Elder Alan T. Phillips (Oct. '23): "God Knows and Loves You"

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 This is a great talk, but it is one that may feel daunting to teach because Elder Phillips covers three very distinct topics-- even though he brings them together under the same umbrella.  How can you cover all of those topics adequately?  Or even inadequately? One approach-- shared here-- is to not try to teach all of the topics and leave the actual choice up to the class members themselves.

The Activity:

  1. Prior to Class-- Prepare a sheet that has 8-10 quotes on it from Elder Phillips' talk.  These quotes should be what stands out to you as you prayerfully prepare, but there should be at least a couple from each of the three sections.  Possibilities include the following:  
    1. Par. 7 "Life is challenging . . . belonging and purpose."
    2. Par. 10 "Your life has . . . and redeem you."
    3. Par. 17 "Our Savior's mission . . . in the journey."
    4. Par. 26 "To anyone burdened . . . our storms still."
    5. Par. 28 "Some of the . . . too are real."
    6. Par. 30 "If you are . . . And then listen."
  2. In class, pass out the papers to each class member.
  3. Ask them to read over the quotes on the page and make note of one or two that they feel are most impactful.
  4. After a minute or so, invite the class members to move around the room until they find someone who has chosen the same quote.
  5. When they have, ask them to discuss their quote together.
  6. Repeat with a different person and/or a different quote.

Using the Activity:

This activity is designed as the intro says to allow each class member to choose the focus of the discussion (at least for a time) for themselves.  Also, by asking them to share with someone else it provides an opportunity to build community between the class members and to deepen their understanding by learning from another.  

Another option would be to simply ask the class members to vote on (or call on someone to choose) the quote to discuss.  If you did either of these things, it would be important to prepare a series of generic questions that could be used in discussing (almost) any quote.  For example, "Why do you feel this is so important?"  "How have you seen this principle in your life?"  Etc.

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