Elder D. Todd Christofferson (Apr. '22): "Our Relationship with God"

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 This is a challenging talk.  It is easy-- albeit deceptive-- to assume a quid pro quo relationship between our obedience and God's blessings.  It is tougher to trust that His timing and His will are best; it is also, however, eternally more rewarding.

The Activity:

  1. Read par. 13 "Our repentance and . . . Christ, our Redeemer."
  2. Discuss the blessings associated with a relationship with our Heavenly Father like the one described by Elder Christofferson.
  3. One the board, write this sentence, "In life, we will feel ___________, but in Christ we can feel _____________."
  4. Invite the class members to silently consider how they would fill in this sentence and to consider experiences of their own or others that illustrate that sentiment.
  5. After a couple of minutes, ask the class members to form into small groups of 3-4 people each and share what they thought of.  
  6. Come back together when the discussion begins to wane and share insights as a whole class.

Using the Activity:

As with many other activities that I create for this blog, this one is predicated on a few basic principles.  First, I want to create space for as many people as possible to share.  This is accomplished by reducing the public nature of sharing (which some people fear) and by increasing the effective time to share by having multiple groups operating at the same time.  Also, I want the class members to take the doctrines and sentiments of this talk and consider how they would rework them to describe their personal experiences.  Finally, I want them to hear from others and engage with them in talking things through.  Often it is this final step that allows the Spirit to truly teach us.  

I pray that this activity will be helpful to you in your efforts to teach.  God bless you.  

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