Study With Your Investigator In Mind

This week we handed out a paper with the following information on it:

 Use the information in Preach My Gospel to prepare a 3-5 minute lesson.  

The questions below will help you with your preparation.

In what situation do I picture myself teaching? (Think of a specific person)

What are the basic points I hope to cover?

What scripture references will I use?

What questions will I ask?

What is the testimony that I want to share?

Once again we see the power of the spirit directing the thoughts of each person.

Trevor and Troy wanted to teach about the commandments. Agency is a gift from God.  His commandments are not restrictions but the way to live to be the happiest.  They shared 2 Nephi 2:26-29.  Way to go guys!  The power of the scriptures testified the truth of your message.

  

Kim Josse- a new comer to class- welcome- we are excited to have you here!!!, and Makelle related this exercise to someone that needed to receive personal revelation.

Adam on the right thought of a person he met and first thought that they should teach the plan of salvation, or the restoration, or the atonement, but felt impressed to talk about prayer.  They shared James 1:5 and the story of Alma the younger.  The question they wanted to ask was "Will you pray about the Book Of Mormon?"

This is Mike Martin.  He has been home from his mission for a few months and has volunteered to come to class and help however he can....Once a missionary....always a missionary!  We love and welcome all!

He shared that this process of studying with the investigator in mind is done every day on your mission.  Every morning you study with the spirit to know what you are going to teach your investigators and then the spirit will teach you how and what to teach them.  Make sure you write down what you prepared in your daily planner.  

We also got to hear the testimonies of 3 newly returned missionaries.  This is Brendan Neider.  He returned from Fiji and has been home only about 10 hours.  If you notice he is wearing a skirt and flip flops :)  This is the missionary uniform in Fiji and he said it only took him about 5 minutes to get used to it!  He shared that the mission goes really really fast so use your time wisely.  Don't waste any time.  Your mission is basic training for the rest of your life.  Even though you help many other people you also help yourself.  

This is Taylor Lewis,  He served in Anaheim California and Utah.  He explained that through Christ anyone can be helped.  There are people with lots of struggles out there and the advice and knowledge you give them helps them have a better life.  They will have problems you think you can't help them fix, but the Savior can fix anything.  

This is Aaron Wilson.  He served in Wahaca Mexico.  He said you will have a lot of joy seeing converts come unto Christ, but he felt so much joy when he saw youth get their calls to serve on missions and leave.  He met and started to teach a young man in his second area, at the end of his mission he was transferred back to that same area and saw that this young man had been baptized as well as his whole family and he had received his mission call and he got to attend his farewell talk right before he came home.  The Savior is in charge of His church and it is such a blessing to assist in this great work.

Thank you Elders for you wonderful service.  Bro Hooker asked them, now how do you stay strong once you get home?  We could tell they all knew the answer and were committed to the Savior.  Aaron suggested to never throw the good habits away that you learned  on your mission.   Taylor said we need to always do CPR- Church, Pray, Read.  That is how converts stay active, and it applies to all of us as well.

Here is Talon Miller.  He leaves this week to the MTC to learn to speak Russian.  He will be serving in the Russia Novosibirsk Mission- I think?  It is the coldest mission in the world and includes Siberia and all of Kazakhstan!  Talon has a powerful testimony and the Light of the Gospel shines in his eyes.  Hard work is ahead of him but we know he can do it!  We will be praying for you and wish you the very best!

Next Weeks Assignment:

Please read or re-read Pres. Monson's Conference talk on pg 66.  

We will be demonstrating how to do a chapel tour next week so please don't miss it. 

Also here is the link to the Worldwide Leadership Broadcast: Hastening the Work of Salvation

If you missed it you will really want to watch it.

The Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End

We had the pleasure today of being taught by Bro. Wadsworth.  We invited him back to help us learn and understand Preach My Gospel and how to study it.  He shared great practical things he learned on his mission.  First, the circle graph represents how 2 years of your life is divided up.  243 days- sleeping, 106 Eating, 30 Days in district and sunday meetings, 30 days for p-days, 91 days in study, and the rest is spent finding and teaching. So how you spend your study time greatly determines how you will teach.  He admonished us to get ahead of the game by studying and recording specific scriptures that will teach the doctrine.  If we just speak about things from our own ideas, the spirit will not be there.  We must teach from the scriptures so that the Spirit can testify that what they are reading is true.  

