Lesson 10: Nurturing the Eternal Partnership of Marriage

For me, the messages of President Hinckley shared in this section encapsulate what he did so well.  He conveys a hopeful message of what we can be/achieve and then gives us a gentle nudge to up our game, so to speak.  The activity I am sharing would seem to me to fit best after we have spoken about the potential of what a celestial marriage could be.  The focus is on, as President Hinckley liked to say, doing just a little bit better.

Activity:

1.  Read the last two paragraphs in section 1 ("Surely no one reading . . .)
2. Then, ask the class to divide up into partners.
3. Assign each partnership a paragraph from the lesson that provides a description of some aspect of marriage.  For example:
1. In section 3, paragraphs 2, 3, or 4
2. In section 5, paragraphs 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8
4. Ask the partners to read the paragraph and then make a short list of specific ways they could behave to create the type of relationship that President Hinckley is describing.  Push them to think of and list specific gestures and words they might use in specific (common) situations.
5. Come back together and discuss what the partners talked about.

Using the Activity:

As I said before, it feels like this activity is built on a base of conveying the importance of establishing not simply a marriage but a celestial marriage like the one that President Hinckley describes.  Of course, like with any of the activities I describe, there are countless ways to alter the logistics of this activity (or even make greater changes).  For example, it might help to type up and print the paragraphs you want the partnerships to read and discuss.  This will speed up the process a little bit as opposed to telling each group what they are to read and discuss. 

Also, it should be noted that some people during this activity may identify some personal actions they should take that may be too intimate to share.  So beware of pushing too hard to get people to share.  Having said that, you can phrase questions in ways that suggest to people they are sharing more generalizable comments.  That way they can interpret their more personal ideas into ideas that are more appropriate for larger groups and less threatening to themselves.

As always, please feel free to leave some feedback on how these ideas are working for you.  I'm just curious.  Thanks.

Lesson 9: The Precious Gift of Testimony

What a wonderful lesson in this chapter.  Testimony is at the heart of what we do and why we do it as disciples of Christ.  Testimony is the motivating factor not only in our lives, but also in the lives of many of our Christian brothers and sisters.  As we learn to share our testimonies during our daily lives, we can better reflect the image of Christ in all that we do.  The activity today is designed to help us think about how a testimony has blessed and motivated both others and ourselves.

Activity:

1. Break the class into 4 groups
2. Assign each group one of the 4 stories in section 2.
1. "Light unto our lives"
2. "It's true, isn't it?  Then what else matters?"
3. "A new outlook on life"
4. "The most precious thing in life"
3. Ask each group to answer the following questions about the story in their section?
1. What actions did these people's testimonies impel them to do?
2. How did it energize and give them strength?
3. How has your testimony helped you do similar things?
4. Come back together and discuss what they shared in their groups.
5. You may also want to close by asking the class members to consider a decision they are facing at the moment and ask them to think about how their testimony might help them make the decision they are facing.

Using the Activity:

As with some of the activities we have used previously, this activity is really built on promoting participation (remember when our students participate, they are exercising their faith, which opens them up to feeling the Spirit and receiving direction and guidance).  Also, it is built on helping the students apply the lesson to their lives.  Some people naturally apply what is talked about in class to their lives, but others need more of a nudge to think about doing this.  Also, some people have a tendency to apply the lessons to their lives only as reminders of where they are falling short of what they imagine they should do.  For that reason, the third question provides an opportunity for class members to see where they are not falling short but are living in accordance with the gospel and receiving the blessings of a life well-spent. 

I hope these lesson ideas are helping you.  Even if you are not using them exactly as laid out, I am not concerned.  I do hope some of the principles of gospel teaching that I am sharing are helpful in your teaching whatever class/quorum you are called to teach.  Please leave a comment letting me know how it is going, if you feel so inclined.  Thanks.