priesthoodpower

Dahlia, thanks for sharing that link The new 2013 youth curriculum "come follow me" was the pilot program to this new style of teaching. So yes, the youth teachers were trained and have been trying to teach this way since 2013. It will now be rolled out into the rest of our ward classes in 2016. As a Sunday school president in my ward I am excited to see and hear of this type of progress we are making in regards to teaching to our members and investigators. Im super excited to have this spirit-led teaching as the new standard for learning in our church.

Like I said previously, your uptight self righteous attitude about a HP group in the boonies of Alaska not sticking to the lesson is what caused your own disappointment and your own spiritual feelings to disappear. Im sure those men left church that day feeling that much more closer to each other as they continued to bond, but you were an outsider and know nothing about their camaraderie. Im not saying that they were in the right, im just disagreeing with you saying that they were in the wrong. As a sunday school president in my ward I am preparing a special class for our ward teachers to attend and learn from this manual. Its an awesome resource and the current stance on how we want our teaching to be done. That book was also written in 1999. Do you know what was going on in 1999? In 1999 I was serving a mission and the inspired word coming from church headquarters was for us missionaries to teach the discussions word for word, lesson by lesson. That has since changed into gospel conversations that cater to things that are relevant to the investigator. Why? because our investigators are not robots that all think the same and they are not babys that need to be force fed the gospel the way we want them too hear it. Rather to teach them the gospel from the angles that they need to hear it. This goes along with the current sunday school instruction for us to teach in the "Saviors way" https://www.lds.org/youth/learn/guidebook/teaching?lang=eng Our missionaries started teaching this way, our youth program has incorporated this method and soon our adult programs will. So those topics that are important, interesting and relevant in our day-to-day lives will soon be discussed in our church classrooms, not as topics of debate or controversy but from a hollistic approach as it pertains to the gospel. You are correct according to the current curriculum for adults (EQ/HP/RS classes). But for the new 2013 youth curriculum it does allow for hot topics to be discussed and tied into a gospel lesson. Read my #29 post to anatess.

Let me try to elaborate a bit more clearly Point #1. Currently the youth "Come follow me" curriculum has 5-7 suggested topics to teach off of every month. At the beginning of the month the teacher familiarizes themselves with all 7 topics and on sunday is guided by the spirit as to what topic the youth are more prepared to hear. This will be rolled out into the adult Sunday school classes as well, nothing official on lds.org yet but keep your ears open. Because of the dynamic nature of where our resources are located (lds.org) the church is flexible to changing those topics from month to month and making them as relevant to whats going on in the world/church. For example if WW3 breaks out in the middle east then its plausible to think that the church would find topics and doctrine relating to war and put them into the next months topics or even the current month. To me, this is AMAZING at how effectively our church is adapting to use technologies to further the work and to put the power of speech more into the mouths of the members (teachers and students). Point #2. Group participation and classroom discussion is the new teaching style under the "Come follow me" curriculum. The teacher is told to be less of a "Teacher" and more of a facilitator of a group discussion, the youth are encouraged to share their feelings and perspectives in a discussion, other youth members are encouraged to answer those questions or add to the discussion. The facilitator (as well as every class member) are there to help guide the discussion with scriptural and doctrinal resources and if possible to tie it into one of the 7 topics that are posted for the month. For example lets say that to open our class the kids start talking about how there was a big riot at school and three students were sent to the ER with injuries, well as the facilitator I want them to talk more about how they felt as they witnessed the event and help them realize how satan had his hand in it. One of the 7 topics that month could be on the holy ghost and I could tie the discussion into a lesson about how the holy ghost helps us to avoid dangerous situations, in this case a riot in which any student could have gotten caught in the middle of it and get injured. As the sunday school president in my ward I end up subbing at least once a month in the youth classes. I have put this curriculum to practice and I tell you it is amazing. More participation, more meaningful conversations, better engagement from some of the youth whom would rather not come to church but now love coming to class because they are a part of it. And yes, various topics like teenage pregnancy, video games, cyber bullying (to name a few) are all forefront in the minds of our youths and they come to class wanting to discuss and confirm our beliefs as LDS and how it affects them in their daily struggles. Yes, the spirit does reside in the class regardless of the topic of discussion as long as we are genuinely trying to learn and understand from each other, and as stated on lds.org...it is how the savior would teach..https://www.lds.org/youth/learn/guidebook/teaching?lang=eng Under this structure will the rest of our classes function, soon to be Sunday school (gospel doctrine, gospel principles...) Going away from the spoon fed lessons or force feeding topics and into things more relevant to individual members in various different lands and cultures. There is no wandering away from teaching doctrine rather a more flexible way to incorporate our daily problems with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It has been my personal observation over the last 15 years that the internet, through social media and various blog/forums has taken the religious conversation of our members away from the homes and chapels and into the cyber world where satan has more influence to deceive. By being more open and flexible in our teaching I see our church making the effort to bring those conversations back into our reach where we as leaders can help guide and influence for the better.

