November: How can I find answers to my own gospel questions?

All Printouts and Videos found HERE

1. Introduction

• Alexa/Siri/Cortana/Google Activity
• Ask the class what questions they could search on the internet and find instant answers to. Give them the opportunity to ask those questions using an voice activated device such as Alexa, Siri, Cortana, or Google.
• Elder W. Mark Bassett of the Seventy said, "In this modern age, we have come to expect that knowledge can and should be obtained immediately." But can all knowledge be obtained this way?
• What are some questions people might ask about life or the gospel?
• Ex: Is there life after death? Does God answer prayers? Is the Book of Mormon true? What college should I go to?
• Can we ask the internet for these answers?
• Yes, they can probably provide insight and opinions. But most require us to seek knowledge through study and prayer.
• So... How can we find answers to our gospel questions?

2. Learn Together:

• Elder Bassett continued his talk by using Nephi's example to show us how we can find answers.
• Read 1 Nephi 2:16: 19-20
• Traits that Nephi exemplified
• (1) sincere desire, (2) humility, (3) prayer, (4) trust in the prophet, (5) faith, (6) diligence, (7) obedience

3. Teach Others/Liken the Scriptures

• Pass out the Examples in the Scriptures worksheet
• Have the class read the scriptures listed on their worksheet for Joseph Smith, Alma, Laman and Lemuel, or Brother of Jared. 
• Give them time to answer the questions and be prepared to share their findings with the class.
• How did Joseph Smith, Alma, and the Brother of Jared's experiences differ from Laman and Lemuel's?

4. Making it Personal

• Is there a difference between questioning and asking questions?
• This link has great info: https://www.lds.org/youth/article/when-you-have-questions?lang=eng
• Share Video Clip from President Uchtdorf's 2009 CES Fireside (found in the link at the top of the post)
• Why are there times when the Lord doesn't answer our questions completely or immediately?
• "Be obedient, remember the times when you have felt the Spirit in the past, and ask in faith. Your answers will come, and you will feel the love and peace of the Savior. It may not come as quickly or in the format you desire, but the answer will come. Do not give up! Never give up!" - Elder James B. Martino
• "Elder Neil L. Anderson... has said that as we 'remain steady and patient' through our lives, 'at times, the Lord's answer will be, 'You don't know everything, but you know enough' - enough to keep the commandments and to do what is right" - "You Know Enough" from Nov 2008 Ensign.

5. Conclusion

• "Have ye inquired of the Lord?" story from John Hilton III (found in the link at the top of the post)
• Share with the youth the page on LDS.org that is dedicated to helping us find answers to gospel questions: https://www.lds.org/topics/answering-gospel-questions?lang=eng
• Finish with testimony and 1 Nephi 15:11 - "Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said? - If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things [will] be made known unto you."

November: How can I learn to make my own decisions?

ALL PRINTOUTS FOUND HERE

 1. Introduction

• Display topic
• Play the game "Headbands" using the printable cards.These are decisions they might have to make in the next 10 years. I put them on a piece of colored cardstock, so they couldn't see through them. 
• If you don't have the game "Headbands", you can always tape the card to their back so they can't see it. The person with the card can only ask yes or no questions.
• After they guessed it correctly, I taped it to the board so it was displayed all during class. If you don't have a lot of time or a lot of students, you can have them brainstorm potential decisions and write them on the board.

2. Likening the Scriptures

• Read D&C 9:7-9 and Alma 37:37
• Questions to Ponder
• How can you apply the Lord's counsel in these verses to the important decisions you will make over the next few years?
• What does it mean to "counsel with the Lord" about these decisions?
• What does it mean to "study it out in [our] mind"?
• I shared a personal example of an experience I had counseling with the Lord regarding a decision
• Invite the class to share any experiences they have had counseling with the Lord or stories they have heard

3. Learn Together

• What can you learn about decision making from this story from Elder Robert D. Hales talk "To the Aaronic Priesthood: Preparing for the Decade of Decision"?

