A few weeks ago I was called to be a Relief Society Instructor in my ward and was assigned to teach on the fourth Sunday of the month, which is Teachings For Our Time.
Each lesson is taught, in both Relief Society and Melchizedek Priesthood, using one or more talks from the most recent General Conference. The talks, found in the November and May Ensigns, are selected by a ward's Stake President or Bishopric. The Ensign can also be found in multiple formats and languages online.
It's been over 12 years since I've taught Relief Society (except as a substitute) and I'm really excited to have this opportunity to be a tool in the Lord's hands. After receiving my call I flipped through my November Ensign and read the section on "Teachings for Our Time," located at the back on page 126. One of the things it says is:
This will spiritually help prepare you to apply the gospel principles being taught. It will also help those teachers who'd like to ask people to read specific passages from the talk, or share their thoughts and experiences.
Note: Most wards and stakes will notify you ahead of time (through newsletters, ward programs, bulletins, etc.) which talks have been selected for upcoming Teachings For Our Time lessons.
Each lesson is taught, in both Relief Society and Melchizedek Priesthood, using one or more talks from the most recent General Conference. The talks, found in the November and May Ensigns, are selected by a ward's Stake President or Bishopric. The Ensign can also be found in multiple formats and languages online.
It's been over 12 years since I've taught Relief Society (except as a substitute) and I'm really excited to have this opportunity to be a tool in the Lord's hands. After receiving my call I flipped through my November Ensign and read the section on "Teachings for Our Time," located at the back on page 126. One of the things it says is:
"Those attending fourth-Sunday lessons are encouraged to study and bring to class the latest general conference issue of the magazine."So I highly encourage all of you, if you haven't been doing so already, to start the New Year by studying the talks assigned by your local leaders. Also, make sure to bring a copy of the talk (either the magazine or a printed copy from online) when you attend Priesthood and Relief Society on the fourth Sunday of the month.
This will spiritually help prepare you to apply the gospel principles being taught. It will also help those teachers who'd like to ask people to read specific passages from the talk, or share their thoughts and experiences.
Note: Most wards and stakes will notify you ahead of time (through newsletters, ward programs, bulletins, etc.) which talks have been selected for upcoming Teachings For Our Time lessons.
I watch conference. I read the addresses when the Ensign comes. Then I go to Priesthood and they read it to me again. Perhaps a posting on how to develop a lesson from the TFOT talk would be more useful.
I agree with the other post that it just doesn’t seem worth it when you can “read it by myself” and you have a valid point on the new format for teaching the lessons we’ve been doing for the last few years. My personal thought is that it is like going to the temple over and over. The words are the same. The ordinances and covenants are the same. First you go through for yourself and then for deceased persons who did not have the chance to go for themselves. Such a privelege to perform this service. So how do you keep from being totally bored and to learn something everytime you go to the temple? It can be done! I have tested it. You have to go with “an open heart and open mind and a prayer in your heart to learn something new each and every time you go. The RS lessons are the same thing. Yes, you watched conference but some in the class my not have. Yes you read the Ensign and study it, kudos to you my friend since I’m pretty sure that a lot of people don’t do it like they should. The lesson is presented in a setting where the class members can participate and learn from one another. Something you have learned in all your studying and preparation may just be what someone needs to hear for the lightbulb to go off for them on that subject. You might even be surprised when a lightbulb goes off for you even though you have already read that part of the talk. It seems for me that I can read something and think about it but listening to the class and feeling the spirit in the room, I am open to learning so much so that I sometimes don’t even remember the discussion point being in the piece I read-I have actually had to go back and look for it and sometimes did not find it even though I thought I had fully gained all I could from my study. I have often wished they gave a class on how to study and learn, not necessarily to pass a test (although that would have been so handy in college) but so that all of us can learn that skill and apply it and continue to learn and grow closer to Heavenly Father. Maybe your diligence in your preparation will be the conduit Father uses to further His message to someone who needs to hear it only the way you can put it. Also, you may be surprised as to how grateful your teacher is that you are so prepared and will appreciate your comments and insights to help her stay on track with what she wanted to cover. One of the hard things in our ward is that the Bishopric assigns the two or three speakers for the 4th Sunday with the lesson we have in RS/Preisthood and that poor RS teacher is thinking on her feet and totally relying on the Holy Ghost to rescue her because she feels that her lesson has been given all through church,! Now that is hard but somehow when she decides to give it to the Lord and let Him be the guide it all seems to work out and there have been some really great uplifting and spiritual experiences in our tiny ward in the middle of the Ozarks. Good luck you you and I commend you for being diligent in watching and reading what the Prophet and Brethren have to say.