You are correct anatess. That is the way it currently is and thankfully our church has outstanding resources in LDS.org to keep everyone on the same page.

Hi Leah, Im not dismissive of your response, Im flattered that you like to follow me around on this website and quote me. Have a great week!

Mormongator the Lord is listneing to people like you...the 2016 curriculum is geared more toward open discussion, spur of the moment, hot topic type of teaching. For example the lessons last week sunday could have been about the new supreme court ruling of same sex marriage. Our members want to talk about it and we will talk about it.None of this "okay class lets talk about the Holy Ghost....", Hey teacher! we didnt talk about the holy ghost!

  You are seriously going to judge a group of HP men in Alaska? You are not talking about your home wards HP group, or the HP group in some other major city in the greater 48? But a ward located in the boonies of Alaska? Where life is slow and laid back!You have a screen name with "capitalist" in it and your location is Utah!! Is the rest of the church outside of Utah not living up to your standards?I guess we should all move to Utah and become a part of the true ZION!I hope you dont visit a ward in Japan because when they speak japanese and you cant understand a word you will start looking at the time and be disappointed again.

Im in EQ and this past year we have combined with the HP group atleast 4 times. Two of the older gentlemen (both of which were former bishops) talk too much and act like they are our wise old grand fathers. I really want to kick them out of the class or send the HP group back into their own classroom! But thats just my wards HP group, different from what your HP experience was but based on your expectations I thinnk you would fit in well with my wards HP group. Outside of the classroom setting, the HP group members are all cool guys, yes, even those two chatter mouths. I just cant stand them in a classroom setting.

No offense but I think you might be a little uptight and on that particular sunday your expectations were not met. I think the shock of returning to the HP class after 15 years of absence is what you are dealing with. After a while as you regularly attend you will get back into the groove of things. Its kind of like the following 2 arguments the anti-mormons say, 1. "I never heard the words 'Jesus Christ' mentioned once during church!" - well if you listened to every prayer I can guarantee you it was mentioned atleast 8 times in the 3 hour block. 2. "I went to their Gospel Doctrine class and all they talked about was Joseph Smith and his teachings, they dont teach about Christ!" - this particular year we are studying the Doctrine & Covenants, next year we study old testament, the following year we study the new testament. We also have other activities and resources during the week (outside of the 3 hour sunday service) that we study and worship Jesust Christ.

The relief society brought homemade cookies in to our priesthood opening exercises, they were huge cookies. I took one and thought about my 3 daughters then took two more. After church I gave each one of them a cookie. It was special for me because their mother does not come with us to church so I feel like the mom and the dad on sundays.

My wife left the church 2 yrs ago because of 1) social drama with other women members, 2) doctrinal issues as far as family relations, I have many inactives in my family, she has a few in her family so there is no difference in the way she is viewed at from family members or should I say it was a smooth transition? business as usual? the only people that took it hard at first was my mom and her mom, both mothers are fanatical members (and divorcees), which brought on thoughts that if I divorced my wife it would also be a smooth transition? lol jk. as far as friends, she did have a few close member friends that slowly grew distant, in part because of the change of beliefs but mostly because being busy raising our own families. as far as members..no public announcement but many obvious signs in her new way of dress, some members still dont know, they just think she is inactive because she doesnt come to church. She still comes to some activities because she wants to be around our children, she is still friendly with those who were genuinely friendly with her. She does realize that her upbringing in the church helped keep her life as simple and drama free as possible so she does appreciate the church as an organization for our kids rather then a religion for them.

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what you dont understand is that living in good standings as an LDS member require sacrifices and strict obedience. So much so that many avenues to obtaining lucrative careers and material wealth is out of our reach. For example my household income is half of what it could potentially be because my wife decided to stay at home and raise our kids for the past 12 years. But the lord has promised us that if we obey him he will prosper us in HIS WAY with material wealth AND eternal blessings. 01. The two bedroom apartment (with no yard) that I live in is waaay too small for my family of 5 but I have no debt, a comfortable savings, my kids love spending time with me, this two bedroom apt is in a safe neighborhood and is what I consider my "riches of the earth" I am truly a blessed man. I am not offended by the way you view the LDS church and its teachings because you dont understand it and to your defense there are many LDS faithful that dont understand fully some/most of our teachings and that is why we continually strive to learn and understand the gospel. Its a lifetime journey. A drug dealer is obedient to following the protocol of selling the drugs. A Lawyer had to be obedient through out his schooling to obtain a law degree. A business man had to be obedient to laws and regulations to run his business. Even winning slots at vegas require enough obedience to put the coin in the correct slot. -------------- To non-LDS folks material abundance has no relation to being obedient to God. I think we can all agree on that. LDS members like myself believe that God is the source of all material and eternal blessings in our lives. The fact that I was able to afford a soda and sushi for lunch this afternoon humbled me enough to thank God for that abundance and I would like to believe that the Lord appreciates my efforts of obedience to pray and recognize him in following his commandments daily. God wants us to recognize him in all things, thats all, I choose to, you choose not to. Your perspective and understanding is different. We simply need to agree to disagree. My soda and sushi lunch is an abundance of wealth and I attribute this abundance to my gospel obedience. Its false to you but true to me.

