If you homeschool your children, you may wonder if your new church membership will affect that in any way.

The church is officially neutral on the subject of homeschooling. They consider the method of education of children to be the responsibility of the parents. It is, of course, necessary for parents to provide education, and to provide it legally.

Although the gospel never specifically mentions homeschooling, it certainly gives us guidelines we can use to be sure our homeschooling is gospel appropriate. Doctrine and Covenants 88:118-119 says:

“And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith. Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;”

Many LDS homeschoolers take this as their guiding principle for homeschooling. A house of learning certainly describes a good homeschool. Using the best books and teaching our children not just to receive an education but to seek knowledge will keep our house of learning gospel-focused.

Some states don’t allow you to count religious education in your required number of hours. However, you can still include religion in all your teaching. When teaching controversial topics, teach both sides, but then help your children find out what the church teaches on the subject. For instance, when I taught my children about evolution, I included creation as one of the options for how the world began, as well as evolutionary creation. We explored all the ideas of man and God and then went to the Institute of Religion manual for a definitive answer: “While it is interesting to note these various theories, officially the Church has not taken a stand on the age of the earth. For reasons best known to Himself, the Lord has not yet seen fit to formally reveal the details of the Creation. Therefore, while Latter-day Saints are commanded to learn truth from many different fields of study (see D&C 88:77–79), an attempt to establish any theory as the official position of the Church is not justifiable.”

There was more in the discussion, and we used it to help the children come to their own conclusions, but to point out the important part wasn’t how it was created, but who created it and why. This is something your children can’t learn in a public school, but fits nicely into a scientific study of the origins of the earth.

The church gives your children the opportunity to have experiences non-homeschoolers are likely to think your children need. They have the opportunity to learn from other adults, sit still in a formal classroom, attend social events, hold leadership positions as teenagers, and expand their horizons. Because the church is so extensive, your children can find many opportunities for growth outside the home.

Everyday gospel activities in the home can be counted towards educational experiences—reading scriptures, leading the music in family home evening, conducting family council and so on.

The restored gospel is an ideal foundation on which to build your new and improved LDS homeschool.

For those who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed the Mormon Church), the words ‘Scripture Mastery’ have a double meaning.

The first thing we’ll think of is a set of 100 verses of scripture that “have been deemed especially important by church leaders”
(www.mormonwiki.com/Scripture_Mastery). These verses are split up between the four standard works, which are studied in Seminary over the course of four years: Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants.

During the year seminary teachers work hard to help teens memorize the 25 verses associated with the particular course of study, coming up with key words, quizzes, and games to make learning them fun.

There’s another aspect to Scripture Mastery that our teens learn, perhaps without even realizing it. Think of what it means to master something: you become an expert, you come know something inside and out, and you are well practiced. Each set of Scripture Mastery verses is a stepping off point in become a master of the scriptures. Why would this be important in the lives of teens?

Teaching anyone to rely first and foremost on the word of the Lord is vital to their eternal happiness. It may not be the first place they’ll turn every time, but as they see it working towards their good they will do it more often. We all can benefit from searching the scriptures in any time of our lives. Whether we’re sad, in pain, confused, in need of answers, or any other conceivable situation we can find something in the Word to help us along. Even if it’s not for our own benefit we can turn to Him for answers. By memorizing scriptures we begin a journey that can help us come to know the scriptures and recall them when needed.

Richard G. Scott, an apostle of the Lord, spoke on why it is necessary to study and memorize the scriptures.

“The Holy Ghost can’t bring to your memory a scripture that will touch someone’s heart if you haven’t studied the scriptures yourself.

“Teaching by the Spirit means there needs to be an investment of time and effort. It isn’t saying, ‘Well, I’m just going to go out there and wait for the Spirit to tell me what to do.’ You have to store the gospel . . . in your mind and heart” (Richard G. Scott and Charles Didier, “Be One of the Greatest,” New Era, Mar 2004).

If we want to be able to recall a needed verse in a moment’s notice we need to put in the work. Start with some of your favorites.

“I suggest that you memorize scriptures that touch your heart and fill your soul with understanding. When scriptures are used as the Lord has caused them to be recorded, they have intrinsic power that is not communicated when paraphrased. Sometimes when there is a significant need in my life, I review mentally scriptures that have given me strength. There is great solace, direction, and power that flow from the scriptures, especially the words of the Lord.” (Jacob 4:10). (Richard G. Scott, “He Lives,” New Era, Dec 2000).

This is why we encourage our youth to begin mastering their scriptures through Scripture Mastery. I hope to share many of these verses, and what they’ve come to mean in my own life. Just remember, these verses are only a starting off point. They are be no means considered the most important nor the only ones to be memorized.

Take a few minutes over the next few days and think about the scripture verses that mean the most to you in your own lives.

Since the time of Joseph Smith, there have been many who pose the problem of “prove it” to those who would share the gospel with them. That’s a daunting challenge. As it turns out, there are many who are up to the task. They gain greater knowledge almost every day which points to the truthfulness of the gospel. From the beginning, there have been those inside and outside of the faith who actively pursue proofs and validations for what we believe.

Copies of the symbols from the golden plates were given to a scholar of that time and asked if they were real symbols and characters from history and if he would or could translate them. The scholar first agreed with their authenticity, then removed his endorsement when he found out the symbols were from the Book of Mormon.

The wife of one scribe for Joseph Smith constantly doubted and wanted answers to what her husband was investing his time in. He begged Joseph Smith to let him take a few translated pages to show his wife. Though the Lord told him no, the man persisted until the Lord withdrew His restraining hand, allowing the man to share the document with his wife and family. The result? The pages became lost and could never be retranslated for many reasons.

While these examples may seem weak and inconclusive, they are meant only to show that the desire to know for sure if the Book of Mormon is actually the record of ancient inhabitants of America has been among us since the plates were first given to Joseph by the hand of Moroni.

Today, the questions dig deeper- finding DNA evidence to prove ancestry, archeological digs to find sites of importance within the Book of Mormon, examinations of travel, current and tide patterns to try and find where each group of people would have landed when coming to what we call the “Promised Land”. Are they finding answers? Yes, to some extent.

Does this affect the testimony of the members? As a whole, no. There will be those few who find these scholarly questions more defining than the spirit’s whisperings. These will find themselves tossed about according to various theories, sources, and answers. Some may let this proof, or lack of proof, as the case may be lead them away from what really matters, turning their back on the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Why isn’t this the case with more members of the church? Simply put, the gospel isn’t about proof on paper; it’s about proof in our individual lives. It’s about the changes that come over us and we put the gospel principles to the test, not identifying where Lehi and his family first landed. These can be helpful by letting us understand these ancient men and women better but it does not define who we are as a religion. A testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, of the Book of Mormon, and of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints comes from our feelings and from our heart. Christ openly invites us to prove whether or not His gospel is true. He challenges us to follow His principles and see where it leads us. He does not, however tell us we should only believe if we can prove exactly where the Jaredites lived or what the DNA make-up of a Mayan says about where they originally came from. He asks for our heart and our love. That comes from putting the gospel to the test, not the technicalities.

Take God’s challenge. Put the Book of Mormon to the test as the word of God, not as a history book. Live Christ-like principles in your life and see what kind of person you become.