Intriguing Or Not

[Snow]

I hope you don't mind my opening up a separate topic for this (taken from The Goal of Our Faith thread).

Originally posted by BenRaines@Nov 8 2005, 12:05 PM

Here is a list of resources that I consider using when preparing a lesson or a talk.

The chart below shows the curriculum materials to be used by the Melchizedek Priesthood.

1st Sunday     

Instruction from Church-approved resources, including:

The Scriptures

Church Handbook of Instructions, Book 2: Priesthood and Auxiliary Leaders (35209), especially sections 1, 7, 8, 9, and 16

Priesthood and Auxiliary Leaders' Guidebook (31178)

Church magazines or the monthly First Presidency Message

Family Guidebook (31180)

Duties and Blessings of the Priesthood, Part A (31111)

Duties and Blessings of the Priesthood, Part B (31112)

Gospel Principles (31110) or Gospel Fundamentals (31129)

A Member’s Guide to Temple and Family History Work (34697)

2nd & 3rd Sundays    Teachings of Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay

4th Sunday    Teachings for Our Time (see November Ensign or Liahona)

5th Sunday    Topics and resources determined by the bishopric or branch presidency

You will notice that it does not include Mormon Doctrine, Journal of Discourses, books by Hugh Nibley, Cleon Skousen.  I read them.  I enjoy some of the insight they provide but do not use them as a teaching tool.  We are to couch our teaching in the scriptures and in the church approved curriculum.

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Not me.

While I make liberal use of the scriptures and will often sight General Conference talks, I make liberal use of or Richard Bushman, Terryl Givens, James Talmage or any number of LDS and non-LDS scholars, especially Nibley who was asked by the Church and wrote one of the best Priesthood manuals ever - that was before the dumbed down, white-washed, correlation committee edited, current day era of the lowest common denominator.

I use whatever the spirit (or whatever else it is) moves me to use. I teach several lessons a month and have given 4 Sacrament Meeting talks in the past four years and have thus recently used:

The Confessions of St. Augustine

Plato

The Journals of Lewis and Clarke

The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

Plutarch's Lives

Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov

Whatever I happen to be reading at the time and etc, etc, etc.

When explaining scriptures or giving the context in which the scriptures were written I use:

Studies in Scriptures - Deseret Books

Harper's Bible Dictionary

Discovering the World of the Bible

The Oxford Bible Commentary

Now - I often make the mistake of thinking that what interests me also interest, or should interest others... however, after all 4 of my recent Sacrament talks and a some of my lessons, multiple people ask me for copies.

I have some great Inca Empire material I am dying to use in my next Sacrament talk assignment. It doesn't what the assigned topic is - I'll be able to work it in to just about anything.

What this church needs is more interesting, better prepared and more challenging material and less of the dumbed down, boring, recycled, spirit deficient same-o' same-o.

[BenRaines]

I would agree that stories, thoughts, poems, experiences, etc. can come from those sources. I have also seen people get way out there and teach false doctrine from the stand when they use other than what we are recommended to use in our teaching.

I have seen President Monson many times use poems or stories that he has read. Quotes of the writing of CS Lewis and many others. They teach a point but do not teach doctrine.

I agree that people need to be more well read