Pres. M. Russell Ballard (Apr. '20): "Shall We Not Go On in So Great a Cause?"

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A NOTE:
Maintaining this blog at this time might be one of the most optimistic things I have done in recent memory :), although I am sure we will eventually be meeting together again for church.  I just have no idea when that will be.  Still, I want to continue this blog even in these times as an expression of hope.  In the meantime, I have begun a separate blog that focuses on sharing ideas to explore the messages of general conference in our homes.  That blog can be found here. 

This was the perfect talk to kick off this bicentennial conference in my opinion.  Being a descendant of Hyrum, Pres. Ballard's witness of the prophet and his family is always strong.  It set such a powerful stage for the rest of what followed in conference.  Like many other people, I felt that this conference (and, indeed, this entire year) was a special opportunity to increase and deepen my testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith.  I was struck in this talk by how involved God was in leading Joseph and I hope that this activity allows others to be impressed by the same fact.

The Activity:
  1. Read par. 4 ("Of the Smith . . . foreordained in eternity") and par. 37 ("The official announcement . . . were not separated").
  2. Discuss how God works with all of us line upon line.
  3. Divide the class members into three groups and ask each group to look through the talk for moments where carefully but consciously Heavenly Father did one of these (obviously, some class members may have particular knowledge of Joseph's life and/or ministry that they want to add.  That is welcome):
    1. Prepared for Joseph Smith
    2. Prepared Joseph Smith himself
    3. Led Joseph Smith to do all he was called to do.
  4. After a few minutes, come back together and ask each group to share whta they found with the class.  
  5. You may want to tie some of this discussion in with a quote or passage from Pres. Eyring's talk "He Goes Before Us"
  6. Ask everyone to share how it makes them feel to see this type of involvement by our Father in Joseph's life.  What does this teach us about Joseph, specifically, and prophets, in general?
Using the Activity:

If your branch/ward is like mine, there will be many members who are familiar with the life of Joseph Smtih and studying the contents of this talk in this way will hopefully allow them to see familiar terrain in the light of God's involvement and leadership.  As usual, the power in this activity is in the increased opportunities for participation, including sharing knowledge the class members may already have.

I hope that this activity works well for you or sparks an even better idea for your class or quorum.  

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