I had a fun time with this lesson.  I felt like I had a clear focus, which gave me a chance to really push my lesson home.  I do wish I had more time to polish it, but I spent the day Monday Christmas-ing up the house for my daughter, and didn't realize I hadn't […]

I followed up on our challenge to introduce ourselves to new move-ins and seek to welcome them to our ward at the beginning of class.  No stories to share, but I'll follow up again later. Last week we did not get to the gifts of the spirit in D&C 46, and since a student mentioned […]

Ha! I found my lesson notes for this lesson!  I am going to back date it so that it shows in order on the website, but really I'm writing this three weeks after I gave the lesson, so hopefully I can remember how it went. This was the At The Ohio lesson for me, so […]

When I first began teaching, I kept hearing people say that teachers should "teach with the Spirit".  What did that even mean?  It's not like I can control when the Holy Ghost testifies or if another person can hear or listen to him, right?  Does teaching with the spirit mean I should scrap the manual […]

By Shauna Doctrine and Covenants Section 27 This idea came from a member of the LDS Seminary Teacher Facebook group (seriously, if you are a Seminary Teacher-join that Facebook group). When I figure out who it was, I will edit and post his name so he receives credit for this brilliant visual for teaching "Dispensations" […]

After last week, I thought that the class might be dwindling to an unsustainable level. Even though people keep expressing "interest" many were not showing up or were scheduling other appointments during class time. I was thinking that we might be approaching a time that we would have reassess the need for the class. But […]

Notice To: General Authorities; Area Seventies; Stake, Mission, and District Presidents; Bishops and Branch Presidents From: Young Men and Young Women General Presidencies Subject: Mutual Theme for 2015 The Mutual theme for 2015 is “O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, […]

You'll need a stool and some youth leaders. Have a youth stand on the stool.  Demonstrate that with a little effort, if the person stands alone, you can knock him/her off the perch. Point out that it's very difficult for someone to Stand in Holy Places all alone. How can they "be not moved?"  Scripture […]

Elder Richard G. Scott taught, "Never, and I mean never, give a lecture where there is no student participation. A 'talking head' is the weakest form of classroom instruction." (Address to CES Religious Educators, February 4, 2005) Lecture has its place in teaching, but teacher presentation or lecture should not be your entire lesson. It […]

The Lord often uses "formulas" to show how to obtain certain blessings or outcomes. Mark these with an equal signs. They signal a plain truth of the gospel. Look For: Look for places where the Lord defines something or ties two or more things together. Words like "is," "like," or "in other words" Example: D&C […]