Pres. Russell M. Nelson (Apr. '23): "Peacemakers Needed"

-

 What a powerful talk.  President Nelson is certainly calling us to a higher and holier way of being during his ministry.  This talk is just one more example of that call.  It is also significant when we see messages and even phrases and scriptures repeated multiple times in a single conference (II Cor. 13:1).  In this conference we heard more than one speaker refer to peacemakers during their messages.  So, perhaps we should pay attention to that role in our lives.  This talk, though, had so many striking passages or soundbites that stood out to me.  This activity seeks to explore as many of those as possible.

The Activity:

  1. Make sure that everyone has access to a copy of the talk either digitally or physically.
  2. Ask everyone to skim over the talk for a couple of minutes and ask them to identify one quote from the talk that sticks out to them.
  3. After a few moments, ask them to stand up and walk around the room.  When you say stop, they are to stop and talk to a person near them (try to keep the groups down to 3 or less).  They will share their quote with the other person, talk about why they feel it is so important, listen to their partner, and talk about how each person's quote is connected.
  4. After a couple of minutes of talking, ask them to start walking again and repeat step 3.
  5. After a few iterations of this, have everyone return to their seats.
  6. Invite them to share what they talked about during the activity.

Using the Activity:

The purpose of this activity is to 1) help everyone to participate, 2) center the class members' impressions and ideas in the lesson, and 3) focus on the specific words of our prophet.  Each of these steps are vital if we really want to teach with power and authority and strengthen those in our class.  Another important potential benefit of this activity is that by having the class members move around and talk to people who probably don't sit by them, we are also building community in our classes and quorums.  

Of course the actual activity could vary a bit.  I use this quite often in my teaching and I don't actually tell my students to stop in my class.  I simply tell them to find someone who is not sitting near them.  On the other hand, depending on the needs and logistics of your class(room), you could do the same activity with the class members sharing with those seated near them.  That way they do not have to get up and move around if there is not room or if there are class members with mobility issues.  

As always, thank you for visiting my blog.  I hope that this activity will be useful to you in your teaching.  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