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[Sunday21]

Does this approach to Relief Society/Priesthood require having council on the first Sunday and in this council deciding which general conference talks will be taught in this month? If so, as an RS teacher, I think that I need to resign because I need about a month to prepare lessons. I travel frequently and work long hours.

[zil]

Sunday, no.  First, explanations are in this article and in the ones following it - it introduces the changes, the next one covers the 1st Sunday council, the next covers the 2nd and 3rd Sunday lessons, the last one covers 4th Sunday lessons.  I recommend you read at least the first one and the one which relates to the week you teach.

Week 1 will be a council about some topic selected by the RS presidency (with bishop or stake president involvement if they so choose).  This council meeting is NOT explicitly for the purpose of choosing lesson topics for the weeks immediately following.  Technically, your RSP can do whatever they decide to do.  Decency and respect, however, suggest that they continue to give you plenty of time to prepare your lessons.  E.g. the RSP may choose talks which support or relate to the council topic, but they should do that well in advance; and the council may discuss something which should be taught, but if so, it should be a month or two after the council meeting that the lesson ideas are taught - what's more, the presidency should take the ideas discussed in council, discuss them among themselves, and then decide what lessons to teach when - the council session should not dictate or vote on this - it should come through inspiration to the president or presidency.

Weeks 2 and 3 will be teaching from the most recent General Conference, just like week 4 has been for the past several years.  The main difference is that your RSP will be choosing the lessons rather than the bishop / ward council / stake - though these may all provide input, and priesthood leadership may still "overrule" the RSP, if they feel inspired to do so.

Week 4 will be about a topic selected by the General Authorities and related in the General Conference issue of the Ensign.  (For 2018, January through April, inclusive, the topic is the Sabbath - and there are various suggestions for things to focus on in different months, or you can focus as you choose.)

Feel free to ask specific questions - I feel like we have a handle on this in my ward, and we've already done a "trial council" in RS just to get a feel for it.

[Sunday21]

@zilThank you. I see your point. No one in my presidency is very strong in English, hence the confusion.

Not sure what to do. My local temple is really hurting and they need many more hours from the staff. I am really being squeezed!

[zil]

27 minutes ago, Sunday21 said:

@zilThank you. I see your point. No one in my presidency is very strong in English, hence the confusion.

Not sure what to do. My local temple is really hurting and they need many more hours from the staff. I am really being squeezed!

Which week do you teach?  If the 4th, your topic is already set all the way through the 4th Sunday in April, so you can spread out preparation however you like, and start now (or whenever).  If 2nd and 3rd, tell the RSP you need no less than 4 weeks' notice.  I've invited my teachers to make suggestions for talks to teach - they've been set apart and have the right to inspiration related to their calling, and I welcome their input - I'll make the final decision, but want their input.  Don't know if that's something that would help you or not, but something to consider.

Beyond that - do what we always counsel: study it out, make a decision, and go to the Lord.  No calling should interfere with family or career obligations, nor should it overwhelm you.  Beyond that, you need to figure out what you can handle - with the Lord's help - and then work with the relevant leaders (bishop or temple presidency).

Prayers and e-hugs for you.

[Sunday21]

@zil. I took a break from RS teaching for awhile due to migraines. The RS president approached me during church and asked if I could teach again, I agreed. There are very few women who are prepared to teach here. In fact, one sister taught once a few months ago, and never returned to church again. We are not considerate of people with callings here and we are not truthful either. For example, it is common to tell people that they are being called as an advisor to some stake calling but when the calling is announced, they find that they have been called to be the stake rep. I am one of those who had this occur. I had such trouble in this situation that I came very close to losing not just my job but my career. When someone gets into trouble here, we do not allow them to drop the calling. I think that I will email the RS president and decline the calling. During the meeting, someone raised the idea that if we could not teach that the sister would need to find her own replacement. I feel like a noose is being put round my neck. I have been here before and I am not going there again. 

[zil]

@Sunday21, this is baffling to me.  It sounds like your stake and ward leadership are all in dire need of training on a wide variety of things.  At the end of the day, you can't keep the ward / stake running single-handedly.  Study, decide, pray for confirmation / peace - that's all you can do.  You are of no use / help to anyone if you yourself are dysfunctional.

In the ward where my friend is RSP, she has the sisters rotate though teaching the fourth Sunday lesson - perhaps by sign-up sheet, not sure, but they don't have a regular teacher.  Maybe your RS needs to do this for every Sunday.

Meanwhile, have a chocolate raspberry, it'll make you feel better for a little while anyway:

[Sunday21]

@zil. Thank you! 

[JohnsonJones]

21 hours ago, Sunday21 said:

@zilThank you. I see your point. No one in my presidency is very strong in English, hence the confusion.

Not sure what to do. My local temple is really hurting and they need many more hours from the staff. I am really being squeezed!

I've been to several various temples recently, and I've noticed something that maybe what you are referring to (or maybe something else).

While many temples I've visited recently are overflowing or are really doing well, there were a few temples that had shockingly low attendance.  In some, it was less than fourteen individuals in a session total...which makes the sessions seem VERY sparse.  I was surprised at how low the attendance was.  In fact, a little worried in some ways about those areas.

is that happening in Canada as well?

[Guest]

On 12/3/2017 at 1:06 PM, Sunday21 said:

Does this approach to Relief Society/Priesthood require having council on the first Sunday and in this council deciding which general conference talks will be taught in this month? If so, as an RS teacher, I think that I need to resign because I need about a month to prepare lessons. I travel frequently and work long hours.

