Lesson 13: Peace and Contentment through Temporal Self-Reliance

We talk a lot about preparedness in the Church and for good reason.  Many of us, myself included, have found that counsel to be life-saving at times.  Because of that, I really love this lesson.  However, all of the counsel in this area can be a tad overwhelming; we are counseled to do so many things that it can seem like we are never doing enough.  This lesson tries to help cut through those feelings of being overwhelmed and helps class members focus on a few small specific things they can do to address areas where they are lacking.  This also seems to an area where President Hinckley's native optimism and cheer can be good guides to how we should approach this subject.

The Activity:

1. Pres. Hinckley mentions several things that we should do in this chapter, e.g. get out of debt, save money, live within our means, have food storage, teach our children to work, etc.  Begin by identifying all of the things from this chapter (or simply those that you feel prompted to identify) and write them on the board.
2. Ask the class members to rank how they/their family are doing in each of the listed areas on a scale of 1-10 (10 prepared for anything; 1 I didn't know I needed to do this).  This could be a mental notation, but writing it down on a small piece of paper is more powerful.
3. Point out that this can be overwhelming to see this list, especially if you are putting low numbers down by each item, but you are going to help them feel better about it soon.
4. Read the last two paragraphs in section 3 ("We can begin ever so modestly . . . ").  Point out that the counsel in these paragraphs applies to every area that is listed on the board and not just those that are specifically mentioned.
5. Now, ask class members to identify one area that they feel like they could make progress in.  Ask them to identify something they could do in 60 seconds to address this area (e.g. setting up an automatic transfer to their savings account from their checking each month or signing up for a First Aid/CPR class); then something they could do in 60 minutes to address this area (e.g. prepare a budget or build a small cabinet to hold some food storage); and something they could do in 60 days to address this area (e.g. walk for 30 minutes, three times a week or help their kids learn to do a better job with their chores).
6. Challenge the class to do each of their items.

Using the Activity:

To me, this lesson feels like it would best be used at the end of a lesson.  Once people have felt the Spirit bear witness of the truthfulness of these things, they will be more inclined to want to try to take action.  This lesson, then, is an effort to help them not forget to honor those feelings.  I think we have all had the experience of feeling impressed to do something but we aren't quite sure what, we just know we will do something.  Then, we leave the class and nothing seems to happen because we never really had a definitive plan and the impressions of the Spirit fade in power from our memory.  The idea here is to not let that happen, but to ask our class members to think about specific actions they can take to better live the counsel Pres. Hinckley gives us here.  As with the rest of the gospel, getting started doing even small things makes us feel better and makes us feel like we can do more.  I believe this was part of Pres. Hinckley's genius.  He made us feel good about even our smallest efforts and because of that we always felt like we could to a little more.  Hopefully, this lesson can help our class members feel this way as well.

The other important aspect of this activity is that, hopefully, it makes this idea seem more manageable.  After all, you are not asking the class members to make a radical change to their everyday lived experience for the rest of eternity.  You are asking for no more than 60 days and in some cases 60 seconds (much less time than most people spend on Facebook or checking sports scores in a given day).  That type of commitment is much easier than stocking up on 2 years worth of wheat knowing that we have no idea what to do with the wheat, if we were to actually need it.  And we know that even our smallest steps towards obedience bring great blessings to our lives. 

I hope this activity will serve you and your class members well, that it will make it easier to begin living this important counsel.  Please let me know how things are going and any feedback you have.  I appreciate it. 

Lesson 12: Obedience: Simply Living the Gospel

Much of the text in this lesson is focused on President Hinckley's descriptions of the blessings we receive from being obedient (see for example Section 1, Paragraph 2; Section 2, Paragraph 2, Section 3, Paragraphs 2-5, etc.).  The activity here attempts to build on this approach by asking class members to reflect on and remember how they have been blessed for their obedience.

