Elder Sean Douglas (Oct. '21): "Facing Our Spiritual Hurricanes by Believing in Christ"

-

 I was so impressed with the depth of knowledge that Elder Douglas has of the words of Pres. Nelson.  Elder Douglas has obviously spent a great deal of time studying and pondering Pres. Nelson's talks.  Plus, he has pushed those ideas into conversation with the scriptures in meaningful ways.

The Activity:

  1. Make sure that everyone has access to the talk either digitally or physically.
  2. Draw a vertical line down the middle of the board.  Label one side "Belief/Faith" and the other side "Doubt."
  3. Ask the class members to review the talk to identify what Elder Douglas taught about each of these two concepts.
  4. As items are mentioned, write them on the appropriate side of the board.
  5. As much as possible, contrast the two sides.  You may want to talk about issues such as the following:
    1. The author of each.
    2. How each is cultivated
    3. The consequences of each.  

Using the Activity:

At least for me, one way to deepen my understanding of a topic is to contrast it with another principle to notice differences and similarities.  While this activity is focused on the differences, the purpose behind it is simply to deepen our understandings of these topics.  I would be surprised if in the course of this activity brand new, never-before-considered insights came up.  Gospel learning seldom looks like that.  However, gospel learning is most often a deepening of conversion.  After a powerful lesson, the words we would use to explain our knowledge are often unchanged, but the conviction behind those words is deepened.  That is what this activity is designed to do, hopefully.  And it does it by pushing these two concepts up against each other.

Thank you for visiting my blog.  Please let me know how it goes.

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