Information for Priesthood and Auxiliary Leaders on Curriculum
2005 through 2008

© 2004 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
All rights reserved
Printed in the USA
English approval: 8/03

36904

Introduction

This document lists the curriculum materials that are (1) available for use in the home and (2) scheduled for use in Church units for the years 2005 through 2008. A copy of this publication should be given to each priesthood and auxiliary leader. It should be reviewed in ward council meetings.

Overview of Church Curriculum

The Church produces curriculum materials to help members learn and live the gospel of Jesus Christ. The scriptures and the teachings of the prophets are the foundation of the curriculum.

The Church curriculum consists of two categories: basic curriculum and general curriculum.

The basic curriculum is used where the Church has been recently organized in an area or where general curriculum materials are not yet available in a language. A chart showing the schedule and materials for the basic curriculum is provided on page 3.

The general curriculum builds on the basic curriculum and is used in areas where the Church is well established. A chart showing the schedule and materials for the general curriculum is provided on page 4.

Area Presidencies, with the approval of their first contact in the Quorum of the Twelve, may determine to use the basic curriculum in more established areas and languages when it would serve members better than the general curriculum.

Obtaining and Using Curriculum Materials

During the second half of each year, Church units receive either (1) a set of Annual Curriculum Order forms for ordering the next year's materials or (2) a shipment of the next year's materials with forms to order additional copies if needed. The ward clerk or one of his assistants can help priesthood and auxiliary leaders complete the order forms and obtain needed materials. Many curriculum resources are also available in the meetinghouse library.

Leaders should see that all teachers use approved curriculum materials. Teachers should also be encouraged to teach the lessons in the order they are presented in the manuals.

Not all materials listed in these instructions are available in all languages. If you need to find out what materials are available in a specific language, contact the distribution center that serves your unit.

Curriculum for Members Who Have Disabilities

Leaders should ensure that members who have disabilities are aware of Church curriculum materials that have been adapted for their needs. For information about these materials, see the Church Materials Catalog or contact the distribution center that serves your unit.

Teacher Improvement

Priesthood and auxiliary leaders are responsible for the quality of teaching in their organizations. Resources for teacher improvement include Improving Gospel Teaching: A Leader's Guide (35667); Teaching, No Greater Call (36123); "Gospel Teaching and Leadership," section 16 of the Church Handbook of Instructions, Book 2 (35903); and the Teaching Guidebook (34595).

Leaders ensure that each teacher has copies of Teaching, No Greater Call and the "Gospel Teaching and Leadership" section of the Church Handbook of Instructions.

The ward teacher improvement coordinator is another important resource for improving teaching. He or she serves under the direction of the Sunday School presidency but works with all organizations in the ward.

Curriculum for the Home

The Church produces many materials to help members learn, teach, and live the gospel in the home. The following materials should be in each home (as they are available in a language). Leaders should strive to ensure that new members have access to these materials.

Scriptures

Church magazines

Gospel Principles (31110) or Gospel Fundamentals (31129)

Hymns (31243)

The Family: A Proclamation to the World (35602)

The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles (36299)

Family Guidebook (31180)

Family Home Evening Resource Book (31106)

Teaching Guidebook (34595)

Additional materials are also available for teaching the gospel in the home. These include video recordings, audio recordings, pictures and other visual aids, scripture study aids, and printed material for children, youth, and adults. For more information, see the Church Materials Catalog or Family Resource Catalog, go to www.ldscatalog.com on the Internet, or contact the distribution center that serves your unit. Many of these resources are also available in the "Home and Family" section of www.lds.org.

Curriculum for Church Units

The curriculum year begins worldwide on January 1. Children and youth are organized into classes according to their ages on this date.

Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society

On most Sundays, Melchizedek Priesthood holders and Relief Society sisters study the same subjects and use the same materials. However, they meet separately.

First Sunday. Melchizedek Priesthood leaders use this meeting to teach quorum members their duties and help them become actively engaged in the work of the priesthood. Relief Society leaders use this meeting to teach sisters about the purpose of Relief Society and its sacred work.

Subjects for these meetings may include strengthening marriages and families, home teaching and visiting teaching, service, missionary work, activation, fellowshipping, spiritual and temporal welfare, and temple and family history work.

Elders quorum, high priests group, and Relief Society leaders each plan this meeting for their own organization. Lessons are taught by these leaders, using the resource materials listed on pages 3 and 4. Leaders should plan these meetings prayerfully, identifying the needs of members and considering how best to meet those needs.

First-Sunday quorum and group meetings should regularly include time to plan service and other work of the quorum or group. These meetings could also include time for training, demonstrating how to perform ordinances, planning how to help others, giving assignments, reporting on past assignments, and setting goals.

First-Sunday Relief Society meetings should help sisters become more faithful members and better wives, mothers, daughters, and neighbors. The presidency may take time to share instructions from priesthood leaders discussed in ward welfare and ward council meetings. They may also allow time for sisters to share their testimonies.

