Sis. Susan H. Porter (Oct. '21): "God's Love: The Most Joyous to the Soul"

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 I thoroughly enjoyed this talk.  Being a child of God is a doctrine of the gospel that is near and dear to my heart.  So, considering His love for me that comes from this is empowering to me.  

The Activity:

  1. On the board write "I am a child of God who is loved by Him"
  2. Read par. 2-3 "When you know . . . mind, and strength."
  3. Ask the class members to silently ponder exactly what the implications of knowing God's love are for them and for the world at large.
  4. After a couple of moments, ask them to discuss their thoughts and feelings with someone nearby.
  5. Allow the partners a few minutes to talk.  As the discussion seems to be winding down, ask the class to come back together and discuss what they talked about with their partners.
  6. You may want to create 2 lists on the board-- 1) implications for individuals and 2) implications for the world at large.

Using the Activity:

As I said in the introduction, this is a doctrine that resonates deeply with me.  All too often, though, I take this truth for granted and forget what it really can mean in my life and how this simple fact, if known and accepted, would revolutionize the world around us.  This activity is designed to help us step out of the busyness of everyday life and think about this fact.

The activity also works because it allows people to silently ponder (a practice that we know from multiple scripture stories enhances revelation) and after having thought about it for a moment allows for every class member to easily participate in the discussion-- even if it is just with a partner.  At times, we ask really important, complex questions and then expect class members to respond right away.  That is probably unreasonable-- especially if we want insightful, inspired answers (those take a little bit of prep/work).  So, this activity also helps to increase participation by simply providing class members with an opportunity to collect their thoughts before they have to speak them aloud.  

I hope that you find this activity useful.  God bless.  

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