New calling - they have definitely lost their minds this time...


dahlia
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Just informed of my new calling at the ward BBQ (where I guess they hoped I'd be so high on the baked beans and macaroni salad that I wouldn't have the presence of mind to say 'no').

 

Look out folks - I'm going to be a teacher in RS!!!   :eek:  

 

All of our teachers have been really good and either born LDS or members a lot longer than I've been. I'm not sure what I can add... or let's say I'm afraid that what I will add may get me called before a disciplinary council. I'm always the person in RS who says stuff like 'did you see a therapist?' instead of 'did  you pray on it?'  Even after 3 years, the suggestion to pray just isn't the first thing out of my mouth. I get to it eventually, but it's just not what I think of first.

 

When the bishop said "We'd like you to be a teacher..."  my mind went to Primary and I thought I was gonna faint. When I heard "...in Relief Society" I was like, OK, I can do this. I may end up giving statements to the press on the steps of the SLC Temple, but yeah, I can do this. "Wait 'til they get a load of me."  

 

A special RS pot holder with embroidered forget-me-nots and signed by Dieter Uchtdorf for the first person to cite the source of the quote above. :D

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Which quote are you referring to?

 

Dedicating some of our time to studying the scriptures or preparing to teach a lesson is a good sacrifice. Spending many hours stitching the title of the lesson into homemade pot holders for each member of your class perhaps may not be.

 

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2011/11/forget-me-not

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I think you'd be a wonderful teacher!!

 

I know it's intimidating being RS teacher as a convert-- my current RS teacher is a convert of one year and constantly apologizes for it.  But I really like her teaching: she's thought through things as an adult and shows us that wisdom, rather than just mindlessly repeating things she's heard for years.

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For me, there's the convert issue and seeing things differently, as well as the age issue.  Being in a college town, my ward is full of 30 somethings (actually, more like 26-34 somethings) who are at home with little kids and generally have little work or life experience. A good many of them are from Utah or went to BYU and, compared to this big city girl, are very naive.

 

They get so emotional and turned around about not being perfect, but good grief, who is? Who is the perfect mother? The perfect spouse? The perfect family?  If nothing else, by being old enough to be their mothers (my boy is 37), maybe some of my 'this, too, will pass' philosophy of life will help them calm down.

 

I don't know if this is a generational thing, but I just didn't have these doubts as a young parent. There was an element of 1950's child rearing (how I was raised) - my husband and I were the parents, our word ruled. This was blended with some hippie stuff - give the child more freedom to explore and express himself and have a more casual relationship with him than we had with our parents, You aren't guaranteed a perfect kid, but you sure go through parenting with fewer self doubts (which kids pick up on) than what I see with these young women. I might turn to Dr Spock or ask my mother about things, but to get up in front of a group of people and cry about what a rotten mother I am because I'm not perfect, naw. Ain't happening.

 

That said, if we begin the meeting with 'Love at Home,' I'm going to be a teary-eyed mess.

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For me, there's the convert issue and seeing things differently, as well as the age issue.  Being in a college town, my ward is full of 30 somethings (actually, more like 26-34 somethings) who are at home with little kids and generally have little work or life experience. A good many of them are from Utah or went to BYU and, compared to this big city girl, are very naive.

 

They get so emotional and turned around about not being perfect, but good grief, who is? Who is the perfect mother? The perfect spouse? The perfect family?  If nothing else, by being old enough to be their mothers (my boy is 37), maybe some of my 'this, too, will pass' philosophy of life will help them calm down....

 

dahlia, you'll bring a new and wise perspective to RS. You've got life and parental experience compared to those you will be teaching. You'll bring new wise words that they've never heard before.

 

M.

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For me, there's the convert issue and seeing things differently, as well as the age issue.  Being in a college town, my ward is full of 30 somethings (actually, more like 26-34 somethings) who are at home with little kids and generally have little work or life experience. A good many of them are from Utah or went to BYU and, compared to this big city girl, are very naive.

 

They get so emotional and turned around about not being perfect, but good grief, who is? Who is the perfect mother? The perfect spouse? The perfect family?  If nothing else, by being old enough to be their mothers (my boy is 37), maybe some of my 'this, too, will pass' philosophy of life will help them calm down.

 

I don't know if this is a generational thing, but I just didn't have these doubts as a young parent. There was an element of 1950's child rearing (how I was raised) - my husband and I were the parents, our word ruled. This was blended with some hippie stuff - give the child more freedom to explore and express himself and have a more casual relationship with him than we had with our parents, You aren't guaranteed a perfect kid, but you sure go through parenting with fewer self doubts (which kids pick up on) than what I see with these young women. I might turn to Dr Spock or ask my mother about things, but to get up in front of a group of people and cry about what a rotten mother I am because I'm not perfect, naw. Ain't happening.

 

That said, if we begin the meeting with 'Love at Home,' I'm going to be a teary-eyed mess.

 

 

I rest my case: you'll be a great teacher.  Young moms (myself included) need some one to occasionally knock them upside the  head with a box of kleenex and say "Not being perfect is okay!"

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Dahlia, you'll be a wonderful RS teacher.  It's my favorite calling, so I'm a little jealous.

 

My only advice would be to teach with the Spirit.  Pray before you prepare your lesson to have the Spirit with you. The Spirit will guide you in your preparation. The Spirit will guide you as you teach.  I have found that the best lessons are the ones taught with the Spirit.

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