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."

June: How can I use stories to teach others about the priesthood?

All Printables and Videos found HERE

Introduction:

• Display list of parables 
• Ask the youth what all of these words have in common
• Why did Jesus use stories to teach?

Learn Together:

(I used the article "Using Stories to Teach About the Priesthood" as the outline for this lesson. So headings, sections and paragraphs mentioned below come from this article. You can also find a pdf version in the printables and video link. I had the youth read the quotes from the article.)

• Read the 1st paragraph of section "Why Use Stories"
• To help us better understand why stories are a great way to teach we are going to use the following scenario: "Read the scenario at the beginning of the article about Anton"
• Read the 2nd paragraph of "Why Use Stories"
• Do they have any priesthood stories they could share with Anton? (If they can't think of anything, that's okay. They will remember experiences throughout the lesson and we will ask this question again later on.)

Likening the Scriptures:

• Ask the youth where can they find stories about the priesthood?
• Scriptures, Mormon Messages, their own experiences, other's experience
• Read Acts 8:14-24 and 3 Nephi 18:1-9, which are stories about the priesthood
• Read the section "Where to Find Stories"
• By now the youth have probably thought of a few stories they could share

Making it Personal:

• Read the section "What Stories to Use" and "When to Tell Stories"
• Put everything we have learned into action by watching the following videos and asked the youth to look for a principle. Afterwards ask them what it means to them personally.
• Faith in the Priesthood - What can you learn about preparation and the priesthood from President Monson?
• Sanctify Yourselves - What can you learn from the 18-year-old newly ordained Melchizedek priesthood holder about listening to the Spirit?
• Wartime Miracle - What can you learn about faith and the priesthood?
• Additional Stories, if you have time:
• http://www.ldsshortstories.com/stories/priesthood
• https://www.lds.org/children/resources/topics/priesthood-blessings?lang=eng&_r=1
• http://www.mormonhaven.com/zwick.htm

Conclusion:

• Ask the youth if they thought of any stories they would like to share about the priesthood.
• Have the youth answer the question on the index card "What does the priesthood mean to me?"

March: What can the scriptures teach me about the Atonement of Jesus Christ?

All Printables and Handouts found HERE

1. Introduction

• For me, this was the last week of the month, so we did our scripture chart drawing. Then passed out the new charts for April. 
• We reviewed the challenge from last week.
• Trivia time: There are 6607 verses in the Book of Mormon. How many talk of Christ?
• 3925
• Display topic.

2. Making it Personal

• Read Elder Packer's story of giving a triple combination to Oxford found in his talk "The Reason for Our Hope". I split up the story into quotes.
• Pass out the worksheet
• What is your favorite scripture about Jesus Christ and/or the Atonement?
• Have the youth refer to the topical guide, if they do not have one.
• Write these scriptures on the board, then create a scripture chain as the youth read their scripture and share why they like it.

3. Likening the Scriptures

• Have each youth pick a picture of a story found in the scriptures listed on the worksheet. They will read the scripture associated with that picture. They will then teach the class how that story relates to the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
• I went over the story of Noah, referenced in the suggestions on lds.org, to give them an idea of how it will work. The ark is like the atonement because it can protect us from the flood of sin. Or the floods can wash away our sins.
• It is okay if youth choose the same pictures. They will probably come up with different ideas of how it relates to the atonement.

4. Conclusion

• Since it is the last week of March, I want to answer any questions they have about the Atonement. So I asked them if they had any questions. 
• To end, I showed the video of the Gethsemane song that I love.

January: How Can Studying the Scriptures Help Me Learn about Heavenly Father?

All Printouts/Videos for this Lesson found HERE

This was my first week teaching my new class, so I did a little Get to Know you Activity.

1. Get to Know You Activity

• Tangled Web from Amy Henning - Sit in a circle on the floor. Hold a ball of yarn. Tell the students something about yourself. Then roll the ball of yarn to someone else without letting go of the end of the yarn. Continue until they have created a giant web. 
• I had everyone stand up while still holding the yarn. I focused on how we need each other to learn and grow and that every ones thoughts and comments are important. If one student drops his or her strand of yarn, our web weakens. What are some reasons why our web might weaken? (Making fun of other comments, distracted during the lesson, etc.)
• I talked about how I hoped that this room could be an environment where we are comfortable sharing our testimonies and knowledge about the topics we will be talking about this year. Also, asking questions that you might have, so that we can discover the answers together.