"While training to be a jet fighter pilot, I prepared to make such vital decisions in a flight simulator. For example, I practiced deciding when to bail out of an airplane if the fire warning light came on and I began to spin out of control. I remember one dear friend who didn't make these preparations. He would find a way out of simulator training and then go play golf or swim. He never learned his emergency procedures! A few months later, fire erupted in his plane, and it spun toward the ground in flames. Noting the fire warning light, his younger companion, having developed a preconditioned response, knew when to bail out of the plane and parachuted to safety. But my friend who had not prepared to make that decision stayed with the plane and died in the crash." 

• Why do you think that we must prepare now for future decisions?
• To be ready. (Money to buy car, grades to get into college, worthiness to be married in the temple, etc.)

4. Making it Personal

• Watch this clip from Elder Dallin H. Oaks talk, "Good, Better, Best".  I stopped the video at 1:18
• I made a small, medium, and large chocolate chip cookie and related it to Good, Better, Best
• Let the class members fill out the Good, Better, Best charts. There are blank charts, just in ase you have more kids than I do.

• Sometimes what is good, better, best might be different for all of us. I gave an example of how I had prayed to know if I should go on a mission. That was a good decision. However, I felt like I wasn't supposed to go. I struggled with that because my friends were going and I didn't know why Heavenly Father didn't want me to go on a mission. But as I found out a few months later, the better and best decision for me was to finish school and meet my future husband.
•  How can we know which decision is the right decision for us?
• Hand out the quotes from Elder Richard G. Scott's talk "Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer".
• Use quotes 1-3 to incorporate into the class's answers
• "What do you do when you have prepared carefully, have prayed fervently, waited a reasonable time for a response, and still do not feel an answer?" - Elder Scott
• Quote 4

5. Conclusion

• Watch the "Wrong Roads" video from Jeffery R. Holland
• I shared my example of a decision that lead to a dead end
• Invite the class members to share any stories they know of

6. Treat/Handout

• I made "Good, Better, Best" cookies for each of the class members. I attached a saying from Dallin H. Oak's talk, "Good, Better, Best. See here.

November: How can I become spiritually self-reliant?

I absolutely love this lesson because there are so many different ways to teach based on the demographic of your class. See the optional ideas in each sections. All printouts can be found here, or you can click on the individual links below.

1. Introduction

(Display Topic Poster)

• What is spiritual self-reliance?
• Ask the students to think about what the following scripture has to do with being spiritually self-reliance.
• Read Matthew 25:1-10
• What does it have to do with being spiritually self-reliant?
• What could the lamp and oil represent?
• Lamp - Testimony, Oil - Conversion

2. Likening the Scriptures

(Handout Parable of the Ten Virgins Questions)

Note: Questions & Variation of Parable taken from David A. Bednar's talk, "Converted Unto the Lord"

• Let the class members read through the questions. (Option: You could give each class member a question or you could have them work in groups.)
• Read the scripture again, but using this variation from David A. Bednar:

"Then shall being spiritually self-reliant be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps of testimony, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

They that were foolish took their vessels of testimony, and took no oil of conversion with them.

But the wise took oil of conversion in their vessels with their lamps of testimony.

While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps of testimony.

And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil of conversion; for our lamps of testimony have gone out.

But the wise answered saying, Not so: lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves.

And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage; and the door was shut."

• Review questions. Here are some additional insights into some of the questions:
• 1. President Thomas S. Monson: "In order for us to be strong and to withstand all the forces pulling us in the wrong direction or all the voices encouraging us to take the wrong path, we must have our own testimony. Whether you are 12 or 112 - or anywhere in between - you can know for yourself that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true."
• 4. We must study, learn, grow and pass through trials to make our lamps of testimony burn brighter.
• 5. David A. Bednar: "These inspired women were no describing a business transaction; rather, they were emphasizing our individual responsibility to keep our lamp of testimony burning and to obtain an amply supply of the oil of conversion. This precious oil is acquired one drop at a time - "line upon line [and] precept upon precept", patiently and persistently. No shortcut is available; no last minute flurry of preparation is possible." 

