No farmer goes out and plants grain on the unplowed field.  He plows and harrows that the soil may be prepared not only to receive the seed, but to make generation possible.

A review simply turns over the stubble field of the preceding week’s work, making ready for the planting of new seeds that they may generate and develop.

Still a further value in the matter of review lies in the fact that the review makes more easily possible the proper evaluation of the facts taught.  In every lesson there are major facts and truths presented and also those minor or subordinate ones that serve to amplify and illustrate.  All too frequently a class becomes so involved in the minor details that it may fail to grasp fully the big, underlying truth.  By careful review, the teacher can make the essentials stand out in relief.  These are the things that need to be pondered.  If they are properly grasped, thanks to the laws of association, most of the minor facts will naturally attach themselves, so that truths can be retained in all of their richness of detail.

It is surprising to find how frequently pupils who have spent a year on the Book of Mormon have very little notion of the big, outstanding features of the book.  They apparently have run over each week’s lesson as so many independent facts, never coming back to single out the essential things in that early American civilization.  Surely no class ought to complete the course without clearly comprehending such major items as: 

  The contribution each of the three colonies made to Book of Mormon
  civilization.

  The general geographical location of each colony.

  The outstanding characters in the book.

  The coming forth of the book.

  Why it is essential.

  How our faith depends largely upon it.

  The ministry of the Savior on this continent.

  Gospel teachings of the Book of Mormon.

What is true of the study of the Book of Mormon is equally true of all other subjects.  It is so easy to get lost in a maze of facts, in a course in the principles of the Gospel, and yet if a teacher will hold to such basic considerations as the articles of faith, coming back to them regularly and linking facts presented under the appropriate article, it is equally easy to complete the course with a clearly defined, skeletonized basis for all future study.  Two conclusions seem obvious:  as teachers we ought to conduct reviews regularly and frequently; we ought to prepare for them as one of the most vital factors in teaching.

Important as is the review, the preview or assignment is equally vital.  To quote from Colgrove’s The Teacher and the School: