Teaching Relief Society & Priesthood

This talk was so powerful for me.  I see myself returning to it again and again over the next six months.  Also, I feel like this is a talk that I will be sharing and discussing with my kids-- especially my teens.  I don't always do this, but for this talk, I have created two activities.  I was thinking of my kids as I read this talk and so the second activity actually came first, but it feels almost too simple (it really isn't) so I created another one.  I hope one of these works for you. Activity 1: Make sure everyone has a small sheet of paper and something to write with. On the board write the following words:  time, effort, trust, desire Point out the words to the class membrers. Ask them to consider how these four things can work together in our lives to "increase [our] spiritual capacity to receive revelation" (par. 3). Then, have them consider which of the three do they feel is most important.   Ask the class members to share with a neighbor their th

The Activity: Divide the class into small groups. Ask the class members to share their experiences with Come, Follow Me .  This should be both how they are implementing it (or how they are trying) and how they have been/are being blessed by it.   Have the groups read over the experiences that Bro. Pace shares of others and their experiences with Come, Follow Me , par. 17-26 "A father shared . . . of the destoyer" (bulleted list). Have the group members connect any of these comments to their own experiences. Come back together and share some of what was talked about in the groups. Using the Activity: Come, Follow Me has been such a blessing in my life and the lives of my family that I was excited to hear this talk.  In an activity like this, it is important to make sure that we acknowledge that those people who are seamlessly making Come, Follow Me work with no glitches are definitely the exceptions and not the rule.  Most of us are doing our best at it and tha

The Activity: Prior to class, identify quotes from this talk that you feel would be especially meaningful to your class members.   Write these quotes on different slips of paper.  Some examples of quotes might include the following: Par. 6 "In a paradoxical . . . plan for us." Par. 8 "The good news . . . purpose and meaning." Par. 20 "The Jaredites did . . . to the Lord." Par. 22 "We can take . . . us toward home." During the class, ask the class members to form small groups (3-4 people per group). Give each group a slip of paper with one of the quotes on it.  Have the groups discuss the quote. After a couple of minutes, have the groups rotate quotes. After a few rotations, come back together as a class and ask the class members to share any insights they had as they talked. Using the Activity: Again, this activity is designed to increase the number of people who can and will participate.  Also, though, it pushes the class me

The Activity: Make sure everyone has access to a copy of the talk. Read par. 4 "Our question is . . . come our way?" Ask the class members to look over the talk and mark the answers to this question that they find. After a couple of minutes, ask the class members to share what they found.  As they do, make a list on the board. Discuss the items on the list. Using the Activity: This is a simple, straight-forward activity, but it can be powerful.  This activity pushes the class members to read the talk closely and search for specific things.  Any time we dig into a talk this way, we are softening our hearts and opening ourselves up to revelation and inspiration.  Logistically, you may want to look through the talk and identify potential answers prior to the class.  Prayerfully consider the things you want to focus on and be prepared to add these items to the class list, if they do not appear in the normal course of things.  As always, thank you for visiting my bl

The Activity: Designate three areas of the room as follows: Joy of keeping the commandments Joy of overcoming through Christ Joy of serving as Christ serves Point out these three divisions (mirroring the three parts of Elder Christofferson's talk) and ask the class members to choose one of the three and move to that part of the room. Ask these groups to review the section of the talk that applies to them and to answer the following questions (you may want to type them and give a copy to everyone or to each group): What thoughts of Elder Christofferson do you find especially powerful from this section? How does this particular source of joy help us become more Christ-like?  Why does being more Christ-like bring us joy? What experiences have you had with this source of joy?  What other stories or experiences have you heard about? How does Satan try to keep us from doing these things?  How can we combat these tactics? After the groups have had to time to discuss each

