Bishop L. Todd Budge (Oct. '21): "Giving Holiness to the Lord"

-

 This talk is a companion talk, if you will, to Sister Eubank's talk.  Both of them are uncommon examples of times when a topic is assigned to a speaker in general conference.  In this case, both of these talks are reports to the Church membership about the Humanitarian efforts of the Church.

The Activity:

  1. Ask the class members to define sacrifice.
  2. Explain that Bishop Budge talks about sacrifice in a different way than we often think about it.
  3. Read par. 9 "In modern usage . . . for the Lord."
  4. Go on to explain that Bishop Budge goes further by saying that we should think of sacrifice as "giving to" our Father as opposed to "giving up" things.
  5. Ask the class members to think about how this change in thinking might impact other aspects of sacrifice for us and others.
  6. Discuss these impacts.
    1. At some point during the discussion, it will probably be helpful to read par. 12 "When our sacrifice . . . contentment, and joy."

Using the Activity:

I found this shift in thinking about sacrifice to be very powerful and felt prompted to design an activity that focused on that as opposed to perhaps more obvious things.  I do believe that making this change in our view of sacrifice will be vital at some point to our staying strong.  So, this activity is designed to help class members hopefully see the power in this tiny change.  The activity tries to do so by asking the class members to imagine those things-- something that we are often asked to do in the scriptures.  

God bless you in your efforts to teach with power and authority.  

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