1: Filter
2: Pick Helps
3: Study
4: Grow
no results
Consider these two different parts of gospel learning: 1) learning about and connecting with God and His plan. 2) getting better and better at that first one.
Find study methods and create routines that help YOU connect to Jesus Christ and His words in the scriptures while building your ability (and confidence in that ability) to learn of Him. Of course it’s good to use some resources that are available, if they help. But as you study the gospel, ask God for His help. And try to find ways to study the gospel that help you develop your own ability (and your children’s abilities) to learn from your own spiritual promptings and what Heavenly Father wants to teach you through the Holy Ghost instead of only relying on what other people teach you from the scriptures.
This might mean you take time after church to ponder what you heard in talks or lessons. This might mean you use a video or podcast to help in your gospel study, but you take time to pause it and listen to what the Spirit is teaching you personally from the messages you're hearing. Or this might mean you study directly from the scriptures and you turn to other resources as you're inspired to or as you want to understand more about something.
To be most effective, your experiences with the scriptures must be your own. Reading or hearing about another person’s experiences and insights can be helpful, but that won’t bring the same converting power. There is no substitute for the time you spend in the scriptures, hearing the Holy Ghost speak directly to you."
Mark L. Pace (April Conference 2022)
When creating gospel study routines or picking methods, take care to choose things that are meaningful for you or your family more than simply easy. With that said, the effort the Lord loves is in the consistently studying and striving to apply the gospel, not in the effort to create an elaborate system, pick the perfect method, or even in taking a lot of time. Simple, consistent effort can have a big effect over time. Think about what you or your family needs from gospel study. Pray and ask for God’s perspective about what would help right now.
Sometimes effective gospel study plans can be simple and short. They can be in the car, at the dinner table, sitting on the couch, or when kneeling down for prayer. Whatever system you come up with, and even if you change your methods often, just keep studying and talking about Christ.
Your efforts may seem small compared to the loud voices your children hear in the world. At times it may feel that you’re not accomplishing much. But remember that 'by small means the Lord can bring about great things' (1 Nephi 16:29). One home evening, one gospel conversation, or one good example may not change your child’s life in a moment, any more than one drop of rain causes a plant immediately to grow. But the consistency of small and simple things, day after day, nourishes your children much better than an occasional flood.
... Jesus Christ will bless and magnify your consistent efforts.
... The result will be more beautiful and more stunning and more joyful than anything you could accomplish just by yourself."
Dieter F. Uchtdorf (April Conference 2023)
Continually worrying if you’ve chosen the wrong study methods for you or your family can take your focus and energy away from making your gospel study meaningful and from feeling the spiritual power it brings into your life.
There are endless possibilities of how to do effective gospel study in your home. Trust in the Holy Ghost and in yourself to make a good choice about what to include and what to exclude. Then put your energy into studying and learning the gospel. That is what prophets have counseled us to do.
Trust that your efforts to study the gospel and invite the influence of the Holy Ghost, with God’s help, will be enough to strengthen and sustain you and your family. Don’t let the worrying and doubting take away the promised peace and joy. If needed, ask God for help to focus on what you are doing to learn of Him and His ways and set the rest of the ideas aside (even though they might also be good ideas).
We don’t need a bigger truckload of information ... our biggest need is a clearer focus on how we should value and use what we already have. ...
Available information wisely used is far more valuable than multiplied information allowed to lie fallow. ...
Faced with an excess of information in the marvelous resources we have been given, we must begin with focus or we are likely to become like those in the well-known prophecy about people in the last days—'ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth' (2 Tim. 3:7). We also need quiet time and prayerful pondering as we seek to develop information into knowledge and mature knowledge into wisdom. ...
Stacks of supplementary material can impoverish rather than enrich, because they can blur students’ focus on the assigned principles and draw them away from prayerfully seeking to apply those principles in their own lives. ...
Each of us should be careful that the current flood of information does not occupy our time so completely that we cannot focus on and hear and heed the still, small voice that is available to guide each of us with our own challenges today. ...
Remember the wise counsel and comforting assurance of King Benjamin, who taught, 'And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength' (Mosiah 4:27)."
Dallin H. Oaks (April Conference 2001)
We are not specifically promoting any of these resources, they are simply ones we’re aware of. This is not a comprehensive list. (Other resources are available.) They are not in any specific order. The purpose of this collection is to let you know there is support and resources available. Use them if they are helpful. Don’t, if they aren’t. You don’t have to use any of them to have successful gospel study (except the scriptures themselves). If you’re not sure which ones to use, pray for guidance. You can also ask other people what works for them and see if that works for you. Or maybe pick an idea from this list to try for a week or two, then try another for a week or two until you find a system you like.
Your routine could look all different ways. Maybe you do the same thing each day or maybe you do something different each day. Figure out a routine that works for what you need now.
The aim of all gospel learning and teaching is to deepen our conversion and help us become more like Jesus Christ. For this reason, when we study the gospel, we’re not just looking for new information ...
In our efforts to live, learn, and teach the gospel, we should first and foremost seek the companionship of the Spirit. ...
Use this resource [the CFM manual] in any way that is helpful to you. ...
As you study, follow the Spirit’s guidance to find eternal truths that are meaningful to you. Look for God’s messages for you, and follow the promptings you receive."
2024 Come, Follow Me Manual (Introductory Materials)