Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (Apr. 19): "Behold the Lamb of God"

I know this talk covered a few ideas but at its heart, for me this talk was about the sacrament.  It seems that over the past couple of decades (maybe longer?) we have been getting talks about this on a fairly regular basis.  Since these talks are not assigned, perhaps this is something that we should pay attention to, even though it can be difficult, especially if you have kids (not just young kids, teenagers too :) ). 

The Activity:

1. Review some of the specific counsel that Elder Holland gives to make our sacrament experience more holy.  For example:
1. Par. 14  "Thus, we are . . . where we can."
2. Par. 15  "Furthermore, there will . . . fill the mire."
3. Par. 16  "In that same . . . shocked as well."
4. Par. 19  "When the sacred . . . that surround us."
2. Discuss how implementing those things could make the sacrament more sacred for us as well as others in the congregation.
3. Discuss what else people could do to make partaking of the sacrament a holier experience.  Perhaps you might want to list some of these on the board.
4. After a few moments, ask the class members to identify one thing they will (not) do next week to improve their experience with the sacrament.
5. Ask everyone to take out their phones and create an alarm for an appropriate time (not during the sacrament) to remind them to act on their goal.
6. After a moment, have the class members turn to a neighbor and share what they will do.  

Using the Activity:

This activity is another example of applying the gospel to our lives in very practical ways.  One thing that makes this particular activity effective is that it makes use of two tools-- reminding and accountability-- to help people be successful in their changes.  By setting the alar, it creates a reminder for the class members.  Of course, if cell phones are not ubiquitous in your ward or branch (be thankful), you can always use pencil and paper to write a reminder and have the class members post it somewhere they can see it.  Also, by asking the class members to share their goals, this activity builds in some accountability.  Granted, no one would expect the class members to check up on each other, but the act of sharing a goal often makes it more likely to be attained.

I hope this activity is of use to you, whether you use it as is, modify it, or use it as a jumping off place to create a completely new activity.  Please let me know how it goes.