I decided to try something new with my District. Instead of Demonstrating Lesson 1 as a part of Demonstrate teaching, I had two missionaries teach me lesson 1 and the rest of the district watched. I asked the District if they wanted me to show them or if they wanted to show each other and that is what they chose.Because they were acting like they knew it I gave them the option of teaching Alejandro lesson one as a district, like they would for a book of mormon read. They decided that they would prefer to watch 2 missionaries teach Alejandro and then have us stop and evaluate. Sister merryman helped with the stopping and evaluation. Elder Tracy and Elder Albee (the two most intelligent missionaries in the district) volunteered and teamed up. Elder Tracy has served for 3 months on a mini mission and knows his stuff and Elder Albee has a Semi-Photographic memory.
They started teaching a straight lesson and I didn't say anything for about 5 mins. After a pause and observation they realized the error and then slowly started to correct it as the lesson progressed. THE MAIN PART OF THIS IS THAT they relied mostly on their historical fact knowledge of the reformation and renaissance and other trivia facts and tried to incorporate that into the lesson and it wasn't very effective or powerful, EVEN THOUGH their historical facts were accurate. At the end of the class I had them read the 10-15 minn summary of lesson one. We read it as a district and we read it once sentence at a time. I asked them why those short choppy sentences were so powerful. I helped them to realize that even though the sentences were not eloquent and the paragraph was choppy that they were still powerful because they were backed up by TRUE DOCTRINE that the spirit could then testify of. I helped them see that even though their knowledge of the renaissance was true, that it was NOT Doctrine. If it is not in PMG we shouldn't really talk about it because its not OUR PURPOSE to give a history lesson. Then I asked what the role of the Spirit was and helped them to see that the Spirit testifies of Doctrine and Testimony. So, when we are tempted to dive in deep to a principle or something like that, we should resist this urge and stay on the surface, teach true doctrine, and let the spirit fill their mind and heart about the "deep stuff." They loved it and i could tell that the Spirit was speaking through me because I have never had to explain this difference before, and it was really really powerful. It also comforted the rest of the district that they don't have to know as much as these two elders and that all they have to know is what is in PMG and the Doctrine that is contained there.
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Thursday, November 7, 2013
He Invites
Recently as we have been studying the fundamental We Invite, They Commit, We Follow Up I realized that I have always viewed this fundamental in a very limited way. I have always thought about this topic in terms of teaching investigators or missionaries, and trying to help them to make commitments. As I have thought about this fundamental in a personal way, it struck me that God works with us the same way. He invites us (and always has, and always will) to follow Him, and to make commitments and covenants that are for our ultimate well-being and happiness. He never compels us to do so, but He always follows up with us! One thing I want to do is further examine how this fundamental has worked in my life, and seek to apply those same principles to my own teaching.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
"Thy mind, O Man...must stretch"
So I found this quote by Joseph Smith today (Dean C. Jessee and John W. Welch, “Revelations in
Context: Joseph Smith’s Letter from Liberty Jail, March 20, 1839,” BYU Studies 39, no. 3
(2000): 137,):
The things of God are of deep import, and time and experience and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out. Thy mind, O Man, if thou wilt lead a soul unto salvation, must stretch as high as the utmost Heavens, and search into and contemplate the lowest considerations of the darkest abyss, and expand upon the broad considerations of eternal expanse; he must commune with God. How much more dignified and noble are the thoughts of God, than the vain imaginations of the human heart, none but fools will trifle with the souls of men.
And then a few more from Preach My Gospel:
"Listening takes effort and concentration." (PMG pg . 186)
"Effective teaching can be hard work and requires concentration and effort..." (PMG pg. 184)
And then this one from A Guide for MTC Teachers:
"Missionaries should feel stretched, but not overwhelmed."
Learning the gospel makes us stretch and living the gospel makes us stretch, and sharing the gospel makes us stretch etc. etc. etc....and hopefully it stretches, as Joseph Smith indicates, "as high as the utmost Heavens."
That is all.
The things of God are of deep import, and time and experience and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out. Thy mind, O Man, if thou wilt lead a soul unto salvation, must stretch as high as the utmost Heavens, and search into and contemplate the lowest considerations of the darkest abyss, and expand upon the broad considerations of eternal expanse; he must commune with God. How much more dignified and noble are the thoughts of God, than the vain imaginations of the human heart, none but fools will trifle with the souls of men.
And then a few more from Preach My Gospel:
"Listening takes effort and concentration." (PMG pg . 186)
"Effective teaching can be hard work and requires concentration and effort..." (PMG pg. 184)
And then this one from A Guide for MTC Teachers:
"Missionaries should feel stretched, but not overwhelmed."
