Teaching Relief Society & Priesthood

I was drawn to this talk because my own daughter suffered a stroke when she was 11.  While she still suffers the effects of this stroke, her recovery is nothing short of miraculous in the eyes of the medical professionals (although they don't really use that word the same way we do).  So, I too can testify of God's healing and strengthening powers.  The Activity: Rea the scriptural accounts Elder Carpenter shares at the beginning of his talk. John 5:5-9 John 8:43-47 Discuss how long each person suffered on their own-- 38 and 12 years, respectively-- and hwo soon Christ's power healed them-- immediately (see para. 11). Point out that these cases of physical healing teach us about Christ's power to heal us spiritually (see Matt 9:2-8 ).  Read para. 23 "When we repent . . . will heal us."  Point out that this healing begins immediately upon our beginning to repent. Ask class members to consider the ways in which the Savior heals us and to skim the ta

This for me was one of the most powerful talks of conference.  It probably has something to do with the fact that this seemed to be a theme of the conference.  In this talk, Elder Gay delineates three ways to take upon ourselves the name of Christ.  At the root, all three have one thing in common-- loving/befriending/serving those that we are most inclined to NOT love/befriend/serve.  This activity focuses on that idea. The Activity: Point out the three ideas Elder Gay outlines in his talk. Divide the class into three groups and ask the groups to discuss the following parts of the talk. Group 1-- para. 5-8 "Brigham Young taught . . . all were redeemable." Group 2-- para. 14-15  "I recently learned . . . we do so." Group 3-- para. 19-20  "One of my . . . to enduring joy." Ask the groups to discuss what they learn from their assigned passage in general.  Point out that each group is dealing with a different part of the talk and in a moment everyo

The Activity: Make sure that everyone has a copy of the talk and something to write with (I recommend paper copies). On the board draw a table with 3 columns and at least 4 rows.  Label the columns, respectively, "quote," "characteristic," "application" Read para. 4 "My objective today . . . plan for us." Introduce the chart to the class by explaining how each box will be filled out.  The first box is for a quote; the second box is for what characteristic of the Father we learn from the quote; the last box is for how that characteristic applies to our lives.  For example, para. 16 (quote):  "The Father raised . . . obtain immortal bodies."  (characteristic):  He has met all of His part of the plan.  (application):  I can trust him to do ALL he can for my salvation. Ask the class members to look through the talk for a quote that strikes them.  Have them think about how they would fill in all parts of the chart using the quote they

First, it should be mentioned that Elder Bowen (I believe) was president of the Spain Barcelona mission, which was my mission.  He came after me, but still I like him for that.  :)  Traditionally, an approach to a talk like this might be to invite a couple of members to share how the Book of Mormon helped in their conversion or to ask class members to share informally their experiences with the Book of Mormon.  Those are potentially powerful approaches, but here I have gone for something a little different. The Activity: Prepare a bunch of slips of paper with one of these two quotes on each slip: Para. 16 "A principal purpose . . . gather scattered Israel" Para. 28 "The Book of Mormon . . . sons and daughters" Ask the class to form small groups of 3-4 people. Give each group one slip of paper.  It does not matter what group gets which quote as long as there are groups with each quote in the room. Explain that each strip of paper contains a quote from the

What an inspiring talk.  I know I say that a lot, but it is because this is true.  This talk is such a good one for all members.  I know that it is sometimes easy to think that some families don't need as much ministering as others, but don't let that fool you.  I know that when I was serving as Elders Quorum president a number of years ago, I found that we were not being home taught because the brethren assigned to us figured that since I was the Elders Quorum president, I didn't need anyone.  They could not have been more wrong.  We had just had our second child in 15 months; I was working full-time as a new teacher and a coach, while trying to get some more schooling because my pay was not enough to live on; my wife was suffering from post-partum depression and stuck in our house because I had our one and only car.  Any outside visits would have made a world of difference.  Yes, we survived and we did stay active, but our lives were markedly more difficult during that ti

The Activity: Prepare 3 poster boards.  Label one "Take His Teachings and Characteristics on Us," the second "Embrace the Truthfulness," and the last "Align Oneself with His Cause." Below each title draw a vertical line dividing the rest of the poster into two halves.  On each poster, label one side "How?"  and the other side label "Blessings." Before class starts post the three posters around the room  As a class, read para. 10-12 "For example, one . . . of Latter-Day Saints" Divide the class into three groups and assign each group one of the posters, pointing out that each poster is labeled with one of the three ways Elder Pieper says we can take on ourselves the name of Christ. Ask the groups to go and stand by their assigned poster.  Provide markers for each group. Give the groups two minutes at the poster to discuss and record 1) How they can fulfill the aspect of taking upon ourselves the name of Christ that is

The Activity: Provide every class member with an index card and something to write with. Ask the class to list topics that the prophet has spoken of in recent years (Pres. Nelson and Pres. Monson).  Write the list on the board.  It would be okay for students to consult appropriate technology, or you could come prepared with ideas based on your own research. Ask the class members to read over the list and identify one of the listed items that they have applied in their own lives (only one).  Ask them to think of the specific actions they took and the blessings that they received as they worked to follow the counsel of the prophet. Have the class members share briefly what they did and the blessings received in small groups. Read para. 31 "We come to  . . . blessings upon him." Ask the class members to consider what else they might do to more fully sustain the prophet based off of this quote and the list on the board. If appropriate/comfortable, ask the class members to

This is an interesting talk (speaking as a nerd who deals with rhetoric) because it is made up of a number of stories that build until the point is made near the end of the talk.  The message is vital and timely, however, in that we are to have joy at all times in our lives, including in the difficult times. The Activity: Divide the class in half through assigning them or allowing them to choose. Assign one group the topic of "Forgiving others" and assign the other group "Giving ourselves to God" Ask each group to review the story from Bro. Brough's talk about their assigned topic. Forgiving others-- para. 10-16 ("Forgiving those who . . . be like them") Giving ourselves to God-- para. 18-26 ("Young people, God . . . a hard thing") Then, ask the group members to use their topical guide and review scriptures about their topics.  These scriptures might include the following: Forgiving others-- D&C 64:9-11; III Ne. 13:11; I Ne.

I really enjoyed this talk, and it featured chocolate cake.  You can't get better than chocolate cake.   The Activity: Discuss the stories of Victoria Antonietti and the widow's mite. Point out the importance of sacrifice in each story.  While not every act of service will require the kinds of sacrifice exemplified in these stories, at some time the decision to serve others will mean choosing to give up something important to us. Read para. 23 "And it will . . . love and sacrifice." Have the class members take a moment and ponder how sacrifice can make service more holy and any examples of this type of service from their own lives. After a couple of moments, ask the class members to turn and share what they were thinking of with a partner. Give the partnerships a couple of minutes to talk. Ask everyone to come back together and share with the whole class what they talked about in their partnerships. Using the Activity: Anyone in education will reco

What a tremendous talk (I probably say that too much about conference talks, but I mean it :) ).  I was touched by this talk and especially after re-reading I have committed myself to being more diligent and intentional in the traditions I establish with my kids.  Having said that, the activity I oultine below is not focused on what parents can do.  Instead, I felt inspired to create an activity that focused on the role of traditions in the lives of those who wander from the gospel even though they were raised in a righteous house.  I may be more sensitive to this because I have a sister who has strayed pretty far from the fold and I have seen the great pain this has caused my parents through the years and I have known others (as we all have) whose pain in this regard is tangible.  There is always the question of whether they did enough or not.  I cannot answer that question for anyone, though my gut tells me that in most cases, they did all that was asked of them.  This activity, then

Such a wonderful talk-- as always-- from Elder Uchtdorf.  It is important to note, however, that he is not talking about the disease of depression.  This talk refers, in my opinion, to a more general malaise that I see often in my work with people, inside and outside of the Church, which seems to be indicative of our times. The Activity: Divide the class into three groups (if these groups are too large, you may need to further break these groups up into smaller groups-- groups of 5 or less would be ideal) Assign each group one part of the talk to read and discuss We Believe  paragraphs 29-32 We Love      paragraphs 33-37 We Do         paragraphs 38-43 Ask the groups to look over that section of their assigned section of the talk and to discuss how their assigned topic (belief, love, action) helps us to: Live a more abundant, fulfilled life? Minister as Christ does/did? Build a more united, stronger church body? As the groups talk, ask them to try and come up with a bum

This is one of those talks that felt like it was just for me.  I needed this message and will be returning to it again and again, I am sure.  The Activity: Pass out an index card to each class member and something to write with. Point out that Sis. Craig outlines 3 aspects of divine discontent and that each aspect is comprised of a decision and an action.   If needed, you can review a passage or two from each of these sections that highlight the idea of a decision and an action.  For example: Act in Faith-- para. 7 "Well, Joseph did . . . to faithful action." Follow Promptings to Do Good-- para. 19  "Peace comes in . . . of my life." Divine Discontent Leads Us to Christ-- para. 22  "Discontent becomes divine . . . back in self-pity." Ask the class members to think about some decisions and actions they could take that would fall under each of the three sections outlined above.   In small groups, ask the class members to share some of the thoug

This is a shorter talk, but it is so powerful.  It is one that I will be sharing with my ward missionaries in our next meeting.  This activity is designed to help class members see the hand of God in their lives. The Activity: Make sure that everyone has paper and something to write with (you may want a little nicer paper for this activity, but it is certainly not necessary). With the class, create a list of the blessings of service that Sis. Jones ennumerates.  Do this either through discussion or some other activity.  List these on the board.  They may include but are not limited to the following: Unchaining the divinity within us (para. 22) Our actions are blessed (para. 15) Be a conduit for His love (para. 11) After you ahve created a full list and discussed it, ask the class members to consider how they have experienced some of these blessing in their own lives. Now, ask class members to write about one of these experiences.  These writings could take the form of eith

This is a talk that ostensibly addresses the new changes to the church meetings in much of the world (many places were already doing 2 hour church).  The activity I outline below is an activity designed to begin people thinking about what these changes may mean in their homes and lives. The Activity: Create a handout for the class members.  It is pretty basic.  Simply create a chart that is 2 rows by 4 columns.  Label the outside columns "In my home . . ."; one of the inside columns should be labeled "guidelines" and the other "blessings."  The second row of the chart should be extended to the bottom of the page, but leave it blank.  This is where the class members will write. Make a copy for each class member and pass it out at the beginning of the lesson. As you discuss the talk, have the class members write down the counsel given by Elder Cook.  Specifically, in the column labeled "guidelines" they should record the guidelines that he g

This activity is a bit different (you will see) and I will talk about why it is a good activity in the second part (as always), but this was not the activity that I felt like I would actually create until I began preparing it.  In the time since, I have come to really like this activity.  Normally, I focus on trying to dig into the doctrine in the talks a bit more or to imagine applying it in class.  The activity here is designed to help the class create something which will help them remember the message of the lesson and be able to apply in their lives moving forward.  It is not an activity that everyone will be comfortable with, but it is a lesson that many people will be more comfortable with than our usual lessons. The Activity: Prior to the lesson it would be helpful if you created one of thes on your own so you can model it for the class. Make sure everyone has something to write with and something to write on.  You may even want to offer colored paper and markers or color