Elder Renlund's imagery of throwing the idols into the waterfalls will stay with me for a long time. The Activity: Divide the class into small groups (3-4 people in each group). Give each group a piece of paper and something to write with. Ask each group to read and discuss par. 5-10 "Being converted unto . . . and Jesus Christ." Based on this passage, ask the groups to write a 'math equation' that equals conversion.  For example, a math equation that equals forgiveness might be (faith + diligence) x the Atonement + forgiving others = forgiveness  When most groups seem done, ask the groups to join with another group and have the groups share their equations.   Come back together and ask for a couple of groups to share their equations and ask them to explain their thinking. Using the Activity: For some of us, any type of math equation seems like a bad dream.  However, for many others, math is like a first language.  It makes sense to them and is a

This was such a great talk to begin conference.  The invitation to look for Christ in every talk, every prayer, and every song certainly set the stage for a great conference, and it previewed, for me, the most prevelant messages of this conference. The Activity: Give everyone a piece of paper and something to write with. Read par. 13 "To grasp the . . . attention on Him."  and par. 20 "Sisters and brothers . . . true meaning lies." Point out that these two quotes share two elements: Distracting commotion Christ as the center of our lives. Ask the class members to silently consider these two elements in their own lives and the world around.   Ask the class members to make two lists on their papers.  One identifying the things (even the good things) that can keep Christ from being the center of our lives; one naming ways that we can put Christ at the center of our lives. After a few minutes, ask the class members to share their lists with a partner. Com

The invitation at the end of the talk to consider other lessons from the cheetah story could make for an interesting activity/discussion (par. 33-34 "I invite and . . . able to stand.'"). The Activity: Prior to the lesson make sure you have several pieces of chalk (or markers for a white board). On the board draw two vertical lines that divide the board into three roughly equal areas.   Label the areas as follows: Disguise evil as good Complacency Misuse of our Bodies Explain that Elder Bednar lists these three broad tactics of Satan. Read par. 29 "Understanding the intent . . . for possible attacks." Explain that you are going to take some time as a class to consider specific ways you see these 3 attacks being carried out. Point out the three areas on the board and explain that everyone will have the chance to contribute to the board as follows:  Explain that the activity will take place in silence. Ask everyone to stand up and come up near t

The Activity: Make sure everyone has a paper and something to write with. On the board, make a T-chart.  Label the left column "Our promises" and the right side "Our deeds." Ask someone to read from par. 11 "As members of . . . in all places'". As each of the promises that we make are read, record them in the left column ("our promises") Then, ask the class members to skim over the next part of the talk and identify ways that Elder Rasband says that we keep those promises that you just recorded. Now, ask all of the class members to create their own T-charts on their pieces of paper, labeled the same as the one on the board. Read par. 24 "I invite you . . . is your bond." Ask the class members to take a moment and consider the promises they have made to God and to others (Par. 19).  Have them write these on the left side of their chart.  Then, ask them to record how they are fulfilling these promises on the right side of th

The Activity: Prior to the lesson, go through Elder Gong's talk and highlight/words/phrases that could finish the sentence, "Covenant belonging means . . ."  Some examples include: Par. 4 "we find and most important relationship" Par. 8 "to belong with . . . His covenant path." Par. 10 "we may sometimes . . . we will be." Par. 14 "we can come . . . of Christ-- now." During class, explain thatt you will read a series of statements about covenant belonging, which they will discuss according to the following pattern: Class members pair up with someone near them. You read the statement The class members will have 1 minute to discuss the statement. At the end of the minute, class members will find a new partner (someone that they have not partnered with yet).   Complete the activity with the quotes you identified. Come back together as a class and discuss any particular insights that the class had during the discussion.

