Teaching Relief Society & Priesthood

Much of Elder Echo Hawk's talk is made up of the scriptures-- even the title, comes from a verse in the New Testament.  The presence of so many scriptures was the inspiration for this talk.  It is a slight variation on what I normally propose-- the direct attention is not on the words of the talk-- I pray that this is still a valuable idea. The Activity: Make sure that all class members have access to the scriptures including the Topical Guide. Have class members open to "Forgive/Forgiveness" in the Topical Guide. Ask class members to silently spend a few minutes looking at the verses under this heading and to choose one that they find especially meaningful to them. Instruct the class members that when they have chosen a passage to open their scriptures to that specific passage. When everyone has had a chance to find a scripture, ask the class members to find a partner and discuss their choices.  They should each share their scriptures and what made that particula

The Activity: Give each class member an index card Explain that during the course of the lesson on gospel teaching in the home that you will be talking about teaching in Family Home Evening, family scripture study, family prayer, opportune moments, and by example.  Mention that it can be tricky to do all of these things well but that it is also embarrassing to ask questions at times because we might feel like we should already know the answer.  That is what the cards are for. Ask the class members to write down a question or questions that they have about this topic in general or any part of it specifically.  You might ask them to do this right at the beginning or you might ask them to write down their questions as you talk about it during the lesson. At some point, collect the cards and put them into a container of some kind. At the chosen moment, draw a card out and read the question aloud as a means of sparking a discussion. You may want to write some questions yourself as se

In this talk Elder De Feo begins many sentences "True Disciples love to . . ."  These are what I am calling "vision statements" because they tell us an attitude that disciples of Christ have.  Some of these statements are followed closely by a practical tip about how one possessing this characteristic might act.  These practical tips provide both a way to measure our attitudes and a way to model the behavior of someone with the characteristics that we are striving to develop. The Activity: Prepare several sheets of paper each with one vision statement taken from the talk written across the BOTTOM of the paper (see the explanatory note that precedes this section to know what a vision statement is). Read paragraphs 12-13 ("True Disciples love to . . . of His atonement") Point out that here Elder De Feo gives us a vision of what disciples do and a practical tip for what that might look like in action. Have the class members divide into groups of 3-4.

éééééééé The Activity: Give each class member an index card and tell them to hold on to them until later in the lesson. Open a discussion with the class around this question:  "If Jesus were to attend our block of Sunday meetings, what would He do?" Record responses on the board After a few moments, read Bishop Caussé's answer to the same question (Para. 14-15:  "Have you ever . . . we do likewise?") Discuss what this quote suggests-- there will probably be a good deal of overlap between what the class members said and what Bishop Caussé suggests. Direct the class members' attention to the last question in this passage:  "Can we do likewise?" Ask class members to spend a couple of moments silently pondering how they can "do likewise" in church next Sunday. Now, have the class members write down a goal that they felt inspired to set for being more Christ-like. Using the Activity: The most powerful part of this lesson is t

Note:  The activity here could be used with Elder Holland's talk and vice versa as they both deal with the same issues.  In fact, depending on the instruction given to you, these two talks could be used in tandem during a lesson using any of the activities outlined in their respective blog posts. The Activity: BEFORE CLASS:  Ask each class member to review the talk and choose one sentence from it that they find particularly powerful or important and to bring this quote with them to class on Sunday. BEFORE CLASS:  Type up and post around the room signs such as the following:  "Blessings for us individually,"  "Blessings for us as a ward,"  "Why minister," "How to minister," and "Other." Give each class member an index card or post-it note as they enter the classroom and ask them to write their quote on it. Direct the class members attention to the signs around the room and to decide which heading their chosen quote best fits i

The Activity: Make sure every class member has access to the talk either digitally or in print form. Ask class members to look over the talk and mark words/phrases that explain what characteristics individuals need to have in order to be united in the gospel. Ask class members to form small groups of 3-5. In these groups discuss what they found for a few moments.  Emphasize that in their discussions they should be looking to identify/uncover the relationship of these characteristics. After a few minutes of discussion, give each group a paper and something to write with. Ask the groups to create a visual that depicts that characteristics and their relationship. Come back together and discuss what each group created. Using the Activity: This talk was a beautiful talk, in my opinion, and it left me thinking about what I need to do/say/think differently to be able to be united to a group of believers.  I was impressed by the fact that Sis. Aburto emphasized the need for unit

As I read this talk initially I was inspired to reflect on a number of questions related to this talk.  Those questions became the basis for this activity. The Activity: Write each of the following questions on a separate small poster board: What can keep us from having eyes to behold Him? What are the blessing of beholding Him? How can we learn to behold Him? How might we know, if we do behold Him? Post these sheets around the classroom Introduce the talk and discuss the talk.  Specifically, talk about the idea of "Behold the Man" in the section entitled "Do we 'Behold the Man'?" paragraphs 1-12. Direct the class members attention to the questions posted around the room and ask them to consider each question silently for a moment. Invite the class members to each choose a single question they are most drawn to and to move to that part of the room.  They may sit in that area. When the groups have formed themselves, instruct the class members t

