Elder Jose L. Alonso (Oct. 17): "Love One Another as He Has Loved Us"

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Elder Alonso explains that love is demonstrated by service and forgiving.  This activity builds on that.

1.     Make sure everyone has something to write with and to write on.

2.     Ask each person to complete one of the following sentences

a.      Loving service is like _____________.  (Loving here is an adjective describing service; not a verb form describing our feelings about service).

b.     Forgiveness is like ________________.

3.     Explain that the last part of the sentence should be thoughtful and insightful.

4.     Collect everyone’s similes

5.     Randomly choose one of the similes, read it aloud and discuss it with the class, e.g. what is being said here; how is that true; etc.  Be sure to tie in the talk as appropriate.

6.     The only rule to the activity is that when a simile is read aloud, the author of that simile must wait and give others a chance to think and speak before explaining their thinking.



Using the Activity:

This activity is valuable because it pushes the class members to think about and express an idea in a new way.  We have all had dozens of lessons on service and forgiveness, and for good reason—these are vital principles that we all struggle with on some level.  Still, at times, it feels like we are saying the same things over and over.  When that happens, sometimes people disengage.  They may make a comment here or there, but they really don’t engage with the topic.  So, this activity tries to push us into new territory with a familiar topic. 

Another advantage for me is the random nature of whose thoughts are shared.  Everyone has an equal chance of having their ideas discussed and honored.  That can be an empowering experience for people who may not be confident in their own ideas.  Seeing the class take seriously and find value in something they share may help them feel more confident in future lessons and as a result, they may share more.

As always, I hope this idea is a useful one.  Please leave me some feedback on what you think and how it went, if you used this activity.  Or tell me how you changed it and how that went.  That way others can see it and we can build a more useful reservoir of ideas.

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