Learning from the Prophets...and the Scriptures

The theme for May is Prophets and Apostles. Last week was the Ft. Lauderdale Temple dedication so we didn't have normal services. That leaves only 3 more weeks left in May to cover some great outlines this month. There were too many that I wanted to talk about and not enough Sundays so I combined two this week.

What Can I Learn from Living Prophets and Revelation? and How Does Reverence Help Me Receive Revelation?

Intro:

Write on the board. Reverence is ___________________________.  Have the youth come up one by one and write down their definition.

Read from True to the Faith:

“Reverence is profound respect and love. When you have a reverent attitude toward God, you honor Him, express your gratitude to Him, and obey His commandments.

You should be reverent in your behavior as well as your attitude. Reverent behavior includes prayer, scripture study, fasting, and payment of tithes and offerings. It includes wearing modest clothing and using clean, wholesome language. The depth of your reverence is evident in your choice of music and other entertainment, in the way you speak of sacred subjects, and in the way you dress and act when you attend church and the temple. You show your reverence for the Lord when you serve other people and treat them with kindness and respect.”

Pause after each paragraph to make sure that all definitions are included on the board.

Discuss the importance of having Reverence and what each definition means. Tell the youth to ponder these definitions as we come up with a few challenges in our lives.

Challenges:
Have the youth come up with a list of things that they are challenged with today.  Each one is to take at least one challenge and search the general conference talks to see what advice the prophets and apostles have to give.  Have the youth prepare a 10-minute mini lesson to present next week on the topic.

Explain to the youth that you want them to prepare for and teach a topic next week and receiving personal revelation is part of that.  When preparing for a lesson or a talk, you pray about the subject.  Ponder what you know, what questions you have, what you hope to be able to teach, etc. for a couple of days.  Read the lesson or information first and just let it sit with you.  Then come back a couple days later and really begin to outline what you want to discuss.  While preparing for your mini-lesson, keep these thoughts and ideas with you.  Remember the many definitions of reverence that we learned about today and apply them to your daily lives.  Think about how the reverence you carry with you throughout this week helps you receive the revelation for your lesson.  Be prepared to share any experiences with the class next week after your lesson.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend church next Sunday, I'll be out of town for some training. However, I pray that each of the youth sincerely search and ponder about some of the challenges we came up with. I hope that they are able to seek personal revelation as they read the advice from the prophets and are able to find ways to apply it to their lives. I wish that each of them are able to band together and offer support to one another as we strive to overcome daily challenges and live our lives in accordance to the gospel.