I got something similar.  My priesthood leader gave me the schedule for the first several months of next year which I thought was great.  But when I looked at it, I noticed a pattern.

1st Sunday - Leaders to teach.
2nd Sunday - Talk from Gen Conf.
3rd Sunday - TBD
4th Sunday - Topic from Stake Pres -- all outlined for each month.

Guess which one I'm assigned each month?  Hint.

Edited December 4, 2017 by Guest

[Guest]

22 hours ago, zil said:

@Sunday21, this is baffling to me.  It sounds like your stake and ward leadership are all in dire need of training on a wide variety of things.  At the end of the day, you can't keep the ward / stake running single-handedly.  Study, decide, pray for confirmation / peace - that's all you can do.  You are of no use / help to anyone if you yourself are dysfunctional.

In the ward where my friend is RSP, she has the sisters rotate though teaching the fourth Sunday lesson - perhaps by sign-up sheet, not sure, but they don't have a regular teacher.  Maybe your RS needs to do this for every Sunday.

Meanwhile, have a chocolate raspberry, it'll make you feel better for a little while anyway:

That looks familiar. 

[zil]

11 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

I got something similar.  My priesthood leader gave me the schedule for the first several months of next year which I thought was great.  But when I looked at it, I noticed a pattern.

1st Sunday - Leaders to teach.
2nd Sunday - Talk from Gen Conf.
3rd Sunday - TBD
4th Sunday - Topic from Stake Pres -- all outlined for each month.

Guess which one I'm assigned each month?  Hint.

IMO, unless he knows you're OK with this / capable of producing a quality / inspired lesson on short order, he's being unnecessarily inconsiderate - but then, none of the men in ward council wanted to select the lessons - they wanted the RS to do it (as if men and women can't have differing concerns / focus) so they can just teach the same lesson as the women.

12 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

That looks familiar. 

It was yummy.  I may have to brave WalMart for another one, or three...

[Vort]

23 hours ago, zil said:

For just the briefest moment, when I saw the picture above I perceived the word as "Ovulation". And I thought, "What the heck?"

[zil]

3 minutes ago, Vort said:

For just the briefest moment, when I saw the picture above I perceived the word as "Ovulation". And I thought, "What the heck?"

Maybe you should contact the company and let them know their name was poorly chosen?  That or go spend some time with your wife...?  (Don't tell us which one you decided on.)

[Sunday21]

7 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:

I've been to several various temples recently, and I've noticed something that maybe what you are referring to (or maybe something else).

While many temples I've visited recently are overflowing or are really doing well, there were a few temples that had shockingly low attendance.  In some, it was less than fourteen individuals in a session total...which makes the sessions seem VERY sparse.  I was surprised at how low the attendance was.  In fact, a little worried in some ways about those areas.

is that happening in Canada as well?

We are having problems in Detroit where I work in part because during the hard economic times everyone moved. The worst temple attendance in Canada is in Nova Scotia. Again during an economic downturn everyone left. The best attendance? I bet it is Cardston. That temple had a lot of scheduled time. Local population is about 5 k. But I think, this is a place that people retire to! 

[Sunday21]

I hate to say it but I am going to cast my lot with Relief Society but I refuse to budge on the one months notice. I warned the RS president that if we did not get one months notice that the teachers would quit.

How will I face my temple president?

[Jane_Doe]

@Sunday21, the entire point of the new 3rd hour program to be flexible for local needs.  If you local needs include having things planned out in advance, then by golly sit down and plan things out in advance!    There's no reason you can't have everything decided for 6+ months in the future.  I find that sitting down and planning in advance is always a good thing for activities (has good brainstorming time and skips the procrastinated scramble).  And if (rather 'when') there is something that comes up unexpected, then you all can adjust the plan accordingly.

[Sunday21]

14 minutes ago, Jane_Doe said:

@Sunday21, the entire point of the new 3rd hour program to be flexible for local needs.  If you local needs include having things planned out in advance, then by golly sit down and plan things out in advance!    There's no reason you can't have everything decided for 6+ months in the future.  I find that sitting down and planning in advance is always a good thing for activities (has good brainstorming time and skips the procrastinated scramble).  And if (rather 'when') there is something that comes up unexpected, then you all can adjust the plan accordingly.

Thank you @Jane_Doe! Unfortunately I am a teacher and not in the presidency. So I will just make a fuss if I don’t get my month’s worth of notice.

[Jane_Doe]

6 minutes ago, Sunday21 said:

Thank you @Jane_Doe! Unfortunately I am a teacher and not in the presidency. So I will just make a fuss if I don’t get my month’s worth of notice.

It's not called "making a fuss", it's called "letting the presidency know of local needs to they can best fulfill the goals of the new RS teaching program".  

The trick is in how you label things  

[seashmore]

On December 4, 2017 at 4:44 PM, Vort said:

For just the briefest moment, when I saw the picture above I perceived the word as "Ovulation". And I thought, "What the heck?"

Whew! I thought it was just me.

[seashmore]

On December 4, 2017 at 4:17 PM, Carborendum said:

I got something similar.  My priesthood leader gave me the schedule for the first several months of next year which I thought was great.  But when I looked at it, I noticed a pattern.

1st Sunday - Leaders to teach.
2nd Sunday - Talk from Gen Conf.
3rd Sunday - TBD
4th Sunday - Topic from Stake Pres -- all outlined for each month.

Guess which one I'm assigned each month?  Hint.

This makes me glad to be in YW. Our branch leadership is notoriously unorganized, and the Youth use a manual (of sorts). We've hardly breached the topic since the letter came out. Then again, our communication is awful, and I may be out of the loop.