It’s been silent around here. But I’ve still been extremely busy on my other blog! Here’s what I’ve been doing.
President Russell M. Nelson invited us last General Conference and again at the beginning of this year to prepare for the April 2020 General Conference by studying more about the Restoration. He said, “The year 2020 will be designated as a bicentennial year. General conference next April will be different from any previous conference. In the next six months, I hope that every member and every family will prepare for a unique conference that will commemorate the very foundations of the restored gospel. . . Immerse yourself in the glorious light of the Restoration.”
To help individuals and families prepare for the April 2020 General Conference by studying more about the Restoration, I created two study guides – one geared for youth and adults and one for families with kids of all ages.
The 60 day countdown covers the following subjects: Joseph Smith Sr, Lucy Mack Smith, The First Vision, Moroni’s Visit, The Book of Mormon, Emma Smith, Aaronic Priesthood, Melchizedek Priesthood, Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, The Day the Church was Organized, Apostles, Temples, Baptism for the Dead, Relief Society, and the life of Joseph Smith.
It is not a complete study (that would take years) but it is a good foundation. Please don’t feel you need to do every single day either! It started on February 4th so don’t feel like you need to catch up or anything. This is just a great reference to get you started in studying something about the Restoration.
This eight week countdown (which starts this week!) is separated into eight topics: 1) apostasy/restoration, 2) First Vision, 3) Book of Mormon, 4) priesthood, 5) organization of the church, 6) temples, 7) Joseph Smith, 8) YOU and the ongoing restoration.
Each week will have a lesson introducing the topic and then a list of activities that can done on different days of the week. Children, especially younger children, learn best with short, frequent teaching moments. They will absorb more when you do a short lesson to introduce the doctrine with a variety of activities spread throughout the week to enhance learning.
I tried to keep this as simple as possible. The gospel of Jesus Christ is simple. Our teaching of it should be too.
Enjoy!
Seeing as Joseph Smith himself wrote several very different versions of the first vision how does the church know which is the correct one?
The church views all of them as correct! Paul’s different telling of his experience on the road to Damascus don’t negate each other, neither do the various accounts of the First vision negate one another. You can read about each account (when they were written and who they were written for) on the church’s website here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/first-vision-accounts?lang=eng.
The video the church produced to show visitor’s at Temple Square is here. It incorporates all versions and is lovely.: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media-library/video/2017-01-0100-ask-of-god-joseph-smiths-first-vision?lang=eng
Thank you for the time you sacrifice on behalf of others. It’s so very kind of you to share this for free and you’ve definitely blessed my life.