Starting in September, the Sunday class meeting schedule will look different, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced March 30. For the first time since the 2019 adjustment to a two-hour block, youth and adult members will attend both Sunday School and quorum or class meetings on Sundays.
This means that instead of alternating 50-minute classes each Sunday, adult members will instead meet every week for 25 minutes in Relief Society or elders quorum and for 25 minutes in Sunday School.
Sunday School General President Paul V. Johnson said while the class format is different, the amount of time is the same — 25 minutes to cover one week’s worth of “Come, Follow Me” instead of 50 minutes to cover two week’s worth.
“This is a time for us to focus and learn together. … It really is everybody blessing each other,” he said.
President Johnson and his second counselor, Brother Gabriel W. Reid, recently spoke with Church News about the upcoming Sunday schedule changes, offering practical advice and addressing common concerns they’ve heard from members in the weeks since the announcement.
President Johnson said the changes will help with “the consistency of the continued discussion and learning in Sunday School,” as it’s easier to remember a lesson from a week earlier rather than from two weeks earlier. Additionally, having teacher council meetings monthly — an increase from quarterly meetings — will also improve continuity between classes, he said.
Brother Reid added that repetition is a pattern of learning.
“The purpose of learning and teaching is to deepen conversion, and I think having that repetition and that focus on learning of Jesus Christ will accomplish that,” he said.
Focus on Jesus Christ
The changes are meant to help members focus more on the teachings of Jesus Christ; strengthen gospel learning at home; and increase fellowship, belonging and community at church, according to the Church’s announcement.
Brother Reid said teachers should “keep the main thing, the main thing,” meaning the focus should be on Jesus Christ and helping students draw closer to Him.
He also emphasized that learning starts at home. Rather than asking “What did you learn at church?” a better question would be, “What did you learn at home?”
President Johnson agreed with Brother Reid, and added that connecting class lessons with at-home learning encourages people to consistently study at home.
Another way teachers can encourage at-home study is by “planting” a question or assignment for students to consider throughout the week, President Johnson said. For instance, a teacher might assign several people to study a particular scripture passage and report the following week about what they learned.
“When they’ve learned something, they share it, and they sense that it’s blessed somebody else’s life, too. I think it really increases the power of that study at home,” President Johnson said.
He also encouraged teachers to keep lessons focused on gospel principles and on conversion to Jesus Christ. Teachers sometimes feel like they have to cover everything from that week’s “Come, Follow Me” lesson, he said; but there’s no expectation for them to do so. Rather, President Johnson said, it’s better to pray about which specific points a class needs and focus on those.
Time management and resources
President Johnson also said it will be important for wards to transition quickly between sacrament meeting and classes. This might mean moving announcements to social media or other platforms in order to keep classes focused on learning.
For teachers, he said, begin with a prayer and start the lesson right after — “We don’t have to spend 15 minutes trying to lead up to it.”
Although class times will be shorter and more frequent, Brother Reid encouraged teachers to study more as they prepare lessons. This will help them become aligned with the right discussion topics and which points from “Come, Follow Me” to focus on, he said.
“The shorter, more impactful lesson … I think is really going to be a blessing,” he said.
President Johnson added that teachers have access to a variety of Church-provided resources, from “Teaching in the Savior’s Way” to teaching tips embedded in “Come, Follow Me.”
He referred to a graphic found in the “Teaching in the Savior’s Way” manual, which highlights five principles for teaching:
- Focus on Jesus Christ.
- Teach the doctrine.
- Invite diligent learning.
- Love those you teach.
- Teach by the Spirit.
When teachers follow these guidelines, “it’s really more likely that there will be conversions to Jesus Christ,” President Johnson said.
