Teaching Restored

Kevin Jones
  • 4.9 (23)
  • Religion & Spirituality
  • Updated Weekly

Exploring the HOW of teaching the restored gospel for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Think of this as your weekly Teacher Council Meeting.

  1. 23h ago

    E144: How Do You Teach Isaiah When You Don't Even Understand It?

    Many hit 2nd Nephi, run into Isaiah, and quietly give up. Kyle Smith opens this episode with the story that made him an "Isaiah defender" — overhearing a gas station clerk tell a new Book of Mormon reader to just skip the Isaiah chapters — and Julie lays out why that's so costly: 66 chapters, 1,292 verses, roughly a third of the Book of Mormon quoting him, 57 quotations in the New Testament, and about 100 references in the Doctrine and Covenants. You'd have to play dodgeball with your scriptures to avoid Isaiah. And it isn't optional: in 3rd Nephi 23:1 the Savior Himself gives a commandment to search these things, because, as 1st Nephi 19:23 puts it, Isaiah's words more fully persuade us to believe in the Lord our Redeemer. So Kevin, Julie, and Kyle walk through four keys to understanding Isaiah — all four of them drawn straight from 2nd Nephi 25, where Nephi hands us the instructions. Understand the manner of the Jews: the poetry, the parallelism, the chiasmus, and the imagery (Kyle shares a symbolism cheat sheet built from Alonzo Gaskill's The Lost Language of Symbolism — numbers, colors, body parts, animals, directions — and explains why the ten tribes going north is not an accident). Be filled with the spirit of prophecy, which Revelation 19:10 defines as the testimony of Jesus — and which takes intention, not just worthiness. Know the region round about: Kyle walks an Old Testament timeline showing the split kingdoms, Assyria, the scattering of Israel, Babylon, and Persia, and where Isaiah and Lehi sit on it. And finally, live in the latter days — use hindsight, the Book of Mormon, chapter headings, and yes, Google. Plus practical help for teachers working with only 25 minutes a week, and both resources will be posted free at https://teachingrestored.com. ______________ Subscribe for more free YouTube episodes: https://www.youtube.com/teachingrestored?sub_confirmation=1 Find all episodes: https://teachingrestored.com Ask a question for us to answer on our podcast: https://teachingrestored.com/contact-us/ Join us on: ✅ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachingrestored ✅ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teachingrestored ✅ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@teachingrestored ✅ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@teachingrestored

  2. Sep 7

    E143: The Day After the 25-Minute Change: Watch One Actually Happen

    The 25-minute adjustment is here — so instead of talking about it for one more episode, we ran one. Ryan Wilkins joins Kevin Jones and Julie Hillyard to teach an unscripted, real-time 25-minute lesson on a title of the Savior most of us think we already understand: the Rock. Ryan walks through four different rocks in scripture. No lecture, no right answers, no exhausting every point. Just scripture, questions, and three people wrestling out loud. Then we stop and take the whole thing apart. What made it work? Ryan opened with a problem, not a principle — "what keeps you up at night?" — and brought it back at the end so every insight landed on something real. He picked four things instead of covering everything, said "there's more we could say about that" and kept moving, made it obvious there was no right answer, and did far less talking than anyone expected. We get into preparing your class during the week instead of only in class, training people to ask questions, why "slow down" is the right counsel even when you have less time, why an unfinished discussion is a productive one, and why prescribing application may be the thing to give up first. If you taught yesterday and it went sideways — or it went great and you want to know why — this is the episode. ___________________________ Subscribe for more free YouTube episodes: https://www.youtube.com/teachingrestored?sub_confirmation=1 Find all episodes: https://teachingrestored.com Ask a question for us to answer on our podcast: https://teachingrestored.com/contact-us/ Join us on: ✅ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachingrestored ✅ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teachingrestored ✅ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@teachingrestored ✅ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@teachingrestored

  3. Aug 31

    E142: Help them Take Responsibility for Their Learning (Part 5/5)