I’ve been teaching in RS, off and on, for many years. I’ve had the wonderful pleasure of teaching early morning seminary for four years and I served a mission in Europe. This intro is not to brag but to give you an indication that I’ve been around a long time and I have seen many, many, changes in educational curriculum. I understand the frustrations of listening to the same thing from both sides; teaching and participating. I’d like to share some information that I believe helps both sides win. These are lessons I’ve learned over time.
I watch/listen to conference and I read the talks in the Ensign but I don’t stop there. I listen to the talks over and over. I find time to listen when I’m doing something mindless. I put them on my IPod and listen while I drive to work. I always make sure I take something, e.g., lesson manual, Ensign, IPod, etc. with me whenever I leave my home in case I get delayed and have some time. You are most likely thinking that these materials are all I read, but no; I read other things, and listen to music I even watch TV.
The first place I realized that this kind of preparation was paying off was in my visiting teaching assignment. I remembered things from those conference talks that really enriched our visits. The same things were happening in my Seminary study and class. Taking in information audibly and visually stimulates different parts of the brain resulting in better retention. You may feel that you have no time for this, but you do.
I have loved teaching and learning about our Prophets in RS during these past years. I found a way to get the sisters to discuss the lesson by using the study questions at the end of the lesson and of course, I also listen to the material on LDS.org several times before the lesson. I organize the lesson based on the questions at the end and I create groups of sisters based on the number of questions.
I try to designate the groups before RS starts. All the information they need, e.g., text and page numbers, scriptures, I provide then when I begin the lesson I give everyone 5 minutes to discuss the questions. I provide the intro from the manual then the sisters take over. It works wonderfully. Everyone feels like a participator and not just a listener.
One of the sisters told me that her husband’s class voted that they knew the content of the lessons already and decided to discuss other things. In past years our Prophet and Brethren have narrowed our concentration of study. This year’s curriculum is narrowed even more. I believe our leaders want all of us to be prepared to teach the plain and simple truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe our leaders want each one of us to solidify our testimonies of our Savior. Our leaders love us. They want us to be prepared. Don’t throw out what you think you know; you might be surprised.
I agree with “I can read it myself” as far as posting helpful ways to present/create a lesson plan from the conference talks. I’ve just been called as a TFOT instructor and though I will stick to the talk, I don’t want to just re-read it. I would like to find a way to present it that will engage the listeners and facilitate discussion. Unfortunately, I’m struggling. It really would be nice to have a forum for sharing ways to develop a lesson from a talk. Quite frankly, it could really help to avoid comments similar to Commenter 1 from those in our own wards after sitting through one of our lessons! That being said, any suggestions for developing a lesson plan from Elder Bednar’s talk, More Diligent and Concerned at Home?
Thank you everyone for your suggestions and thoughts!
How to teach TFOT: At the back of the November Ensign the Church has a section with some instructions for teaching Teachings for Our Times. It suggests making an outline and then gives three points, which I will write on the board like this:
Look
Think
Share
Apply
and then I will encourage the class to do each step as we go through the article. I also find that writing a question (or two) on the board before class (or asking it at the beginning of class) and then pointing it out and asking the sisters to think about the question which I will bring up later, gives them time to think about what they could share with the class. Giving a class some time to think about a question or topic is a big help in getting them to participate, instead of requiring an immediate answer right away.
My lesson this month for the 4th sun is on the talk by Elder Tad R Callister- Joseph Smith- Prophet of the Restoration. This is a very short talk and I am not sure how to make it last for the allotted time. Any suggestions?
Marie,
One idea is to call a few people ahead of time and ask them if they would share their testimony of Joseph Smith and the restoration during your lesson on Sunday. This gives them time to think about their testimony. You could have them share how they came to know Joseph Smith was God’s prophet of the restoration.
After their testimonies, if you still have time, you could ask others to share their testimonies too.
so i teach the same class and let me tell you in priesthood it is a lot different. count your lucky stars for that. the church would suffer exponentially with out the women of the church.
in relief society you get spiritual comments in priesthood nobody comments unless they are trying to correct you; which is kind of awkward because everything comes from the two conference talks that are obviously doctrine…
with no women in the room to impress or be afraid of men are not fun to teach. i mean really, all i get are sleepers, angry looks, or disgruntle comments and i try really hard to invite the spirit.
a class that is supposed to be taught as a discussion is very difficult when it seems nobody wants to be there…
Hey, is the previous post from my b-in-l, Jared? Sounds cynical enough to be him.
He does bring up a good point. The women in the church are amazing. I firmly believe that if the priesthood were operating at its full and intended capacity, there’d be no need for the auxillaries, but since it isn’t…
It’s been a year now that I’ve been teaching in my ward’s Relief Society and I love it. Being able to give lessons based on Conference Talks has been very enjoyable. I still follow the instructions to Look, Think, Share, and Apply the gospel principles that are being presented in the talks, and the sisters in my ward do a wonderful job sharing experiences, thoughts, and examples.
What teaching tools have helped you this past year with teaching church lessons?