Lesson 17: Continue in the Great Process of Learning

I am, by profession, a professional educator.  So, this topic lies close to my heart.  I believe that continuing education throughout life is important to enriching ourselves and making us more fit for the kingdom.  And by no means do I envision that all learning takes place in the classroom.  We can learn much far from formal teaching environments.  In fact, the majority of us will not do a lot of schooling past our early 20's.  Yet, we can continue picking up new knowledge in a myriad of ways.  For example, my admittedly stunted handyman skills have been significantly increased because of need and a number of knowledgeable men and woman who post videos showing me how to repair my clothes dryer or replace a screen on a window or door.  Such learning keeps us fresh and invigorated, in my experience.  I believe that President Hinckley's own on-going learning was much of the reason for his sharp wit and keen insight.

The Activity:

1.   Discuss some of the quotes from Section 5.  For example, paragraph #3 ("None of us . . .") or #4 ("Keep on growing . . .").
2. Discuss what we are to be learning (you might read the first paragraph of Section 1 as part of this discussion ["You belong to a church . . ."]).
3. On the board, create three columns-- mind, heart, hands-- and tell the class that each of these headings represents a different kind of learning.  The idea of heart comes from Section 4, paragraph 4.
4. Then, for each section discuss the following questions (this could be done in small groups):
1. What does this type of learning entail?
2. Where can you engage in this type of learning?
3. What blessing can come from this type of learning?
4. What experiences have you had with this type of learning?
5. Discuss these questions for each individual heading as well as any connections across the headings.

Using the Activity:

The main idea behind this activity is to broaden our class members' views of what it means to continue in learning while at the same time increasing their motivation and their confidence to try new avenues of learning.  As always we are hoping to invite each class member to open their hearts through engaging in the topic so that the Spirit can whisper messages of individual witness or promptings to individuals.  Because of this, you might also encourage class members to be prepared to write down on a piece of paper or make note on their devices (phones, tablets, etc.) any promptings from the Spirit.  It may seem unlikely to some class members that the Spirit will guide them in learning secular things, but it has happened in my life and it can happen in theirs.

I hope that this activity is fruitful for you and your class members.