The nerd in me loves that Elder Uchtdorf uses The Hobbit  as part of his talk, although I missed the expected plane references.  😁 The Activity: Make sure that everyone has access to a copy of the talk. Point out that Elder Uchtdorf gives us three broad areas of our mortal journey to consider Read them as outlined in par. 62 "But now is . . . experience with others." Divide the class into three groups and assign each group one of the three areas. Have the groups take 7-8 minutes to discuss their section of the talk.  If necessary, you could provide questions to help guide their discussions.  You could ask about how each thing is defined; what aspects of each element are highlighted; student experiences with the counsel given; or how the class members might apply this counsel.  Explain to the groups that they will be sharing what they discuss. After a few minutes, ask each group to come up with a couple of hashtages that summarize their discussion.  For example, #Lo

Elder Stevenson said that this talk was aimed at the young people of the church, but this is full of powerful counsel for all of us.  I was especially struck by Elder Stevenson's counsel that following the prophet (and apostles) will help us avoid the attacks of Satan.  This activity focuses on that part of the talk. The Activity: Prior to class, make a list of revelations/teachings from recent prophets (or you could, of course, limit yourself to Pres. Nelson's teachings).  These might include some of the following: Home-centered, Church-supported gospel learning-- Pres. Nelson Increased youth participation in temple service-- Pres. Monson Smaller temples-- Pres. Hinckley During class read par. 32 "How might you . . . and his attacks." Share some of the items from the list you made before class and ask class members how each revelation helps us to not be deceived. Ask class members other teachings from recent prophets that have blessed thier lives and hel

I know they don't assign topics to speakers, but had they asked Elder Anderson directly to simply sum up the messages from this conference, I don't know if he could have done any better.  For me the two overriding themes of conference were to center our lives on Christ and to recognize the tricks Satan uses to deceive us (maybe he could have added a little more about adversity-- maybe).  So, what a wonderful way to end conference. The Activity: Give everyone a small slip of paper (an index card or post-it note or something about that size) and something to write with. Read the quote in par. 11-14 "In our world . . . only through him." Discuss the quote, focusing on the phrases "We heeded them not" and "Keep your eyes and yoru hearts centered on Him." Explain that not heeding Satan is rarely accomplished by simply ignoring him; instead, we must do positive things to center ourselves on Christ.  As we do these things, we change ourselves in s

The Activity: Make sure everyone has access to a copy of the talk. Ask the class members to skim over the talk and to consider the counsel Elder Soares gives about taking up our cross. Have each class member identify a word or phrase that they consider to be the most important counsel relative to taking up our cross. Divide the class into small groups (3-4 people) Explain that the group will share and discuss their chosen words/phrases as follows: The first person will share their word/phrase and take 60 seconds (yes, you should time it) to explain why they chose that word/phrase Then, each person in the group will have 60 seconds (timed again) to discuss what was shared.  Encourage the group members to make connections between the sentiments shared and their own experiences and/or other stories and scriptures. Rotate and the next person shares their word/phrase. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until everyone in the group has had the chance to share their chosen word/phrase. Come ba

The beginning of this talk contained such a touching tribute to his late wife.  It was emotional to hear him talk about sitting with his wife and holding her hand. The Activity: Explain the conflict that lies at the center of Pres. Ballard's talk-- the conflict between the natural person and the person of God. Read Par. 15 "Today, 'living right' . . . pretty confusing concept" and discuss what things make it confusing. After a few moments of discussion, explain that in his talk Pres. Ballard's identified some tools and ideas to help us make correct choices and that you want to spend a few moments having the class members think about these things. Divide the class into four groups Ask each group to read and discuss one of the following quotes: Par. 24-25 "And yes, we . . . a spiritual being." Par. 26 "It's also why . . . can be overcome." Par. 28 "Every night as . . . charge of me." Par. 29 "Another resource

Pres. Eyring says that the purpose of his talk is to "encourage you in the great service to which you are called" (par. 1).  Inspired by that, this activity is designed to do the same.  The Activity: In the days leading up to the lesson, solicit notes from several class members expressing gratitude for how another class members used their gifts to help them.  The number of notes you solicit is up to you and depends on many factors (see the note below), but each note should be a sincere expression of appreciation and gratitude.  You may want to keep the writers anonymous. During class, read the purpose of Pres. Eyring's message from Par. 1 (see above).  Read par. 4 "For each one . . . to that person." Express your testimony of this fact-- we each have unique gifts and we can/should use them to bless others-- that, in fact, God puts in positions to use our unique gifts to uplift and edify those around us. Explain the letters you asked to be written and re

