Is it time to move to gospel doctrine

[Sunday21]

51 minutes ago, zil said:

This is interesting, JAG.  Now I'm going to have to ponder the various teaching methods I've seen at church and ponder whether there are "communitarian" ways to tweak them.

(The teacher-threatening-outbound-student bit was enough to blind me to all other considerations - really, I don't take threats well.  A person could easily keep me out of heaven simply by threatening to drag me in.)

Interesting! Now we know!

I forbid you from visiting Canada! Not one toe across the border!

And that novelette? Don’t even think about working in it! Banned from all libraries, bookstores and the internet! 

Edited August 22, 2018 by Sunday21

[BJ64]

You need permission (a recommend) to attend the temple. You don’t need permission to attend gospel doctrine class. However, having taught Sunday school I understand the feeling of having people leave the class to go to a different one. (Our ward has three gospel doctrine classes). 

Personally I don’t find gospel doctrine class terribly interesting. The lessons repeat every four years and have done so my entire adult life so I’ve been through them each about eight times. Fortunately there will be new curriculum in 2019. 

[zil]

5 minutes ago, BJ64 said:

Personally I don’t find gospel doctrine class terribly interesting. The lessons repeat every four years and have done so my entire adult life so I’ve been through them each about eight times.

I find this to be true with teachers who teach what the scriptures say - literally.  "Here (pointing to map on the board) is where the children of Israel camped, and then they traveled up this way...."  This kind of teaching is why I hated history classes - yawnville.

I find Sunday School to be strengthening when the class discusses application of gospel principles in our every day lives.  Hopefully the 2019 curriculum is more geared in this direction.

[BJ64]

10 minutes ago, zil said:

I find this to be true with teachers who teach what the scriptures say - literally.  "Here (pointing to map on the board) is where the children of Israel camped, and then they traveled up this way...."  This kind of teaching is why I hated history classes - yawnville.

I find Sunday School to be strengthening when the class discusses application of gospel principles in our every day lives.  Hopefully the 2019 curriculum is more geared in this direction.

Yes, the instructor and class member participation can make a big difference. 

[BJ64]

I also don’t like when the class gets bogged down in some irrelevant off topic discussion and never gets to the point of the lesson. 

[anatess2]

8 hours ago, edakanari said:

Thanks guys after all that i was waiting to see bishop on sunday during middle session that was GP/GD so the teacher came and asked why i was not in class anymore so i told him been in class 9 months and gone over back lessons already and found GD more challanging.

 

He seemed to take offence at this saying i should be and that i need bishops permission for the move ( 1st councillor of bishopry encourage me to go the GD as he could was becoming disengaged with GP).Then stated if i EVER got a basic thing wrong ever he would pull me on it....ok

So the set up in our ward is small only 50-70 members of congregation all in each week (kids included) so as you can imagian we have 30+ under 18s so only 40+ adults most in GD but GP is a hit and a miss some weeks we had no people and this week 15+ people due to new coverts and investigators.  So dunno what his problem was ... does anyone have a similar experience or asking bishop to leave GP that seems... unlikely

Teacher is 80 +man who been in church 40 odd years as a brother i respect the time he has been in the church but he doesn't seem to give that back to the newer members

I was a convert almost 20 years ago now... I vacillate between Sunday School classes and never had your experience.  There would be times when I go to GD one Sunday, go to GP the next Sunday, then back again.  I've been through GP several times - going over it again even after 15+ of church membership.

A Sunday School class is not just a teacher teaching unlearned students.  Sunday School is a community of believers sharing their testimonies, their experiences, their understanding of the gospel with each other.  The teacher is more of a facilitator that directs the discussion according to the dictates of the Holy Spirit.  So, it could possibly be that a lesson veers from the lesson manual as the Spirit directs.  So, it is not just what you can learn out of a class, it is also what you can contribute to a class and the Spirit it brings to the class.

I went through the entire year of Gospel Principles over and over again even after 15+ years of membership in the Church (plus my entire education life spent in Catholic Schools) because there is always something to learn from the basic principles of the gospel.  Studying it as an academic is only good the first time around.  But studying it to ponder its teachings as it applies to our current situation in life, then the lessons are unlimited.  A lot of times, I struggle with something - like, say, my kid started being interested in girls and I'm not sure how to prepare him for the struggles of hormones and life eternal - and we get a lesson in Gospel Principles on Eternal Marriage and that brings to mind how I should approach my kid on the matter.  Or a Gospel Principles class on tithing - after 15+ years of tithing - gives me a lot of experiences I can contribute to the class as needed and also re-affirms my commitment to tithe.  Or even just a GP lesson on the Divinity of Christ as I ponder a question from mormonhub of whether Jesus was already God when he was born of Mary or if he attained Godhood at his death that I already knew the answer to but I wanted to revisit it because of something said in the forums.  Etc. etc.

Anyway, I believe you should go to the class you feel you should go to.  You know what you need and what you are prompted to do by the Holy Ghost.