Welcome to FDREL 122

Course Description

FDREL 122 examines the second half of The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ beginning with Alma 30 and ending with Moroni 10.

Course Objectives

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that “the Book of Mormon [is] the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and that a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book,” (See Introduction to the Book of Mormon). This course is designed to help you understand and apply the teachings of the Book of Mormon in your life so that you can draw closer to God.

The primary objectives of this course are to help you:

  1. Develop greater faith in Jesus Christ and deepen your commitment to live His gospel.
  2. Identify and explain true doctrines and principles from the scriptures.
  3. Apply the teachings of scriptures and of modern prophets to real life challenges.
  4. Develop the ability to learn and teach by the Spirit.
  5. Develop a habit of meaningful daily scripture study.

Course Architecture

The foundation for this course is your personal study of the Book of Mormon. Each week you will complete a combination of assignments to supplement your personal study and to help you gain a better understanding of the Book of Mormon and its teachings.

This course is organized into 14 one-week lessons (L01-L14). The course is designed to be completed one week or lesson at a time, with new lessons opening Wednesday (11:59 PM) of the preceding week before assignments are due.

Each lesson contains a Lesson Preview which gives a brief overview of what to expect from that lesson.

Each week your instructor will post administrative information, answer general questions, and share thoughts about the week’s content on the Announcements page.


Weekly Assignments

  1. Assigned Reading: There is no substitute for reading the scriptures. One of the course objectives is to help you develop a habit of meaningful daily scripture study. With that in mind, each week you can earn the reading points in one of two ways:

At the end of each week, you will report on your reading in the Personal Study Report assignment discussed below.

  1. Supplemental Reading : Each week you will be required to either read chapters from the Book of Mormon Institute Manual or one additional talk or article from church leaders to supplement your study of the scriptures. The insights you gain from this supplemental reading will be helpful as you complete your weekly assignments. At the end of each week, you will report on whether you completed the Supplemental Reading in the Personal Study Report.
  2. Directed Study : Each week you will be asked to write at least 300 words in response to a prompt regarding a significant theme or principle from within the scripture block. The directed study assignment is due by Wednesday at 11:59 PM.
  3. Digging Deeper: Each week you will be asked to watch at least six video highlights that add further insight into the doctrines and principles you are studying. A wide variety of videos have been selected from prophets, church leaders, Mormon messages, and campus faculty. The insights gained from these videos can help you in completing your weekly assignments. At the end of each week, you will report on watching these Digging Deeper videos in the Personal Study Report assignment.
  4. Personal Study Report: At the end of each week you will take a brief quiz to indicate that you have completed the Assigned Reading, the Supplemental Reading, and the Digging Deeper videos assignment. You will also be asked to share one highlight from the week.

Reminder:

Each Wednesday: Turn in your Directed study assignment by 11:59 PM

Each Monday: Turn in your Personal Study Report by 8:00 AM

Bi-Weekly Assignments

Each week you will complete one of the following assignments:

  1. Scriptural Discussion Board : Every other week you will be asked to participate in a scriptural discussion board with your class mates. To earn full credit you will need to make three posts throughout the week. These posts are layered and are designed to build upon each other to help you better understand and apply the scriptures in your life
  1. Share It! Every other week you will be asked to share a scriptural insight with your friends, or family. When you share your insight, you should do the following:
    • Identify one insight from your personal study you want to share . This should include a scripture passage or prophetic quote, and your explanation of why it is important or how it is relevant in your life.
    • Share your insight! You could talk with a friend, skype your family, call a grandparent, post something on social media, send someone a letter or email, or make a blog entry. Try to generate a discussion with others about what you shared and why it is important.
    • Then explain in a 100 word response on I-learn what, how, and who you shared your insight with.

Course Projects

Throughout the semester you will be asked to complete four projects which will typically require some planning on your part in order to complete them on time. These projects will be due at the end of lessons 3, 6, 9, and 12.

  1. Family Home Evening Lesson Plan: (Due at the end of L03 by Monday at 8:00 AM) For this project you will create a Family Home Evening (FHE) Lesson Plan to share with your family or friends. Your FHE Lesson Plan Report should be 1-2 pages double spaced and include the following elements:
    • A story, object lesson, or activity to introduce the theme or principle you wish to discuss
    • A passage from the Book of Mormon (Alma 30 - Moroni 10) that teaches the principle
    • A quote from a church leader that reiterates or discusses the principle
    • Your testimony of the principle being taught
    • Finally, please also include a brief summary of how your FHE Lesson went when you shared it with your family or friends!
  2. Ten Minute Talk : (Due at the end of L06 by Monday at 8:00 AM) As the title suggests, for this project you will be writing a talk as though you were invited to speak in Church. Your talk should be 4-5 pages double spaced which is about 10 minutes in length.
  3. Christlike Attribute Project (Due at the end of L09 by Monday at 8:00 AM) For this project you will select one Christlike attribute, search the Book of Mormon (Alma 30 - Moroni 10) for teachings on that attribute, make specific goals to work on that attribute for at least two weeks, and then submit a 3-4 page paper that addresses each of the following questions:
    • What attribute did you choose and why did you choose it?
    • What can we learn about that attribute from the Book of Mormon?
    • What specific goals did you make to improve that attribute in your life for two weeks?
    • What did you learn about this attribute through your study and efforts to improve?
  4. Ten Lessons from Alma 30 through Moroni 10 (Due at the end of L12 by Monday at 8:00 AM) For this project you will create a PowerPoint or similar presentation to present ten of the most important lessons you have learned while studying the Book of Mormon this semester. Your presentation should include the following:
    • A scripture reference for each lesson learned
    • A brief discussion of why that lesson is important or how it applies to your life
    • A final slide that includes your testimony

