Sister Joy D. Jones (Oct. 18): "For Him"

-
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:

  1. 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).
  2. 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:
    1. Unchaining the divinity within us (para. 22)
    2. Our actions are blessed (para. 15)
    3. Be a conduit for His love (para. 11)
  3. 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.
  4. Now, ask class members to write about one of these experiences.  These writings could take the form of either an entry in their journals or a letter to someone in their lives.
  5. Give class members time to write.
  6. After some time has passed, ask class members to put away their writing.  You probably want to give them some advance warning of this.  Make sure to let them know it is okay to not be finished simply because it is time to move on; they can finish these at home.
  7. Invite a class member or two to bear testimony of some part of Sis. Jones's counsel.  This may or may not include sharing the incident that they were writing about.
Using the Activity:

I know that we don't write much like this in church-- for a variety of reasons.  Still, writing can be a powerful tool for us in our spiritual growth.  Writing forces us to engage with an experience for a longer time than we normally would.  This extended time pondering (that is the scriptural term for staying with an experience for a longer time) opens us up to feel the Spirit in a strong way.  Plus, all people learn and think in different ways.  Some of your class members favor writing to other approaches.  So, this experience will be especially strong for them.  Yes, some other class members will not respond as strongly.  However, even our lessons that focus on discussion or teacher talk (lecture) do not fit everyone and many people find those experiences less than appealing.  So, variety is key.  Activities like this spread over the years can be important for our growth.

Also, I think that this activity is potentially powerful because it helps us to see and recognize God's hand in our lives (D&C 59:21).  I have been struck recently as I have been reading the Book of Mormon by the ways in which multiple prophets in that great book credit the Lord for things that others may have written off to more mundane causes (see for example Alma 56:18-19).  It is such a prevelant occurence in the Book of Mormon that I am led to believe strongly that it is one of the lesson we are to learn in our day from the Book of Mormon.  So, providing our class members with an opportunity to ponder on, recognize, and acknowledge God's hand in their lives is a powerful teaching moment.  

As always, I hope this activity is useful to you as either a catalyst or an activity.  Also, I hope that my rant above did not bore you too much.  :)   God bless you in all that you do.  And thanks for reading my blog.

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