Teachings of Church Leaders: Lesson 206
Studying the Messages of the Lord’s Servants
Making the Words of Church Leaders Part of Your Gospel Learning
Visit “Studying the Scriptures” to help prepare yourself spiritually to learn.
In 1999 the Mars Climate Orbiter completed its nine-month journey to Mars. Unfortunately, a navigation error caused the orbiter to enter the atmosphere too low. The orbiter was lost.
An investigation found that one team of engineers made calculations using imperial units instead of metric units. This led to the failure. The US$125,000,000 loss could have been avoided by carefully studying and following the instructions.
Think about how this example might apply to how much effort you put into studying and following the Lord’s instructions. Twice a year, in general conference, Church leaders from around the world share messages focused on Jesus Christ and His gospel.
To what extent can you agree with the following statements?
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I watch general conference.
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I read and study the talks after general conference.
As you study today, invite the Holy Ghost to help you recognize why it’s important to study these messages.
Lesson Purpose: To help you include in your personal gospel learning the study of the Lord’s messages given by His servants.
Learn How
Why study the messages of Church leaders?
Along with many other Israelites, Ezekiel was captured and taken to Babylon. While in captivity, he was visited by the Lord and called to be a prophet (see Ezekiel 1–2).
Read Ezekiel 3:4, 10–11, 27, looking for the Lord’s instructions to His prophet. As you read, mark each time you see the word hear. Note: Forbear can mean “to hold back from doing something.”
President Russell M. Nelson shared some of the blessings the Savior has promised to those who hear (listen to), hearken to (are willing to obey), and heed (follow in faith) the Savior’s teachings given by His servants:
We hear Him as we heed the words of prophets, seers, and revelators. Ordained Apostles of Jesus Christ always testify of Him. They point the way as we make our way through the heart-wrenching maze of our mortal experiences.
What will happen as you more intentionally hear, hearken, and heed what the Savior has said and what He is saying now through His prophets? I promise that you will be blessed with additional power to deal with temptation, struggles, and weakness. I promise miracles in your marriage, family relationships, and daily work. And I promise that your capacity to feel joy will increase even if turbulence increases in your life. (“Hear Him,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2020, 90)
Next to Ezekiel 3:11, make a note with at least one blessing that comes from hearing and obeying God’s prophets.
President Russell M. Nelson said, “I hope you will repeatedly study the messages of this conference throughout the coming months” (“Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys,” Liahona, May 2024, 119). Obstacles can sometimes keep us from following this exhortation.
In your notebook, make a list of obstacles that you or other teenagers might face when seeking to regularly study messages from Church leaders. Select one obstacle that you thought of. What counsel would you give to help someone overcome this obstacle?
Planning to study the Lord’s words
Church leaders are sharing God’s message more frequently and in more ways than ever before. Search one of the following resources. Find a statement you feel would bless youth today:
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Messages from the most recent general conference
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Church magazines like the Liahona, For the Strength of Youth, and the Friend
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Social media accounts (Be sure to obtain permission from your parents first.)
Think of one way you feel like you could incorporate studying the messages of Church leaders into your personal study. Select one of the following ideas:
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Study a talk or a portion of a talk as part of your Sunday worship or on one or more other days of the week.
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Follow or favorite Church leaders’ social media accounts.
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Listen to a talk while doing another activity like exercising, commuting, or working.
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Use the Study Plans feature to create a plan to study the most recent messages from the current President of the Church.
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Use the Scripture Citation Index when you find a scripture that is meaningful to you in your personal scripture study. This index can help you see the most recent uses of the verse in general conference.
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Come up with one of your own.
Making study plans using the Gospel Library app. Follow these steps:
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Open the home page of the Gospel Library and scroll to “Study Plans.” Then click the + button to create a new plan. (You may have to “Edit” your home page to include the Study Plans feature.)
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Select General Conference and then the most recent conference available.
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Turn on Set a schedule, choosing how often you are planning to study.
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Turn on Add a reminder to help you create a study habit.
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Save the study plan. It should now be listed in the “My Plans” section of the home page.
You can also add widgets to your phone from Gospel Library.
Dig Deeper: For more ideas on how to study the messages of Church leaders, see “Learn Elder Bednar’s Pattern for Studying Conference Messages—Doctrine, Invitations, Blessings” and “Studying General Conference.”
Share Your Thoughts
Lesson Purpose: To help you include in your personal gospel learning the study of the Lord’s messages given by His servants.
Share one or more of the following with your teacher or class:
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The recent message you found from the Lord’s servants. Include how you feel it could bless the youth of today.
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Something specific you did to achieve the purpose of this lesson.
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Any questions this lesson raised for you. How will you try to find answers to your questions?