LDS Sunday School
Gospel Doctrine Class
Enrichment Outlines
Prepared by Duane S. Crowther
As a Latter-day Saint Gospel Doctrine class instructor for many years, I've always sought to obey the counsel of the Brethren-to remember that
We are appointed:
1. To teach the principles of the gospel
2. Out of the Standard Works
3. By the power of the Holy Ghost,
4. Always applying the teachings to our needs, and
5. To testify that what we have taught is true.
(Teaching, No Greater Call-
A Resource Guide for Gospel Teaching, p. 10.)
Fortunately, the several wards in which I've taught the various Gospel Doctrine courses have been vital, mature wards, with well-educated class members who have strong personal foundations in the Church and Gospel. Many of my Sunday School class members have been BYU graduates; others are graduates of various other university Institute programs. A large percentage of them, including many of the Sisters, are returned missionaries.
In some wards in which I've been the Gospel Doctrine class instructor there have been General Authorities, current and former Mission and Stake Presidents, former and current Bishops and High Councilmen, and others with many years of growth and experience within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
My challenge has been to teach the prescribed lessons, but teach with more depth and insight than might be expected in more peripheral areas of the Church.
The handouts and study outlines I've prepared have served as enrichment materials. Sometimes they have been the basis for class discussions; other times they have been distributed to class members only as additional reference materials and neither discussed nor referred to at length during the lesson presentation. I've been able to draw on the training I received in numerous religion classes I attended as an undergraduate student at BYU and while I earned a Master of Arts degree from the Y with an Old Testament major and a New Testament minor.
The instruction I received during the pleasant years I served as a full-time LDS Seminary teacher and principal also has proved to be of great value. One valuable lesson I learned during this time came from the Church Educational System when they gave a framed plaque to every Seminary instructor which posed the challenging query,
On what key idea
which is new to my students
will I hang the facts of my lesson today?
learned, early on, that a key to successful teaching is to always provide some interesting fact, insight, understanding, clarification, approach, slant or inspirational reminder that will be a new thought for most of the students in the class. (In reality, if a student hasn't thought a new thought during the class, he really hasn't learned anything, has he?) That motivating key, to somehow provide a new thought or understanding in every class I teach, is shown in many of the handouts and teachers' background study guides provided in this section of the website.
I sincerely hope they will be beneficial to you, and that they will be widely used. Please use them appropriately and judiciously. Remember, their purpose is to supplement and enhance, rather than replace, the Church-published Gospel Doctrine lessons.
Permission is granted for them to be downloaded and used for personal and class study. Permission is not granted, however, for them to be sold or resold in any manner. Please note that they are copyrighted, and are protected under U.S. and international copyright laws.
Though I've taught all the Gospel Doctrine course lessons (both when the time alloted for each scripture was two years, and more recently when that time has been reduced to one year), the lessons listed below are the only ones for which I have outlines saved on computer disks to share. I'll write and share others if and when I'm called to teach again (since returning from our mission to Mexico City, my wife and I have been called as Activities Committee Chairmen), or when as a student I can summon the motivation, inspiration and time on the same days in order to do so.