I think the people who hate the gifts are the ones whos money went into buying an item that they wouldnt have bought themselves. This situation usually only occurs when a wife buys for her husband. The wife (especially if she is a stay at home mom) is mostlikely spending from a shared bank account. Men just think like this, dont ask me why. My wife bought me a Tumi $200 man purse today for Fathers day. I smiled and thanked her and remembered to be gracious in accepting but deep inside I was thinking "..$200!!!!!!!!!!!! I could have bought myself that piece of scuba gear Ive been wanting!" She got me a man purse because I am always asking to put my wallet and keys in her bag when we go out. She was very thoughtful and observant which I appreciate. Luckily she told me that the receipt is still in the bag and I can go back and exchange it. I will go back and get a laptop bag. Gifts from friends or in-laws are different, I could careless how much they spent or how useless the item is, its the thought that counts.

Your daughter will out shine you on fathers day, sorry, cant beat that. Those type of things melt me. The best you can do to come close to your daughter is to put as much heart into it. My wife always cooks a full course dinner. Regardless of what she makes or how it tastes (its always yumm) the thought of her putting full mind, body and heart into it really makes me feel special. other thoughtful things you can do... - clean the yard then buy food and let him grill - clean the house then cook a meal followed with desert - wash his truck then take him/family to a restaurant - do a canvas painting of a family portrait, this hangs on the wall forever to remind him how much you cherish the family. My wife did some paintings a few years ago and although it looks like an elementary kid painted it, it has sentimental value and I look at it everyday. If he is a workaholic like me then he's not that materialistic and appreciates the thoughtful gifts. Here is an example of just how special the thoughtful gifts are. Last week we did family home evening and my daughter asked everyone to get your favorite item to do a show and tell. Of all the things my wife owns...(fashion bags, jewelrys, shoes, clothes etc..) she picked an ugly old slightly deformed sea shell that I had picked for her 30 feet deep in the ocean while scuba diving 10 years ago, she said its her favorite thing in her bedroom. --------------------------- If he has a group of friends that he hangs with every so often or favorite hobbies then monetary gifts are good because he gets to put it to use and/or show it off. My buddy that I go scuba diving with opened up a brand new gopro camera one day when we were going diving. He said his wife got it for him on his birthday, he was super excited to use it.

congradulations!

After I got off my mission I worked for a year, then an opportunity came up for me to teach english in Japan on a 6 month contract. When I got there I quickly found the local ward, went to church and met the members and leaders. The second week at church they introduced me to my home teachers. The third week was the last time that I went to church as I slowly met non-member friends and found other things to do on sundays. The first, second, third, and fourth month I got no contact from my HT's. At this point I was inactive and not happy about certain choices I had made. I had a picture of Jesus Christ hanging on the wall and I would look at it everyday thinking about how much I loved him but was so sorry for my actions. It felt as though my apartment was dark and gloomy and I noticed that I had cause the spirit to withdraw itself, I remember one time even crying and feeling sad for myself. During the fifth month I was laying in my living room watching tv, the phone rang and I answered it, it was my hometeacher calling to schedule a visit, his voice carried the Holy Ghost and I felt it through the phone. He and his partner came over the next week and when they walked in they brought the spirit back into my apartment as it was also emanating within them. This experience was a clear testament to me that home teaching and visiting teaching is of the Lord, when we are on the Lord's errand he is also with us to bless the lives of our fellow saints. Its sad that us members get too caught up in thinking that it is an "assignment", an "assigned friend" or whatever. It really is a blessing and I didnt realize it until I experienced it first hand.

Can you point me to the section that says we on longer believe in the curse of cain? Joseph Fielding smith (Answers to Gospel Questions, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., 5 vols. [1957–66], 3:122–23). Talked about the Lamanites dark skin as a sign of the curse, but the curse itself was the seperation from God. I also agree with DHK in that mormonism did not exist in the early years of our church, they were growing as they were learning, what ever habits and beliefs they grew up with in other churches still had an influence as they learned and converted themselves to the restored gospel. There is so much oversight these days in the way our organization is structured that I would think any leader that has questionable intentions will easily be discovered. Our local leaders do not get paid and the higher up leaders that do receive money, greed is not a driving force to cause them to falter.

