Elder Carlos A. Godoy (Oct. '23): "For the Sake of Your Posterity"

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 This was a powerful talk for me-- on that I pray touched many of us; however, I don't know that it will be a talk that is often chosen as a source for a lesson.  If it is, I would offer this piece of counsel at the beginning:  Be careful that those to whom this talk is directed do not feel attacked or singled out.  That would be counterproductive.

The Activity:

  1. Read par. 17-20 "President Dallin H. Oaks . . . sorrow and tears?"
  2. Discuss briefly with the class what the future cost would be for any who become less diligent in their discipleship and/or those who choose to leave the Church entirely.
  3. Read par. 15 "However, as we . . . through Jesus Christ."
  4. With this in mind, invite the class members to take a moment to find in the scriptures a favorite verse, passage, or story that speaks of Father's willingness/power to accept, help, and heal us as we come back to him.
  5. After a couple of minutes to look, invite the class members to share their chosen passage with a partner.
  6. After a moment of sharing time, come back together as a class and ask people to share what they found or what their partner shared.

Using the Activity:

I have talked a fair amount in this blog about the value of small groups.  One thing that I haven't mentioned, though, is the equally significant moment of coming back together and asking others to share either their own thoughts or what someone else talked about.  Some times people don't share because with the whole class because they are afraid that they might sound uneducated.  However, once they have shared it with fewer people, they may gain the confidence to share with the whole class.  Also, if an idea they weren't sure about is shared by someone else as an example of something insightful, it can make a big difference for them in a myriad of ways.

Please let me know how this idea worked for you or how you modified it to work better for you and your class.  

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