    Teaching Restored, The book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HCFD364F In the final episode of our five-part series on the 25-minute Sunday schedule, Kevin Jones and Julie Hillyard tackle the hardest question of all: what is the actual outcome we're after? Not the Sunday school answer — the real one. Starting from a simple question about where the baptismal covenant is found (and why Alma, Christ, Moroni, and the Doctrine and Covenants don't word it the same way), Kevin and Julie land on something that reframes the whole series: the Savior rarely handed out answers. He told parables, He asked inspired questions, and He extended invitations — and then He gave people space to wrestle. As Julie puts it, the transformation happens in the space. The point was never the answer. The point is who we become on the way to it. From there they get practical: how to build "proving polarities" questions that make people think (and how to use AI to help you write them if that's not your gift), why counseling together beats one person talking for 25 minutes, how to make a discussion real instead of hypothetical, how to point out the Spirit without isolating the person who isn't feeling it, and a postmortem checklist for evaluating your own class afterward. Plus the image that ties it all together — treat your classroom like an escape room, and be the clue giver instead of the answer key. Julie also offers two important cautions: stirring the pot is not the same as creating chaos, and if you're truly seeking revelation for your class, it won't look like the class next door. Next week: Ryan Wilkins walks through an actual 25-minute lesson. ______________ Subscribe for more free YouTube episodes: https://www.youtube.com/teachingrestored?sub_confirmation=1 Find all episodes: https://teachingrestored.com Ask a question for us to answer on our podcast: https://teachingrestored.com/contact-us/ Join us on: ✅ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachingrestored ✅ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teachingrestored ✅ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@teachingrestored ✅ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@teachingrestored

  4. Aug 25

    E141: The HOW with Leading Saints' ZionLab Community (Part 4/5)

    This is Part 4 of our series on the 25-Minute Adjustment, and it's a different kind of episode: Kevin Jones, Julie Hillyard, and Kyle Smith went live inside ZionLab, the Leading Saints online community, with host Kurt Francom and a room full of ward and stake leaders. Ahead of time they asked the community what worries them most about the shorter second hour, sorted many responses into five themes, and then worked through them live with a bishop, a stake Relief Society president, a Sunday School president, and an elders quorum president in the room. Inside: how to handle transitions when your building is on a bow-tied schedule, why the adults — not the youth — are the real transition problem, and what actually motivates people to walk into class on time. Then the hard one: how do you make room for people to speak when there isn't enough time for everyone to speak? You'll hear practical tools you can use this Sunday — posting the council topic ahead of time so people arrive ready, small-group shares that get quiet voices heard, teaching the class to validate each other's comments instead of leaving that to the teacher, going five questions deep to turn a comment into a testimony, ending class on a cliffhanger question and picking it up the next week, and letting silence do the teaching after someone shares something vulnerable. Plus a bishop's youth deciding to go completely analog at church, and a first look at two new Teaching Restored tools: an evaluation tool that analyzes the audio of your class, and 25 lesson skeletons built for 25-minute lessons. ______________ Subscribe for more free YouTube episodes: https://www.youtube.com/teachingrestored?sub_confirmation=1 Find all episodes: https://teachingrestored.com Ask a question for us to answer on our podcast: https://teachingrestored.com/contact-us/ Join us on: ✅ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachingrestored ✅ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teachingrestored ✅ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@teachingrestored ✅ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@teachingrestored

  5. Aug 17

    E140: 25 Minutes Is Enough: How to Teach a Powerful Lesson in Half the Time (Part 3/5)

    The lesson time got cut in half — but the material didn't. So what do you actually do differently? In this episode, Kevin and Julie sit down with Teaching Restored team member Kyle Smith to tackle the 25-minute change head-on, and the big idea is freeing: the shortness isn't the enemy — unfocused time is. A well-focused 25 minutes beats an unfocused 45 every time. Kyle walks through four core principles that hold true no matter how long your class is — expect students to come prepared, recognize that not all scripture is created equal, use variety that fits the scripture block, and get everyone into the Word of God rather than just talking about it. Along the way you'll hear practical ways to invite preparation, why "high love + high expectations" beats lowering the bar, and how to meet learners right where they are. Then Kyle unveils the tool this episode is built around: "lesson skeletons" — 25 bare-bones outlines (one per scripture type: historical narrative, poetic, doctrinal, prophetic) that you fill in with your own scriptures, quotes, and activities. Think plug-and-play bones for experience prep, not content prep — a skeleton for you and God to put the flesh on. They're timed for 25 minutes but flexible enough for any class length, and Kevin, Julie, and Kyle react to them live. Whether you teach primary, youth, Gospel Doctrine, or institute, this one will change how you walk into class. All 25 skeletons will be posted free on teachingrestored.com. Teaching Restored the book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HCFD364F ______________ Subscribe for more free YouTube episodes: https://www.youtube.com/teachingrestored?sub_confirmation=1 Find all episodes: https://teachingrestored.com Ask a question for us to answer on our podcast: https://teachingrestored.com/contact-us/ Join us on: ✅ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachingrestored ✅ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teachingrestored ✅ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@teachingrestored ✅ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@teachingrestored

