The Power of Youth Teaching

We had a wonderful class today.  Our discussion about the Atonement was lead by Adam Packer.  He was very well prepared and even brought an awesome experience for the class to witness.

Here he explained that he bought Krispy Kreme donuts for the class, but they could not have them for free. A price had to be paid.  Brady Anderson volunteered to "Pay" for a donut for each person by doing 10 push-ups for each person.  Adam would accept that as payment for a donut.

At first he was able to do them quickly and quite easily ;-)

....but after a while his arms were getting tired, but he didn't quit. He kept doing 10 push-ups for each person in the room, even if they didn't want a donut! 

By the end, he had done 150 push-ups!

Then Adam led our discussion about what we learned from this experience.  It was very powerful even though some have heard of this before, to see and experience it was very touching!

Comments and insights included:

Even though we all were given a donut, not everyone ate it.  Sometimes we have been baptised and are given the gift of the atonement, but do we ever use it.  It is there to use, not just look at or talk about.

We often feel guilty that a price had to be paid for us, and we don't feel worthy or that we don't deserve it, so we don't take advantage of this infinite gift that brings such sweetness into our lives.

Many people are searching, but don't even know it.  When we share with them what the Savior has done for them, they start to see that they need the Savior and He provides direction in their lives.  They are not just being tossed about adrift in the ocean.  We can invite others to act and choose to follow the Savior.  Their testimony will start to grow as they do.

1 Nephi 10:21  No unclean thing can dwell with God.  That is why we must use the gift of the Atonement and repent. And...

Mormon 9: 1-6  If we choose to not believe in God and follow him, we will not even want to dwell with God because of our wrong choices.

What does it really mean to repent?  It means to change.  Change, by coming unto Christ.  Really wanting with your whole being to change.  We can't abandon sin without first seeking the Savior.

We often learn about the price that was paid for our sins. We need to focus on the blessings of the Atonement.  It is a happy thing and helps us become perfected.  The Atonement is a message of Hope, Peace and Happiness!

Dear Class, We have all been edified by your spirit and comments.  Keep it up!  

Thats the pattern.  Learn, Act, Share. 

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!

This is soon to be Elder Jacob Shumway.  He will be serving in the Tokyo Japan Mission.  He leaves for the MTC in two weeks.  Jacob will teach with power and testimony and we wish him an added measure of the spirit as he is enlisted now to serve!

Next week:  NO CLASS- its fast sunday.

Class on May 9th:  Please continue your study of the Plan of Salvation.

Study pg 52-54 ( The Spirit World, The resurrection, Judgement and Immortality, and the Kingdoms of Glory)

Ensign Talk by Elder Neil L. Anderson pg 77 "It's A Miracle"

Personal Discoveries about the Creation

We first all shared what we thought were the

elements of a good discussion.

The kids came up with these ideas:

-Invite others to participate

-Assess where people are, like on a map, its hard to figure out how to get somewhere before finding where they are first.

-Teach with the Spirit- Even if you don't know all the answers, If you have the Spirit with you it will fill in the gaps.

- Be excited yourself. Show enthusiasm for the topic.

-Have them talk more than you do.

-Acknowledge that everyone has an opinion and can share it.

- Discussion allows us to understand something in greater depth and to make sure each person really does understand what is being taught.

-If you are leading the discussion, actively listen to what is being said.

-Dont talk at the person, include them.

This is a chinese proverb that we discussed.  Then we talked about how this applies to teaching investigators.      The more involved they are the more they will come to understand for themselves.  

The word Liken is used alot in the scriptures.  Kameron mentioned Moses 6:63 when studying about the creation.  It explains that all things were created and made to bear record of Jesus Christ. We can help others see how God is teaching us about him in all his creations.

Other scriptures mentioned were Alma 30:44.  Ryan shared that its easier to have faith when you can look around you and see the Creator in everything.  Another Scripture:  2 Cor 5:6-7 shared by Trevor.

Here is the class today as they discussed what they learned about the creation on their own. We also discussed the Conference Talk assigned last week.

This is an amazing group of valiant youth that know how to find the doctrines and truth and share that knowledge with the group...that all may be edified of all. (D&C88:122)

We all came away with new insights and understanding.  Thank you all for your contributions today.  Keep it up!!!