Help investigators recognize the spirit.  As you teach with the spirit, they will feel it.  Teach them what that feeling is. Teach them how they can receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  The Power of the Holy Ghost is available to them before baptism, it will witness to them the truth.  However, the Gift of the Holy Ghost can be theirs only after proper and authorized baptism and is conferred by the laying on of hands by the Priesthood.  This gift acts as a cleansing agent to purify a person and sanctify them from all sin.

We then discussed, after we repent, are baptised and receive the Gift of the Holy ghost, are we done?         2 Nephi 31:19-21  We now have the opportunity to have a member of the Godhead as our constant companion to help us, teach us, warn us, comfort us, sanctify us and cleanse us the rest of our lives.  We will continue to make mistakes, but the Holy Ghost will guide us to repent and stay on the path to eternal life.  This process is called enduring to the end.  Actually its more like enjoying to the end!

Here is Talon reading from Preach My Gospel.  He discovered that when we feel the Holy Ghost now, it is a foretaste of what it is like to have eternal joy and the promise of eternal life.  

Adam asked how can we explain what God asks of us to people that think they don't need to do anything once they accept Christ as their Savior.  Great question.  

Bro. Wadsworth gave great council.  Study the scriptures.  Read the words of Christ to them and then let the Spirit testify to them that His words are true.  He explained that everything in Preach My Gospel can be found in the scriptures.  He challenged us to look at each sentence in these last two sections and find a scripture that teaches that doctrine.  Then WRITE IT DOWN!  that is key to learning and remembering.  Record what you find.   Many of them are already listed in Preach My Gospel- however you can find many many more.

Here are the scriptures he asked us to look up as we study about the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End.

I wanted to share this in class, but we ran out of time:

Elder Bednar said that the greatest teachers in his life "refused to give me easy answers to hard questions. In fact they did not give me answers at all.  Rather they pointed the way and helped me take the steps to find my own answers.  I certainly did not always appreciate this approach, but experience has enabled me to understand that an answer given by another person usually is not remembered for very long, if remembered at all.  But an answer we discover or obtain through exercise of faith, typically, is retained for a lifetime.  The most important learnings of life are caught- not taught"

Lets experiment on his words:)  See what you can find and see if we don't retain the information better so that the Spirit can bring that knowledge to our remembrance as we testify to our investigators.

Next week:  NO CLASS- its fast sunday.

Assignment for Class on July 14th:

1.Read the Scriptures listed above and write down what you learned.

2.  Also since you have two weeks...Look at each sentence in the last two sections pg 65-66 of PMG and find a scripture that teaches that doctrine.  Then WRITE IT DOWN! 

3. Also read President Monson's talk on page 66 of the Conference Ensign, "Come, All Ye Sons of God"

Thank you for the spirit we felt in class and for your questions and participation! 

Repentance and Baptism, Our First Covenant

These two wonderful Young Men accepted the invitation to lead our class discussion today.  McKay Willie is on the Right, and Will Comin on the Left.  We were very proud of them.  They showed up early despite jobs that kept them up very late the night before.  Thats dedication and we really appreciate it!

Will shared how the second principle of the gospel is repentance.  He teaches primary and noticed that he has to do a better job explaining things to them than to us because it is new information to them.  He likened that to missionary work.  Thats an awesome connection!  Here he is comparing repentance to the life jacket. As we go down the river of life without repenting (a life jacket) we will drown and feel helpless. Only by using the power of the Atonement through repentance can we be saved.

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McKay shared this from Preach My Gospel that meant alot to him.  "Our faith in Christ and our love for Him lead us to repent, or to change our thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors that are not in harmony with His will.  Repentance includes forming a fresh view of God, ourselves, and the world.  When we repent, we feel godly sorrow, then we stop doing things that are wrong and continue doing things that are right".  He mentioned that his brother is currently serving a mission in Mexico and when he reads his brothers letters and sees how he is helping people learn to repent, it makes him excited to serve a mission himself!   Thank you both for being willing and ready to lead our class.  Great Job!!