  6. Aug 10

    E139: Prepare Everything — Then Teach Almost None of It (Part 2/5)

    Teaching Restored, The book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HCFD364F The Church's move to weekly 25-minute lessons is almost here — and the biggest change isn't the clock, it's how we prepare. In Part 1 of our "how" series, Kevin and Julie welcome new Teaching Restored team member John Hester to talk about spiritual preparation and discerning the needs of the people you teach. John shares the "water tower" principle he's never forgotten: fill the tower all week through deep, broad study, and when you open the spigot on Sunday, it pours out with power. The catch? You prepare everything — and you may only use a fraction of it in the room. The goal shifts from covering content to helping people have an experience with the Savior. Along the way the three dig into what "discerning needs" really looks like, why every ward's lesson should sound a little different, the value of a weekly "postmortem" after class, how to make teacher council meetings actually productive, and a simple framework for narrowing to the one doctrinal center that points to Christ. Maybe the most practical takeaway: don't just prepare yourself — prepare your learners too, with midweek nudges and questions so they walk in ready to discuss. If you've felt overwhelmed by the change, this one is meant to bring you relief and peace. ______________ Subscribe for more free YouTube episodes: https://www.youtube.com/teachingrestored?sub_confirmation=1 Find all episodes: https://teachingrestored.com Ask a question for us to answer on our podcast: https://teachingrestored.com/contact-us/ Join us on: ✅ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachingrestored ✅ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teachingrestored ✅ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@teachingrestored ✅ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@teachingrestored

  7. Aug 5

    ANNOUNCING: The Teaching Restored Book is finally available!

    The book we have been talking about for years is finally available on Amazon. The Teaching Restored book will teach you how to ask great questions when teaching the Restored Gospel, and how these questions can make all the difference in the quality of your lessons. And not just Sunday lessons, but lessons in your families and with your friends. Go grab a copy and learn how to teach by asking powerful, inspired questions. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HCFD364F

  8. Aug 3

    E138: The "Why" Behind the 25-Minute Teaching Change (Pt. 1 of 5)

    Starting September 6th, Sunday lessons shrink to 25 minutes — and if your first reaction is "how am I supposed to teach anything in that?", this episode is for you. In Part 1 of our five-part series on the 25-Minute Adjustment, Kevin and Julie start where every good change starts: with WHY. Julie walks through the three purposes the Church has made crystal clear — focusing more on the teachings of Jesus Christ, strengthening gospel learning in the home, and increasing fellowship, belonging, and community at church — and shows why the methods are changing while the purpose never has. When your WHY is clear, the HOW stops feeling like a crisis. Along the way they trace how we got here (2018's two-hour block, Come, Follow Me, Teaching in the Savior's Way, counseling questions in Relief Society and elders quorum) and reframe these shorter lessons as a council, not a lecture. You'll hear why less time actually helps you focus more, why your prep should shift from content to connection, and why the teacher's job is now to create the conditions for people to have their own experiences with Christ — not to deliver an outline. If you're a teacher, a Sunday School president, or a bishop wondering what to do for that fifth-Sunday conversation, don't skip to the logistics. Start with WHY. Then come back for Parts 2–5, dropping every Monday this month. ______________ Subscribe for more free YouTube episodes: https://www.youtube.com/teachingrestored?sub_confirmation=1 Find all episodes: https://teachingrestored.com Ask a question for us to answer on our podcast: https://teachingrestored.com/contact-us/ Join us on: ✅ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachingrestored ✅ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teachingrestored ✅ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@teachingrestored ✅ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@teachingrestored

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4.9
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About

Exploring the HOW of teaching the restored gospel for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Think of this as your weekly Teacher Council Meeting.

Information

  • Creator
    Kevin Jones
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    147
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Kevin Jones
  • Show Website
    Teaching Restored

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