As I read and study Elder Stevenson's talk, it seems to me to be two talks in one.  The first talk is the process of calling a new prophet, and the second is a discussion of Pres. Nelson's personality and achievements.  This activity is designed to address the former. The Activity: Introduce the idea that Elder Stevenson covers four stages of calling a new prophet and that you will spend some time talking about each part.   Draw a diagram on the board that consists of a single square with two squares under it and then 12 more squares below the two squares.  Explain that this represents the normal organization of the Church-- a prophet at the head with two counselors and 12 apostles below them. Erase the top square and explain that this is the first step in the calling  of a new prophet, the current prophet passes away. Redraw the diagram with 14 squares in a row.  Explain that this represents the Church organization without a called prophet.  You may also want to read

The Activity: On the board write the following three questions: What does having prophets symbolize? What do the prophets teach us? How do the prophets teach us? Ask the class members to ponder for a moment these questions. Discuss some of their thoughts briefly. Ask class members to skim over Elder Soares' talk to find answers that he gives to these three questions. After a moment, discuss what was found that Elder Soares taught. Using the Activity: Given the nature and length of this talk, I doubt that it will be widely used for lessons.  However, Elder Soares shares a powerful testimony of prophets and teaches us some important truths about them.  This activity is designed to highlight these teachings and testimony. It might be important to remind class members as they look over the talk that the answers to those questions will often appear in a single sentence or phrase.  Urge them to look for exact words that are used and to ponder the meanings of those w

This activity is designed to be used at the beginning of the lesson.  The Activity: Create a sheet that has lines such as the following on it: Learning of the Savior and His Atonement. Increasing your faith so your conversion becomes deeper and more abiding. Feeling the love of the Lord so that you have more joy. Seeking for greater blessings for your family. Enhancing your powers of discernment. Serving others more effectively. Protecting yourself more completely from temptation and the influence of the Adversary. Refining and sanctifying your heart. Building more motivation to repent. Increasing the influence of the Holy Ghost in your life. NOTE:  Those ten items come from the bulleted list in Elder Renlund's talk.  There are more items than I have represented on here.  Feel free to look at that list and choose those items that are most pertinent for your class to include on your sheet. Begin by talking about how there never seems to be enough time in our lives.

With some slight modifications the activity I outlined for Elder Christofferson's talk may be used with this talk and vice versa.  Either activity could be used in a lesson that focused on the two talks together, i.e. a lesson on the reorganization. The Activity: Have the quorum presidency outline some of the concerns facing the quorum/unit.  Obviously, these should be broad challenges and not challenges which may single out particular members or families whether they are present or not. Point out that Elder Rasband lists 6 potential blessings of this adjustment. Read those blessings, beginning in paragraph 22 ("Under the direction, . .  .") and ending in paragraph 27 (" . . . those in need"). Ask the class members to form small groups. Have the groups brainstorm ways the listed blessings may specifically help the quorum/unit address the issues outlined at the beginning. You may also ask the groups (or the whole class before dividing into groups) to ide

I have prepared two activities for this talk with two distinct purposes. Activity 1 (purpose:  To inspire greater ministering): Read the last half of paragraph 4 ("As He prepared . . . one to another"). Read the scriptures Elder Holland cites in the first paragraph under the bullets:  James 1:27 & Mos. 18:8-10 Discuss what these verses teach us about ministering. Now, ask class members to find other scripture references that provide a vision of ministering like the verses above do.  They might draw on their own knowledge of the scriptures or they might consult the Topical Guide. After a few minutes, ask class members to share their verses with small groups of people nearby (3-4 per group). Ask the groups to read aloud their verses and then to consider specific ways to fulfill the specific words in those verses. Come back together as a class and discuss those things the class members felt were the most powerful from the groups. Activity 2 (purpose:  To aid in

While I doubt that this talk will be widely chosen as one to be taught because of the length and the general nature of it, I did find a number of quotes in this talk that struck me as being worthy of more thought and attention.  For example, "we belong to each other" (Para. 8) is a point that has much to bear on how we treat each other, how we view those in poverty, and how we think about unity.  For this activity I am choosing one of these quotes to focus on. The Activity: Draw a line down the middle of the board and label one side "covenants" and the other side "atonement" Read paragraph 4:  "Together our covenants . . . preserve, sanctify, redeem." Point out that in this quote, Elder Gong teaches us that both our covenants and the atonement do eight things:  enable, ennoble, help us let go, help us hold on, sweeten, preserve, sanctify, and redeem. One at a time, consider how our covenants and the atonement do each of these things.  Duri

This is an activity to be used after discussing the talk for a bit. The Activity: Read paragraph 6 of Section 2:  "As individuals . . . to meet God." Divide the class into three groups Assign each group one of the three purposes of the Church outlined in this talk Ask each group to consider and discuss the following questions: How could members in your area work toward the purpose of the Church your group has been assigned? How could increasing personal righteousness aid in helping fulfill this purpose? How would increased unity aid in achieving this purpose? How might your class support increased personal righteousness and unity in and among your class members? As the groups are talking about these things, create a table on the board with 4 rows across and 5 columns down.  That will be a row for each purpose and a column for each of the above questions along with a row and a column for labeling. After a few minutes, come together to talk about the answer to th