I have such a testimony of temple work. I'm thankful for the many times I was able to visit the temple while in my youth. It was in the temple that I got the confirmation of what direction to take my life when I was a junior in high school trying to decide on colleges and career choices. It was there I made the covenant that I would one day marry in the temple, to which I did! I'm grateful to be sealed to my best friend and for the knowledge that our children will be with us for all of time and eternity as well.
I'm grateful for the opportunity that I had to visit the temple recently with my family. I was able to take a family name through and feel the spirit of performing her ordinances. I was also able to enjoy the unique experience of going through the temple while pregnant. I know that is where I needed to be and I know that the spirit of my son was learning and growing as well.
I know that Joseph Smith was chosen by his loving Heavenly Father to reestablish His church upon the face of the earth. I'm grateful that a young boy, at the age of 14 had the courage to seek to know which is the true church. And that he continued in his quest and translated the Book of Mormon for us, this last dispensation. I'm grateful that he endured the trials and hardships to ensure that we have access to the knowledge of our forefathers. The knowledge that we receive from Jesus Christ's only true gospel, the knowledge that because of Him, I can one day return to live with my Father in Heaven, along with those that I love. I'm grateful for our living prophet today, Thomas S. Monson and for his example and divine revelation to help guide me and my family in this ever-growing difficult world. I know that if it were not for this church, I wouldn't have the happiness I do. Nor would I have found peace and joy in my life. I'm grateful for all that I have and love my Father in Heaven, as I know He loves me.
I want to try to start something to help myself keep up with this blog and to let my class know of the testimonies that I have and continue to build. Every Tuesday, I will post a quick testimony about something I've either been reflecting on, something I've read recently or something that we've been discussing in church. I do have a testimony, although I don't readily share it as often as I should. This will also be my way to show Heavenly Father just how much He means to me, and all the little things He does in my life. Feel free to join me and use the hashtag #TestimonyTuesday!
This upcoming weekend we are taking a trip to Orlando for our "babymoon" so I won't be in my ward on Sunday. However, I have such a good idea of what I want the youth to study/share that I really hope it will work out even in my absence.
This year, April 20, 2013 is Easter.
The Meaning of Easter
The sun rises up over the vast cityscape of Jerusalem, lighting the white limestone walls of the old city and creeping over buildings. Just north of the walls, a garden sits undisturbed.
Shortly, a throng of tourists will arrive and take their spots on the benches overlooking the garden. Some will descend the steps to the lowest point in the garden, quietly duck through a door carved in stone, and stare reverently into a hollowed portion of the rock where a body was laid to rest over two thousand years ago. As they leave, they will notice a sign on the door: "He is not here, for He is risen."
The tourists don't come to the Garden Tomb because this is where they hope Jesus was buried; they come because they hope this is where Jesus did what had never been done before - He lived again.
God sent Jesus to earth to teach us a better way to live. Though his ministry lasted only three years, His teachings have influenced billions for nearly two millennia. But the greatest gift Jesus gave to us was His life. He paid the price for our sins, died on the cross, and rose from the dead - providing a way for each one of us to return and live with God someday.
Show the following videos to all of the youth (I'm really hoping we can agree to have our three classes combined for this week), and then have a testimony meeting.
Because of Him
The video below is from YouTube and cannot be shown in churches. However, you can go to the church's official website to watch the original video HERE.
His Sacred Name - An Easter Declaration
Again, the video below is from YouTube and cannot be shown in churches. However, you can go to the church's official website to watch the original video HERE.
Invite the youth to think about what the Atonement means to them. Think about what Jesus Christ has done for you in your life. Think about how you feel when you study His teachings and read His gospel. What do the Savior's name, life and sacrifice mean to you? What will you do to remember Him?
How can you share your testimony of Christ to others and emulate your love for Him?
Challenge the youth to share one or both of these videos, along with a short testimony using the hashtag #BecauseofHim, TODAY on either Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Invite them to come back next week ready to share the experiences they had and the responses they received from friends and family members.
What does Joseph Smith's example teach me about learning the gospel?
Joseph Smith sought spiritual knowledge while acting as the Lord's instrument in restoring the gospel. He pondered the scriptures, asked inspired questions, and acted upon what he learned. As we follow the Prophet's example, we can receive answers to our questions and inspiration to guide our own lives.
Introduction
Normally we spend the first 5 minutes or so journaling about our topic for the day...today however, I found a really cute handout that I'm centering my lesson on. Please visit the amazing site, The Red Headed Hostess to find the original handout. (I'm not entirely sure how to link to her page, if you could help out that would be awesome! I want to give her full credit for her awesome work!)
This past week I went out on a lesson with the sister missionaries in our ward and met a sweet older lady who was having some confusion and wanted to give up on the missionaries coming over. She didn't want to come to church this week, but I think we finally convinced her to. I told her that I teach the 14-15 year old youth Sunday School and she asked to attend. I told her I would LOVE it if she came to my class and genuinely hoped she did. For this reason, I wanted to solely use the handout below and just look at the definition of what the Apostasy is and really dive into the events that led up to it.
If I taught Seminary and truly had the time, I would love to have the youth in my class put these events in order on their own and have them think through what led to the Apostasy. However, due to the fact that I only have about 30 minutes, and I planned on having an investigator with us, we will work on the bottom portion together.
I will cut the events into strips and we will discuss each event and put them in order together. I still plan on giving the class a copy of this worksheet and they can fill in the back once we decide the proper ordering.
Ideally, if I had enough time, I would love to watch a short little video on applying Joseph Smith's example to our personal search for truth. As a class, we made a goal to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. In trying to continue to encourage my class to have their personal study time, I will be sending a link of the video to each of the youth with the following journal prompt, "How can the prophet Joseph Smith's example help me in my personal search for truth? How am I doing on my Book of Mormon Challenge? What can I do to improve my studies and desire to learn?"
Origin - MormonMessagesYouth
**The woman who has been investigating the church wasn't feeling well and didn't make it today. However, we still had a great discussion and I was able to show the video still! :) I was a happy teacher!
So, I guess the first thing I need to do is introduce my newest blog. Mormonyss: Forever in our Youth. I have been called to serve as the 14-15 year old Youth Sunday School teacher (thus the yss at the end of Mormon in the title) in our new ward. Coming from primary my entire life and working with toddlers everyday, this was a complete shock!
However, it's been a good shock. I've really started to learn more about myself and my testimony as I've thought about different ways to present the lessons to my youth. With a background in Deaf Education, and working with the little ones, I'm a very visual learner and I like to do projects instead of just strictly reading or discussing a topic.
The Come, Follow Me curriculum lends itself to just that! Instead of the traditional "lesson plans" as have been used in the past for church studies, each month is themed and within the theme you have a list of outlines or questions to choose from. The church offers scriptures, talks and videos as a guideline, but the content of the lesson is really up to the teachers! This freedom has allowed me to present my lessons in a more...unique way.
Last week instead of having a traditional lesson, we worked on creating a video with the challenge in mind that my youth will be asked to share the final results with their friends. More about that to come later.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, I wanted to solely dedicate one area of my life, this blog, to thinking about, pondering and preparing my lessons each week. I'm hoping that I can even convince my class to contribute to the blog and upload a few posts of their own. We'll see if that will ever happen or not...
My husband and I sat down on Monday for Family Home Evening and created goals for our family. One of my personal goals is to contribute to this blog at least once a week and share it with my class to help remind them what we've been studying and to also encourage their personal studies. However, I've tried keeping up with blogs and they always seem to get away from me. It'd be great to get all the help I can to keep myself motivated to blog weekly!