These lesson outlines have been prepared as pdf files in Adobe Acrobat so that they can be downloaded in the format in which they were typed. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, level 4 or higher, on your computer to be able to open, read, and print them. You can download the current version, without charge, by clicking on the following logo
Gospel Doctrine Sunday School Class Lessons List
Book of Mormon
BofM Lesson 43 Mormon and the Fall of the Nephites
(Where Mormon's Writings Are Found; Review of BofM Geography)
BofM Lesson 44 Key Teachings of the Prophet Mormon
(Mormon's Counsel to Those of Last Days; Infant Baptism)
BofM Lesson 45a Insights on the Book of Ether
(Basic BofM History; The 24 Gold Plates; The Land of Promise)
BofM Lesson 45b Lessons From the Brother of Jared and the Book of Ether
(Mahonri Moriancumer; Appearances of the Pre-mortal Lord, Angels)
BofM Lesson 46 Moroni's Great Roll Call of Faith
(Insights on the Nature of Faith; Moroni's Roll Call: 12 Examples)
BofM Lesson 47 Moroni's Teachings on the Gifts of God
(3 Glorious Passages on Gifts of the Spirit; Moroni's Final Admonitions)
Doctrine and Covenants and Church History
D&C Lesson 1 Introduction to the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History
(Summary of the Structural Development of the D&C)
D&C Lesson 2 Behold, I Am Jesus Christ, The Savior of the World
(Various Plans for Reading the D&C; Attributes of Christ from D&C 1)
D&C Lesson 3 I Had Seen a Vision
(Truths Learned from Joseph's 1st Vision; His Family and Heritage)
D&C Lesson 4 Remember the New Covenant, Even the Book of Mormon
(Instructions from Moroni; Biblical Prophecies of the Book of Mormon)
D&C Lesson 5 This Is the Spirit of Revelation
(Five Keys to Receiving Personal Revelation)
D&C Lesson 6 I Will Tell You in Your Mind and in Your Heart, by the Holy Ghost
(Keys to Recognizing Personal Revelation; Responding to Revelation)
D&C Lesson 7 The First Principles and Ordinances of the Gospel (no outline available)
(Analyzing Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Enduring to the End)
D&C Lesson 8 The Restoration of the Priesthood
(Priesthood Purpose and Keys; Steps in the Priesthood's Restoration)
D&C Lesson 9 The Only True and Living Church
(Biblical Proofs of the True Church of Jesus Christ)
D&C Lesson 10 This Is My Voice Unto All
(Details and Aspects of the Restoration of the Church April 6, 1830)
D&C Lesson 11 The Field Is White Already to Harvest
(Purpose of Missionary Work: The Salvation of Souls; Promises)
D&C Lesson 12 The Gathering of My People
(Statements of Joseph Smith Concerning Modern-day Gathering)
D&C Lesson 13 This Generation Shall Have My Word Through You
(Scriptures That Came to The Church Through Joseph Smith)
D&C Lesson 14 The Law of Consecration
(Purposes and Early History of Consecration; Consecration Today)
D&C Lesson 15 Seek Ye Earnestly the Best Gifts (no outline available)
(Definitions and Purposes of Spiritual Gifts; Cultivating Them)
D&C Lesson 16 Thou Shalt Offer Up Thy Sacraments Upon My Holy Day
(Creation and Sanctification of the Sabbath Day; How to Keep It Holy)
D&C Lesson 17 The Law of the Fast
(Scriptural Examples of Fasting with a Purpose; A Matter of Attitude)
D&C Lesson 18 Establish A House of God: The Kirtland Temple
(Other, Ancient, Temples Compared with the Kirtland Temple)
D&C Lesson 19 The Plan of Salvation
(Pre-mortal and Mortal Life: Achieving Eternal Goals)
D&C Lesson 20 The Vision and the Kingdoms of Glory (no outline available)
(The Five Visions of D&C 76 Explored; Attaining The Celestial Kingdom)
D&C Lesson 21 Looking Forth for the Great Day of the Lord to Come
(The Second Coming Described; Positive and Negative Precursors)
D&C Lesson 22 The Word of Wisdom: A Principle with Promise
(Stewardship Examined in Detail; Our Mortal Body Stewardship)
D&C Lesson 23 Seek Learning, Even by Study and Also by Faith
(Commandments to Gain Both Temporal and Spiritual Knowledge)
D&C Lesson 24 Be Not Deceived, but Continue in Steadfastness
(How to Avoid Individual Apostasy; Many Biblical Examples Cited)
D&C Lesson 25 Priesthood: The Power of Godliness
(Restoration Events; The Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood Explained)