Learning the gospel makes us stretch and living the gospel makes us stretch, and sharing the gospel makes us stretch etc. etc. etc....and hopefully it stretches, as Joseph Smith indicates, "as high as the utmost Heavens."
That is all.
Monday, November 4, 2013
It's All Connected
Recently as we have been focusing on the Doctrine of Christ and the Role of the Holy Ghost in Conversion, it struck me how connected all of these fundamentals really are. Of course it is important to focus on individual fundamentals so that we can study them, deepen our understanding of them, and live them more fully. At the same time, the more I study the fundamentals, the harder it is to separate them from each other. For example, during the weeks when we focused on the Doctrine of Christ there were some very specific things that I received promptings to do. As we transitioned into the Role of the Holy Ghost in Conversion, the things that I have been working on haven't really changed. However, I have seen them in a different light, from a different perspective. It is amazing how all of the fundamentals are related. Each one points us towards Christ, and they are all essential for conversion.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Voices
Potentially creepy title... we all hear voices though. Elder Faust explains that Satan will use distracting voices to pull us away from the voice of the spirit. These can cone from tv, ads, magazines, friends, or music (pretty much anything with a message). Recently I've tried to remove distracting voices from my life and bring more appropriate voices that can be followed by the Spirit.
It's amazing how different life has been. My attitude is different. My ideas are different. My view of people is different. I feel like I have more faith and more peace. I hadn't realized how much competition there is for airtime in my mind. The spirit can only be prevelant if I take away the other voices.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Covenants: the Gateway to Awesomeness.
I got that title from the Bible Dictionary entry for "Awesomeness". It reads "Awesomeness is experienced as one allows the Atonement into their life and therefore receives greater guidance from the Lord and greater meaning in their lives."
So I lied. That's not a real quote, and there is no BDE for awesomeness. However, if there were I'm pretty sure that it would start with the connection between the Atonement and covenants.
The past two weeks I've been trying to more-so live the Doctrine of Christ by focusing more on keeping my covenants. First I dove into some serious covenant study (like a real estate lawyer). I mapped out all the covenants that I've made with the Lord including baptism, the priesthood, and my temple covenants (there are a lot). Then I studied the requirements and blessings for each covenant. As I did, I was impressed by a commonality that spread across all of the covenants. They all have a focus on serving God by serving other people.
With this is mind, I wanted to find a way to better keep my covenants on a daily basis. I decided to plan in every night ways that I could live the doctrines of the covenants (sacrifice, obedience, consecration) by serving people. As I planned these things I found myself calling my mom more, reaching out to old friends, and trying to make new friends so that I could have people to serve.
It's been incredible! I feel like I'm understanding my covenants better every day. These last two weeks have honestly been some of the funnest two weeks that I've had since my mission. I know its all because the Lord showed me new ways that I could keep my covenants. I'm so grateful for the blessings that come as we live the way that the Lord has promised us to live. I know that I allow Him into my life more and more as I keep the the covenants that I've made with him. You could say that covenants are the gateway to awesomeness.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
It Really Works!!!
Do you remember the Sham Wow guy?
Better question, will you ever be able to forget the Sham Wow guy?
Bleached hair, microphone, creepy stare, the guy had it all (if you've forgotten you really should google image search him). On top of all of it, he made it seem like he loved Sham Wow's more than his mother. He was nuts, and somehow throughout it all you found yourself wanting a Sham Wow! Sham WOW!!!
Despite the guy that put the wow in Sham Wow, I think the most impressive thing about those commercials were the demos that they did with the product. For those that may not remember, it was essentially a towel that cleaned up everything. It literally cleaned everything. Make one the president and we'd have world peace in four years. Sham Wow. You think I'm exaggerating but you should check it out, you will believe me. You probably remember the Sham Wow becoming a pop culture icon. A household shammy as a pop culture icon, seriously? It was though. People loved it, and it worked.
And so we see the impressive duo of a fired up messenger and an incredible product. Now I'm not in the business school, and this isn't about marketing, but I think there's a principle here that is important for us to learn.
We've got to care about the product, and we've got to love showing it off to people. That's what made Sham Wow so successful, and that's why demonstrations are such an important part of MTC teaching. Likewise, Christ is the perfect example of one that demonstrated the doctrine in all that he did. His life was a demonstration of sorts. I can see the Apostles taking notes as He walked the streets of Jerusalem. They observed the way that he introduced himself to people, the way that he studied, the way that he prayed, and the way that he taught. It's no question why Christ would command in 3 Nephi 27, "that which ye have seen me do, even that shall ye do." Not only did he live His doctrine, He was His doctrine. He was, and is, the way.
