Elder Dale G. Renlund (Apr. '22): "Your Divine Nature and Eternal Destiny"

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Although this talk was given during the women's session of conference and was structured around the Young Women's theme, this is a talk for every member of the Church.  It is filled with truths for all of us.  One aspect of this talk that really struck me was the care that Elder Renlund took to point out ideas, conditions, and half-truths that can prevent us from feeling/knowing the truths of the gospel.  This activity focuses on some of these warning but not all of them.  It is designed so that it can easily be expanded or altered to focus on other warnings.

The Activity:

  1. Introduce/discuss the first four truths that Elder Renlund focuses on (found in paragraphs 2-12).
  2. Explain that for each of these truths Elder Renlund took time to identify things which may keep us from experiencing these truths.
  3. Divide the class into four smaller groups.
  4. Give each groups one of the following quotes to read:
    1. Par. 2-4 "Sometimes we may . . . among other things."
    2. Par. 6-7 "Seeking greater understanding . . . has been revealed."
    3. Par. 9 "This is our . . . child of God" (This one is a bit more obscure and make take a bit more thought, in my opinion).
    4. Par. 10 "We cannot create . . . to be burned." 
  5. Give each group a paper and something to write with.  Ask them to select a scribe to make note of their discussions.
  6. Invite each group to read their quote and then to answer the following questions:
    1. For the obstacle to our understanding/knowing:
      1. What might this look like in someone's life?
      2. What might this sound like in someone's life?
      3. What might this feel like in someone's life?
    2. Thinking about how to address this obstacle:
      1. What steps might a person take to overcome these obstacles?
  7. Allow the groups a few minutes (5 or so) to discuss these items.
  8. Come back together as a whole class and ask the groups to share the highlights of their discussions.

Using the Activity:

The first thing to note about this activity is that it could create some serious stress for some people.  I would suggest prefacing this talk with the idea that many of these obstacles have elements that bring us to and take us from the gospel.  I would also stress that the "signs" of these obstacles are only possibilities.  It could be possible for us to have something that looks like something mentioned that in fact does not move us farther from God.  So, we should refrain from passing judgment on ourselves rashly or others at all.  

Obviously, you can find other passages that highlight other obstacles to our belief and substitute those of the ones I have chosen or you could simply add them in and create more groups.  Seek the Spirit to know what passages are the ones to share with your class/quorum and then move forward with them.

I hope that this activity is useful to you.  Please let me know how it goes and God bless you for your efforts to magnify your calling.  

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