Eowyn if you appear in real life anything like your avatar I think ISIS would even stop everything to help you out. :) My 60yr old father owns his own plumbing company, over the years he has learned to read people to a "T". After 5 seconds of arriving at a customers home or job site he can tell what kind of person he is dealing with. He adjusts his tone of voice and demeanor accordingly. You might say there is a little stereotyping going on but from what I observe he is protecting himself and his company (I have seen his hulk hogan personality come out on a few job sites). He constantly has customers stiff him on payment, threatening to sue just for the heck of it, Competitors trying to intimidate him out in the streets, random thieves going around town stealing tools from plumbers vans, employees stealing from his warehouse etc.etc.. now, think about the police who have to deal with the scum of the earth on a daily basis, criminals, murderers, thieves, druggies, liars. Its not easy being a police officer.

It all comes down to the method/tone/style of how the commandment of serving a mission (or any commandment) is being delivered to us members. The prophets and apostles deliver the message at general conference where millions of members are listening, if any guilt is felt it is done through the spirit directly to your heart while sitting in your living room listening to the prophet. no public shaming or personal attacks involved. The local bishop, EQ/RS president or sunday school teacher relays those same messages in a more intimate setting in front of a smaller audience and the chances for offense increases. That is why we need to be more sensitive and mindful as leaders, teachers and participating members about how, what, and when we say things. -------------------- On sundays Im able to attend church but leave to work right after. Been doing this for 5 years. In a recent interview with bishop we were on the subject of my work schedule and he said "I think it would be good for you to be off on sundays" Such a simple way of proclaiming one of the ten commandments to (Keep the sabbath day holy). His words to this day still echo in my head as the spirit confirms that what he said was inspired. Thats a big difference from saying "It is one of the ten commandments to keep the sabbath day holy and since you are not following the Lords commandment you are following Satan!". Had he said it this way Im pretty sure disappointment would occupy my mind and there would be no room for the spirit. -----------------

don't be so quick to judge that it blinds you! Maybe try reading the OP's post more thoroughly as he never stated that he relapsed. So yes he is still a member in good standing. * sorry, don't mean to be so defensive but after years of seeing this type of behavior in our LDS culture and its recent affect on my immediate family members I decide to be more outspoken.

I know OP = original poster, but I was lazy and hoping that everyone in this thread would understand it as Original Post, which would of course lead to the linked website where the said quote resided. the exact quote does state..""..if you’re not choosing the Lord by going on a mission, then you’re choosing to be on Satan’s side. It’s that simple.”", so yes I did misquote. In my defense I did use that quote properly on page 7, this time i was lazy and didnt want to go back to the website.

If everything is so black and white and leads us to believe that the Kid has failed his priesthood duty to PREPARE for his mission. Then we must dig deeper and look at his nursery leaders, primary leaders, youth leaders, parents, bishopric as all failures for not helping the Kid be prepared. His hometeachers for not visiting every month for the 18 years of his life, his parents for not feeding the missionarys once a month for 18 yrs allowing for the shinning example of having elders/sisters in the home. As much as we call this newer generation of kids more idle and lazy, are a bunch of parents that accept less responsibility and more absence in their kids lives. You didnt have to buy that xbox which resulted in your kid being a gamer. Dont put all the blame on the kid and call him a failure, or as a "follower of Satan" as stated in the OP. As much as our kids go to school and face peer pressure to do bad things, they do come to church and are supposed to receive the peer encouragement of preparing and serving a mission, if that influence was not strong enough to convince him to make the decision of serving a mission then the entire ward failed him.

Im sorry if I havent made myself clear in previous posts but my claims are that the style of teaching and delivering the message needs to evolve/ adapt, not the message itself, and I was quite cautious of not saying anything about doctrine. This is all in referenece to the op's post about a Stake President councilman that could have been more mindful in a particular setting when proclaiming the commandment of missionary work "..if you’re not choosing the Lord by going on a mission, then you’re choosing to be on Satan’s side. It’s that simple.” - was this done in some way to scare the kid into changing his mind? well I think it was not said in righteousness because Christ would have approached it differently - https://www.lds.org/youth/learn/guidebook/teaching?lang=eng I also shared a personal story of my 10yr old girls primary teacher who said "Every church except for the LDS church is the devils church." Both of the above said statements Im not disagreeing with, but I am disagreeing with the delivery - which I also go on to proclaim (in my own opinion) is a generational mentality of those (older) leaders. Which is also why I said that I look forward to a new generation of future leaders to come up in the ranks. I wholeheartedly agree with you on this, the commandment that all worthy young priesthood holders to serve should always be taught and emphasized BUT should a young man not want to go why do we have to put him out on a plank and say he is on "satans side?" I M H O

what are you talking about??