The book has traditionally been used as a Sunday School lesson manual for attendees who are recent converts or non-members of the church.

In 2009, the LDS Church published a revised edition of the book and mandated that it be used twice-monthly as the lesson manual for Sunday Relief Society and Melchizedek priesthood classes in 2010 and 2011.

Each chapter sets out a basic doctrine or teaching of the LDS Church in simple language.

Supporting scriptural references to the standard works are included in each chapter, as are sample questions that a teacher could ask in a class setting.

Mormonism Research Ministry, a Christian organization that opposes the teachings of the LDS Church, has compiled a list of changes in the various editions of the book.