We “Come Unto Him” by Doing the Small and Simple Things and We Will Find Rest and Joy
I. Introduction of our family
Brief intro of conversion and family.
II. Introduction of my talk
We often notice themes in General Conference. When asked about this past GC, several said missionary work was the theme they heard. And even though we have missionaries out from our family, the main thing I noticed was the balm for the wounded soul that was offered by several speakers. Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden , and I will give you rest . 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
How do we “come unto Him” so that we may rest? We come unto Him by doing the small and simple things we’ve been asked to do.
III. Small and Simple Things
Elder David A. Bednar and his wife, Susan spoke at BYU’s Women’s Conference in April 2011. The title of their talk was By Small and Simple Things Great Things Are Brought to Pass.
When her husband was in the doctoral program at Purdue and she had a very active 2 year old and an infant, Sis Bednar asked for a priesthood blessing to help her cope with her situation--2 little kids, husband hardly ever home, and a small income. She said the blessing advised her to exercise, get more sleep, eat regular meals, have meaningful prayer morning and night and engage in more purposeful and consistent scripture study, and if she did that, she would receive the physical and spiritual tools to cope with her circumstances and the discouragement she was feeling.
She balked a little at first because they were typical Sunday School answers and she could rationalize away each item. She likened it to the story of Naaman in the Old Testament who was sent to be healed by the king and the servant of the prophet Elisha came out and told him to wash 7 times in the river Jordan. Naaman hesitated and his servant told him that if he had been asked to do some great thing, would he not have done it? Naaman went and washed and was healed.
Sis Bednar said she would have seen the wisdom at first if her blessing had told her to do something great, like take a cruise to Hawaii or have a make over, but she humbled herself and found that these things really did allow her to run and not be weary and walk and not faint.
The things that Sis Bednar was told in her blessing dealt with her physical body and her spirit. We are here to gain a body and to show that we will follow Christ…or, in other words, learn to have our spirit control that body--obedience.
There are a few things said about Christ taking care of His body. We know he grew in wisdom and stature. And we know He took care of His spirit and that it was in control of His body. He knew the scriptures, he fasted to prepare for His ministry…
If we take care of our bodies and our spirits, we will be following Christ and becoming more like him.
IV. Adam’s Obedience
One of my favorite scripture stories that causes me to ponder is where Adam and Eve, after leaving the Garden of Eden, are told to make animal sacrifices to the Lord, without understanding the meaning behind it--that it was in the similitude of the sacrifice that Christ was to make for our sins many years in the future. I often wonder how long Adam was obedient, not understanding why he was doing what he was doing, before the angel finally taught him that the sacrifices were to help them look forward to the Atonement. How long am I willing to do what I’ve been asked even when I don’t see the picture?
I teach in Young Women’s. Last week’s lesson was on developing Christlike attributes. One of the points of our lesson was that our experiences here can, if we allow them, lead us to do gain Christlike attributes. As we serve we can learn humility, compassion, charity, selflessness, and so on. Just the daily course of our lives brings lessons that can be learned if we have the ears to hear and the eyes to see.
That is why keeping the covenants we have made with Heavenly Father changes us, makes us more like Him and Christ, and prepares us to live in their presence. As President Thomas S. Monson said in CG, making the gospel of Jesus Christ the center of our lives is what will pull us through.
Making the gospel the center of our lives means following Christ, doing what He did, though maybe not as well or perfectly as He did, and doing what has been asked of us.
V. Denise’s friend (Living the Gospel makes us Christlike, so what’s preventing us from doing that?)
Now, what we notice about conference usually applies to what is happening in our lives. Maybe I saw the comfort angle being offered because I know people who have been struggling. For example, my sister’s friend and her family were considered stalwarts of their ward. But the wife felt that what she did was never good enough--no matter what she did, there was always another step to take, and there was never an end--never a resting place. She felt pressure to always improve and felt she was never good enough the way she was. The gospel didn’t bring her rest or joy, but brought stress to her life. I say the gospel did, but I don’t think that’s totally correct. Her actions and reactions to her life are what brought the stress.
To escape these negative feelings, she, her husband who had served in the Bishopric, and their 3 teenaged boys, stopped going to church. I do not know this woman personally, but I wondered why she found trying to live the gospel so difficult.
What I think it really might be is that we feel overwhelmed by all we take upon herself…we don’t just going the extra mile, we run faster than we have strength. We are depleted and depressed and moving too fast, as Elder Jeffrey R. Holland talked about in CG this month.
Aren’t scriptures and prayer the things that replenish us and fill us up? Church and Temple attendance
VI. Living the Gospel as it was meant to be lived
The gospel is here to help us return to Heavenly Father. If we don’t think that is happening, it’s not the gospel that is missing something, but somehow we are missing something in our application of it.
We are struggling, imperfect, and exhausted even, as Elder Holland mentioned. But it’s in living the gospel that we receive strength for our struggle, move toward perfection, and can be renewed and find rest. We don’t find rest by taking a break from living the gospel, as much as Satan tries to convince us of that.
Elder Edward Dube had a great quote that I loved. He said that it’s not so much as where we have been or what we have done, but where we are willing to go that matters. Are we willing to follow in the footsteps of Christ? That’s what counts. We have to remember that it’s in the following of Christ that we hope to become like Him.
“Our loving Heavenly wants us to become more like Him. God understands that we get there, not in an instant, but by taking one step at a time.” Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Sunday, September 8, 2013
notes from BYU's Provo YSA 5th Stake sacrament meeting 18 Aug 2013
Lindsey Porter of St. George, Utah "Lasting Happiness":
Christ asks Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane "What, could ye not watch with me one hour?" Can we not pay attention for one hour each week during Sacrament Meeting?
Mosiah 2:41 ...consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments...they are blessed in all things...and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven...in a state of never-ending happiness.
Individual things don't always bring immediate happiness, ie paying tithing when money is tight, but knowing you are right with God does.
Our Father has open arms and not a pointing, accusing finger. Isaiah--my hands are stretched out still. He pleads, "Come, follow me." He sees the end from the beginning.
When Alma the younger was shown the big picture, he was sick with what he had done. He wanted to be destroyed.
In Matthew 11:28-Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
That's zero threat--He's not pointing His finger, but is waiting with open arms.
Keeping the commandments is not always easy, but it's easier than what the world does.
Don't drink away the pain, as the world might do, but kneel down and give your pain and burdens to God.
We make it hard in thinking that we can find happiness in our own way.
George Albert Smith--"Though the world may be filled with distress, and the heavens gather blackness, and the vivid lightnings flash, and the earth quake from center to circumference, if we know that God lives, and our lives are righteous, we will be happy, there will be peace unspeakable because we know our Father approves [of] our lives."
Christ asks Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane "What, could ye not watch with me one hour?" Can we not pay attention for one hour each week during Sacrament Meeting?
Mosiah 2:41 ...consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments...they are blessed in all things...and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven...in a state of never-ending happiness.
Individual things don't always bring immediate happiness, ie paying tithing when money is tight, but knowing you are right with God does.
Our Father has open arms and not a pointing, accusing finger. Isaiah--my hands are stretched out still. He pleads, "Come, follow me." He sees the end from the beginning.
When Alma the younger was shown the big picture, he was sick with what he had done. He wanted to be destroyed.
In Matthew 11:28-Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
That's zero threat--He's not pointing His finger, but is waiting with open arms.
Keeping the commandments is not always easy, but it's easier than what the world does.
Don't drink away the pain, as the world might do, but kneel down and give your pain and burdens to God.
We make it hard in thinking that we can find happiness in our own way.
George Albert Smith--"Though the world may be filled with distress, and the heavens gather blackness, and the vivid lightnings flash, and the earth quake from center to circumference, if we know that God lives, and our lives are righteous, we will be happy, there will be peace unspeakable because we know our Father approves [of] our lives."
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Notes from Ed Week Lecture on Effective Lesson Preparation
Link to a great article that connects with this lecture:
https://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-teaching-and-learning-a-handbook-for-teachers-and-leaders-in-seminaries-and-institutes-of-religion/preparing-to-teach?lang=eng
Powerful Gospel Teaching: From Preparation to Presentation
I. Effective Lesson Preparation:
Recap from yesterday’s class: The elevated purposes of gospel teaching:
1-to invite the Holy Ghost so he can act in His role as agent of the Atonement
2-to get people in the scriptures and word of the prophets
3-to get involved in leaning by faith--spiritually, mentally, and physically engaged
4-to get people to act based on what we teach--invite them to do
The barometer of success for how a lesson went should be how edifying it was, not if you got through all the material.
How many times do you think Jesus prepared a lesson? Maybe the Sermon on the Mount.
The Bible that Jesus Read by Philip Yancey
It is more important to prepare yourself spiritually than it is to prepare a lesson outline. If we spend more time in personal prep rather than lesson prep, we will be a far more effective teacher.
Preach My Gospel, p 17: “To teach effectively, you need to obtain spiritual knowledge.”
The Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley p 619-620 “We must strengthen ourselves and our people to get our teachers to speak out of their hearts rather than out of their books…”
He who sees me, sees the teaching. --Buddha
3 Keys to Preparation:
1) Understand the context and the content of the scriptures/words of the prophets and the inspired intent of the author
2) Identify and articulate the converting doctrines and principles
3) Consider the relevance and application of those doctrines and principles
First, read the scripture block/prophetic words more than once. Do it on your own first before you look at the curriculum. Ask yourself what is inspiring you out of that chapter. You have to teach out of your passion.
Understand the context--teach context so they can understand the content.
Context-”knit or woven together” “the part(s) of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect”
Look at the background, circumstance, the culture, the setting, the intent.
What is the intent? Why did they write it?
D&C 19 --Martin Harris had promised to mortgage his farm to pay for the printing of the Book of Mormon and he was hesitating. The Lord tells Martin of his own suffering because He wants Martin to sacrifice, too.
What’s the circumstance?
The Last Supper happened at the Passover, which was celebrated to remember their deliverance from Egypt. Now they were going to be delivered from sin.
What is the cultural context?
The parable of the Good Samaritan if often used to teach the lesson that we must serve, but it is more than that. In John 8:48, Jesus is called a Samaritan. It’s about the Atonement. The parts represent the premortal life…being left half spiritually dead--Satan is the priest and Levite and can’t save you. The Samaritan saves. “When I return again…” is about the Second Coming.
What is the historical context?
D&C 82:7 is about the United Order--a select group of Church leaders. If they lived the Order, He would forgive their sins, but if they broke the Order, all their former sins would return. Today we often teach that if we repent of a sin and then commit it again, all our former sins return. That is incorrect. If we repent, the Lord, God, will remember them no more.
To help you understand the context
--read the preceding verses or chapters
--understand who is speaking to whom and why
--look at the question or situation that prompted the teaching
--check the Bible Dictionary
--consult maps and geography
--scriptural commentaries, institute manuals
--above all, ask the Holy Ghost
Content
What’s inside--the statement, words, themes, truths
Context and content illustrate
D&C 9 bosom shall burn--Elder Oaks said that = comfort, serenity
stupor of thought --Elder Packer says that = uneasy feeling
Doctrines and Principles--the truths
Don’t need to delineate the doctrines and principles and pick out which is which--Eyring
Doctrine-simple truths of the gospel, eternal and unchanging
Elder David A. Bednar--they can usually be summarized as the truths of the Plan
From doctrines, we derive principles. If the doctrine I the Atonement, the the first principle is faith. --Bednar
Principles--concentrated truth
Elder Richard G. Scott in October General Conference 1993 said, “Principles are concentrated truth, packaged for application to a wide variety of circumstances. A true principle makes decisions clear even under the most confusing and compelling circumstances. It is worth great effort to organize the truth we gather to simple statements of principle.”
Know what principles you are going to teach and that leads you to how.
Always model when teaching--give me something you can cross-stitch or hang on the fridge.
When you can apply a principle to several things, you know it’s good.
Look at it as a parachute. The doctrine is the parachute--the overarching truth. The principles are where the cord connect to the parachute. The application is where the cords connect to the person. For example:
Doctrine--the parachute:
--Our body is created in God’s image
Principles--cords to the chute
--The body is sacred
--the body is necessary for exaltation
--creating bodies is God-like work and should be directed by God
--the body is the instrument of and affects our spirit
--our bodies belong to God and we are stewards over them
Applications (behaviors)--cords to the person
--don’t drink, smoke, get tattoos, piercings
--don’t dress immodestly
--don’t have premarital sex
--don’t take unnecessary risky actions…
Don’t only teach the behavior--teach the doctrine and the principles
Doctrine and Principles
Look for “therefore” and “wherefore” and “thus we see” and a principle will follow.
Write them out to be clear
D&C 9 talks about the “windows of expedience” in life that we miss because of fear
We must do what we have been called to do and let others do their part.
How does this apply? What is the relevance?
“Converting Principles” and address by Elder Henry B. Eyring on Feb 2, 1996 to the CES Religious Educators, p 1
Relevance = relatable application
Give the learners time to ponder and reflect on what they have been taught and should do. Avoid too much prescription--avoid telling them (all) the applications.
II. Effective Lesson Presentation
Principles--guidelines for our behavior based on doctrines
#1 most common method of lesson presentation is class discussion, which will be covered in part III.
A continuum of faith:
I hope → I think → I believe → I know it’s true
How do we get them to know?
Elder Howard W. Hunter, April 1967 General Conference:
“Action is one of the chief foundations of personal testimony. The surest witness is that which comes firsthand out of personal experience.... One knows because he has experienced.”
Alma 32
Awake → arouse →experiment → exercise → enlighten the understanding → increased faith
If they act, they will learn for themselves. John 7:17 1 Nephi 5:8
Act in faith and pay tithing, then you will know. Not before.
Feel (heart) → do (feet) → know (mind) → feel…
Get it into their minds, hearts, and feet
“Seek Learning by Faith” Elder David A. Bednar’s talk to religious educators on 3 February 2006
“A learner exercising agency by acting in accordance with correct principles opens his or her heart to the Holy Ghost and invites His teaching, testifying power, and confirming witness. Learning by faith requires spiritual, mental, and physical exertion and not just passive reception.”
How did Jesus do this? 3 Nephi 11:14 Arise and thrust in your hand (physical) --feel the prints (spiritual)-- and the mental happened the next day when he told them to ponder.
He took time for each one to touch him. The more you are personally involved, the more personal impact it has.
3 Nephi 11:15 They all see with eyes and feel with hands. They did know of a surety.
3 Nephi 17:2-3 go, ponder, ask that ye may understand and prepare your minds
The Sacrament is physical (we eat), mental (we reflect), and spiritual (we repent). The temple, our callings, and parenthood also follow this pattern.
Spiritual Involvement (feel)
--seeking for answers/promptings (invite them to listen for promptings and to follow them)
--praying (Elder Gene R. Cook stopped a meeting once and said that he perceived that they had stopped praying for him and he invited them to pray for him again)
--singing sacred music
--testimony bearing (ask things like “How do you know that’s true?” or “Who knows that’s true?”)
--sharing meaningful experiences which are related to the principles of what we are learning
--give quiet time to read and ponder (some might tune out and that’s OK)
--discussing/teaching eternal truths
--asking and answering inspired questions
--journal writing/inspired note taking (take notes on what is inspiring them and not necessarily notes on the topic)
--accepting commitments to repent and improve (ask things like “What did you feel prompted to do? I invite you to act on it and live it” Then follow up on it next class)
--role playing
Mental Involvement (think)
--brainstorm
--give them something to look for before reading
--have a picture
--have them read some material before they come (this on is huge)
--problem solving (ask “What do you think these have in common?”…)
--use case senarios
--have them reflect on past experiences
--have them find connections to other things, stories, videos…
-- front load with relevance by having them ”find” things in the scriptures (“look in verse 2 and find…”)
--use the imagination (“Picture this…”)
--derive doctrines, principles, and applications/behaviors (give them a “cross-stitch able, pinterest truth)
Fasting is a behavior → care for the poor → God is love
--recalling things from memory like a scripture story, scripture mastery (“When has God asked for something hard?)
--have them rephrase things in their own words (“in 5 words or less can you describe the Great Apostacy?”)
--analyzing object lessons
Physical Involvement (do)
--experiential learning activities (anything that requires the 5 senses)
--OOSAs (out of seat activities, like stand up and do this…)
--object lessons
--verbal involvement (pair and share, discussions)
--movies
--music
--writing/drawing
--taking notes
--making things
--visuals
Always: Mind-Heart-Feet/Know-Feel-Do/Mental-Spiritual-Physical
The TRAINED teacher:
1-Testifying --bear testimony during the lesson, bear frequently and often
2-Relevance--front load--to see the relevance and why it matters
3-Application--let them decide how to apply
4-Information--just tell this, don’t make them guess. When the angel asked Nephi a question and Nephi didn’t know the answer, the angel just answered instead of trying to give hints so Nephi could answer
5-No Rush--you don’t need to get through all the material. Don’t rush past the Holy Ghost.
6-Exertion (we ran out of time and #6&7 weren’t explained)
7-Dialogue
Use Bob Ross teaching methods--fill in the picture as you go along
III. Asking and Answering Questions with Power in Class Discussions
President Boyd K. Packer said that teaching is the finest of the fine arts.
The single thing you shouldn’t do is ask a pigeon-hole question--it must be open-ended. Do not say, “What is the one thing…?” Don’t play the “guess what the teacher is thinking” game.
President Henry B. Eyring said that to ask and answer questions is at the heart of all learning and teaching.
President Thomas S. Monson said, “The calling of lecturer does not exist in the Church. A lecturer merely imparts knowledge. But a teacher invites class members to learn, in part by teaching one another. One sure way to transform a dull lecture into a lively, Spirit-filled lesson is by asking effective questions.” Ensign April 2010
Jesus asked poignant questions. The Lord’s Question : Thoughts on the Life of Response by Dennis Greyson and Dennis Rasmussen
Think about how and why the Lord asks us questions.
--to get us to search the scriptures (Luke 10:26 What is written in the law?)
--to test/prove our understanding (John 6:5-6 Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?)
--to give a chance to bear testimony (Matt 16:13-15 But whom say ye that I am?)
--to invite commitment (John 6:67 Will ye also go away?)
There are 4 basic types of questions:
--those that invite learners to search for information (want you to search for info)
--those that lead them to analyze for understanding (want you to understand the info)
--those that invite feeling and testimony (want you to feel something about the info)
--those that encourage relevance and application (want you to do something about the info)
Search
--details, facts, and information can usually just be told! These types of questions (When did Joseph Smith die?) generally stifle revelation, not facilitate it. Just tell the facts.
D&C 87:1 The Civil War starting with the rebellion of South Carolina is foretold
Don’t ask things like “When did South Carolina rebel?” but “Why do you think the Lord gave this revelation 30 years before it was fulfilled?” Then follow it with something like “Has the Lord ever prompted you ahead of time to do something?”
Questions are like kisses--they are sacred and not to be just passed out.
Poorer example:
--Search 3 Nephi 6:18. Did the Nephites know the will of God?
Better example:
--Search 3 Nephi 6:18. What word about disobedience jumps out at you and why?
A good skill is that of “uptake.” Take up what someone says and go from there.
Search for:
--important context
--content
--doctrines and principles (truths)
--scriptural lists
--if/then relationships D&C 9:10-11 you feared and it is not expedient now
--patterns and themes (find a connection)
--repeated words
--what stands out to the student
--be like Nephi and the angel and point things out “Look!”
--gospel formulas
How many of you would like to see God? Let’s look in D&C 93:1 and see how to do that
forsake sins + come unto me + call on my name + obey my voice + keep my commandments = see my face
What’s the difference between obeying his voice and keeping his commandments?
Analyze
--get them to use their minds
What are some of the differences between…?
Why do you think…?
How might ____ and ____ be related?
If x is true, why do you think z sometimes happens?
What truths do you learn from this story?
--give them TIME to analyze before you open it up. They need to process (2 minutes). Don’t be afraid of silence. Wait then say…Any thoughts on that? If no one answers, then maybe say something like, “Was that a terrible question?”
If you have someone who answers to often, you could try something (privately) like “Will you be my back-up? If no one else answers after 10 seconds, will you answer?”
D&C 88:122 that all may be edified
Pair and share.
President Boyd K. Packer in Teach Ye Diligently p 73-74 said that technical questions don’t invite responses.
“Why did Joseph Smith go to Carthage?” could be replaced by the better question, “In your opinion, why did Joseph Smith go to Carthage?”
Feeling and Testimony
--ask questions that cause people to reflect on spiritual experiences.
If someone gives false information, you don’t want them to feel shut down and belittled. (Thanks for sharing that. That’s interesting. I haven’t heard that before. Can you bring me a reference?) Or (What do the scriptures say about that?…Well, the scriptures are pretty silent about that)
President Henry B. Eyring “How is a true prophet recognized?” or “When have you felt that you were in the presence of a prophet?” That will invite the individual to search their memories or feelings
--search memory banks
--who can give me a second witness?
--when have you experienced this?
--how do you know this is true?
--if Joseph Smith were here today, what would you tell him and why?
--don’t only ask questions for the mind, but move into the heart (feel) and then do (feet)
Cautions:
D&C 63:64 “Constaint”--didn’t want to but the Spirit will make them do it
Sometimes when we are “in the Spirit” it really isn’t the right time to share (Mary kept and pondered things in her heart). Don’t make a class share.
Relevance and Application
Questions that will drive lesson into their lives
--what are you going to do about this?
--how is this going to affect your life?
--how does this related to us today?
--what is this telling you about how to live the gospel?
--what has impressed you the most and you want to work on it?
Practice writing questions to ask.
https://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-teaching-and-learning-a-handbook-for-teachers-and-leaders-in-seminaries-and-institutes-of-religion/preparing-to-teach?lang=eng
Powerful Gospel Teaching: From Preparation to Presentation
I. Effective Lesson Preparation:
Recap from yesterday’s class: The elevated purposes of gospel teaching:
1-to invite the Holy Ghost so he can act in His role as agent of the Atonement
2-to get people in the scriptures and word of the prophets
3-to get involved in leaning by faith--spiritually, mentally, and physically engaged
4-to get people to act based on what we teach--invite them to do
The barometer of success for how a lesson went should be how edifying it was, not if you got through all the material.
