Teach for Understanding

First, Sorry parents and class about the late entry this week. Also not very many pictures.  I was taking lots of notes :)

We had a fabulous discussion last sunday the 22nd.  First we shared what we learned from last weeks assignment.

Tyler Hunt noticed that Alma 5 talks about several worthiness questions.  He recognized that the key is to have received His (the Saviors) images in our countenance.

  Michael Johnson, a new class member we are excited to have shared the importance of God wanting us to use our spiritual gifts.  He found in the last chapter of the Book Of Mormon, Moroni 10, that He talks about our spiritual gifts as part of his last message so it must be important for us to use them to share the gospel. 

Then we recited My Purpose.  Simon asked how knowing this can help us on our mission and even now as we prepare for our missions.

This is our son Taylor who we invited to come to class since he was home from school for the holidays.  He served in Poland and has been home for one year.  He shared that without a vision you will fail.  Just like keys open up doors, knowing your purpose is the key to why you are there serving.  A vision statement gives direction.  Without this you can turn around and go back home.  You always have a choice, but knowing your purpose focuses your choices to helping others, not thinking about yourself.

We also discussed page 182 of PMG. Teach for understanding.  

As you study the doctrines you want to teach your investigators, ask yourself the same questions and then find the answers in the scriptures.  

We asked for an example of needing to know something before you could teach it.

Ashley explained that she teaches dance to children.  She said that when you can share what you have learned yourself with others, they can learn it so much faster.

Jared taught us to teach these lessons like a child could understand.  Make it simple, but understand why its hard.  Think of what questions they will have.  Connect to their personal experiences.  In order to try and teach simply, think back to the questions you had when you were a little child.  

Another way to see if they understand what is being taught is to ask them to restate what you just taught in their own words.

A great comment was that the spirit is felt the strongest in the simplest of doctrines!

We talked about the importance of helping the investigator learn how to learn on their own.  As missionaries we cannot be their spiritual IV and then when you are transferred you pull the plug and they have no way to feel the spirit.  

 This box represents how your teaching should progress.  The goal is for your investigator to become an INDEPENDENT LEARNER!
 
The box on the far left shows that you start by teaching most everything because it is new.  But quickly, you teach less and less and the investigator gradually is able to learn it all on their own.

Michael Johnson asked a great questions after this!
How do you get them to do that?

Answer:  Always leave them with a commitment to read something and study.  Then when you see them again assume that they did it!  Don't ask, did you read what we asked you to? Rather ask what did you get or learn from the assignment we gave you last time?

As a missionary you are really just a gigantic arrow that is pointing them to Christ by inviting them to receive the ordinances of His Gospel.  If you point them to Christ, they will know how to strengthen their testimony after you are gone and stay converted.

Simon wrote the list on the right to help you connect with your investigators.  This is THE KEY!
1- Ask inspired questions
2. Listen
3. Discern....2 and 3 require you to pause.  Silence is a good thing.  The spirit is doing the talking!
4. Teach the doctrine.

Many of investigators questions are really iceberg questions.  You are only hearing a small part of a much bigger concern.   As you listen and discern, you will discover their deeper questions of the soul.

I had to add this picture.  Here are Simon and Taylor.  They have been childhood friends and now that they are home from their missions, their friendship continues and most importantly they have grown to love missionary work and it is still an important part of their lives!   thank you for your great examples to us!

Assignment for next week...tomorrow really...sorry!!

Teach lesson 3 using the principles we discussed in class.  1. Teach for understanding 2. Ask Questions 3. Listen.

Also, we will be tracting in another ward on the 29th of December.  Please meet at the Bayhill Chapel at 4:15 for instructions.  We will tract from 4:30-5:30 teaching Lesson 3 "The Gospel Of Jesus Christ"

Helping Others RECEIVE The Restored Gospel

HOME RUN for participation today!  As Bro. Hooker mentioned, we feel an increase in the spirit as more of you share what you have found.  We felt that powerfully today.  Keep up the good work.  You are getting it and doing such a great job of sharing your observations.                                          We talked about our Purpose:  Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy ghost, and enduring to the end.  This is the lesson we have been studying!  We discussed what is our part-(helping) and the investigators (receiving) As we learn and practice how to teach these basic doctrines to others, we will also learn how to apply them in our own lives every day.  This is a pattern for life.  We repeat it over and over and as we do, we come closer to our Savior and bring our will and desires closer to the will of the Father.

