The Study

Doctrinal Mastery Practice 8

Make the Case

The Line You Would Text a Friend

Think back to the last general conference. Was there one line you could text to a friend who needed it this week? Maybe something about the Savior, or the temple, or the reminder that it is not too late. Do you remember who said it?

That small act is the whole point of this lesson. Somebody near you has a real problem. You have the words of prophets and of scripture. The question is whether you can get the right words to the right person. Three words sum it up: make the case.

Make the Case

Picture a case file. Not a crime, just a real problem a teenager could face, written with no names. Four lines are enough: how old the person is, what happened, how they feel, and what they are tempted to do. A girl whose classmates mock her belief in living prophets and who is tempted to stop telling anyone she is a member. A boy whose little sister broke his favorite thing on purpose and who wants to get back at her. A girl who feels God has not answered her about a big decision and is tempted to decide by flipping a coin.

Now pick one of the doctrinal mastery passages you have learned, the one that fits that person best, and write the actual text you would send them. Not a sermon. A text, short enough to fit on a phone screen.

It is tempting to reach for the same passage every time. This one fits a lot of situations:

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5–6)

But not every case is a Proverbs 3:5–6 case. Compare before you choose. Then read your text as if you were the one hurting. Would it help, or would it feel like a lecture? Would you reply, or leave it on read? The texts that land are specific, kind, and use the passage's own words. A passage only helps if it reaches the person in words they will actually read.

Three Ways a Text Can Help

The Church teaches three principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge, and a good text usually leans on one of them:

  • Act in faith. It asks the person to do something, not just feel something.
  • Examine concepts and questions with an eternal perspective. It zooms out to who they are and where they are going.
  • Seek further understanding through divinely appointed sources. It points them to scripture, prophets, parents, and prayer.

When Everyone Disagrees

The Seminary Manual tells of a young woman named Julietta. As a child she assumed most people believed what she learned at home and at church. In high school it feels like the opposite. Classmates make fun of something she believes, and even friends cannot understand why she will not join in certain things. Fill in the blanks for the teenagers you know: living prophets, the Word of Wisdom, the law of chastity, skipping the party, church on Sunday, clean language. What does it feel like to be Julietta, and what makes it hard?

Run her story through the three principles. In faith: how could this pressure actually strengthen her faith in Jesus Christ and her commitment to His Church? What might she be tempted to do that would lead her away from Him, and how could she meet those temptations with faith? With an eternal perspective: read the paragraph on eternal perspective in "Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge" and find one statement that could help her see past this year of high school. Through divinely appointed sources: suppose that, because so many people disagree, Julietta starts to wonder whether these teachings really come from God. Where would you counsel her to look for answers, and where would you counsel her not to look?

If you were texting Julietta, more than one passage would fit. Proverbs 3:5–6 is one. So are these:

"And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; ... but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15)

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20)

Questions Worth Sitting With, and One Thing to Try

  • Which passage would you text Julietta, and what would your text actually say?
  • What do you feel Heavenly Father would have you do with what you learned or felt today?
  • How can following the principles of acquiring spiritual knowledge affect your relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?

Practicing on a stranger's case is the easy part. Somebody real in your life needs a text like that this week: one passage, a few kind words, about them first. Write it, and send it.

From the Church’s manuals

This lesson is one teacher’s preparation. The Church’s manual is the place to start, and it has more than any one class can cover.

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