Elder Ulisses Soares (Apr. '22): "In Awe of Christ and His Gospel"

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 What a magnificent talk!  For me, this was a highlight of conference.  The focus on generally improving our spirituality was much needed-- for me, at least.  I am teaching this talk next week in Elders' Quorum and the activity I share in here comes straight from my lesson.  That does not necessarily mean it is perfect, but sometimes I feel a need to assure people that I actually teach this way in church.  :)  

The Activity:

  1. After laying the groundwork of this talk's emphasis on Spiritual Awe vs. Spiritual Apathy, divide the class into three groups.
  2. Ask each group to discuss an assigned quote from the following passages:
    1. Par. 7 "My beloved brothers . . . neighbor as ourselves."
    2. Par. 8 "This type of . . . our true worship."
    3. Par. 9 "My dear friends, . . . our own understanding."
  3. After reading the passages in their groups have the groups discuss their quote.  Initially, give them a few minutes to address the following questions:
    1. According to this passage, how do we attain/maintain a sense of spiritual awe?
    2. What are some words in this passage that describe what our effort should be like?
  4. After a few minutes to discuss these questions, invite the groups to choose and/or create some word pairs that describe our effort, e.g. "intentionally dedicate" (par. 9).  Again, they can find exact word pairs that Elder Soares uses or they can create their own pairs that capture the sentiment of their quote, e.g. "walk meekly" (par. 8).
  5. Allow a minute or two for the groups to come up with these.  You may wish to encourage them to come up with more than one for their passage.
  6. Come back together as a whole class.
  7. Ask the groups to share what they came up with and write these on the board as they are shared.  Be sure to discuss them as they go on the board.

Using the Activity:

This activity came from the ways in which Elder Soares describes what our efforts should be like.  I was impressed by words such as "intentionally," "joyfully," and "truly."  These are words that are easy to overlook but they really add a depth and texture to our understanding.  They tell us more than what we should do; they tell us how we should do these things.  So, by asking the class members to carefully consider specific words, we are asking them to consider more than simple actions and we are asking them to carefully consider the words of an apostle.  This type of careful consideration will open our hearts to revelation and inspiration.  

As an extension, you may want to ask the class members to identify their own word pair to focus their attention on in the coming week and challenge them to apply it to their lives.  

I pray that this activity is helpful to you in your efforts to teach with power and authority.  

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