This talks deals with a complex subject and it feels like any time it is discussed that someone will be upset by what is said.  For me, though, this talk was an effort to explain both sides of the issue.  I know not everyone will agree with me, but that is the stance I took with this activity. The Activity: Give each class member an index card or post-it note and something to write with. Read the quote in par. 18 "Meanwhile, we must  . . . along the way." Ask the class members to picture a line like a balance beam.  On one side of the line is the first great commandment and on the other side of the line is the second great commandment.  Ask them to picture where they think God would see them in relation to the line.  Ideally, we would all be on that line, but maybe we aren't. Now, ask the class members to consider what changes they could make to move closer to that line (or to move more firmly on it).  These could be simple things that involve the words we use or

I anticipate that this activity would be one to start the lesson and use throughout, but it could easily be adapted to go later in the lesson. The Activity: Give each class member a piece of paper and something to write with. Ask the class members to divide their papers into four large quadrants by folding the paper in half one way and then the other (or by drawing lines). Label the quadrants do, think, feel, say . Ask the class members to take a couple of minutes and fill in the quadrants with things that a holy person does, thinks, feels, and says. Come back and discuss what is written down.  You may want to create a similar diagram on the board and write down the responses. As you read the talk, take time to identify and record additional items that Pres. Eyring points out that go in the chart as well.  Using the Activity: In my field this is what we would call a pre-reading strategy.  By taking time to ask the class members to consider the topic and record their ow

I will admit that in this activity, I propose something that I have never done before, but it felt right.  I am introducing actual content.  I have simply taken points from the talk, but still I don't usually do this as I feel like you, as a called teacher, have all of the inspiration and revelation you need to magnify your calling.  So, I try to stick with what the talk says, but this idea came and wouldn't leave so here we are.  I hope it is helpful. Also, I chose to not directly address the questions Pres. Oaks addresses about the Spirit World as these seemed to be a way to illustrate the broader point that he was making-- trust the Lord because we don't have all of the answers.  For some classes, this may not be the appropriate focus. The Activity: Give everyone an index card or post-it note and something to write with Introduce the following acronym to the class: T emper your fears (temper here means to calm/reduce/quiet) R ely on God's love, knowledge,

I hope that there are priesthood quorums that decide to teach this talk.  Not only does it deal with women and the priesthood (more on that in a sentence or two), but it is also an excellent talk on how to access the powers of the priesthood-- and many of us men could do better at that.  I did not listen to this talk as it was given, but my mom told me how much it meant to her (my father passed away about three years ago) and that she wished it had been given earlier because so many of her friends would have received so much comfort from it.  So, President Nelson brought comfort to my mom and now I have one more reason to love him. Several times in the talk, President Nelson discusses actions that we can take that will increase our ability to access the power of God, priesthood power.  These are items beyond the things he mentioned in D&C 25.  This activity is designed to explore these specific pieces of counsel. The Activity: Prior to class, prepare four sheets of paper (

So, I heard some interesting takes on this conference talk, that I thought might be worthwhile to share-- if only so you would know where I am coming from on this talk.  My first take is that this talk is primarily gratitude to Church members for their generosity.  Kind of like-- you're doing great-- keep it up.  Second, I heard someone else say that it was kind of an accountability report to the Church of how the humanitarian moneys are used by the Church-- kind of like some of the talks that President Hinckley would give in Priesthood Session when he was a counselor leading without a visible president.  I could see this as well.  In the end, though, I am approaching this talk as a model for us in our personal efforts to act in more charitable ways.  I hope this helps. The Activity: Read (and discuss?) the quote in Par. 40-41 "Regardless of where . . . of Jesus Christ" Explain that the purpose of this activity is to improve our abilities to "help our brothers