Using Variety in Teaching the Scriptures

Use the following suggestions to teach scripture accounts more effectively and with greater variety:

  1. Help class members understand what the scriptures teach about Jesus Christ. Ask them to consider how certain passages increase their faith in the Savior and help them feel his love.
  2. Ask class members to think of and share specific ways that a scripture passage can apply in their lives. Have them personalize the scriptures by mentally substituting their names in selected passages.
  3. In addition to teaching the doctrine, emphasize faith-promoting stories in the New Testament, ensuring that class members understand them and discuss ways to apply them.
  4. Have class members look for words, phrases, or ideas that are repeated often in a scripture passage or that have special meaning for them.
  5. Encourage class members to use the appendix in the Latter-day Saint edition of the King James Version of the Bible. The Topical Guide and Bible Dictionary are especially helpful in personal study and class discussion.
  6. Write on the chalkboard phrases, key words, or questions that relate to the scripture account. Then read or summarize the account. As class members hear the phrases, key words, or answers to the questions, stop and discuss them.
  7. Throughout the Book of Mormon, the phrase “thus we see” is used to introduce a summary of the principles taught (see, for example, Helaman 3:28). After discussing a scripture passage, ask class members to explain the principle in the passage using the phrase “thus we see.”
  8. Look for and discuss symbols that are used in the New Testament. For example, the Bridegroom and the bride represent the Savior and his people.
  9. Note how people or events in the scriptures can be contrasted with each other.
  10. Have class members dramatize scriptural stories by reading aloud the words of the different people in the stories. Ensure that dramatizations show proper respect for the scriptures.
  11. Divide the class into two or more small groups. After reviewing a scripture account, have each group write down the principles and doctrines taught in the account. Then have the groups take turns discussing how these teachings apply in their lives.
  12. Invite class members to bring a pencil to mark significant verses as you discuss them.