Before we practice teaching, we had a great role play by Simon and Jared teaching Nathan as an investigator.  

The class noticed that this lesson seemed different because it was mostly inspired questions.  Some of them were...

1. How have you expressed faith in your life before?

2.  Why would having faith be important?

3.  What is your past knowledge of Jesus Christ. And how has he helped you in your life?

4. What would life be like if you never knew Jesus Christ?

5.  What has hope done for you?

6.  In your church did they teach you about the Atonement?

7.  What would it mean to you if you could have all your mistakes, sorrows and sins bottled up inside of you taken away?

8.  Have you heard of the word Repent before?

9.  Are you willing to repent of mistakes to become closer to Jesus Christ?

We learned that as the investigator speaks, they can answer their own questions and the Spirit will teach them truth.

Once again, its your turn to practice:-)

What did you learn?

Get to know the person first.  Know their background and be comfortable.  Relate to them personally.

As you practice you will receive revelation for your investigator.

If you feel you are rambling, ask a question. This gives you time to pause and breathe and think over what you are saying.

Define words that they are not familiar with.

Don't become a robot missionary.  The Lord has already invested 18-19 years helping shape you into who you are.  Be yourself and you will bless others because of who you are.  

There were many many more insights that were shared.  Write down what were light bulb ideas for you!

Next weeks assignment:

Memorize My Purpose.  Pg 1 of Preach My Gospel.

And along with your continued study of The Gospel Of Jesus Christ pamphlet, please look in 

chapter 10 PMG and read pages 176 "How to begin teaching", pg, 182, Teach for understanding, and pg 183 Ask Questions.

Thank you for your amazing spirits and wonderful testimonies that you share with us. You have so much to offer!!!  See you next week.

First Key To Revelation Is Information

Here is a special guest Bro. Mike Lapp.  He is a convert and was introduced to the church as a teenager, but did not join until after he was married and had 2 children.  A sister missionary helped him feel the spirit and recognize that The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was the true church and where he wanted to be.  He shared how the Gospel of Jesus Christ has literally changed his life and given him so much joy even through many physical trials there family has faced.  He shared his testimony of the plan of salvation and that knowing that he will have his family forever makes all the difference.  Without the gospel in his life, he knows he would not have the close family that he does today.  It took years for him to see that he needed the gospel in his life.  He had no idea what he was missing, but through the spirit he was able to see there is more to life.  Satan does not want you to see beyond right now.  By exercising our faith, and learning about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we can receive personal revelation and be healed.  Thank you Bro. Lapp for sharing your conversion story.  

After that we divided up into 6 groups and each took a section of the lesson "The Gospel of Jesus Christ" to study and find the doctrine and scriptures for that section.  Then each group shared what they learned.

Here is Sis. Taylor Lapp with her dad and Bro. Hooker studying "Through Christ we can be cleansed from Sin".  Taylor liked the scriptures 3 nephi 27:19 and summarized by saying "Be healed, and come home"!  How many people in the world need to hear that?  3 Nephi 27 is a great chapter for this whole lesson.

 Here are Simon, Jared, Nathan and Katie.  They also talked about being cleansed from sin.  They shared that we are to believe in the Savior and obey his commandments. He wants us to accept and follow his teachings.  Its up to us though.  Katie shared from a talk by Brad Wilcox called  "His Grace Is Sufficient" . We would encourage you to read or watch the whole thing.

 Tyler, McCoy and Quincy studied Faith.  Faith motivates us to Repent.  It is the building block to everything.  They found the scripture Alma 32:21 and explained that these people had hit rock bottom, but they received comfort through exercising their faith.

In this group, Sammy Meyer- (who just put her mission papers in and is now waiting for that wonderful letter that will change her life!), and Spencer and Cameron. They studied Repentance. They shared that to do this we must first Recognize we need to repent, then Stop doing it, Confess our sins, Make restitution and Acknowledge the Savior who takes away our sins and heals us.  We have not truly repented unless we have changed our ways.  The scripture they found was Doctrine and Covenants 58:42-43 which teaches us to confess and forsake our sins and God remembers them no more. 