How many times do you think Jesus prepared a lesson? Maybe the Sermon on the Mount.
The Bible that Jesus Read by Philip Yancey
It is more important to prepare yourself spiritually than it is to prepare a lesson outline. If we spend more time in personal prep rather than lesson prep, we will be a far more effective teacher.
Preach My Gospel, p 17: “To teach effectively, you need to obtain spiritual knowledge.”
The Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley p 619-620 “We must strengthen ourselves and our people to get our teachers to speak out of their hearts rather than out of their books…”
He who sees me, sees the teaching. --Buddha
3 Keys to Preparation:
1) Understand the context and the content of the scriptures/words of the prophets and the inspired intent of the author
2) Identify and articulate the converting doctrines and principles
3) Consider the relevance and application of those doctrines and principles
First, read the scripture block/prophetic words more than once. Do it on your own first before you look at the curriculum. Ask yourself what is inspiring you out of that chapter. You have to teach out of your passion.
Understand the context--teach context so they can understand the content.
Context-”knit or woven together” “the part(s) of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect”
Look at the background, circumstance, the culture, the setting, the intent.
What is the intent? Why did they write it?
D&C 19 --Martin Harris had promised to mortgage his farm to pay for the printing of the Book of Mormon and he was hesitating. The Lord tells Martin of his own suffering because He wants Martin to sacrifice, too.
What’s the circumstance?
The Last Supper happened at the Passover, which was celebrated to remember their deliverance from Egypt. Now they were going to be delivered from sin.
What is the cultural context?
The parable of the Good Samaritan if often used to teach the lesson that we must serve, but it is more than that. In John 8:48, Jesus is called a Samaritan. It’s about the Atonement. The parts represent the premortal life…being left half spiritually dead--Satan is the priest and Levite and can’t save you. The Samaritan saves. “When I return again…” is about the Second Coming.
What is the historical context?
D&C 82:7 is about the United Order--a select group of Church leaders. If they lived the Order, He would forgive their sins, but if they broke the Order, all their former sins would return. Today we often teach that if we repent of a sin and then commit it again, all our former sins return. That is incorrect. If we repent, the Lord, God, will remember them no more.
To help you understand the context
--read the preceding verses or chapters
--understand who is speaking to whom and why
--look at the question or situation that prompted the teaching
--check the Bible Dictionary
--consult maps and geography
--scriptural commentaries, institute manuals
--above all, ask the Holy Ghost
Content
What’s inside--the statement, words, themes, truths
Context and content illustrate
D&C 9 bosom shall burn--Elder Oaks said that = comfort, serenity
stupor of thought --Elder Packer says that = uneasy feeling
Doctrines and Principles--the truths
Don’t need to delineate the doctrines and principles and pick out which is which--Eyring
Doctrine-simple truths of the gospel, eternal and unchanging
Elder David A. Bednar--they can usually be summarized as the truths of the Plan
From doctrines, we derive principles. If the doctrine I the Atonement, the the first principle is faith. --Bednar
Principles--concentrated truth
Elder Richard G. Scott in October General Conference 1993 said, “Principles are concentrated truth, packaged for application to a wide variety of circumstances. A true principle makes decisions clear even under the most confusing and compelling circumstances. It is worth great effort to organize the truth we gather to simple statements of principle.”
Know what principles you are going to teach and that leads you to how.
Always model when teaching--give me something you can cross-stitch or hang on the fridge.
When you can apply a principle to several things, you know it’s good.
Look at it as a parachute. The doctrine is the parachute--the overarching truth. The principles are where the cord connect to the parachute. The application is where the cords connect to the person. For example:
Doctrine--the parachute:
--Our body is created in God’s image
Principles--cords to the chute
--The body is sacred
--the body is necessary for exaltation
--creating bodies is God-like work and should be directed by God
--the body is the instrument of and affects our spirit
--our bodies belong to God and we are stewards over them
Applications (behaviors)--cords to the person
--don’t drink, smoke, get tattoos, piercings
--don’t dress immodestly
--don’t have premarital sex
--don’t take unnecessary risky actions…
Don’t only teach the behavior--teach the doctrine and the principles
Doctrine and Principles
Look for “therefore” and “wherefore” and “thus we see” and a principle will follow.
Write them out to be clear
D&C 9 talks about the “windows of expedience” in life that we miss because of fear
We must do what we have been called to do and let others do their part.
How does this apply? What is the relevance?