Second and Third Sundays. For units using the basic curriculum, instruction on these Sundays is from the Duties and Blessings of the Priesthood and The Latter-day Saint Woman manuals. For units using the general curriculum, instruction is from the current Teachings of Presidents of the Church book. Each member should be given a copy of the book that is used for instruction.

Elders quorum, high priests group, and Relief Society leaders each plan this meeting for their own organization. Lessons may be taught by these leaders or by quorum or group instructors or Relief Society teachers.

If stake conferences or other meetings preclude the teaching of one of these lessons, local leaders decide if it should be taught on another Sunday. Lessons should be taught in the order they are presented in the book.

Fourth Sunday—Teachings for Our Time. [The following information for Teachings for Our Time was added after the original printing and distribution of this document.] Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society meetings on the fourth Sunday of each month will continue to be devoted to "Teachings for Our Time."

Effective November 2004, all "Teachings for Our Time" lessons will be taught from talks in the most recent general conference issue of the Liahona or Ensign. These issues are published each May and November. The talks are also available online (in many languages) at www.lds.org.

Each lesson can be prepared from one or more talks. Stake and district presidents may choose which talks should be used, or they may assign this responsibility to bishops and branch presidents. These priesthood leaders should stress the value of having the Melchizedek Priesthood brethren and the Relief Society sisters study the same talks on the same Sundays. Teachers should seek counsel from their leaders regarding any special emphasis.

Those attending fourth-Sunday lessons are encouraged to study and bring to class the latest general conference issue of the magazine. Ward and branch leaders should ensure that all members have access to the Church magazines.

Elders quorum, high priests group, and Relief Society leaders each plan this meeting for their own organization [according to these guidelines]. Lessons may be taught by these leaders or by quorum or group instructors or Relief Society teachers.

Fifth Sunday (when applicable). The subject for this meeting is determined by the bishopric to meet local needs. On this Sunday the elders quorum and high priests group may meet together, or they may be combined with the Relief Society.

Aaronic Priesthood and Young Women

Aaronic Priesthood quorums normally meet separately for Sunday quorum meetings and instruction. However, they may be combined when few Aaronic Priesthoodage young men live in the unit. The same guidelines apply to Young Women classes.

In units using the basic curriculum, young men may meet with Melchizedek Priesthood holders if their numbers are few. Young women in these units may meet with the Relief Society if their numbers are few.

Aaronic Priesthood holders and young women are taught from the manuals listed on pages 3 and 4. Leaders may invite youth to help teach some lessons. Other teaching resources include For the Strength of Youth (36550), True to the Faith (36863), and Church magazines. The May and November issues of the New Era, Ensign, and Liahona also include resource guides that provide references to Church magazine articles and other materials that can be used to enrich the lessons.

Primary

Leaders should group children into Primary classes according to their ages on January 1. If there are sufficient numbers of children, a separate class should be organized for each age-group. Where classrooms or teachers are limited, children of different ages may be grouped together.

Where feasible in units using the general curriculum, there should be a nursery class for children when they turn 18 months. Enrolling children in this class is the option of the parents. Children who are 2 years old by January 1 continue in the nursery class until the end of the year. Children who are 3 years old by January 1 attend the Sunbeam 4 class or the youngest combined class.

Children are taught from the manuals shown on the charts on pages 3 and 4. Other teaching resources include the Church magazines, illustrated scripture readers, Gospel Art Picture Kit, and Children's Songbook.

Where appropriate, younger children participate in Primary sharing time while the older children attend class. Halfway through Primary, the two groups change places. Where numbers are few, the two groups may meet together. If the two groups meet separately, sharing time for older children should be held during the same time as Aaronic Priesthood and Young Women classes.

Children who turn 12 during the year continue to attend their Primary class until the following January. However, during Primary sharing time they begin attending their Aaronic Priesthood quorum meeting or Young Women class.

Sunday School

Sunday School is for adults and for youth who are 12 and older on January 1. Children who turn 12 during the year remain in their Primary class during Sunday School.

Where there are sufficient numbers of youth, separate classes may be organized for each age-group. Where there are few youth or where classrooms or teachers are limited, youth of different ages may be grouped together.

Sunday School courses and the resources for teaching them are shown on the charts on pages 3 and 4.

Optional Courses

For information about optional courses, see the charts on pages 3 and 4. These courses are held as needed under the direction of the bishopric. They are held at times that are convenient for participants, including during Sunday School.

Basic Curriculum for Church Units 1

(Used where the Church has been recently organized or where general curriculum materials are not available)

1.  Not all materials on this chart have been translated into all languages that use the basic curriculum. Use these materials as they become available. Contact the distribution center with questions about the availability of materials.

2.  If the Aaronic Priesthood 1 and Young Women 1 manuals are not available, use the Duties and Blessings of the Priesthood and The Latter-day Saint Woman manuals for lessons on the first, fourth, and fifth Sundays.

General Curriculum for Church Units

(Used where the Church is well established)