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.