Elder Valeri V. Cordon (Oct. '23): "Divine Parenting Lessons"

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 I appreciated this talk.  Elder Cordon shares some great insight and applies the gospel well in drawing his conclusions.  This is a talk that I will return to again and that I will recommend to my oldest son now that he is a father as well (especially when studied in conjunction with some of the other talks/passages from this conference that addressed parenting).

The Activity:

  1. Prior to class, choose several phrases from the talk that represent actionable items that class members could apply at home now.  Compile these phrases/passages into a single document and print out a copy for each class member.  Passages might include the following:
    1. Par. 5 "Adopting the gospel culture"
    2. Par. 15 "Create an environment where our children can feel [God's] influence"
    3. Par. 12 "Invite to Act"
    4. Par 8 "Teach [the gospel] liberally, generously, and without restraint"
  2. Pass out a sheet to each class member.
  3. Ask the class members to read over the ideas on the sheet and to consider where they have either experience to share or questions to ask.
  4. Allow them a moment to review the list and to choose one passage in particular they would like to talk more about.
  5. Designate a different part of the room for each passage and ask the class members to go to the area of their chosen passage.
  6. Once the class members are in their new groups, invite them to discuss their chosen passage as a group.
  7. Give the groups a few minutes to talk.
  8. Come back together as a class and ask the groups to share what they talked about in their groups.

Using the Activity:

This is a different activity in that it requires the class members to move-- something that some people will not be very comfortable with.  Also, there may be members who have trouble moving especially in crowds.  When using this activity be mindful of both groups and consider how would best work to accommodate them so they could participate fully in the discussion.  

It is worth noting that this activity would probably work best with about 5-7 passages for the class members to choose from.  Many more than that and you will have so many different places for groups to go that it will lengthen the time it takes to get settled.  Too few and the groups will be too large to adequately invite everyone in for talking.  

I pray that this activity will be of use to you in your teaching.  God bless.  

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