• What is the different between testimony and conversion?
• I created these fact sheets that contain quotes from Dieter F. Uchtdorf and David A. Bednar. I let the students talk compare testimonies and conversion, while using the fact sheet to provide additional insight based how the discussion was going. 
• (Options: You could shrink the fact sheets down and make a little handout for each class member to review. Then talk about the difference. Or you could split the class into two groups. Give one group testimony and the other conversion. There are a lot of possibilities with this one.)

3. Making it Personal

• How do we build our lamp of testimony? (Use this lamp puzzle. Answers from Dieter F. Uchtdorf)
• Desire to Believe: The Book of Mormon encourages us: "If [you] will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith,...even if [you] can no more than desire to believe" (Alma 32:27)... God promises us divine help even if we have only a desire to believe, but it has to be a true and not a pretended desire.
• Search the scriptures: Have questions; study them out; search in the scriptures for answers. Again, the Book of Mormon has good advice for us: "If [you] give place, that a seed may be planted in your hear: through diligent study of the word of God, the good seed "will begin to swell within your breasts" if you will not resist with unbelief. This good seed will "enlarge [your] soul" and  "enlighten [your] understanding." (Alma 32:28)
• Do the will of God: It is not enough to enter into a scholarly debate if we want to know for ourselves that the kingdom of God has been restored upon the earth. Casual study is also not enough. We have to get in on the action ourselves, and that means learning and then doing God's will.
• Ponder, fast, and pray: To receive knowledge from the Holy Ghost, we must ask Heavenly Father for it. We must trust that God loves us and that He will help us to recognize the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

(Option: You could put the pieces randomly on the bottom of the chairs. Who doesn't love that? You could cut up the descriptions above from President Uchtdorf and pass them out to be read. I took the scary route again, and used these descriptions to add insight to the class's answers.)

• Once our lamp of testimony is built, what drops of conversion can we add to become steadfast and immoveable? (Use these drops of oil cutouts. Answers from David A. Bednar)
• Read Helaman 15:7-8
• I have a small class, so I told them that I have 5 drops of oil that they needed to find in the scripture. The drops already had the words printed on them.

(Option: You could could your class blank drops to write in the answers as they read the scripture individually or in groups. Or you can use the drops with the answers already on them. You could even cut a slit in the lamp, add a backing, and actually put the drops of oil in the lamp.)

4. Conclusion

• What does it mean to be spiritually self-reliant?
• Description from Come Follow Me manual
• How do you become spiritually self-reliant?
• Why must our lamp of testimony be built before we can add drops of conversion?
• David A. Bednar: "Testimony is the beginning of and a prerequisite to continuing conversion. Testimony is a point of departure; it is not an ultimate destination. Strong testimony is the foundation upon which conversion is established.... A testimony is spiritual knowledge of truth obtained by the power of the Holy Ghost. Continuing conversion is constant devotion to the revealed truth we have received - with a heart that is willing and for righteous reasons."
• Why can't we add a whole bunch of drop of oil at one time?
• David A. Bednar: " For many of us conversion is an ongoing process and not a onetime even that results from a powerful or dramatic experience. line upon line and precept upon precept, gradually and almost imperceptibly, our motives, our thoughts, our words, and our deeds become aligned with the will of God. Conversion unto the Lord requires both persistence and patience."

I ended my lesson  by sharing this quote from David A. Bednar, "Knowing that the gospel is true is the essence of a testimony. Consistently being true to the gospel is the essence of conversion."

5. Handout/Treat

• I printed these to staple to the top of a ziploc bag. I make a small "drop of oil" and a small "lamp of testimony" sugar cookie to go in each bag.