Initiative 5: Implement Life Preparation Lessons

Brother Chad H Webb: Our final topic is the implementation of the Life Preparation lessons in our curriculum.

When we introduced the Life Preparation lessons in January of 2024, we shared that these lessons are designed to “unlock a spiritual reservoir unlike any we have seen before.”

We are beginning to see this happen. The response and feedback we have received so far from students, parents, and priesthood leaders is very positive. These lessons help prepare a generation of youth to know how to study the scriptures and be riveted to the teachings of living prophets. They help prepare a generation of emotionally resilient youth who have the skills and capacity to succeed in school and become righteous fathers and mothers who will lead in the Church and in their communities.

They are helping a generation be prepared to understand the covenants of the temple, who are deeply committed to living them. A generation of missionaries who are worthy, qualified, spiritually energized, and prepared to represent the Savior in inviting the world to come to Him.

Let’s turn now to some inspiring examples of how Life Preparation lessons are blessing youth around the world. We will first hear from the US Southwest Area, followed by the Europe Central Area.

Brother Chad H Webb: We are now joined by Sister Sicily Wilcock from the US Southwest Area. We understand it’s an exciting time in your life. Thank you for joining us. And we also have Brother Rubén Arjona from the Europe Central Area. Thank you for being with us today as well.

Sister Wilcock, how have the Life Preparation lessons changed the way you teach and interact with your students even when you are teaching the other lessons not specific to Life Preparation?

Sicily Wilcock: I feel like the Life Preparation lessons have helped me shift my focus from just learning gospel content to actually living the gospel. Even when I’m not teaching a Life Preparation lesson, I’m more focused on relevance and helping them see that the doctrine of Christ can really help them with their challenges, their situations, and their questions they’re going through right now. I feel like they’ve also helped me become a better listener and ask better questions as I try to meet my students where they are. I feel like the Life Preparation lessons have just helped me and my students help the gospel to feel more lived and not just learned.

Brother Chad H Webb: I loved what your students shared about how it’s impacting their lives. So anything else you’d say about what you’ve seen in the lives of your students as you try to make it more relevant and connect with them?

Sicily Wilcock: I feel like in my classroom the lessons have just come to life. There’s a lot of excitement when we have these lessons, and I feel like it’s more open and vulnerable, and we all love them. I can’t rave about them enough even to my friends and family who aren’t in the S&I world. I talk about how awesome they are because we’ve had some amazing experiences together.

Brother Chad H Webb: Wonderful.

Elder Clark G. Gilbert: Beautiful.

Brother Arjona, you’ve been part of these efforts described by your area director in the Europe Central Area. Will you please share with us how Life Preparation lessons extend beyond the classroom to bless families and priesthood leaders outside of our seminary classes?

Rubén Arjona: Thank you for the opportunity to share. Life Preparation lessons are having a deep impact on our youth.

In Madrid, Spain, for example, one of our students felt a strong desire to serve a full-time mission after attending a lesson on choosing to serve a mission where the teacher for this occasion felt prompted to invite a former companion from her mission to speak to them.

Another young woman, who had been receiving bullying at school and feeling deep sadness, found the emotional resources she needed after attending a lesson on coping with sadness and depression.

On another instance, a lesson on managing stress and anxiety allowed a student to open up about his personal struggles, allowing his teacher and bishop to coordinate a support system for him.

And finally, a lesson on developing healthy thinking patterns helped a distant and a bit disobedient son at home to reconnect with his family, leading in a really positive change for him.

So I think the success of the Life Preparation lessons is because they focus on Jesus Christ and on His doctrine and they provide practical tools to bless the youth.

Elder Clark G. Gilbert: Isn’t this powerful how it’s taking the gospel and helping them apply it in their lives? And then even when we’re not teaching a Life Preparation lesson, when we’re back in the scriptures, we remember that’s the goal and we want to bring them unto the Savior in their everyday life.

Brother Chad H Webb: Yeah, I love that you say that. Right. So our Life Preparation lessons are blessing our more sequential lessons because we’re learning to be more relevant in meeting needs and answering questions. And then what you’ve learned for so many years about teaching the scriptures effectively, sequentially, principle based, you take into these lessons so that you have the power of the word. And you’re not just talking about themes, but you’re teaching the gospel through a thematic study of things that are relevant to the youth. And so hopefully it’s strengthening both types of lessons and that we’re rooted in the Savior and in the scriptures, as you’ve described so well. And I love the examples you gave, I think those are being replicated across the world, blessing thousands and thousands of young people. So it’s really exciting to see.

We have another question we want to take for Brother Arjona. It was sent in from the Europe North Area.

Rubén Arjona: There are some specific actions that come to my mind that I think will help students to share confidently the impact of Life Preparation lessons with others. First, a stake seminary activity could be organized for a seminary for a testimony gathering where students can express their feelings in a friendly and safe environment. Second, a life skill social media channel could be launched so that students can share with their friends some content about the impact of these lessons, and I think this will also help others see how the gospel relates to their lives. And additionally, we could provide specific training for our teachers so that they provide more practiced, articulate sessions. During the Life Preparation lessons, there could be some time set aside for students to express how that lesson is deepening their conversion to Jesus Christ or could help them navigate through a challenging life circumstance.

Brother Chad H Webb: Any other thoughts or questions? Anything you want to make sure to share? That’s really fabulous. Thank you.

I appreciate what you’re doing, all of the teachers, to implement these lessons. I appreciate Elder Gilbert’s influence in these lessons. It’s turned out to just be a wonderful blessing for our youth. I really feel like through these Life Preparation lessons we are helping to prepare a generation of disciples of Jesus Christ who are deeply converted to Him and to His restored gospel throughout their lives. As we continue to teach these lessons, we will continue to see miracles. We will see the Lord prepare, strengthen, and protect our students to stand against the storms of these last days.

Today we’ve covered these five topics. I hope you’ve noticed that we’ve not introduced anything new. We’ve stayed on these initiatives for a number of years because we know that as we invite diligent learning, amplify the words of prophets, and effectively incorporate Life Preparation lessons into our study of the scriptures, we fulfill our objective to help youth and young adults deepen their conversion to Jesus Christ and His restored gospel. The objective is so important and so needed in the world today that we need to do all that we can to extend our reach by retaining and inviting more youth and young adults to learn with us. We invite you to continue these discussions in your faculty meetings and discuss how you can strengthen your efforts in each of these five areas. Set a goal for each area that you share with your leader, and set up time to return and report on your efforts regularly.

I just want to close by expressing my gratitude for all you’re doing. I love you. I love working with you. I’m grateful to be in a work where we get to testify of Jesus Christ every day and to build faith and testimony in Him and His restored gospel. What a blessing it is to be a part of this work and to be in this work with you. Thank you. And I share that testimony and love in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Clark G. Gilbert: Amen.

Thank you, Brother Webb, and thank you to everyone who participated today. It’s been inspiring for me to watch the innovation and inspiration that the Lord is sharing all across the Church with seminary teachers and coordinators and institute directors, and it is amazing to watch. And I hope as you went through this, you had impressions and inspiration of how you could do this and that and you’ll take Brother Webb’s invitation in each of these five areas to improve what you’re doing and to strengthen your efforts to bring people unto Jesus Christ.

And I want to close with that. Really, why are we doing this? Why each one of these initiatives? Invite diligent learning. Retain students. Invite friends to join us. Amplify the words of the prophets. Life preparation lessons. At the heart of every one of these is to bring our young people unto the Savior. Think about each one of these themes. We invite diligent learning so our students will have their own relationship with Jesus Christ. We want to retain students from seminary to institute so they stay close to the Savior in one of the most difficult times of their lives. We invite friends to join us in seminary and institute so that they can come unto Christ. We amplify the words of the prophets because they are the Savior’s spokespeople for the world. And we are emphasizing these Life Preparation lessons because they bring the Savior into the center of life’s challenges.

I have a testimony that we are living in a difficult time but if we can point our students to the Savior, Jesus Christ, He will change them. He will protect them. He will comfort them. He will heal them. What a remarkable opportunity we have to point them to Jesus Christ in their lives.

I also have a witness that we’re led by a living prophet. I had the opportunity just recently with President Oaks to prepare for a message he’s about to give. It was planned six months ago, before he was the prophet. I was so excited for the lesson. And then he said, “Clark, we have to change this because when we prepared for this, I didn’t have this calling. But I’m now the prophet, and the Lord has given me a different message, and we’re going to change that message, and it will point people to the Savior.” And as I listened to President Oaks speak in that moment, I knew two things. One, he is a prophet of God here on the earth called for this time. And two, he is a special witness of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

May we take those focal teachings, a witness of the Savior and a witness of living prophets on the earth, into all of these efforts. And that as you pour out your soul in prayer and love and concern for the students you work with, I pray and promise you that you will have blessings and inspiration that will come to you personally to bless those students you work with. I leave my witness of a living prophet and especially of our Savior Jesus Christ and do so in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Todd Merrill: Our Father in Heaven, we are so thankful for Thy Son, Jesus Christ—for His gospel and for His light and for His power. We are thankful for a living prophet who leads and guides Thy work today. We are grateful for those who have sacrificed and labored with humility and diligence in their desire to bring all of Thy children unto thee, even by covenant. Father, we pray that we might have Thy blessing upon us as individuals, as leaders, faculty members, administrators, and priesthood leaders, that we might be more effective in hastening Thy work here upon the earth. We thank Thee for the guidance that we have received heretofore and petition Thee that Thy Spirit will be upon us in these efforts in the future. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.