Teaching Relief Society & Priesthood

A NOTE: Maintaining this blog at this time might be one of the most optimistic things I have done in recent memory :), although I am sure we will eventually be meeting together again for church.  I just have no idea when that will be.  Still, I want to continue this blog even in these times as an expression of hope.  In the meantime, I have begun a separate blog that focuses on sharing ideas to explore the messages of general conference in our homes.  That blog can be found  here .  Often when I am studying a conference talk, I find myself drawn to the specific scripture passages that are discussed in a particular talk.  I have discovered that studying these passages of scripture in light of the talk and vice versa is a powerful way to deepen my understanding of the topic at hand as well as the talk and scriptures themselves.  This activity is based on that idea.  So, if you want to stick closer to the specific words of Pres. Eyring you may need to alter this activity or do someth

A NOTE: Maintaining this blog at this time might be one of the most optimistic things I have done in recent memory :), although I am sure we will eventually be meeting together again for church.  I just have no idea when that will be.  Still, I want to continue this blog even in these times as an expression of hope.  In the meantime, I have begun a separate blog that focuses on sharing ideas to explore the messages of general conference in our homes.  That blog can be found  here .  I have always been struck by the verse in I Nephi that tells us Laman and Lemuel murmur because they do not understand how God works with people (I Ne. 2:12).  In par. 22 of this talk, Pres. Oaks reiterates that idea and makes it even more clear that at least a portion of this misunderstanding is a lack of understanding of God's plan for us.  So, this activity is designed to help class members dig into the specifics that Pres. Oaks shares in his talk. The Activity: Make sure that everyone has a

A NOTE: Maintaining this blog at this time might be one of the most optimistic things I have done in recent memory :), although I am sure we will eventually be meeting together again for church.  I just have no idea when that will be.  Still, I want to continue this blog even in these times as an expression of hope.  In the meantime, I have begun a separate blog that focuses on sharing ideas to explore the messages of general conference in our homes.  That blog can be found  here .  The idea of priesthood keys confused me as a young man (and even into early adulthood).  Now, it seems such a simple idea, but I tried to make it more complicated than it was.  So, this talk seemed very appropriate to me.  Also, each time a general authority of the Church speaks on an issue like this I am reminded of Pres. Packer who said that we have done a great job of extending Priesthood authority to people, but not as great of a job extending Priesthood power.  So, I appreciated the comments about Pr

A NOTE: Maintaining this blog at this time might be one of the most optimistic things I have done in recent memory :), although I am sure we will eventually be meeting together again for church.  I just have no idea when that will be.  Still, I want to continue this blog even in these times as an expression of hope.  In the meantime, I have begun a separate blog that focuses on sharing ideas to explore the messages of general conference in our homes.  That blog can be found here .  The topic of this talk was one of the overriding themes of this conference and it would be possible (and probably beneficial) to consider bringing in some other quotes from other talks during a lesson on this talk.  This activity does not do that, however. The Activity: Create a handout with the following questions on it and room after each one to record answers: Where can we intentionally hear God's voice? What can we do to have more time to hear Him? What blessings have come to you as you h