Teaching Relief Society & Priesthood

Elder Uchtdorf has talked about this before, but it is helpful to remember that in lessons on missionary work, many members hang their heads in shame and tune out the message and the Spirit.  We want to avoid that.  Shame is not helpful.  It definitely falls in the camp of Satan's sorrow.  Shame is not sorrow that leads to repentance.  Therefore, be sensitive when discussing these topics. The Activity: Prior to class, prayerfully consider your class members.  Guided by the Spirit, invite one or two of them to share an experience with member missionary work (either as a member missionary or as the recipient of these efforts). During class, ask them to share their story. Read the experience of Sis. Franco's mother, par. 10-22 "Many years ago . . . to teach me." Ask the class members to spend a moment in small groups discussing the commonalities between these accounts. Come back together to share and talk about these elements as a class.   Ask the class members

The Activity: Ahead of time, preview the scriptures that Elder Gonzalez references in his talk.  Identify the verses that you feel would be most beneficial for your class.  Write each of these references on a slip of paper.  You should have one slip of paper for each class member.  It will be okay if more than one person has the same reference. Give each class member one of the strips.  Ask them to look up and read the passage on the slip of paper.  Ask them to think about what it teaches about Christ. Ask them to find a partner, read them their scripture, share their thoughts on it, and listen as their partner does the same.  They should spend a moment discussing common points or how the two scriptures work together to provide even deeper insight. After they are done talking, the partners should split up and find new partners to talk with. Repeat this process for a few minutes (until everyone has had a chance to share with a few other people). Come back together as a class and

The Activity: Make sure everyone has paper and something to write with. Read together (and maybe discuss) par. 9-11 "What is the . . . become better people." Point out that in this passage and throughout the talk, Elder Boom talks about three inter-related concepts: Creating a loving environment Knowing who we are Repenting/coming unto Christ Ask the class members to consider silently how these three concepts are related. After a few minutes, ask them to work with a partner and create a diagram depicting the relationship of these three things. Have them share with another group(s) around them. Discuss as a class. Using the Activity: I worry that I am being to vague about what I am thinking in this activity.  Think for a moment about the pride cycle in the Book of Mormon.  Almost everyone could draw it.  Few of us, if any, would write it out.  Instead, we arrange the words a certain way and use arrows to depict how the cycle works.  I am envisioning someth

This was one of my favorite talks from this conference.  I think many of us heard, in the wake of his talk, that Elder Johnson was the first African-American to speak in General Conference.  For many that might be a simply piece of historical trivia, but for others this is a big event.  Let's celebrate this talk for what it might mean to all of our brothers and sisters throughout the world.  The Activity: Make sure that everyone has a copy of the talk and a way to mark it. Across the top of the board, write these three letters spaced out equally:  C A P Explain that this activity is to put a CAP on the talk. Ask the class members to read the talk and as they do to mark all of the Cautions, Advice, and Promises. Allow everyone a few minutes to do this. Ask some class members to share some of what they found. As class members share, write what they found under the appropriate letter on the board and discuss these items as a class. Using the Activity: This approach i

The activity I have designed for this talk takes very little space to type up, but please do not think that is any indication of this talk or the activity.  The talk is powerful and I feel like I learned a great deal from reading it.  In fact, I have been thinking about it quite a bit today.  Also, the activity itself is designed to be good.  The Activity: Make sure that everyone has access to a copy of the talk and a way to highlight it. Ask the class members to look over the talk with a partner and find and mark answers to these two questions: How do we honor His name? After having taken His name upon us, what are the consequences/blessings of honoring it? Give the partners a few minutes to discuss some of these things.  You may want to take this opportunity to eavesdrop a little on some of the discussions.  Make note of things you feel would benefit the entire class. When you are ready, come back together as a class and discuss the answers to the questions. Using the

What an important and timely talk.  This talk has something for everyone because we all know someone who is dealing with these issues, although many of us don't know it.  For those of us, who deal with these issues ourselves, the counsel in this talk is invaluable.  One note, though, simply because I and others find this talk of immense help does not mean that everyone dealing with these issues will see it the same way.  People dealing with depression, anxiety, or whatever else it may be are not some huge monolith.  We are all unique and have unique experiences.  So, be aware of that and allow each person that space.  Similarly, there will be those who may not believe that these issues are legitimate health concerns.  Be patient with these people as well.  We need to treat everyone with respect and love.  In the end, the Lord will make everything okay. The Activity: Make sure everyone has access to a copy of the talk. Give everyone 2 slips of paper, each a different color. (

Let's all be fair dinkum The Activity: Make sure everyone has access to a copy of the talk. Give everyone a highlighter or colored pencil (only for those who are using paper copies of the talk.  The Gospel Library has a highlight function). Ask the class members to find three quotes from the talk: One for themselves at an earlier time in their lives (last week, a year ago, when they were eight, etc.). One for themselves at their current stage of life. One for their future selves (a quote they think will be particularly useful moving forward). Share a quote or two with a partner. Come back together.  Ask some class members to share a quote or two.  Discuss the quotes that are shared. Using the Activity: This activity is designed, first and foremost, to help the class members read closely the words of a leader and to consider how those quotes apply in their lives.  Second, though, this activity should also help the class members see (remember) that the words of o

The Activity: Read the quote in par. 12 "Regardless of your . . . and spiritual growth." Remind class members of the story of the deer and the hay (par. 5).  You may want to read this with the class. Draw a T-chart on the board.  Label the left-side "Hay" and the right side "Strategies" Ask the class members to brainstorm some things that prevent us from taking responsibility for our spiritual growth.  As these are named record them in the left-column ("Hay"). When there are several things in the left column, ask the class members what are some things they (could) do to overcome these obstacles.  As these are listed, record them in the right column ("Strategies"). Using the Strategy This strategy works for a couple of reasons.  First, this activity will help class members see that they are already doing several things right.  Any time we feel that we are doing some things right, we are more motivated to stick to doing them