My First Talk Soon!

[Latter Days Guy]

I've got my first ever church talk coming up a week this coming Sunday, I'm feeling incredibly nervous already and don't know what I am going to say. I've been given some notes about my topic, it's an article called Free to choose. My talk is on our Agency and how we are free to choose between everlasting death and life. Luckily it's only 10 minutes, but I think this is going to be the longest 10 minutes in my life

[Blessed]

I am sure you will do fine. That is a great subject... one with I have pondered on many a time. I will send good thoughts to you.

[Latter Days Guy]

I've just downgraded back to XP from Vista so I can get Lesson and Talk Builder and GospeLink to work properly on my laptop. Now all i've got to do is do the research and write something worth listening to. I've not written a talk like this in years and never in the LDS church, so I just hope that I can do the subject some justice. Hey, maybe if I'm really bad they will not ask me to do it again

[OIC]

They say "just imagine the audience in their underwear" but that never worked for me. Especially when you have a large population of senior citizens it's not an image you really want to have in your mind for long.

Seriously though, what always worked for me is mere "role reversal".

How many times have you seen a young person step up to the microphone visibly sweating, their voice cracking, their notes everywhere, and in your mind you are encouraging them? Saying in your mind "relax dude, your among friends". This is especially true of the parents and grandparents who have encouraged their own children through such times.

So when you step up to that microphone with your notes in hand, take a second before you even utter your first word to just look at the faces of those to whom you are about to address. Look at the encouragement and understanding in their eyes, and take a second to realize that they aren't judging you, they're rooting for you.

Your going to do just fine. Prepare as best as you possibly can and ask the Lord to help you the rest of the way. He will. And if you just relax and enjoy it, you'll feel like an old pro before it's over with. :)

God Bless

[Palerider]

You will do awesome....good luck to you!!!!!!!

[CrimsonKairos]

May I make a suggestion?

Your first impulse might be to prepare a lecture or sermon on the doctrine of free agency, listing scriptures, quotes from prophets, etc...

While those things are good in moderation, I prefer to hear people give talks based on their personal experiences with the doctrines, not just about the doctrines themselves.

Consider telling the congregation how understanding free agency has affected your life, your degree of happiness, how it's changed the way you view life and the choices we all have to make, etc...

Perhaps include general examples from your life or the lives of those close to you, showing how the use or misuse of agency has affected happiness, spirituality, etc...

Lastly, I'd love to hear someone testify about how agency ties in with salvation and acquiring hope in an eternal reward with God.

I don't know how you'd approach any of those things, or what your testimony would be, but when someone gives a talk, I really prefer that they just "talk" to me, instead of lecturing to me, y'know?

Good luck and God bless. B)

[Latter Days Guy]

Thanks CrimsonKairos, that's great advice

[Latter Days Guy]

I've done it The talk went well and even though I thought I would never talk for the full ten minutes, I got a bit of a shock when the Bishop stuck a peice of paper on the pulpit from behind me with "your times up, could you wrap up please" written on it

Everyone was very supportive and said that I had done really well

Now I hope the next one is a few months away.