Elder David A. Bednar (Apr. 19): "Prepared to Obtain Every Needful Thing

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This is such a great talk, although I am partial to Elder Bednar's talks.  There is a large portion of this talk that is directed towards (or feels like it is directed towards) parents.  Not everyone in the class will fit into that category.  So, as you use this activity or teach this talk, please be mindful of those for whom these topics can be painful.

The Activity:

  1. Read par. 9 "If all you . . . love and trust" and par. 12 "Enabling the accomplishment . . . fulness of times."
  2. Discuss with the whole class how some of the changes in the Church enable a more "home-centered gospel learning."
  3. Ask the class members to share some of the changes they have made in their homes in response to this new focus of the Church.  You may wish to write some of these ideas on the board.
  4. After a few moments of discussion, ask the class members to silently consider the ideas on the boards as well as any others that they thought of during the discussion and to consider what ideas would seem to fit their home situation well in terms of strengthening testimonies (their own or other family members).
  5. Ask them to turn to a neighbor and share something they want to implement or do better in their homes.
Using the Activity:

This activity, I think, is an example of using the principles in a talk to improve directly our lives.  As such, some things could be too personal to share.  In these cases, make sure that class members understand that this may be the case and if so, they are under no obligation to share.  

Also, it might be useful to follow this activity up with a discussion of Elder Bednar's two big examples-- mission and temple prep-- with an eye towards helping them to operationalize their own ideas.

God bless.

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