Friday, November 14, 2008

Help me with my lesson...


Today I am reading this talk: - This is the "Teachings for our Times lesson that I am teaching this month:
You Know Enough
Elder Neil L. Andersen Of the Presidency of the Seventy


Today's post is some random sections of the talk, combined with my ideas on perhaps how I will teach it, or some thoughts.




While there are many experiences like the one we are having today, full of
spiritual power and confirmation, there are also days when we feel inadequate
and unprepared, when doubt and confusion enter our spirits, when we have
difficulty finding our spiritual footing. Part of our victory as disciples of
Christ is what we do when these feelings come.


Isn't this true... perhaps we can discuss as a class what the best responses to those days and situations are. Maybe- before I read any of the talk, I can have the class write down on a 3 x 5 card what makes them feel close to the Savior.- Then I can have this first quote read, - asking them to remember the most recent of these times in their personal lives, and ask, what the best responses to those days are- asking them to read what they had previously written on their card.



Faith is not only a feeling; it is a decision. He would need to choose faith.


I can ask the class- "what does he mean that faith is not only a feeling, but a decision?" Here- perhaps we could have a little video clip- from Indiana Jones- where he is taking the "steps of faith"- where he has to put his foot forth, and lean forward before the foundation appears under his foot. I could ask the class members to recall times in their lives, big and small where they "chose faith." (maybe I could ask some people ahead of time to do this)



He got on his knees. His spiritual balance returned.


I could ask the class to get up and do some balancing exercises, standing on one foot, bending over to touch the floor- do the yoga tree pose - (I would need to wear just the right outfit that morning)- We could then talk about spiritual balance... Why are we sometimes off balance spiritually- how do we find that balance again? (two knees- on the ground)



Challenges, difficulties, questions, doubts—these are part of our mortality. But
we are not alone. As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have enormous
spiritual reservoirs of light and truth available to us. Fear and faith cannot
coexist in our hearts at the same time. In our days of difficulty, we choose the
road of faith. Jesus said, “Be not afraid, only believe.”4


What are these reservoirs? How do we tap them?


"Choose the road of faith."- "Be not afraid, only believe." These sound so simple- when times are hard, when doubt and fear are all around us- how do we have this as our response?



Hadley Peay is now seven years old. Hadley was born with a very serious hearing
impairment requiring extensive surgery to bring even limited hearing. Her
parents followed with tireless training to help her learn to speak. Hadley and
her family have cheerfully adapted to the challenge of her deafness.
Once,
when Hadley was four, she was standing in the checkout line at the grocery store
with her mother. She looked behind her and saw a little boy sitting in a
wheelchair. She noticed that the boy did not have legs.
Although Hadley had
learned to speak, she had difficulty controlling the volume of her voice. In her
louder voice, she asked her mother why the little boy did not have legs.
Her
mother quietly and simply explained to Hadley that “Heavenly Father makes all of
His children different.” “OK,” Hadley replied.
Then, unexpectedly, Hadley
turned to the little boy and said, “Did you know that when Heavenly Father made
me, my ears did not work? That makes me special. He made you with no legs, and
that makes you special. When Jesus comes, I will be able to hear and you will
get your legs. Jesus will make everything all right.”


What have you learned from children, when it comes to faith?



OK- so if anyone is reading this blog and has any ideas for my lesson- how to make it better- please share :)

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