 Here is Travin, McKay and Will.  They studied about baptism. They shared that it is the first covenant we make.  With this we take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ.  We cannot enter into the kingdom of God without baptism by the proper priesthood authority.  This ordinance represents being born again with a new life of commitment to Christ. We renew this covenant every week when we take the sacrament.  The scripture they found was 2 Nephi 31:7-9    which shows us that Jesus set the example for baptism.

Next , we have Brandon, Hunter and Alex.  They discussed the gift of the Holy Ghost.  This is the good news.  It is a gift that helps us do lots of things.  Like understand truth and guide us in our daily life.  However we need to keep the commandments of God so we can feel the influence of the Holy Ghost.  Alex bore his personal testimony that with the Holy Ghost he can see more with it than by himself.  It is a simple thing but we can't overlook it. It makes the biggest difference in our lives. Within the gift of the Holy Ghost comes so many other gifts.  We must ask for the Holy Ghost to be with us.  The influence of the Holy Ghost makes life not just about enduring to the end but brings joy to life.

Here is Jack, Sarah, and Tyler.  They actually went earlier because they had meetings to get to but there topic is next: Endure to the End.  After you have made covenants and have been washed clean, we still make mistakes and we must continue to build on what we already know.  This is enduring to the end.  This brings us direction and peace and happiness.  Tyler compared enduring to the end to playing a sport.  We may know the rules of the game, but only through practice do we get better at it.  They liked the scripture in the pamphlet  2 Nephi 31:20 that says we must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ.













We learned so much today!  Jared shared another great thought from his mission president.  The first keys to revelation is information.  These amazing youth proved that.  We felt the spirit of revelation in class as you learned and shared what you learned.  All had a chance to stand up and speak to the group which is great practice and not easy to do but you all did an amazing job!!!!  Thank  you so much!

And this happy beautiful girl is Karissa Sears- the second daughter in their family to leave this year.  She had her farewell today and will be leaving this month to the Taiwan Taichung Mission.  She will be learning mandarin chinese, even though she has taken several years of french :)  She has faith that God knows what he is doing and that as we turn to Him and serve others, we will feel true peace in this life.  We wish you well Karissa and know you are ready to share your testimony and smile!  We will be praying for you.

Next Weeks Assignment.  

Continue working on your own lesson plan for "The Gospel Of Jesus Christ".  Take this exercise we had in class and continue doing it with each topic of the lesson for yourself.  We handed out Simons and you can use that as a guide but more importantly make your own.  Write down key points you learn and scriptures to teach them in your study journal.  We will start practicing teaching each other this lesson next week.

Missionary Work Is FUN, If Not Your'e Doing It Wrong

After and inspired song and prayer we recited "My Purpose" again.  They will have this down in no time!

Then its time to share what you learned during your own study time.  Oops.  We could use a little help from home with this one.  Please include these wonderful gospel lessons in your family discussions/scripture study.  It will help them come prepared more than you realize.  However, we must say that these amazing kids have strong testimonies and want to learn how to share these lessons in a simple effective way.  Thank you for sharing them with us.  We are all truly blessed by their examples.  

Bishop Badger joined class today and found MANY of his priests attending. Way to go 13th ward for inviting each other and following up to see that you get here!  Bishop Badger was put to work immediately.  He helped Simon and Jared role play teaching the Plan Of Salvation as their investigator.  These two excellent returned missionaries have never taught together before but you would never know it.  That is because they both have learned the lessons and how to listen to their investigators questions and use the doctrine to teach to his needs.  This was powerful to watch!  Thank you for this great example.

Now it was the classes turn to try.  Here is Sean, Jack and McCoy.  

Sam, Ashley and Alex, Jared observing

Tyler, Packer and Ryan and Bro. Hooker

Drake and Will teaching Simon

Nathan, Quincy, and Carissa

Braden, Brandon and Taylor

After 10 min, they switch places and teach it again. This valuable experience will be repeated over and over on your mission and is the key to learning how and what to say so you don't get off track and you practice having gospel discussions.  Please continue to do this at home.