We also got to hear the testimonies of two Returned Missionaries- they got home this week.

This is Andrew Wadsworth.  He returned from the Moscow Russia Mission.  However he finished his mission in the Baltic States.  He served in 5 different countries throughout his mission. Our daughter was in the same MTC district with Andrew struggling to learn the russian language so it was wonderful to see him again. Andrew bore a powerful testimony of the process of repentance.  He witnessed this in the lives of many people.  He said that without our Savior we are lost.  God knows us perfectly. He knows us each by name and sent His son because there is nothing the Atonement cannot fix.  He also shared that member work is vital. Spend more time studying the scriptures.  They will be your most valuable possession. As you study, and are completely obedient, you will have the things you learned come into your mind as you teach.  It will happen.  Trust the spirit.  One more touching thing Andrew shared  and also Will commented on was that you will meet people on your mission that you knew before this life.  That is a priceless gift.  Also- he shared how repentance is a scary word to investigators.  We asked why?  They said because people don't want to change.  They taught that repentance is a gift and opportunity.Thank you Andrew so much for coming and letting us learn from your experience, wisdom, and most of all the Spirit you brought home with you.

And this darling sister is Melissa Duncan.  She served in Birmingham Alabama- With the wonderful southern saints there. Our hearts have a tender spot for the south since we lived in North Carolina for 9 years.

She told us that many people go to church there.  Lots of them are church shopping.  She loved helping them learn that Jesus Christ has one true church.  His church.  Her favorite thing to teach about was the atonement.  It was the last lesson she taught before she came home.  She was asked, why did Christ have to go through all that he did? Then she read with them Alma 7 to help them understand that Christ suffered so that he would know how to comfort us.  She also found that the Book Of Mormon helped people understand the Bible better! She ran into people having lots of mis-information about our church.  She loved teaching them that God's church on the earth today is the same as it was when Christ was on the earth with Prophets and Apostles to teach and lead us.  She explained that she found that people knew the word repentance and heard that their whole life, but never have known how to repent. (Isn't it awesome that you get to teach them how!)  This sweet sister shared how scared she was at first, but that fear leaves when you have faith in our Savior and do what he asks.  Great counsel.  Thank you for your powerful testimony and conviction of the importance of this great work.

 Thank you so much class for coming and engaging in asking great questions and sharing your personal experiences and things that you learned.  Please keep it up!!!

This fine young man is Derek Martin.  He has been patiently waiting to enter the MTC.  He will be serving in the Manilla Phillipines Mission.  He reports July 3rd!  The wait is over : ) We are so excited for him and know that his Love of the Lord and his testimony will be just the light many people are looking for.  Good Luck Derek.  You will be in our prayers.

Next weeks assignment:

Preach My Gospel: Page 65-66. Please read all the scriptures that go with these sections as well! There is so much power in the scriptures.

Ensign Talk:  Pg 6. "These Things I Know", Boyd K Packer.  You will love this!

Light Overcomes Darkness

Sorry I am just now getting last weeks class posted. Sometimes life does not always go as planned :)  And...our discussion was much better.  Thank you class for trying to take time and learn throughout the week and share your understanding with the group.  Once again this is a habit and pattern you will develop and continue on your mission and hopefully with your own families some day!  A true enduring to the end testimony can only happen when you are in the scriptures and being taught one on one by the spirit.  Thank you for bringing that spirit into class and eventually to your mission and investigators!  

  

Our class was lead by these two amazing women.  Nikylie Eager on the left and Cecelia Wilkes on the right.  

They came well prepared and asked great questions that encouraged us to think and share.  

We started by discussing the talk "Hope of God's Light".  This talk focuses on how the light of the gospel will uplift us.  Elder Uchtdorf shared how a painting he has of a dark room with an open door from which light is shining is a metaphor for life.  If you didn't read the talk.....do it!!!  God is teaching us through so many things we encounter every day.  Take time to look for them and be aware that God is trying to teach us in those simple things- just like the Savior taught.

