Teachings of Church Leaders 5

This lesson has two parts. The first part will teach you two skills that can help you have a more meaningful experience studying general conference messages.

In the second part of this lesson, you will use the skills you learn to study the general conference talk assigned by your teacher. If a message wasn’t assigned, choose one from the most recent general conference.

In addition to helping you process what you’re learning, a library of tags can serve as an extended memory for statements and scriptures. Taking time to tag what you read allows you to access it later, even when your memory of the talk fades.

You tag a passage by creating a label using a word or short phrase that summarizes what a passage teaches. The tagging feature in Gospel Library allows you to view all the passages you tag with that word or phrase in the same place.

In some cases, tags will come from a word the speaker used in their talk. In other cases, you may want to summarize it with your own word or phrase. The best tags are the ones that make it easy for you to find the verse in the future. When you make tags, consider asking, “If I were preparing a talk for church, what topic would I most likely search for to find this statement?”

For example, President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency taught:

The commandments of God provide the guiding and steadying force in our lives. Our experiences in mortality are like the little boy and his father flying a kite on a windy day. As the kite rose higher, the winds caused it to tug on the connecting string in the little boy’s hand. Inexperienced with the force of mortal winds, he proposed to cut the string so the kite could rise higher. His wise father counseled no, explaining that the string is what holds the kite in place against mortal winds. If we lose our hold on the string, the kite will not rise higher. It will be carried about by these winds and inevitably crash to the earth. (“Following Christ,” Liahona, Nov. 2024, 24)

You might tag this statement with words like commandments, obedience, or even kite. Use whatever words will help you find the statement in the future.

When you study a general conference talk today, tag at least two passages. Use tags that you think you would use to recall the passage in the future.

Another way to help you remember the words of Church leaders is by creating links. Links often contain insights that expand or explain specific teachings in the scriptures. Taking time to link these statements to the scripture passages they teach about can help you remember them next time you study that scripture.

For example, President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency explained:

The Apostle Paul taught that the Lord’s teachings and commandments were given that we may all attain “the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” That process requires far more than acquiring knowledge. It is not even enough to be convinced of the gospel; we must act so that we are converted by it. In contrast to other preaching, which teaches us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something. (“Kingdoms of Glory,” Liahona, Nov. 2023, 28)

The footnote for that statement references Ephesians 4:13. Creating a link between President Oaks’s explanation and Ephesians 4:13 can make it easier for you to understand that passage the next time you read it.

When you study general conference messages today, create at least two links to scripture passages the speakers discuss.

Today you learned two skills:

1. Tagging truths you identify

2. Creating links

Use these skills to study the general conference talk assigned by your teacher. If a message wasn’t assigned, choose one from the most recent general conference.