The Activity:

1.  Read the last paragraph of section 4 ("I give you my testimony . . .").
2. Divide the class into four groups.
3. Assign each group a promised blessing from this quote (not including the last promise given), i.e. happiness, peace, progress, and prosperity. 
4. Ask each group to discuss how they have seen this type of blessing in their own lives, the lives of those around them, and/or the lives of people from church history and the scriptures.
5. After a few minutes, come back together as a class and ask each group to report on some of the experiences they discussed.

Using the Activity:

Some of the most powerful moments in any class that I have been in are those moments where someone shares an experience where from their own lives that demonstrates a gospel principle.  This is because such sharing is built on a number of gospel principles, e.g. remembering and acknowledging Father's hand, bearing testimony, applying scriptures and teachings to our lives, etc.  This lesson is asking our class members to reflect on how the truths taught in this lesson are visible in their lives.  Some class members will likely not be comfortable sharing and, indeed, not all spiritual experiences should be shared.  For that reason, opening up church history and scripture experiences as viable options for sharing can make this an easier process for some class members.  Also, some class members will struggle to think of experiences for each of the above categories.  That is okay.  Those experiences are there, but they may not have already made the connection.  Often with these types of discussions, I find myself suddenly recognizing blessings in experiences that I had not considered before.  I don't think I'm alone.  So, even if these experiences are not shared with abandon, they may be considered and that type of consideration is accompanied by the witness of the Spirit.  Ultimately, that witness of the truthfulness of the gospel and the teachings, in this case, of President Hinckley should be our ultimate goal.  So, this activity helps us set the stage for such a witness and we leave the rest up to Heavenly Father. 

I particularly loved imagining this lesson in action and how I would participate in such a discussion.  I sincerely hope you and your class members similarly find it beneficial.  Please let me know how it goes.  Thank you.

Lesson 11: Home-- The Basis of a Righteous Life

The family is the center of our religion.  In many ways, the church as an organization serves primarily to support the family.  The purpose of this lesson is to help strengthen class members' testimonies of the importance of family and elevate their vision of what is possible and necessary in their own family relations.

The Activity:

1. Pass out a piece of paper to each class member
2. Pass around a number of quotes from the lesson on individual slips of papers and ask each class member to take one that seems to speak to them.  For example, I might choose to pass around quotes such as the ones found in the following places.
1. Section 1, paragraphs 1 and 3
2. Section 2, paragraphs 1, 2 (first sentence), and 7
3. Section 3, paragraph 6
4. Section 4, paragraph 4
5. Section 5, paragraph 4
6. Section 6, paragraphs 2 and 3
7. Section 7, paragraphs 1, 6, 8, 9, and 10
3. Ask the class members to spend a few moments writing down their thoughts about the quote they chose.  This could be a bulleted kind of list of ideas or a more extended traditional paragraph structure; it doesn't matter.
4. Put the class members in groups of 4 or so.
5. Have each group spend time discussing the quotes they chose and what they meant to them.  You might ask the group members to look specifically for places where their ideas seem to be related in some way and to pay attention to ideas that are new to them.
6. Come back together as a whole class and discuss the insights gained.

Using the Activity:
A pretty standard variation of this activity that may go over a bit better if you have a class that does not take to writing easily is to skip the writing step.  Simply give the class members a few moments to consider what their chosen quote means to them and/or what it teaches them about the family and their responsibilities as family members.  You could even push this one step farther by asking class members to stand up and walk around sharing their thoughts orally with a partner and listening to their partner.  Then, they move on and talk to someone else.  This last variation seems to be better suited to classes that are larger.  In any case, the idea here is to ask student to exercise their faith by carefully considering a quote and its application in their life, recording somehow (in writing or mentally) their ideas, sharing their thoughts and ideas about the quotes with others, and listening attentively to their peers share their ideas.  Those who engage in this type of faith exercising will surely be rewarded with increased understanding and a strengthened testimony.
I hope this lesson is helpful and please remember to leave comments about your experiences.  I look forward to hearing from you.