D&C Lesson 26 Go Ye Into All the World, and Preach My Gospel
(The Great Nation-wide Financial Depression of 1837)
D&C Lesson 27 They Must Needs Be Chastened and Tried, Even as Abraham
(Missouri Events, Zion's Camp)
D&C Lesson 28 O God, Where Art Thou
(The Purposes of Adversity)
D&C Lesson 29 Building the Kingdom of God in Nauvoo, Illinois (A Portion of the
Proclamation Issued by the Quorum of the Twelve to the World on April 6, 1845)
D&C Lesson 30 The Prisoners Shall Go Free
(Vicarious Work for the Dead; The Spirit Prison)
D&C Lesson 31 Sealed for Time and for All Eternity
(The Blessings of Eternal Marriage; Exaltation)
D&C Lesson 32 To Seal the Testimony
(Significant Contributions of the Prophet Joseph Smith)
D&C Lesson 33 President Brigham Young Leads the Saints
(The Process of Succession in the Presidency of the Church)
D&C Lesson 34 Faith in Every Footstep
(Mobs Drive the Saints from Nauvoo, Beginning of the Trek Westward)
D&C Lesson 35 A Mission of Saving: The Martin & Willie Handcart Companies
(The Gospel of Christ Is a Message of Rescue)
D&C Lesson 36a The Desert Shall Rejoice and Blossom as the Rose
(The Saints' First Two Years in the Utah Territory)
D&C Lesson 36b Mormon Colonization and Expansion
(The Ministry of Brigham Young; Bringing the Gospel to Mexico)
D&C Lesson 37 We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet
(The Roles of the Living Prophet)
D&C Lesson 38 In Mine Own Way
(Developing Spiritual and Temporal Self Reliance)
D&C Lesson 39 The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn to Their Fathers
(Key Events in the Revealing of Vicarious Work for the Dead)
D&C Lesson 40 Finding Joy in Temple and Family History Work
(Various Activities in Response to Receiving The Spirit of Elijah)
D&C Lesson 41 Every Member a Missionary
(What Would the Lord Have Us Do?)
D&C Lesson 42 Continuing Revelation to Latter-day Prophets
(Revelation in the Church Today; Lessons from Old Testament Prophets)
D&C Lesson 43 Take Upon You My Whole Armor
(Satan's Methodology; Basic Principles of Righteous Living)
D&C Lesson 44 Being Good Citizens
(An In-depth Analysis of D&C 134, Other Revelations on Governments)
D&C Lesson 45 The Family Is Ordained of God
(Key Points in "The Family: A Proclamation to the World")
D&C Lesson 46 Zion-The Pure in Heart
(Meanings of "Zion," How to Establish It; Glorious Scriptural Promises)
Old Testament
OT Lesson 1 This Is My Work and My Glory (Moses 1)
(In Moses Jesus Speaks as the Father; The Father and The Son Exposition)
OT Lesson 2 Thou Was Chosen Before Thou Wast Born
(Intelligences; Astronomical Lessons from Facsimile 2 of Bk. of Abraham)
OT Lesson 3 The Creation
(Seven "Times," Implementation of the Creation Plan During Seventh Time)
OT Lesson 4 Because of My Transgression My Eyes Are Opened
(Introduction to Satan; The Fall; Distinctions: Consequences and Responsibility)
OT Lesson 5 If Thou Doest Well, Thou Shalt Be Accepted
(Adam's Children Populate the Earth; Cain and Abel; Two Genealogical Lines)
OT Lesson 6 Enoch and Noah
(Bible Chronology; Enoch; Noah; The Flood; The Table of Nations)
OT Lesson 7 The Abrahamic Covenant
(Abram's Genealogy, Early Life; The Abrahamic Covenant)
OT Lesson 8 Living Righteously in a Wicked World
(Saving Lot; Abrahamic Covenant; Abram's and Sarah's Names Changed)
OT Lesson 9 God Will Provide Himself a Lamb
(Abraham and Isaac; Abraham's Mid-life Events; Other Scriptures)
OT Lesson 10 Birthright Blessings: Marriage in the Covenant
(Abraham's Old Age; Isaac and Jacob; Jacob's 12 Sons and Daughter)
OT Lesson 11 How Can I Do This Great Wickedness?
(Jacob's Children; Joseph Sold Into Egypt; Joseph Resists Potiphar's Wife)
OT Lesson 12 Fruitful in the Land of My Affliction
(Joseph in Prison; His Rise to Power in Egypt; Patriarchal Blessings Given)
OT Lesson 15a The Law of Moses
(Review: 10 Commandments and the Judgments; The Stone Tablets)
OT Lesson 29 Elisha: He Took Up the Mantle of Elijah
(Early and Middle Kings of Israel and Judah; Events in Elisha's Ministry)
OT Lesson 33 Micah Prophesies of the Last Days
(Israel's 7 Final Kings; Events Leading to the Fall of Israel to Assyria)
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Last Update: November 2009