 We have two new sisters that came today.  Cecelia Wilkes- who has her mission call to New York, New York North Mission!! and Nikylie Eagar who will be putting in her papers soon.  They are sitting in the middle in the back of this photo.  We are so excited to have more sisters join us. Welcome to class. We put them right to work.  Cecelia and Nikylie demonstrated how easy it is for you to get pushed over if you are only standing on one foot.  But with both feet on the ground, you have a strong foundation you can build on.  They "likened" this to the creation.  If you understand you were created for a purpose, it gives you faith to know there is a reason why we choose to follow our Creator.   Thanks girls!

Here is an envelope we passed out to each person.  We asked them to reach in without looking and try to pick out the number 1.  What are the odds of doing that.  1:10.  Anyone that did it got a big candybar.

                                                                             Derek was the only lucky one!  

Then we asked them to see if they could pull out a 1, and then a 2.  What are the odds of that happening?  1:100.  As you can guess, no winners.  What would be the odds of pulling out a 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 in that order?   1:10 billion!

Then we discussed how this could relate to the creation.  Lots of great reflections about how we are not here by chance or random luck.  For the planets to form and align they way they do was by design, not chance.  We are also created for a purpose. 

This is Sister Kaylee Kofford.  This is her last week with us before she heads to the MTC this week.  She will be serving in Baltimore, Maryland!  She has a testimony that that is where the Lord wants her to serve and she already loves the people there even though she has never even been to the east coast.  We will miss you Kaylee, but know you are needed there and will do great things as you serve, love and teach many people about your Savior, Jesus Christ and the happiness that knowledge brings!

Thank you to all of you for sharing your great personal discoveries about the creation.

Next week:   We will discuss what you learned about the Atonement.  Page 51-52 of Preach My Gospel.
And the Conference Talk by Elder M Russell Ballard, "This Is My Work and Glory", pg 18.
We would love to also hear any personal stories you would like to share!

How to Study Preach My Gospel

Today we were taught how to get the most out of Preach My Gospel by Quincy Breur.  

This is a drawing he started, to show that everything we do and teach is centered on Christ.  "BOM" stands for Book of Mormon :-)  

Then he explained why its so important for us to do our "Homework" and study on our own and come prepared to share what we have learned and discovered in class so we can learn from each other.  This is the pattern you will continue in the MTC and throughout your mission.  So we started with the first section in lesson 2: The Plan of Salvation, pg 48 :  Pre-Earth Life: God's Purpose and Plan for Us.

To increase the effectiveness of learning its important to start with a question!

What do you want to learn about?

Write down your question. For example: Where did we come from?  We may know the answer to that question, but where can we find the answer in the scriptures to help an investigator discover the answer for themselves?  Thats why we need to do our homework :-)

  We passed out small notebooks to record your question that you are looking for an answer to.  As you discover the answer and find scriptures that teach that, write them down. Also write down any personal feelings or experiences you have had to help teach that doctrine.

We divided up into groups of  3 and started to teach each other what we already knew and then read the section and looked at the scriptures that went along with that section. 

Here is Bro. Cox, Berkely Stulce, and Brandon Chidister finding great things and teaching each other. Brandon also announced that he got his call to the Paraguay, Asuncion mission and will leave in August!  So exciting!

This is Nathan Eddington, Kamron Eslinger and Quincy Breur working together and sharing what they found.

And our sweet Sisters, Linsdey Nicholes and Kaylee Kofford- who only has one more week with us before she leaves!  These sisters discovered some great scriptures that answered their questions and realized how interconnected all of the parts of the Plan of Salvation are to each other and to Christ.  Way to go!

Here is Brady Anderson, and an newcomer!!! Ryan Jensen who just turned 17- the age you can start coming to our mission prep class.  Yeah- he is getting a head start and we are excited to have him in class.  

And next to Ryan is Ethan Reynolds.  Great young men that are committed to learning and being prepared.

We passed out the new Conference Ensigns and gave assignments for next week:

Study on page 49 of Preach My Gospel- "The Creation" and come prepared to share what you learned. Remember to write down your questions and scriptures you found.  We would love to hear the questions you had and the answers you found!

Also, please read the talk by Elder Uchtdorf given to the Young Women called "Your Wonderful Journey Home"  It is awesome and teaches the Plan of Salvation with great examples and stories!  Think about how you can use these stories to help you teach the plan of salvation.

We testify as you take time to learn on your own and ask questions about what you are learning, you are allowing the Spirit to teach you and He will confirm in your mind the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Your retention will increase if you follow this pattern.  To Quote from a fabulous book we talked about in class and highly recommend you get and read before your mission ( "when you ask a question, its like putting a piece of velcro in your brain and then when the answer comes, it sticks there")
                   This book is called  "The Power of Every Day Missionaries", by Clayton Christensen.