“Converting Principles” and address by Elder Henry B. Eyring on Feb 2, 1996 to the CES Religious Educators, p 1
Relevance = relatable application
Give the learners time to ponder and reflect on what they have been taught and should do. Avoid too much prescription--avoid telling them (all) the applications.
II. Effective Lesson Presentation
Principles--guidelines for our behavior based on doctrines
#1 most common method of lesson presentation is class discussion, which will be covered in part III.
A continuum of faith:
I hope → I think → I believe → I know it’s true
How do we get them to know?
Elder Howard W. Hunter, April 1967 General Conference:
“Action is one of the chief foundations of personal testimony. The surest witness is that which comes firsthand out of personal experience.... One knows because he has experienced.”
Alma 32
Awake → arouse →experiment → exercise → enlighten the understanding → increased faith
If they act, they will learn for themselves. John 7:17 1 Nephi 5:8
Act in faith and pay tithing, then you will know. Not before.
Feel (heart) → do (feet) → know (mind) → feel…
Get it into their minds, hearts, and feet
“Seek Learning by Faith” Elder David A. Bednar’s talk to religious educators on 3 February 2006
“A learner exercising agency by acting in accordance with correct principles opens his or her heart to the Holy Ghost and invites His teaching, testifying power, and confirming witness. Learning by faith requires spiritual, mental, and physical exertion and not just passive reception.”
How did Jesus do this? 3 Nephi 11:14 Arise and thrust in your hand (physical) --feel the prints (spiritual)-- and the mental happened the next day when he told them to ponder.
He took time for each one to touch him. The more you are personally involved, the more personal impact it has.
3 Nephi 11:15 They all see with eyes and feel with hands. They did know of a surety.
3 Nephi 17:2-3 go, ponder, ask that ye may understand and prepare your minds
The Sacrament is physical (we eat), mental (we reflect), and spiritual (we repent). The temple, our callings, and parenthood also follow this pattern.
Spiritual Involvement (feel)
--seeking for answers/promptings (invite them to listen for promptings and to follow them)
--praying (Elder Gene R. Cook stopped a meeting once and said that he perceived that they had stopped praying for him and he invited them to pray for him again)
--singing sacred music
--testimony bearing (ask things like “How do you know that’s true?” or “Who knows that’s true?”)
--sharing meaningful experiences which are related to the principles of what we are learning
--give quiet time to read and ponder (some might tune out and that’s OK)
--discussing/teaching eternal truths
--asking and answering inspired questions
--journal writing/inspired note taking (take notes on what is inspiring them and not necessarily notes on the topic)
--accepting commitments to repent and improve (ask things like “What did you feel prompted to do? I invite you to act on it and live it” Then follow up on it next class)
--role playing
Mental Involvement (think)
--brainstorm
--give them something to look for before reading
--have a picture
--have them read some material before they come (this on is huge)
--problem solving (ask “What do you think these have in common?”…)
--use case senarios
--have them reflect on past experiences
--have them find connections to other things, stories, videos…
-- front load with relevance by having them ”find” things in the scriptures (“look in verse 2 and find…”)
--use the imagination (“Picture this…”)
--derive doctrines, principles, and applications/behaviors (give them a “cross-stitch able, pinterest truth)
Fasting is a behavior → care for the poor → God is love
--recalling things from memory like a scripture story, scripture mastery (“When has God asked for something hard?)
--have them rephrase things in their own words (“in 5 words or less can you describe the Great Apostacy?”)
--analyzing object lessons
Physical Involvement (do)
--experiential learning activities (anything that requires the 5 senses)
--OOSAs (out of seat activities, like stand up and do this…)
--object lessons
--verbal involvement (pair and share, discussions)
--movies
--music
--writing/drawing
--taking notes
--making things
--visuals
Always: Mind-Heart-Feet/Know-Feel-Do/Mental-Spiritual-Physical
The TRAINED teacher:
1-Testifying --bear testimony during the lesson, bear frequently and often
2-Relevance--front load--to see the relevance and why it matters
3-Application--let them decide how to apply
4-Information--just tell this, don’t make them guess. When the angel asked Nephi a question and Nephi didn’t know the answer, the angel just answered instead of trying to give hints so Nephi could answer
5-No Rush--you don’t need to get through all the material. Don’t rush past the Holy Ghost.
6-Exertion (we ran out of time and #6&7 weren’t explained)
7-Dialogue
Use Bob Ross teaching methods--fill in the picture as you go along
III. Asking and Answering Questions with Power in Class Discussions
President Boyd K. Packer said that teaching is the finest of the fine arts.
