Elder Neil L. Andersen (Oct. 17): "The Voice of the Lord"

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The Activity:

1.     Read paragraph 6 from “Being Taught from on High” (“In the commotion . . .) and paragraph 4 from “Responding to the Voice of the Lord (“There is a treasure . . .)

2.     Discuss briefly the role of general conference in providing guidance to us and the importance of this guidance.

3.     Pass around quotes from this general conference and ask everyone to take one.

4.     Then, ask them to jot down or mark on the quote the following things:

a.      What truth is taught or guidance is given or promise is made here?

b.     What do I need to do in order to demonstrate to the Lord that I trust this counsel to be from Him?

c.      What might the results be, if I take these actions?

5.     Discuss as appropriate

6.     IF THIS LESSON TAKES PLACE SHORTLY PRIOR TO THE NEXT GENERAL CONFERENCE.  You could then read the last paragraph in “The Mind and Will of the Lord” (“I promise you that  . . .) and discuss how this preparation could take place.



Using the activity:

This activity is centered in applying the counsel given by Elder Anderson.  Instead of dealing much with the text of his talk, this activity asks class members to work with the principles in the talk about applying the counsels given in general conference.  Because of this requirement, this strategy has the potential to be quite moving. 

I also like the idea of using this lesson right before the next conference because of the last part of this activity.  Too often, while I look forward to general conference, I do not necessarily prepare myself as well as I should.  I do not spend time pondering the questions and help that I need to receive from the upcoming session and this last piece of counsel will help me (and presumably others) to make better use of the opportunity of hearing from our leaders.

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