Grading

Grade Breakdown:

A=93-100%; A-=90-92% B+=87–89%; B=84–86%; B-=80–83%; C+=77–79%; C=74–76%; C-=70–73%; D+=67–69%; D=64–66%; D-=60–63%; F=below 60%

The general breakdown of course points is as follows:

Assignments

Points (x number of weeks)

Total Points

Course Introduction Activities

15 pts

15

Directed Study Assignments

15 pts x 13 weeks

195

Personal Study Reports

Assigned Reading – 9 points

Supplemental Reading – 3 points

Digging Deeper Videos – 3 points

15 pts x 13 weeks

195

Scriptural Discussion Boards

Post #1 – 5 points

Post #2 – 5 Points

Post #3 – 5 Points

15 pts x 7 weeks

105

Share It!

15 pts x 6 weeks

90

Family Home Evening Lesson Plan


50

50

Ten Minute Talk

50

50

Christlike Attribute Project

50

50

Ten Lessons from the Book of Mormon Project

50

50

Total Points Possible

800

The BYU-Idaho Learning Model

Understanding and implementing the BYU-Idaho Learning Model will help you to accomplish the objectives of this course. As you follow the principles and use the process of the BYU-Idaho Learning Model, your study of the Book of Mormon will be enhanced.

The Principles of the BYU-Idaho Learning Model

  1. Exercise faith in Jesus Christ as a principle of action and power
  2. Understand that true teaching is done by and with the Holy Ghost
  3. Lay hold upon the word of God as found in the holy scriptures and in the words of the prophets in all disciplines
  4. Act for yourself and accept responsibility for your learning and teaching
  5. Love, serve, and teach one another

The Process of the BYU-Idaho Learning Model

  1. Prepare
  2. Teach One Another
  3. Ponder and Prove

Love, Serve, and Teach One Another

At BYU-Idaho, whether on campus or online, we love, serve, and teach one another. Please keep this in mind as you interact with your classmates and instructor throughout the semester. Be kind in your comments. Recognize that many students come from different backgrounds with different experiences, attitudes, and perspectives than your own. Be considerate of others views even if you disagree with them. Try to helpful to your classmates if they need assistance. Any mean spirited communication with your classmates or instructor will negatively impact your grade.

Class Policies

Course Questions/Problems/Concerns

This course has a Questions and Conversations Discussion Board in each lesson where you can post general questions/problems/concerns/etc. Using these boards will inform the instructor, class members, and others monitoring the course of the issues you find and will allow the proper people to correct them for everyone. This is the fastest and most efficient way to report a problem and get it fixed. If you are experiencing the same problem as another student who has posted, you can post a response so others know the seriousness and extent of the problem. If you know the answer to a problem, please post solutions. Additionally, your instructor will use the board to communicate with you including informing you of fixes and solutions. So check back often to learn of any changes to the course.

Please note: You should only email your instructor directly if the problem is of a personal nature OR your instructor informs you that is the way he/she would like to be made aware of questions/ problems/ concerns.

Learning in an Online Course

The fourth principle of the BYU-Idaho learning model is to act for yourself and accept responsibility for your learning and teaching. In an online course, you need to take responsibility by planning specific time in your schedule to complete your daily, weekly, and quarterly assignments. As the saying goes, if you fail to plan you are planning to fail in an online course.

In an online course, it is expected that you will spend 3–4 hours working for every credit earned. Therefore, in this course you will need to plan to spend 6-8 hours each week completing your course work.

Late Work Policy

Assignments are due on the day indicated. Each lesson opens early in order to allow students some flexibility in determining their schedule. Late work will be accepted only at your instructor’s discretion. If you feel your situation warrants personal consideration, inform your instructor before the assignment is due so that he/she has time to work with you. Any late work that is accepted is subject to a penalty as determined by your instructor.

University Policies:

The University has established and posted policies concerning Sexual Harassment, Plagiarism (the most common Honor Code violation), and Disabilities Services. Please review the following so you are familiar with them:

Disclaimers

Your instructor reserves the right to change any part of this syllabus and/or schedule any time during the semester in order to adapt to changing course needs. You will be notified prior to any changes that may take place, so pay attention to communication from your instructor.

Browser Compatibility: Please do not use Explorer as your browser in this course. However, you may still experience an issue with some course content if you are using either Firefox or Chrome as your browser. As a default, these browsers will not load pages they determine are “insecure.” If any of your pages are not loading correctly or come up as a blank page, read Help! My Page Isn’t Loading to find out how to fix the problem.