roles of the Holy Ghost? unit? (If sensitive information is shared in these conver- Who am I, and who can I become? sations, please keep it confidential.) Visit lds.org/youth/learn to view this unit online. Note to the teacher Throughout this unit, you may want to remind the young men that the names of Deity are sacred (see D&C 63:61). Encourage them to use these names with reverence and respect. Mutual Many of the lesson topics and learning activities in this unit would work well as Mutual activities. Work with quorum presidencies in selecting and planning appro- priate activities to reinforce what the young men learn on Sunday. Duty to God The following sections from the Duty to God book relate to the lessons in this unit: Pray and Study the Scriptures, pages 14–15, 38–39, 62–63 Understand Doctrine, pages 18–20, 42–44, 66–68 JANUARY: THE GODHEAD Duty to God How can I know my Heavenly Father? Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to draw near to Him. He has given us the opportunity to pray to Him and has promised to hear and answer our prayers. We can also come to know Him as we study the scriptures and the words of latter-day prophets and as we strive to become more like Him by following His will. Prepare yourself spiritually Think about your relation- As you study the scriptures and other resources about coming to know Heavenly Father, ship with your Father in look for things that would help the young men feel that their Father in Heaven loves them Heaven. When have you and wants them to draw near Him. felt closest to Him? What John 17:3 (Knowing Heavenly Father Mosiah 5:13 (Serving God helps us get were you doing that and Jesus Christ leads to eternal life) to know Him better) allowed you to feel closer to Him? 1 John 2:3–5 (We know God if we keep Alma 30:44 (All things denote there is His commandments) a God) What are some things the young men can do to get 1 John 4:7–8 (Loving others helps us to D&C 88:63 (If we draw near to God, closer to God? How well know God) He will draw near to us) are they doing these 2 Nephi 32:9; Enos 1:1–7; Alma M. Russell Ballard, “Father and Sons: things? What could you 34:17–28; 37:37 (Prayer can help us A Remarkable Relationship,” Ensign or do to help them increase draw closer to Heavenly Father) Liahona, Nov. 2009, 47–50 their faith and testimony in God? Mosiah 4:9–12 (King Benjamin Fulfilling My Duty to God (2010), 14–15, describes how to grow in our knowl- 38–39, 62–63 edge of God) Videos: “He Knows Me,” “Fulfilling Your Duty to God” Let the young men lead A member of the quorum presidency (or an assistant to the bishop in the priests quorum) conducts the quorum meeting. He leads the young men in counseling together about quorum business, teaches them their priesthood duties (from the scriptures and the Duty to God book), and invites an adviser or other quorum member to teach a gospel lesson. He could prepare by filling out a quorum meeting agenda during a presidency meeting. Begin the learning experience Choose from these ideas or think of your own to review last week’s lesson and introduce this week’s lesson: • Ask each young man to contribute being a father. He could talk about one word to create a sentence that how he feels about his son, what he summarizes last week’s lesson. Write hopes his son achieves in life, and how their sentence on the board. he hopes to help him succeed. Ask the young men to compare what this • With permission from the bishop, father said with how their Father in invite a father of one of the quorum Heaven feels about them. members to share his feelings about Learn together Teaching tip The purpose of this lesson is to help each young man establish a pattern of personal prayer and scripture study. Give the young men time during quorum meeting to write Encouraging the young plans in their Duty to God books. Encourage them to share their plans with each other, men to establish a habit of and in future quorum meetings, invite them to share how personal prayer and scripture regular prayer and scrip- study are strengthening their relationship with God. ture study could be the most effective way to help • As part of their Duty to God plans, young men to look them up and them strengthen their the young men may have created plans identify how we can come to know relationship with for personal scripture study. This Heavenly Father better: 1 John 2:3–5; Heavenly Father. lesson could be a good time to have the 4:7–8; Mosiah 4:9–12; 5:13; Alma 30:44. young men share what they have been Invite the young men to share what doing for their plans and what they are they learned and how they have felt learning from their study of the closer to Heavenly Father by following scriptures (see Duty to God, 14–15, the counsel in these scriptures. 38–39, 62–63). They could also revise • Show the video “Fulfilling Your their plans if needed. Ask the young Duty to God,” and have the young men to share how their habits of men look for how the experiences prayer and scripture study have depicted in the video helped the young helped improve their relationship with men and others come to know their Heavenly Father. Heavenly Father better. Ask the young • Invite the young men to think about men to share their thoughts about how someone they know very well. What fulfilling their duty to God helps them did they do to get to know that per- strengthen their relationship with Him.  son? Ask them what they think the • Invite the young men to read Elder difference is between knowing M. Russell Ballard’s three suggestions Heavenly Father and knowing about for sons in his talk “Fathers and Sons: Him. Write the following scripture A Remarkable Relationship” (or show references on the board, and ask the