Doctrinal Foundation of the Handbooks

"[The handbook] is doctrinal," said Elder Oaks, "and it is shorter than the prior handbook because on many subjects it refrains from stating rules or giving directions. Instead, it gives principles that inspired leaders can apply … according to their local circumstances."

Elder Bednar and Elder Christofferson warned leaders against skipping the beginning chapters of Handbook 2 to get to the policies in the chapters thereafter. The earlier chapters lay a doctrinal foundation for understanding and applying the principles and policies that follow.