Then we discussed mostly the section in Preach My Gospel- Through Christ We Can Be Cleansed From Sin. This is the reason we must share His Gospel throughout the world!  The Savior paid the price for our sins.  We can access the healing power of the atonement only when we repent and are baptised and receive the Holy Ghost.  

We brought this picture that our son took during a camping trip to Moab, UT this April.  The camera shutter was open at night for 30 minutes.  He wanted to see if the North Star really did stay in one place and the other stars moved....well now we know for sure!  Gods light and teachings are constant, and the Heavens He created are just one more physical lesson he provided to teach us that.

Cecelia gets 2 gold stars for her effort today.  Not only did she help lead our class today, but she also gave her farewell talk in sacrament meeting today.  She will be leaving for the New York, New York North mission.  She is very well prepared and has a strong testimony of our Savior and His Gospel.  We know the Lord will bless her and help her as she now goes out to find those that are searching for the truth.  We will pray for you and look forward to seeing you again in 18 months!!!

Next Weeks Assignment:

Preach My Gospel: Pages 62-64 (Repentance and Baptism, Our First Covenant)

And Ensign pg 15 "The Savior Wants to Forgive", by Elder Craig A Cardon.

Faith Overcomes Doubt

This is Talon Miller.  He did a fabulous job leading our class today by having us first discuss the Ensign Article we read last week.  Talon shared that the statement "Faith overcame doubt" was repeated several times. This lead to a great discussion about what that means with regard to missionary work. He reminded us that the spirit does the converting, not us. 

Then we discussed pages 52-54 of Preach My Gospel. We spent most of the time talking about Judgement, and the kingdoms of Glory.   Great scriptures were shared, including Alma 34:34 , Alma 40:11-13, and Alma 41. D&C 138, D&C 76

 Bro. Hooker shared a way to teach Alma 41:15 with a mirror.  Verse 15 says, "For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be restored.  The class shared how the mirror could teach this idea.  He calls it "The Law of the Mirror". The mirror will reflect exactly what is in front of it. Likewise, we cannot be restored to something that we are not.

We also had the privilege of hearing from 3 recently returned missionaries.  This is Sister Jolly.  She and her husband just returned from South Africa.  She shared how her testimony grew as she watched others drastically change their lives and live the gospel.  They were over the YSA's there.  They helped gather these new converts and help strengthen their testimonies and provide a safe loving place for them to meet and learn.  We could feel her genuine love for the people they served.  Thank you Sister Jolly for sharing your testimony and witness of the blessings of missionary work with us!

Here is Bro. Jolly.  A very humble, kindhearted, soft spoken very special missionary.  He praised the youth in our class for talking together about the gospel.  He wished he would have been able to do that with his family when they were younger.  He learned on his mission that its easier than he thought to sit down and have a gospel discussion with the many YSA's they were assisting.  Great council to all of us.  As we practice discussing what we have learned one on one with the Lord through personal reading of the Book Of Mormon and Modern Day prophets with each other in this class and at home in our families, we will become more comfortable doing it with our investigators!!!  

And this happy R.M. is Micah Wilkes.  He just returned from the Kobe, Japan Mission.  He told us that in his mission he was able to teach people for the very first time about God and that he is their Father.  This was a very new concept for them.  He always was aware of his weaknesses, but realized that you do what you can, and God takes care of the hard stuff.  Be obedient and faithful and you will see successes.  Thank you Micah for your great testimony and insights!

Next WEEK:  Micah's Sister will be leading our class so please try hard to come prepared to share with the class what you found and learned from the assignment.

1.  Please Study Preach My Gospel pg 60-61. Remember to read the scriptures that go along with these sections and add any more that you find on your own.  This chapter goes along with the 3rd pamphlet "The Gospel of Jesus Christ" which we handed out today.  

2.  Also please read Conference talk "The Hope of Gods Light" pg 70, by Elder Uchtdorf.

Thank you for a great class.  Talon, we felt your spirit and are grateful you prepared so well and involved so many of us in the discussion.  We learned so much from each other!

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!