Pres. Dallin H. Oaks (Oct. '19): "Trust in the Lord"

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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:

  1. Give everyone an index card or post-it note and something to write with
  2. Introduce the following acronym to the class:
    1. Temper your fears (temper here means to calm/reduce/quiet)
    2. Rely on God's love, knowledge, and power
    3. Understand that we don't know everything and that's okay
    4. Study the doctrine of the gospel in the scriptures and words of the prophets
    5. Teach the doctrine and not our opinions
  3. Ask the class members to discuss these things with a neighbor.
  4. After a few moments, give the class members a minute or two to silently ponder those items and identify one thing they can do to more completely trust the Lord in their daily lives or with a particular gospel question.
  5. Ask the class members to write it on their index card and then tuck it in their scriptures (or somewhere else that they will see it during the week).
  6. Ask the class members to take a moment and arrange with a partner to check up on them this week to see how they are doing with the goal they have written down.  There is no real reason for the partners to know each other's goal.  They can simply ask how the goal is going and get a report.
Using the Activity:

Obviously, the focus of this activity is to help class members apply these teachings in their lives.  I felt strongly all through conference that this is a conference that we really need to apply and that there were really just a few overarching themes that encapsulated what we need to take from this conference (Trust in the Lord is one of those themes).  

This activity employs a few strategies to help class members be successful in applying these topics.  First, hopefully, the acronym is a way to remember what it means to trust the Lord (at least in part).  Then, the time to ponder invites revelation/inspiration from the Spirit that is unique to each individual's personal life.  Writing down goals helps us to achieve them more consistently.  Finally, by holding ourselves accountable to someone else the chances of us doing what we say we will do increases.  

Thank you for visiting my blog.  I hope this idea is helpful and provides if not a direct idea at least a spark for one of your own.  

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