2. Introduction

• Can you imagine a time when the scriptures were not available to all?
• Watch the video, The Blessings of the Scriptures
• I stole this part from Kar's Kith and Kin, "Ask them to imagine for a minute that they were living in the 1500s. You didn't have scriptures of your own. Your priest chose what scriptures to share with you (or not to share with you). You didn't have the ability to sit down, read scriptures yourself, and commune with Heavenly Father. There is a reason this period of time was called the Dark Ages."
• What happens to those who do not have or do not use the scriptures?
• What are the blessings of reading the scriptures?
• Read the quotes in the printouts

3. Scriptures Challenge

• This year I really wanted to focus on reading the scriptures daily. I created a scriptures chart with the theme for this month of The Godhead. On the back they can write down what they learned about the Godhead while they are reading the scriptures this month. Then at the end of the month, they get entered into a drawing. 5 entries for reading every day. 1 entry for each thing they learned. 
• Display Topic

4. Liken the Scriptures

• List on the board truths that they know about God
• Go to the Topical Guide and find scriptures that teach those truths. I had half of the class look up "God, Love of" and "God, Wisdom of". List the scripture next to the truth on the board.
• Why are the scriptures important in helping us understand God?

5. Learn Together (I had to skip this becuase I was running out of time)

• Divide up into groups and read the scriptures listed in Part 1 of the handouts. What did you learn about Heavenly Father? What was your favorite verse?
• 2 Nephi 26:23-33
• Mosiah 2:19-25
• D&C 1:17-39
• 1 Nephi 1:8-20

6. Making it Personal

• Individually read "God" in the Bible Dictionary. Write down one thing they learned about God and look up any related scriptures. Share with class or neighbors. 

7. Conclusion

• Is there anything that stands out to you today?
• Do you have a greater understanding of something in particular?
• Do you have any other questions?

December: Learn from the Scriptures to Prepare for the Second Coming?

All printables for this lesson available HERE

1. Introduction (See sources at the bottom of this post for great insights into the Second Coming that will aide your class discussions.)

• Display a picture of the Savior's birth and a picture of the Second Coming side by side. (You can use your own or the pictures in the link above.)
• Give each class member two pieces of paper. On one have them write a word that describes the first picture. On the other have them write a word that describes the second picture. Then post their descriptions next to the picture.
• This will give you a good feeling for how the youth in your class feel about the Second Coming. You can discuss their thoughts as you feel inspired to.
• Display the fill in the blank. Give the class time to guess the missing words. If needed, look up the scripture to find the words. Discuss this scripture. 
• Show the comic to the class and discuss how we don't know when the Second Coming will happen.

2. Liken the Scriptures

• Display topic. The whole lesson is likening the scriptures!

3. Learn Together (Pictionary Time!)

• Using the printouts found in the link above, play Pictionary to find out what will happen as signs of the Second Coming and how we can prepare for it.
• I had a timer, just in case the class got stuck on one of them. After the phrase was drawn and guessed, we turned to the scripture and read it. You can use the headings in the link above, if you want to display the guessed cards under the appropriate heading.

4. Making it Personal

• Ask if the class has any questions. Discover the answers together.
• As time permits, have the youth use the Topical Guide and Index to learn more about the Second Coming. (Look up the heading "Jesus Christ, Second Coming")
• Bear your testimony

5. Treat 

• Now and Laters with the quote from Elder Dallin H. Oaks, "What if the day of His coming were tomorrow?... what would we do today? What confessions would we make? What practices would we discontinue? What accounts would we settle? What forgivenesses would we extend? What testimonies would we bear? If we would do those things then, why not now?"

Great Sources:

• http://mothers-who-know.blogspot.com/2012/09/preparing-for-second-coming.html
• https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2004/04/preparation-for-the-second-coming?lang=eng
• https://www.lds.org/manual/true-to-the-faith/second-coming-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng