Today was plan of salvation. When I was planning for the lesson today, it became apparent that we were not going to be able to cover the plan in any depth in just one day. Guess the lesson pacing schedule was right after all :) Next year we will spend 2 days on plan of salvation for sure.
We spent today’s time in discussion and doing a few glue-ins for our journals. I had planned to have them move into preparing to teach the PofS, but the discussion was kind of somber and we ended up with only a few minutes anyway. Tomorrow we will finish plan of salvation and spend a very few minutes on Education.
We had a really … how to describe it? … thoughtful discussion today. I’ve told the kids when they got me they got Honors Seminary, and today’s was definitely an honors-level discussion. I have mentioned my “apply” method of likening the scriptures. I think that instead of asking “how does this apply to your life,” which can often result in blank stares, I find it easier to find ways this applies to your life’s past, present, and future. So today for our reading review we talked about ways that the plan of salvation relates to these three time periods. I had written a few questions up on the paper easel thing and had each zone take a time period. I had the zone leaders pick the best answers to read instead of doing it myself. That seemed to work fine, and I think the ZLs like the power. :)
Zone 1 came back with descriptions of how man and woman were formed of dust and Adam’s rib. Zone 2 had a really great answer about how when someone has been separated from us, we can remember that we will be together again and keep trying. Zone 3 had the questions I was most excited to talk about:
a) Imagine you are a missionary. What blessings have you received from the plan of salvation that you could share with an investigator.
b) You are a parent teaching the plan of salvation to your child. What is the most important thing your child should know about the plan of salvation? Why?
c) Your friend’s mother has passed away. Using what you know of the plan of salvation, what might you say to comfort her?
d) A family member has committed a grievous sin. How might your knowledge of the plan of salvation change the way you react?
The first student answered B perfectly. He said he would teach the child that Heavenly Father wants us to come back to live with him again. Beautiful. I will hit on that tomorrow when I talk about Moses 1:39.
Another student answered C so well, I hope that she calls me up when someone I love passes. We talked about this one and the lesson kept getting somberer. Is that a word?
Then we talked about D. This is something each of them will experience in their lives. One student answered that she would remember that this person chose God’s way in the preexistence and that they are God’s beloved children. It really touched me. How beautiful.
Then I brought up A, which no one wanted to answer. Crickets. I was surprised that these kids could comfort a dying person or deal with sin or teach a child, but the idea of teaching an investigator just resulted in a blank. Even my go-to kids, the ones who always answer, were stuck. I can think of a million blessings I’ve had that I could share with an investigator, but instead I talked about getting to know the person you’re teaching. Based on the experiences of that individual, you can emphasize different parts of the plan of salvation.
By the time we got finished talking about death and sin, the mood was pretty somber. We did the glue-ins and wrapped up. I was a little rushed for time and did not bear my testimony of the plan of salvation. That was an error I realized immediately. I will make sure I do bear witness tomorrow.
….
Last night was piano lessons and our DAR meeting. It was the most fun we’ve had, actually, because we went around the room sharing what we were doing in the recent earthquake. Even the people who were out of town had fun stories. We also packaged stuff up for the upcoming Fall Muster registration that we are in charge of. Our group is also hosting a bell ringing and flag raising at the courthouse for Constitution week.
Today the Dish Network guy is here upgrading our receivers and fixing our remote control issues. The concrete truck is also here pouring the steps and pad for the basement entrance. The Seminary kids will appreciate having steps, I’m sure. I told them all to come to the front door tomorrow. If the concrete is still soft enough, I will let them carve in their names, but I think it will be mostly cured by then.
Tonight is Seminary inservice.
