Pres. Dallin H. Oaks (Apr. '22): "Divine Love in the Father's Plan"

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 Pres. Oaks says that the purpose of his talk is "to clarify how God's love explains the doctrines and the Church's inspired policies" (Par. 2).  This activity starts with that premise and then broadens into a realm more closely tied to other prominent themes in this conference-- namely, contention and love.  

The Activity:

  1. Read par. 6 "To help us . . . its highest degree."
  2. Ask the class members to identify 3 or 4 doctrines/commandments that prepare us for exaltation.  Write these on the board.
  3. Discuss how knowledge of and/or obedience to each of these helps us to develop the godly attributes and the change in nature necessary to realize our divine potential" (Par. 6).
  4. Read par. 20 "The restored Church's . . . to that plan."
  5. Talk about how the items listed on the board differ from the world's perspective.
  6. Read par. 22 "In many relationships . . . as we do" & "We must seek . . . of all men.'"
  7. Discuss how to respond to those who disagree with us on these items with true love and kindness.  Depending on your group it may be worthwhile to role play a conversation or draft some potential social media posts.

Using the Activity:

I was really intrigued by the idea of thinking about the way in which commandments and doctrines of the gospel illuminate God's love for His children.  I hope this activity provides a valuable way to ponder on that fact.  

Also, this activity is useful because it relies heavily on the exact words of an apostle of God and asks the class members to imagine ways in which these teachings might be applied in their lives.  When we ask people to imagine how they might actually apply a gospel teaching in their life, we are giving them a chance to exercise faith as they consider specifically what that might look like.  This exercise of faith will open their hearts to the influence of the Holy Ghost.

As an extension, the last step (e.g. role playing) is a way to engage more of the class members' beings in their learning and conversion.  This could provide a more substantial way for them to realize that applying this counsel is easier than they might have imagined.

I hope that this activity is useful for you.  God bless.

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