Teaching Restored

Become a Teaching Restored member: https://members.teachingrestored.com _______________ How do you teach the doctrine of marriage, the family proclamation, or the plan of salvation when someone in the room is living a very different experience than you? In this episode, Kevin Jones and Julie Hillyard sit down with Sky, a Gospel Doctrine teacher, BYU film grad, husband, and father who experiences s...

Become a Teaching Restored Member: https://members.teachingrestored.com What do you do when a student, a friend, or your own adult child comes to you shaken by something they read about church history? Seminary and institute teacher Justin Bates, who is finishing a PhD in history with a dissertation on the Brooklyn Saints, joins Kevin Jones and Julie Hillyard to talk about teaching hard history in...

Become a member of Teaching Restored and get access to incredibly helpful tools for teachers: https://members.teachingrestored.com ___________ Kevin and Julie sit down with Drew Walters, a seminary and institute teacher of 25 years from Sterling, Alberta, who did something most teachers only think about: he stripped every piece of technology out of his classroom. No slides. No devices. No accompan...

Teaching Restored started as a podcast Kevin and Julie were doing on the side. Then Kyle called, they joined forces, a whole slew of volunteers came in behind them, and it turned into something much bigger than any of them expected. So here's the announcement: Teaching Restored is now an official nonprofit organization — and along with it, a new Teaching Restored Membership. It's $7 a month, $5 a...

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 a...

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 scriptur...

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, Moro...

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...

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 prin...

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...

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 power...

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...

Kevin and Julie make a confession: in almost 140 episodes, they've never once tackled Primary — mostly because it intimidates them. So they brought in someone who lives it. Whitney Boyer is a former fourth-grade teacher, a current Primary president, a mom of four, and the host of the new "Come and Do" podcast for Primary teachers. Whitney flips the whole idea of Primary on its head: instead of ask...

September 6th the Church changes to 25 minute classes in the second hour. Are you ready? Do you know how to make this shorter time REALLY effective? In August, all our episodes will be focused on ideas of how to be effective in those 25 minutes. PLUS, we have a ton of resources.

We love a clean hero. But when we flatten Saul, David, or Solomon into a simple good guy or bad guy, we miss the whole point — and we set our own faith up for a fall. In this episode, Kevin and Julie are joined by guest Kyle Smith to talk about "simplicity on the other side of complexity": the idea that real, lasting understanding only comes after we climb the mountain of complexity instead of sli...

What does it mean that Ammon was "wise, yet harmless" — and how was King Lamoni "caught with guile"? In this episode, Kevin and Julie dig into Alma 17 and 18 and a detail most of us read straight past for years. After days of wrestling, praying, and rewriting his own answers, Kevin shares a possible reading that turns a familiar conversion story into a vivid picture of pride, power, feigned humili...

What does it actually look like to teach youth well? In this episode of Teaching Restored, Kevin Jones and Julie Hilliard sit down with Dan, a seminary and institute coordinator from southern Alberta, Canada, who has spent over two decades in the classroom and now trains teachers across the prairies. Dan shares the practical system he built for reaching teenagers — the "spiritual warm-up" of chora...

Do you have good ways to handle tough or adversarial questions—without creating contention—in your classroom, online, or even at home? In this episode, Kevin & Julie discuss real-life scenarios many LDS teachers and missionaries face, from "grenade" comments online to heated family discussions about faith. Discover practical, gospel-centered strategies to maintain love, invite the Spirit, and...

Are you look for way to make your class more engaging and impactful? In this episode, Kyle Smith, Kevin and Julie break down how to find and teach gospel principles from the scriptures, not just share stories or facts. Learn easy, step-by-step methods to identify both stated and implied principles, discover powerful teaching tools like "if-then" statements, flag words, and how to help your student...

Have you ever caught yourself saying things like “exercise the atonement,” or “I know the Church is true” without really thinking about what those phrases mean? In this episode, Kevin Jones and Julie Hilliard dive into the world of “glib gospel phrases”—those shortcut sayings we use in Church that can lose their true meaning and power, especially with youth, new members, or visitors. They’ll share...

Are your gospel classes feeling a little stale? Discover how Ryan Wilkins, a seasoned Seminary and Institute teacher, is turning traditional gospel teaching upside down with creative, real-world, and student-focused approaches! In this episode, Ryan Wilkins discusses: - How to connect students with Christ in every lesson - Moving beyond traditional lectures to real discussion - Asking real questio...

Have you ever wondered if your teaching is really making a difference? In this episode, Julie and Kevin Jones reveal the hidden power that every gospel teacher has: the ability to NOTICE. Discover why noticing small things—like who’s missing from class, who’s sitting alone, or whose mood has changed—can help you minister like the Savior and reach hearts more than any perfectly planned lesson. Lear...

Have you ever wondered if teaching the gospel sometimes gets tangled up in checklists instead of what matters most? In this conversation, we reflect on what it means to shed old mindsets and refocus on Jesus Christ at the heart of teaching, faith, and everyday church life. We share stories about our own experiences growing up in the church, recognize where legalism creeps into teaching, and dig in...

What do you do when a conversation about faith suddenly turns adversarial? How do you respond when someone throws a "grenade" comment—online or in person—that challenges what you believe, or misrepresents your intentions? In this episode, we talk about teaching and standing for truth without adding to contention, especially in challenging moments. We share real stories from our lives, from social...

Why do students glaze over in early-morning seminary? What really creates those points of friction in a classroom—and what can we actually do about it? In this episode, we sit down with Chase Rockwood, a religion professor at BYU-Idaho and longtime high school seminary teacher, to get honest about what today’s youth and young adults are really bringing with them into our gospel classes. Together,...