Elder Peter M. Johnson (Oct. '19): "Power to Overcome the Adversary"

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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:

  1. Make sure that everyone has a copy of the talk and a way to mark it.
  2. Across the top of the board, write these three letters spaced out equally:  C A P
  3. Explain that this activity is to put a CAP on the talk.
  4. Ask the class members to read the talk and as they do to mark all of the Cautions, Advice, and Promises.
  5. Allow everyone a few minutes to do this.
  6. Ask some class members to share some of what they found.
  7. 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 is one that could be used (maybe with slight modification) with any conference talk.  It is important I think to make note of the counsel, instructions, and promises made to us in the talks.  These are even more significant when we can find them in multiple talks within the same conference (as I think we would find with many of these in this talk).  Remember, in the mouth of two or three witnesses God establishes all of his truths.  

Logistically, this activity could be easily changed according to the needs of your class.  For example, you could divide the class into three groups and ask each group to look for a different element (cautions, advice, or promises).  You could divide the talk itself up into smaller parts and assign class members different sections of the talk to examine.  You could have them look for these things in groups.  And other options.  Do what feels best for your class.

Thank you for visiting my blog.  I pray that the ideas here are useful to you.  God bless.

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