Latest / Filled with His Love / (6.06) Getting Ready for Shorter Classes

Transcript

(6.06) Getting Ready for Shorter Classes · Filled with His Love

• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: Hello and welcome to Filled with His Love.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: I've heard many members and teachers express concern about the change in Sunday meeting schedule that's going to happen on September 6th.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: They often say, how can I possibly cover all the content in only 25 minutes?
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: Now we all know that content is essential, but it's not the purpose of gospel teaching to help people acquire new information for information's sake.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: I like the metaphor of the campfire.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: The content is like the logs in a fire.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: Without the logs, there is no fire, but no one gathers around a campfire to admire the logs.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: They gather because the fire creates warmth, light, conversation, and community.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: In a great class, the content provides the spark, but class members are warmed by the truths they discover together.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: When I was called to serve a Sunday school general president in 2009, President Thomas S.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Monson told me of a Sunday school teacher from his youth, Lucy Girch, now he talked about this teacher often, so you may have heard this before.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_01: One Sunday, partway through a lesson about selfless service, Sister Girch invited her students to give their class party fund to the family of one of their classmates, whose mother had passed away.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: President Modson said that in giving that invitation to action, Sister Girch had, quote, closed the manual and opened our eyes and our ears and our hearts to the glory of God.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: End quote.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: Sister Girch had clearly used the manual to prepare her lesson, but when inspiration came, she closed the manual and invited her students to live the gospel principle she was teaching.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: When he wanted to help people understand how to teach the gospel, President Monson frequently referred to Lucy Girch.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: I believe one reason he relied on her example so often was because she had prepared so well that she was spiritually ready to receive inspiration.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think that she had planned to ask her class members to contribute their party fund to their classmates' family until that very moment during the class.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: That's why she felt no need to finish the lesson she had planned.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: The mark of a good teacher is not how well he or she can cover content.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: The goal of good teaching is to uncover truth.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: This is important, and so I just want to repeat that again.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: The mark of a good teacher is not how well he or she can cover content.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: The goal of good teaching is to uncover truth.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: And so it follows that the mark of a great teacher is not necessarily that the teacher is the greatest gospel scholar in the ward.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's not that that teacher has so much knowledge that they can just impart more knowledge at every class period.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: The goal of good teaching is to help class members uncover truth.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: Effective teaching is being able to respond to spiritual promptings as the lesson unfolds.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: Those promptings often come from the comments class members make.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: If the primary purpose of gospel instruction were to deliver content, we could simply turn on a 25-minute video or audio recording at the beginning of class and then close the meeting at the end.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: As President Monson taught, the goal of gospel teaching is not to pour information into the minds of class members.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: The aim is to inspire the individual to think about, feel about, and then do something about living gospel principles.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: I've heard some members express their concerns that the new 25-minute class time for Sunday school, Iranic Priesthood Quorum meetings, young women classes, relief society, and elder squorum meetings would not allow enough time to teach an effective lesson.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: But if we agree with President Monson's view, and I might add President Oakes' view as well, the shortened class time will take the focus off of content delivery and place it where it belongs, inspiring class members to think about, feel about, and then do something about living gospel principles.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: While serving as an Area 70, I was attending my final pre-conference training meeting on Friday.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: The Area 70s get together typically just before conference and have training meetings with the general authorities with the 12th and 1st presidency.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: The next day on Saturday, I was sustained as the Sunday School General President.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: Elder David A.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: Bednar conducted one of the trainings on that Friday.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: He taught that effective gospel teaching follows a simple pattern.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: Focus on key doctrine, give an inspired invitation, and promise blessings.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: He further explained, quote, the invitation to act is important because faith in the Savior is a principle of action and of power.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: As his representative, I want to extend those invitations to act so faith in him can grow deeper and stronger.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: Lucy Gerch taught in this way.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: She focused on a key doctrine, the second great commandment, that those classmates would learn to love their classmate more fully.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: She gave an inspired invitation to action, contribute your party fund to your classmate's family.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: And she helped her classmembers recognize that if they would do that, they would feel the power of God in their lives.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: Now, every teacher is not going to invite her class members to contribute money to a classmate's family or to walk to that classmate's house to give the money to the family.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: There are endless ways we can invite to action as teachers, and often those invitations can come from the class members themselves as we ask them to suggest ways we can apply the gospel principle we are teaching.