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Home Centered, Church Supported
New curriculum emphasizes scripture study in the home as individuals and families, with Sunday lessons supporting what is learned.
When classes begin in January 2019, a major component of Church curriculum will shift. Instead of focusing just on lessons to be taught at church, the new curriculum shifts the emphasis to studying the scriptures as individuals and families at home, with Sunday meetings supporting that learning.
Church leaders have also announced changes to the Sunday meeting schedule beginning in January 2019, which include a 60-minute sacrament meeting and a 50-minute class period that alternates each week between Sunday School and other priesthood, Relief Society, and Young Women meetings. See more details at sabbath.lds.org.
A series of resources announced in July 2018—Come, Follow Me for home, Sunday School, and Primary—will support the home-centered emphasis.
“Your study starts at home,” said Mike Magleby, director of curriculum for the Church. “You will get the doctrine and learn things from the home manual.”
This new emphasis aligns with a statement from section 1.4 of Handbook 2: Administering the Church, which reads: “God has revealed a pattern of spiritual progress for individuals and families through ordinances, teaching, programs, and activities that are home centered and Church supported.”
Research indicates that personal religious devotion and scripture study in the home have a greater impact on conversion that any other factor, said Brian J. Hansbrow, a curriculum developer for the Church. He noted that for years Church leaders have been emphasizing that home is the best place to live, learn, and teach the gospel, and gospel learning and teaching should be part of our daily lives, not confined to Sunday classes.
Using the new Come, Follow Me resources, Primary, youth, and adult Sunday School classes will support home-centered gospel learning as teachers inspire learners to experience the power of God’s word for themselves. They will invite class members to discover gospel truths in the scriptures and share their discoveries with each other “that all may be edified of all” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:122).
The resources for 2019 are the first of what eventually will be a four-year rotation of study materials based on the four main books of scripture. Digital versions of these resources can be found on LDS.org and in the Gospel Library app.