Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (Apr. 18): "Be With and Strengthen Them"

I have prepared two activities for this talk with two distinct purposes.

Activity 1 (purpose:  To inspire greater ministering):

1. Read the last half of paragraph 4 ("As He prepared . . . one to another").
2. Read the scriptures Elder Holland cites in the first paragraph under the bullets:  James 1:27 & Mos. 18:8-10
3. Discuss what these verses teach us about ministering.
4. 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.
5. After a few minutes, ask class members to share their verses with small groups of people nearby (3-4 per group).
6. Ask the groups to read aloud their verses and then to consider specific ways to fulfill the specific words in those verses.
7. 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 understanding how this program works):

1. On the board, draw two overlapping circles (a Venn diagram)
2. Label on circle "Visiting & Home Teaching" and the other circle "Ministering"
3. Ask the group members to review the four bullet points in Elder Holland's talk.
4. Now, ask the class to discuss the similarities and differences they see in the old and new programs.
5. As the class members share, fill in the diagram on the board.  If an item only applies to one of the terms, record it in the part of the circle that is not overlapping with the other circle, e.g. 'monthly visits are required' applies only to Visiting and Home Teaching.  In the area where the two circles overlap, record those things which apply to both programs, e.g. 'love them.'
6. As questions arise, discuss and answer them to the  best of your ability.

Using these activities:

The fact that there are two activities here is a reminder that a good activity/lesson in one setting is not necessarily a good activity/lesson in another.  Our teaching must always match our goals, which are identified through prayer in response to the needs of our class members. 

These two activities share one feature that is related to this idea of meeting the needs of our class members; both activities are tied to where the class members are in their own understanding.  I have been in classes where it felt like the teacher needed to impress us with her/his intelligence.  In every case, even if I learned something, I didn't feel edified.  We all learn best-- spiritually as well as intellectually-- if we are reached where we are.  By allowing the class members a great deal of input about what material is shared in the class, we are reaching to where they are.  This makes room for all people in our classes. 

As always I hope that this activity is helpful to you.  Please let me know how I can improve this site.  Thank you.