Things we learned:  

Its fun to share the gospel and talk about it.  Jared explained that his Mission President taught them that if you are not having fun, then you are doing it wrong! 

 Remember that every person you meet has questions.  As you get to know them and find those questions, the Gospel can answer them.  

Some good questions to encourage discussion are- What would it mean to you if you lived with God before this life? and What do you think about____?  Sometimes we can ask yes or no questions to help them realize what they know.  Sometimes people will ask crazy questions to throw you off, but try to get down to what their real questions of the soul are so you can answer those.  Like you can say "that is a great question, are you trying to say that you have a concern about______?

This lesson is hard to teach in a short amount of time.  

The Atonement is the CENTER of everything in this lesson.  It is the KEY to everything else.

Instead of saying phrases like "we believe" just teach how it is.  Instead of saying "in our church", just say "in the church"  

The pamphlet pictures makes it easier to help others connect with what you are teaching.

Read from the scriptures directly as you teach. It brings validity and the spirit quickly to the discussion.

Here are some concepts Simon felt impressed to write on the board as the class was sharing their concerns about teaching this lesson.  This helps us quickly see the importance of why we teach each of these topics in this lesson.

Pre- Earth Life:  Without this we wouldn't need to come to earth.

The Creation:  Without this we wouldn't be able to learn.

Fall and Agency:  Without this we wouldn't be here.

Earth Life:  Without this we wouldn't learn/progress to be with God again.

Atonement:  Without this we couldn't repent/be with God again.

Spirit World:  Without this not everyone could hear the gospel.  Is God imperfect? No

Resurrection, Judgement, and Immortality:  Without this we wouldn't live with God.  Our existence would end.

Kingdoms of Glory:  Without this would we live with our families again?

Phase 2 of class:  We gathered at 4:15 to get into groups of 2 or 3 and then went to the 14th ward to find people to share the Plan of Salvation with.

Off they go.  

 You could just feel the spirit surround these amazing youth as they used their agency to step out of their comfort zone and open their mouth.  They are not alone in this great work.

It was a cold evening but that didn't stop them.

Here Sean went to pick up Caiden who had to join us later.  Service with a smile!

Hunter and Braden just finished one home and are off to find another.

All smiles!

Don't they look the part?

After an hour we gathered again to share and laugh and learn from each other.  What a great day.  Some commented that it was a lot easier this time. Thank you for your valuable part in hastening the work of salvation in our own little stake!  And thank you to the 14th ward for letting us into your homes.  It is very appreciated.  You helped us so much!!!

Next Week:  No Class

Assignment to work on for December 8th: 

 Read Chapter 3, Lesson 3 of Preach My Gospel:  The Gospel Of Jesus Christ.  Also read the pamphlet that goes with it.  Come prepared to share what the key points that you feel are essential to teach.

My Purpose

Today and every week from now on we will start class after a song and prayer, with standing and reciting "My Purpose as a Missionary"  Which is: Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy ghost, and enduring to the end.

As this was recited, first from reading, eventually from memory, the spirit was strong and unified the group with this common goal.  You are a modern day army of Heleman!!  Knowing your purpose keeps us focused on why we are here and what the goal is when we study.

We role played today practicing teaching The Plan Of Salvation lesson in preparation for next week when we will visit another ward and share the lesson with others.

What did you learn?  Tell your parents.  These kids did an awesome job and we felt the spirit as they testified of the doctrines taught in this lesson.  Thank you for coming prepared and sharing what you learned.  

Today we have to say good-bye to Nathan Eddington.  This was his last week in class.  He leaves on wednesday for the MTC and then to the Dallas Texas Mission.  He is nervous, but has faith that the Lord will help him as he puts his trust in Him.  Nathan will be missed but we know Texas will be getting a wonderful servant of the Lord!  God be with you!

Next weeks assignment:

Please practice teaching this lesson to someone in your family, or a friend or in the mirror :) and record the date that you taught each part on the sheet below.  We handed these out in class but if you didn't get one, here it is. This is an actual teaching record used in the field to keep track of lessons you teach your investigators.   See you next week and please be on time. Class starts at 7:30am and we would love you to bring a friend!