Teaching Relief Society & Priesthood

 I will admit that this activity was the last one I did because I struggled to come up with an activity that would do some justice to this great talk.  In the end, at the urging of my wife, I simply went with my first idea.  I had resisted the idea because it didn't feel authentic to me.  In retrospect, this was silly.  My wife was right.  While this activity may not be right for you and/or your class, this was the activity that I was supposed to share. The Activity: Make sure that everyone has access to the talk either physically or digitally. Ask the class members to remember a time when someone they loved has passed away. Ask them what were some things that brought them comfort at this time.  Discuss these things.  You may want to note that different people need different things in times like this-- there are few, if any, universally good or bad things. Ask the class members to ponder what they might share with a friend (member or not) who has ...

 I am always struck by talks that encourage us to remember.  It seems like at the root of many of today's problems in the world is that we fail to remember God-- who He is and what He did/does for us.  In this talk, Elder Teixeira helps us to remember specific things which will help us on our way back home.   The Activity: Make sure that everyone in the class has access to a copy of the talk either physically or digitially. Divide the class into four groups. Assign each group one of the reminders from Elder Teixeira's talk: Remember That We Are Children of God Remember the Foundation That Protects Us Remember to be Prayerful Remember to Serve Others Ask each group to read through their assigned section and look for the following things: How to's (counsel on putting this principle into action) Why for's (promises associated with this principle) What then's (connections to our pathway home) After a few minutes for the groups to meet and talk, come back together as...

 This talk by Elder Palmer includes a touching story about his own family's conversion to the gospel.  This story forms the body of this activity.  Having said that I think there are many gospel principles illustrated in this experience that could be focused on in lessons that would be valuable. The Activity: Explain that Elder Palmer gives us a pattern for finding joy in this life and in the herafter.   Read par. 21 "I invite all . . . world to come." Identify and, if you wish, discuss the elements of this pattern-- desire , act , and follow. Recount the story of how Elder Palmer's parents came to join the Church-- making sure to highlight the elements of the pattern from above. Discuss with the class this pattern's applicability to our lives: When else might this pattern be useful? How might acting in faith look in these moments? How might we come to joy? Using the Activity: This activity does at least two things that I feel like embody Christ-like teaching....

 I was touched not only by the message to always press toward the mark, but also by the message that we can/should all help each other to press toward the mark.  This activity is an effort to highlight those two sides of the coin.   The Activity: Read about Elder Dube's experience at his first general conference leadership meeting (par. 4-5:  "In 2012, I . . . toward the mark"). Discuss how we might at times be like Elder Dube-- held back in pressing toward the mark.  Talk about some of the things that might hold people (us) back. After a few moments, discuss how we can be like Elder Holland at times-- pointing others to press toward the mark.  Talk about specific things that could be done.   Talk about why small gestures could be so profound. Ask the class members to consider someone they could reach out to in a small way (a text or email, a call, a compliment, etc.) and challenge them to do that. Using the Activity: This is another example ...

 This activity is an important activity, but it is very general in that it could easily be applied to basically any lesson on any talk at almost any level of Church.  Still, this activity can be very powerful.  I just did a variation of this activity yesterday while teaching Elders Quorum and it was very powerful. The Activity: Give each class member a small piece of paper (index card, post-it note, etc.) and something to write with. Ask the class members to take a moment and review what has been shared in the meeting with a special focus on the three manifestations of God's love Elder Wakolo talked about. Now ask the class members to think about which area they should do better in, which one they should share about, and which one they should express more gratitude to Father for.  Ask them to consider specific actions they could take or specific aspects of these manifestations that need more attention in their life. After a moment of silent consideration, ask the cla...

 This is a shorter talk, but it is a good example of a general authority who took the prophet's counsel from a previous general conference seriously and shares the fruits of that with us. The Activity: Divide the class into 5 groups. Explain that Elder Wong references 5 scriptures to explain how we can let God prevail in our lives: D&C 6:34 Matt. 7:4-27 Hel. 5:12 D&C 10:69 D&C 21:5-6 Assign each group one of the scriptures and ask them to discuss the following things: What the verse(s) counsel us to do? What are ways that we can apply that counsel? or How can we do that? What blessings will come as we apply this counsel? How have the class members seen these blessings in their lives? After a few minutes, bring the groups back together and ask each one to share what they discussed. Using the Activity: I am always intrigued by what the general authorities are reading in the scriptures-- what parts of the scriptures are capturing their attention?  where are they findi...

 As I read this talk I was moved to make a more sincere, consistent effort to know my Heavenly Father.   The Activity: Ask the class members to think about what they would tell someone who came to them and asked how they might come to know God.  What would their answers entail?  This should be done silently for a moment. After a couple of moments, have them turn to a partner and discuss what they came up with.  Tell the partners to try to come up with a short answer that they can both agree on. In another couple of moments, ask each partnership to join with one other partnerships (for groups of 4) and to share what each group came up with.  Ask these new groups to unitedly come up with a single sentence answer that they feel encompasses the most important aspects of how we come to know our Heavenly Father. After the groups have had some time, come back together and invite the groups to share their one sentence answers.  Write them on the board (or...