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: I once had a teacher approach me after I had taught about how we should focus on a key doctrine, invite to action, and promise blessings.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: He said, You know, I do those first two things every time I teach.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, I write on the board the key doctrine so I can help class members focus immediately on what we're trying to discuss, and I split the board in half and label the second column applying the doctrine.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: So we do lots of invitations to action, but I don't think I promise blessings.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: That's a weakness in my teaching.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe I don't feel that I can do that.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: As a missionary, I I felt like I could do that, but I don't feel like I can do that now as a teacher.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: So as teachers, we don't always need to issue the promise blessings ourselves because the blessings are often included in the scriptures related to the doctrine we're teaching.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: Think of the word of wisdom, for example.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: Verses 18 to 21 of DNC 89 are multiple promised blessings that we will receive if we follow the invitation to action, to eat healthy foods, avoid harmful substances, etc.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: The Lord promises the blessings, health, wisdom, hidden treasures of knowledge, walking and not fainting, and the destroying angels shall pass by us.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: As teachers, we simply need to help members focus on those blessings and rehearse them in their minds so that they see how important it is to live the principle and the blessings that they will accrue after living that principle.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: Likewise, if we're teaching about the principle of tithing, we encourage class members to think about what it means when the Lord said he would open the windows of heaven.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: Or if we're teaching about forgiveness, as it says in Matthew, if we forgive, we'll be forgiven.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_01: That's a blessing.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: That blessing of we'll be forgiven if we forgive.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: Our being forgiven is the promised blessing that will come to us when we forgive others.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: I submit that all gospel principles have promised blessings attached.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: As teachers, we need to identify those promised blessings and make room in our lesson to help class members understand them.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: So, in a 25-minute class period, we identify the key doctrine.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: That doesn't take very long.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: There may be several doctrines or principles included in one week's readings of Come Follow Me, but it is not our job as teachers to include all of those doctrines.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: That is why Elder Bednar encouraged us to focus on a key doctrine.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: That doctrine is like the logs in the fire.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: As teachers, we let the doctrine spark comment among class members so that we can all be warmed together by inspired conversation.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: Then we focus on how to live that doctrine.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: What action will we take?
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: What new ways will we find in our own lives to put this doctrine into practice?
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: And as we consider actions, we then identify the blessings we have felt or hope to feel as we apply that doctrine.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: I once participated in a gospel doctrine class when the teacher began by introducing the doctrine we all read in Moroni 7.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: She said, We just read this last week in Moroni 7.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: I hope you will let some of those well-known verses on charity roll through your mind as we talk about the pure love of Christ today.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: I think we all understand how important charity is, and I think we all understand what it means to love one another.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: So here's my question.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: Can you identify someone in your acquaintance who needs more love from you?
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: This person does not need to be an enemy.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: It can be anyone who simply could use more of your love.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: Once you've identified someone, think of how you're going to show more love to that person.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: Then let's think about the blessings that will come to you and to that person as you show them more love.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: She had them break down into groups, she had them discuss with each other and share their own ideas.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: It was a powerful lesson.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: Certainly this could be done very well in 25 minutes.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: The lesson was powerful.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: She focused on a key doctrine, charity.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: She invited class members to think about specific actions they might take to live that doctrine more fully.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: And they discussed blessings that they foresaw as a result of their actions.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: This lesson could be taught so effectively, I think, in this shorter class period.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: The teacher knew her class members.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_01: She knew that they would likely benefit little from discussing at length the definition of charity.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_01: She was not trying to pour information into their heads.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: She was trying to help them think about, feel about, and do something about living the gospel principle.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: The content was clear, and now that we are studying more regularly at home in Come Follow Me, there is no need to rehearse what the class members have been reading all week long.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: The goal is to help people live the principle more fully that they've been studying.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: Whether we're teaching in our homes during the week or at church on Sunday, the purpose is the same.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: Create an environment where meaningful conversations about how the restored gospel can help people deepen their understanding, strengthen their discipleship, and come closer to God.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for listening.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: Until next time, let's draw a little closer to God and to one another.