President Dallin H. Oaks (Apr. 19): "Cleansed by Repentance"

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It struck me as significant that both Pres. Oaks and Pres. Nelson addressed the idea of repentance in conference this time.  In the mouth of two or three witnesses . . .

The Activity:

  1. Prior to the lesson, ask each class member to read over the talk and identify A) the most powerful sentence, B) an a-ha moment in the talk, and C) a part that would have special importance for a friend.
  2. Take a moment in class to allow class members to look over the talk and remind themselves of those parts that they identified (and anyone who didn't do it can find at least one passage).
  3. Ask class members to stand up and walk around the room meeting with other class members (especially those that they do not know well).  In these meet-ups (which should last only a minute or two), they are to share one of their passages and explain why they chose it.  They listen to their partner's passage and then discuss how the passages relate to each other.
  4. Give everyone time to talk to 4 or 5 people (more or less is fine, depending on how it is going).
  5. Come back togethr and ask the class members to share something they heard that they found especially interesting/profound.  
Using the Activity:

This activity achieves multiple goals.  First, it pushes the class members to closely read the talk and identify parts that seem to have specific importance to them and to someone else.  We often underestimate the importance of reading with a purpose and this activity helps to foster the idea of purpose in reading this talk.  Second, the social nature of this activity can increase fellowship and feelings of unity in the group.  Finally, it also provides multiple oppportunities to discuss and think about the doctrine in this talk, another thing that we don't do as often as we should.  Hopefully, then, at the end, the class will be primed to participate in a larger discussion of the talk as well.

I hope this activity is helpful.  Please let me know how it goes.  

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