Likewise, the principles of MTC teaching and the fundamentals can only be effectively taught when they become who we are, when they make their way into the way that we live. This kind of teaching takes preparation that goes past the MTC. It includes every choice that we make in our lives. As a result, for us to be truly powerful as MTC teachers we must be striving to always understand the fundamentals and principles of MTC training daily.
Why are you getting a strange email about this? Well, in an effort to help us be a strength to each other in living the doctrine of the fundamentals, we invite you to look at the "Stewardship Doc" section of the blog a little differently. From now on, this area of the blog will include entries describing ways and telling stories of the fundamentals making a difference in the lives of teachers. Please be a part of it! Feel free to add your own experiences where the the doctrine of the fundamentals have been made manifest in your life and blessed you. If you don't feel like you have any of those experiences, pick a fundamental that you don't understand, study it, and ask the Lord how you need to apply its principles in your life. He'll let you know.
This will be of benefit to those that take advantage of it. This is the benefits program that you get for free as an MTC employee. You have the opportunity for true doctrine to be constantly applied in your life and you have the opportunity to interact with those that are doing the same. Take advantage of it! Live the fundamentals, and let people know! Post your experiences! Read the experiences of others!
As the true doctrine of the fundamentals is understood it will change your attitudes and behavior, and the missionaries that you work with will want that doctrine more than anyone has ever wanted a Sham Wow. Go for it!
Better question, will you ever be able to forget the Sham Wow guy?
Bleached hair, microphone, creepy stare, the guy had it all (if you've forgotten you really should google image search him). On top of all of it, he made it seem like he loved Sham Wow's more than his mother. He was nuts, and somehow throughout it all you found yourself wanting a Sham Wow! Sham WOW!!!
Despite the guy that put the wow in Sham Wow, I think the most impressive thing about those commercials were the demos that they did with the product. For those that may not remember, it was essentially a towel that cleaned up everything. It literally cleaned everything. Make one the president and we'd have world peace in four years. Sham Wow. You think I'm exaggerating but you should check it out, you will believe me. You probably remember the Sham Wow becoming a pop culture icon. A household shammy as a pop culture icon, seriously? It was though. People loved it, and it worked.
And so we see the impressive duo of a fired up messenger and an incredible product. Now I'm not in the business school, and this isn't about marketing, but I think there's a principle here that is important for us to learn.
We've got to care about the product, and we've got to love showing it off to people. That's what made Sham Wow so successful, and that's why demonstrations are such an important part of MTC teaching. Likewise, Christ is the perfect example of one that demonstrated the doctrine in all that he did. His life was a demonstration of sorts. I can see the Apostles taking notes as He walked the streets of Jerusalem. They observed the way that he introduced himself to people, the way that he studied, the way that he prayed, and the way that he taught. It's no question why Christ would command in 3 Nephi 27, "that which ye have seen me do, even that shall ye do." Not only did he live His doctrine, He was His doctrine. He was, and is, the way.
Likewise, the principles of MTC teaching and the fundamentals can only be effectively taught when they become who we are, when they make their way into the way that we live. This kind of teaching takes preparation that goes past the MTC. It includes every choice that we make in our lives. As a result, for us to be truly powerful as MTC teachers we must be striving to always understand the fundamentals and principles of MTC training daily.
Why are you getting a strange email about this? Well, in an effort to help us be a strength to each other in living the doctrine of the fundamentals, we invite you to look at the "Stewardship Doc" section of the blog a little differently. From now on, this area of the blog will include entries describing ways and telling stories of the fundamentals making a difference in the lives of teachers. Please be a part of it! Feel free to add your own experiences where the the doctrine of the fundamentals have been made manifest in your life and blessed you. If you don't feel like you have any of those experiences, pick a fundamental that you don't understand, study it, and ask the Lord how you need to apply its principles in your life. He'll let you know.
This will be of benefit to those that take advantage of it. This is the benefits program that you get for free as an MTC employee. You have the opportunity for true doctrine to be constantly applied in your life and you have the opportunity to interact with those that are doing the same. Take advantage of it! Live the fundamentals, and let people know! Post your experiences! Read the experiences of others!
As the true doctrine of the fundamentals is understood it will change your attitudes and behavior, and the missionaries that you work with will want that doctrine more than anyone has ever wanted a Sham Wow. Go for it!
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