Elder Dieter F. Uchtodorf (Oct. 18): "Believe, Love, Do"

-
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:
  1. 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)
  2. Assign each group one part of the talk to read and discuss
    1. We Believe  paragraphs 29-32
    2. We Love      paragraphs 33-37
    3. We Do         paragraphs 38-43
  3. 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:
    1. Live a more abundant, fulfilled life?
    2. Minister as Christ does/did?
    3. Build a more united, stronger church body?
  4. As the groups talk, ask them to try and come up with a bumper sticker message that encapsulates the ideas they are discussing.
  5. Give them time to come up with their bumper sticker message.  When it feels like the groups are ready, ask them to share.
  6. Write them on the board as people share
  7. Now ask the class members to read over what is on the board and try to make connections between two (or more) of the messages in a novel way.  
  8. After a moment, ask the class members to share the connections they noticed with a partner.
  9. Discuss as a class
Using the Activity:

The impetus of this activity is to try and get the class members to see the messages in Elder Uchtdorf's talk in mutiple ways-- that there is not one correct thing to take from this talk.  Also, this activity is really pushing the class members to spend time and push beyond the obvious insights about the message.  This idea comes from a training I had with Elder Bednar.  He had introduced a topic and we had discussed it for about 15 minutes.  There was a lull in the conversation and he said, "Good.  We have given all of the easy answers.  Now, let's get to the good ones."  After a moment's hesitation, the discusson picked back up.  This time, though, the answers and thoughts were much deeper.  That is what this activity is designed to do-- push everyone to a more robust understanding.

As part of that, this activity is designed to stretch our understandings by making us express them in fewer words.  This idea has been shown to produce a more focused understanding.  

I hope that this activity idea helps you and serves your class members' needs.  God bless.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bishop W. Christopher Waddell (Oct. '23): "More Than a Hero"

-
 This talk is custom made for today.  All around us we can see people who choose worldly heroes to focus on and follow with little, if any, thought given to Christ and Father.  The results are perilous to us and to society.  This talk in some aspects reminds me of some of Pres. Kimball's teachings ( here , for example).   The Activity: Draw a line down the middle of the board. Read par. 23 "For us on . . . Savior and Redeemer." Ask the class members to consider what would characterize too much trust placed in "the politician, the musician, the athlete, or the vlogger" or anyone. Invite them to share their ideas.  As they do, list them on one side of the board. Invite the class members to look over the list they have created and consider how they can either safeguard against these things or walk back from perilous positions. Allow a moment to think and then discuss. Point out that if this is too much attention placed on people, in what ways could we do the same t
Read more

Elder Dale G. Renlund (Oct. '23): "Jesus Christ is the Treasure"

-
 What a great talk reminding us of the simplicity of the gospel-- Jesus  Christ.  The treasure is always Jesus Christ.  Remembering that is not easy in our modern world, though.  To help us remember, the Lord has given us many things.  Elder Renlund in this talk reviews four of these and this is what the activity below focuses on. The Activity: Make sure that every class member has access to a copy of the talk either digitally or physically. Explain that in this talk, Elder Renlund reviews four actions we can do to avoid looking beyond the mark. Divide the class into four groups. Assign each group one action along with the corresponding part of the talk.  These are: Repentance-- par. 10-11 "The Savior has . . . of our sins." The sacrament-- par. 12-13 "Just like the . . . prospered, and preserved." Temple Worship-- par. 14-15 "When we have . . . it is distant." Listening to the Prophet-- par. 16-17  "After Carter and . . . look no further." Have
Read more

Pres. Russell M. Nelson (Apr. '24): "Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys"

-
 This is a relatively short talk, but it is full of both invitations and promises from our prophet.  The blessings enumerated and promised are especially inspiring (par. 25-31).  However, for this activity I chose to focus on the invitations that Pres. Nelson extends to us as members. The Activity: Insure that every class member has access to a copy of the talk either digitally or physically. Insure that every class member has something to write with and on (a device would work fine). Write on the board (or post printed statements) of the 3 (or 5 depending on how you choose to break up the last one) invitations that Pres. Nelson gives us. Par. 8-9 "Jesus Christ then . . . for you personally." Par. 16 "Consider how your . . . to the earth." Par. 19-22 "I invite you . . . home to Him."  (the three statements here could be listed separately). Ask the class members to read these statements and spend a moment silently considering one of the invitations. (Option
Read more