Elder Gary E. Stevenson (Apr. 18): "The Heart of a Prophet"

As I read and study Elder Stevenson's talk, it seems to me to be two talks in one.  The first talk is the process of calling a new prophet, and the second is a discussion of Pres. Nelson's personality and achievements.  This activity is designed to address the former.

The Activity:

1. Introduce the idea that Elder Stevenson covers four stages of calling a new prophet and that you will spend some time talking about each part.  
2. Draw a diagram on the board that consists of a single square with two squares under it and then 12 more squares below the two squares. 
3. Explain that this represents the normal organization of the Church-- a prophet at the head with two counselors and 12 apostles below them.
4. Erase the top square and explain that this is the first step in the calling  of a new prophet, the current prophet passes away.
5. Redraw the diagram with 14 squares in a row. 
6. Explain that this represents the Church organization without a called prophet.  You may also want to read the first paragraph under the heading "The Apostolic Interregnum"  ("The period of time . . . is again organized.").
7. Now redraw the original diagram.  However, instead of 12 boxes on the bottom row, draw only 11 boxes.
8. Explain that this represents the organization of the Church immediately after the new prophet is called.  Point out that there are only 11 apostles until a twelfth apostle is called by the new prophet.
9. It might be helpful at this point to discuss who is sustaining this call at this point.  You might want to read some parts of the section entitled "Calling of a New Prophet"
10. Finally, discuss the final step-- the Solemn Assembly.  This is our opportunity to sustain publicly the new prophet for the first time as a Church body.  You may want to read the first paragraph under the heading "Solemn Assembly" or some other part(s) of that section. 
11. Probably at this point, you will want to mention the calling of a new apostle as well.  This could take place at any time from step #9 to step #10, although the recent history of the Church has seen this done during the solemn assembly. 

Using the Activity:

This activity is not appropriate for every class/quorum, but in many instances there will be great value in reviewing/teaching this process.  Sometimes we think that everyone knows how this works.  However, as a growing church, we have many people in our classes who might be unfamiliar with this process or have questions about the process.  The idea here is to help make this clear.

This activity is also useful for some people because it is an attempt to visually represent the Church organization.  It might be odd to draw and re-draw all of those boxes (and of course you could use x's or circles just as easily), but for people who learn and think in visual ways, seeing the organization depicted can make it more clear and more memorable.  If there is room on the board, you might even draw all three diagrams side-by-side on the board to represent the flow of time and to reiterate the idea that there is always a leadership of the Church with all of the keys and powers necessary to lead and guide the Church.

As always, thank you for visiting my site.  I hope that my ideas are useful in helping you to magnify your calling, which happens to be the great calling of the Church-- teaching the gospel.  God bless.