Teaching Relief Society & Priesthood

 What a powerful talk.  I found myself wanting to mark whole long passages from beginning to end.  For me, this talk distilled and clarified a lot of teaching about covenants that we have been hearing over the last few years, since Pres. Nelson emphasized their role to us.   The Activity: Write the following words on the board:  exceptionally , represent , mature [verb], and incrementally . Discuss what each of these words means with the class-- at this point there is no need to connect them with specific parts of the talk or doctrinal points. Explain that each of these is a word that Elder Renlund uses to explain the role of covenants in our life and our obligations in regards to them. Divide the class into 4 groups and assign each group a passage (each passage uses one of the words above) to read and discuss: Par. 7 (exceptionally):  "A covenant is . . . with the covenant Par. 9 (represent):  "At baptism and . . . represent Him well." Par. 10 (incrementally):  "W

This is a talk that instructs but also feels like a testimony throughout.  In terms of transparency, this talk was one of my favorites from this conference. It addresses a variety of topics without focusing exclusively on any one of them.  However, during your prayerful preparation, you may find that you are led to focus on a specific facet of this talk either exclusively or mostly.  This is an activity that does just that-- it focuses on the family relations part of the talk.  It is designed in a way that you could adapt it fairly easily to apply to any of the other areas of the talk. The Activity: Read par. 12 "Second, family relationships . . . that matter most" Invite the class members to consider the following questions in regards to this topic (you may want to encourage them to skim this portion of the talk). Why is this among the most important things? What blessings do we get from these relations-- now and in the eternities? How can we cultivate these relationships? A

 At first blush, I felt like this talk was all about Easter.  It was a good talk and that portion of the talk was a powerful invitation to step up our games in terms of celebrating Easter; however, because of that I didn't see how it would be used often (if at all) for lessons in our classes/quorums.  As I re-read the talk though and paid more attention, I discovered that while there is a message about Easter, the more prevalent message is about the Book of Mormon.  This activity focuses on the blessings of studying the Book of Mormon that Elder Stevenson highlights. The Activity: Point out that in this talk, Elder Stevenson makes at least five specific promises about reading the Book of Mormon: "Open your eyes to see new possibilities" (par. 29) "Increase your hope . . . fill you with charity" (par. 29) "build and strengthen . . . in Jesus Christ" (par. 29) "bless you with . . . a capital H" (par. 29) "help our family . . . bonds of dea

 As a relatively new Elders Quorum president, I spend a lot of time thinking about the needs of our ward members.  I am inspired and impressed by the goodness regularly done by assigned ministers.  I also love the vision of ministering with love and faith put forward by Elder Gong. The Activity: Give each class member a post it note and something to write with. Make sure each class member has access to a copy of the talk either digitally or physically Discuss the phrase "higher and holier ministering" (par. 25). Invite the class members to quickly scan the talk and identify either a blessing of or suggestion for higher, holier ministering and write it on their post it note. When everyone has had a chance to write their comment, ask them to bring their post-its forward and stick them on the board-- blessings on one side, suggestions on the other. Using these quotes as a basis, discuss with the class what they found in one of the following ways. Ask the class members to form sm

 This entire talk was good, but I was especially moved by the second half.  It brought a lot of things to my mind-- things I have been pondering lately-- and made me want to be better. The Activity: Read par. 31 "My specific prayer . . . our beloved prophet." Explain that you want to consider some of the "dramatic counsel" we have received-- from a number of sources. Divide the class into small groups (about 5 in each group). Ask each group to discuss some of the counsel that we have been given lately.  Start with par. 29 "An essential part . . . of Jesus Christ." Allow the groups some time to talk. After the groups have had time to discuss their thoughts, invite the class members to come back together and to take out their phones and open an app that allows them to write a note to themselves (obviously you could provide small notecards and something to write with, if you prefer). Read that last part of par. 28 "We also appreciate . . . be greatly exp

 Generally, in a lesson, we are at our best when we focus on one main topic.  While this talk was all about peace, it had several areas of focus-- how to find peace, our duty to help others find this peace, the importance of parents in their kid's journey towards peace, etc.  This activity takes a similar approach.  The overarching focus is peace, but there is room inside this activity for individual class members to spend time focusing on a single aspect of that topic. The Activity: Make sure that each class member has access to a copy of the talk either digitally or physically Ask the class members to identify some recent troubling headlines/events going on at the current time-- these could be specific situations or more vague issues that are troubling to the class member. After several of these have been identified, point out that we should not be surprised by the prevalence of these issues Read par. 27 "Satan's efforts to . . . across the world." Explain that as a

 Unique talk.  I think that the format of this talk will mean that it is not as widely chosen for class/quorum lessons as it might be.  However, I wonder if the format of the talk itself is one of the central (perhaps THE central) message.  Maybe I'm overthinking it, but for me this line of thought has provided some interesting ideas.  As a result, this activity focuses on the format over the actual words. The Activity: Provide a piece of paper and something to write with to each class member. Explain that you want to pose some questions to the group but would like each person to consider their answers privately first and in a more focused way-- hence, the paper and pens. Invite the class to consider each of these questions one at a time and to write their thoughts: Why this format-- the words of Christ without any commentary? Why focus on the words of Christ and not on the actions of Christ? What lessons are their in this format for us as individuals and as a church? Give time aft

 What a powerful talk.  President Nelson is certainly calling us to a higher and holier way of being during his ministry.  This talk is just one more example of that call.  It is also significant when we see messages and even phrases and scriptures repeated multiple times in a single conference (II Cor. 13:1).  In this conference we heard more than one speaker refer to peacemakers during their messages.  So, perhaps we should pay attention to that role in our lives.  This talk, though, had so many striking passages or soundbites that stood out to me.  This activity seeks to explore as many of those as possible. The Activity: Make sure that everyone has access to a copy of the talk either digitally or physically. Ask everyone to skim over the talk for a couple of minutes and ask them to identify one quote from the talk that sticks out to them. After a few moments, ask them to stand up and walk around the room.  When you say stop, they are to stop and talk to a person near them (try to k