Skip to main content

Gospel Principles

I am so excited for the new Gospel Principles manual! I have always felt strongly about focusing on the basic principles of the gospel. Elder Nelson expressed the same in the January Ensign: "All Church members will benefit by a return to the basics. A careful study of core doctrines . . . will help members strengthen their understanding of the fundamental teachings of the gospel."

As time goes by, we often forget the simple aspects of the gospel and tend to only study deeper doctrine. But our understanding of deeper doctrine will increase when we understand the foundational principles upon which the deeper doctrine is built. To bake a cake, every little ingredient is important in producing the delicious dessert. So it is with developing knowledge and a testimony: every little principle is important in producing a strong understanding of the gospel.

Some members may fear there will be some redundancy. Elder Nelson said, "Of course there will! Isn't it wonderful that we can gain the added benefit of repetition. Even the Savior taught the same doctrine multiple times to reinforce concepts. . . . the Lord repeats many concepts so that we do not miss them." Talented musicians understand this benefit: the better they play and understand the basics of music, the better they will play and understand difficult music.

For those, like me, who are unable to attend the lessons, we can study the manual at home. We do not want to miss out on the blessings Elder Nelson promised: "Brothers and sisters, by reinforcing your study of the core doctrines of the gospel of Jesus Christ, your testimony will grow, your happiness will increase, and you will find a greater abundance of the blessings of the Lord in your life."

Discussion: How will the new manual help the threefold mission of the Church (proclaim the gospel, perfect the Saints, redeem the dead)?
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
I really enjoy the book - as a ward missionary and teacher for years of the Gospel essentials class I have taught from Gospel Principles over and over again. It is dressed up a little and there are a few new quotes but except for the removal of the hymns out of the back in the new edition the content is 90-95 percent the same.
DAD
January 16, 2010 at 3:37 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Preach by the Spirit

ldsclipart.com I'm a writer, editor, and linguist. The words I choose and how I organize them are very important to me. That is why I prefer expressing myself through writing over any other method. I also enjoy public speaking because sharing my insights is exciting. I prepare my speeches, talks, and lessons in advance so I know exactly what I'm going to say. Church talks I always write out word for word to ensure I don't forget anything and so it's coherent and cohesive. As a teen, I would practice my talks until I practically had them memorized. Due to the increased focus on making the Sabbath a delight and sacrament meeting more spiritually fulfilling, our branch president told us he wanted us to have only an outline for our talks and to lean on the Spirit for guidance. Only once have I ever used just an outline. It was September 2006 in my college ward for a talk about how to prepare for general conference, a topic easy to expound with just notes. Two week...
3 comments
Read more

How to Know if the Book of Mormon Is True

photo from lds.org A previous set of elders put me on the 12-week course for new missionaries. Last night as I was finishing up the week on revelation through the Book of Mormon, I came upon this study activity: Read Moroni 10:3-5 and discuss how these verses show what an investigator must do to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon. Discuss the meaning and importance of real intent and how to help investigators develop real intent. I considered skipping it since I had read that scripture passage countless times, especially with studying Preach My Gospel , and because the discussion seemed to focus on real intent, which had been covered thoroughly in that week's study. But I decided to humor myself and do it anyway. And what I learned surprised me. There are actually four steps an investigator must complete before asking God with real intent and receiving an answer: Read the Book of Mormon. How can we know if something is true if we haven't even read it? We have to b...
4 comments
Read more

Music and Heaven

The Sunbeam lesson I taught today was "Music Makes Me Happy." Whether it be instrumental or voice, music can calm fear, brighten sorrow, and dispel anger, and it serves as a way to praise and pray to Heavenly Father. "There is no music in hell," said Brigham Young, "for all good music belongs to heaven." He also said, "If we could hear the music there is in heaven, it would overwhelm us mortals." We may not yet be able to hear heaven's music, but "never, indeed, do we feel so near heaven as when listening to the performance of some grand anthem, in which the angels themselves might fitly take their parts" (John Taylor). Good music and grand anthems take form in Church-related and classical music. "If you do not have a taste for it [classical music], listen to it thoughtfully," counseled President Hinckley. "If you do not like it the first time, listen to it again and keep listening. It will be something like going to ...
2 comments
Read more