The single thing you shouldn’t do is ask a pigeon-hole question--it must be open-ended. Do not say, “What is the one thing…?” Don’t play the “guess what the teacher is thinking” game.
President Henry B. Eyring said that to ask and answer questions is at the heart of all learning and teaching.
President Thomas S. Monson said, “The calling of lecturer does not exist in the Church. A lecturer merely imparts knowledge. But a teacher invites class members to learn, in part by teaching one another. One sure way to transform a dull lecture into a lively, Spirit-filled lesson is by asking effective questions.” Ensign April 2010
Jesus asked poignant questions. The Lord’s Question : Thoughts on the Life of Response by Dennis Greyson and Dennis Rasmussen
Think about how and why the Lord asks us questions.
--to get us to search the scriptures (Luke 10:26 What is written in the law?)
--to test/prove our understanding (John 6:5-6 Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?)
--to give a chance to bear testimony (Matt 16:13-15 But whom say ye that I am?)
--to invite commitment (John 6:67 Will ye also go away?)
There are 4 basic types of questions:
--those that invite learners to search for information (want you to search for info)
--those that lead them to analyze for understanding (want you to understand the info)
--those that invite feeling and testimony (want you to feel something about the info)
--those that encourage relevance and application (want you to do something about the info)
Search
--details, facts, and information can usually just be told! These types of questions (When did Joseph Smith die?) generally stifle revelation, not facilitate it. Just tell the facts.
D&C 87:1 The Civil War starting with the rebellion of South Carolina is foretold
Don’t ask things like “When did South Carolina rebel?” but “Why do you think the Lord gave this revelation 30 years before it was fulfilled?” Then follow it with something like “Has the Lord ever prompted you ahead of time to do something?”
Questions are like kisses--they are sacred and not to be just passed out.
Poorer example:
--Search 3 Nephi 6:18. Did the Nephites know the will of God?
Better example:
--Search 3 Nephi 6:18. What word about disobedience jumps out at you and why?
A good skill is that of “uptake.” Take up what someone says and go from there.
Search for:
--important context
--content
--doctrines and principles (truths)
--scriptural lists
--if/then relationships D&C 9:10-11 you feared and it is not expedient now
--patterns and themes (find a connection)
--repeated words
--what stands out to the student
--be like Nephi and the angel and point things out “Look!”
--gospel formulas
How many of you would like to see God? Let’s look in D&C 93:1 and see how to do that
forsake sins + come unto me + call on my name + obey my voice + keep my commandments = see my face
What’s the difference between obeying his voice and keeping his commandments?
Analyze
--get them to use their minds
What are some of the differences between…?
Why do you think…?
How might ____ and ____ be related?
If x is true, why do you think z sometimes happens?
What truths do you learn from this story?
--give them TIME to analyze before you open it up. They need to process (2 minutes). Don’t be afraid of silence. Wait then say…Any thoughts on that? If no one answers, then maybe say something like, “Was that a terrible question?”
If you have someone who answers to often, you could try something (privately) like “Will you be my back-up? If no one else answers after 10 seconds, will you answer?”
D&C 88:122 that all may be edified
Pair and share.
President Boyd K. Packer in Teach Ye Diligently p 73-74 said that technical questions don’t invite responses.
“Why did Joseph Smith go to Carthage?” could be replaced by the better question, “In your opinion, why did Joseph Smith go to Carthage?”
Feeling and Testimony
--ask questions that cause people to reflect on spiritual experiences.
If someone gives false information, you don’t want them to feel shut down and belittled. (Thanks for sharing that. That’s interesting. I haven’t heard that before. Can you bring me a reference?) Or (What do the scriptures say about that?…Well, the scriptures are pretty silent about that)
President Henry B. Eyring “How is a true prophet recognized?” or “When have you felt that you were in the presence of a prophet?” That will invite the individual to search their memories or feelings
--search memory banks
--who can give me a second witness?
--when have you experienced this?
--how do you know this is true?
--if Joseph Smith were here today, what would you tell him and why?
--don’t only ask questions for the mind, but move into the heart (feel) and then do (feet)
Cautions:
D&C 63:64 “Constaint”--didn’t want to but the Spirit will make them do it
Sometimes when we are “in the Spirit” it really isn’t the right time to share (Mary kept and pondered things in her heart). Don’t make a class share.
Relevance and Application
Questions that will drive lesson into their lives
--what are you going to do about this?
--how is this going to affect your life?
--how does this related to us today?
--what is this telling you about how to live the gospel?
--what has impressed you the most and you want to work on it?
Practice writing questions to ask.
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