Object Lessons Make Sunday School Exciting

As some of you may know, I used to be the Gospel Doctrine teacher in my single's ward, and I absolutely loved my calling.  I didn't have to worry about getting people to church, I didn't have to go to any special meetings, and I didn't have to bug people about getting their home teaching done.  While on the flip-side, I got the opportunity to interact with members of the congregation and teach lessons, which is something I enjoy doing.

I had an absolute blast with my Sunday school lessons and I hope the people in my class did as well.  I believe that students can tell when their teacher is excited about their subject matter, and that energy rubs off on the students.

I tend to incorporate a lot of pictures, stories, and other attention activities into my lessons; since I always had a tough time paying attention in Sunday School.  Recently I found an object lesson that went along perfectly with a lesson I was teaching on the resurrection of Christ.

I got to the point in my lesson where two angels declare to Mary Magdalene and the other women that Jesus "is not here, but is risen."

The manual points out that President Howard W. Hunter said that those words "contain all the hope, assurance, and belief necessary to sustain us in our challenging and sometimes grief-filled lives."  To illustrate this point, I pulled out a crisp 50 dollar bill that I had withdrawn from the bank a few days earlier:

[Yes, I am aware that that is a 20 dollar bill.  I didn't feel like getting another $50 for the blog.  So use your imagination.]

I asked the class, "who would like $50?"  And of course, most people responded that they would enjoy having an extra $50 in their pocket.

"Well what if I were to wrinkle the bill into a tiny little ball like this?" I said.

The class said that they would still want the money.

"What if I were to stomp the money into the ground and rub on the floor?"

The chorus came again: "I still want it!"

"Well, okay then.  You're making me pull out the big guns."

That's right: Taco Bell Hot Sauce. The class's reaction to this was particularly awesome. I pulled out a paper towel and wiped the excess hot sauce off the bill.  I then held it up--wrinkled, dirty and wet--and asked "who still wants this?"

A few class members said they would still take the money.

"Okay then, you've left me no choice," I sighed.

The class just stared at me in shock.  I remember one of them saying "NOO!"

I asked one last time if anyone still wanted the money.  A few class members said yes, and then another class member said, "No, stop saying you want it! He might light it on fire next!"

I asked someone in the front row why they still wanted the mangled bill.  They said it was because it's still worth $50 to the bank, which is true.

Now let's apply this to the Resurrection with a story.

President Monson once told a story about a time he was in a priesthood leadership meeting with his former stake president, President Child.  President Child was known for his deep knowledge of the scriptures and his probing questions.  When it was his turn to speak, he quoted a well known scripture from Doctrine and Covenants section 18.  If you know your D & C fairly well, you know that the scripture says that "the worth of souls is great in the sight of God."

I'm quoting President Monson's talk now:

"He [President Child] then turned to one elders quorum president and asked, 'What is the worth of a soul?'"

"The stunned quorum president hesitated as he formulated his reply.  I had a prayer in my heart that he would be able to answer the question.  He finally responded, 'The worth of a soul is its capacity to become as God.'"

"Brother Child closed his scriptures, walked solemnly and quietly up the aisle and back to the stand.  As he passed by me, he said, "A most profound reply."- ("Our Sacred Priesthood Trust," April General Conference, Priesthood session.)


In other words, the true worth of a soul isn't who you are now, but it is the potential of what you can become.
In Senatobia, Mississippi, I knew a man who worked for the Federal Reserve.  One day, he brought a giant bag of shredded money to a dinner party we were having.  See, when a bill becomes too worn out for the banks to use, they send it to the Federal Reserve, which shreds the money into hundreds of tiny pieces.

The bag likely had well over $1,000 in it.  The man told me that if anyone were to put a bill completely back together, with the same serial number and everything, the Government would be legally obligated to accept it as legal tender.  This is why the Fed shreds the money into such small pieces.

We as people can be a lot like paper money.  No matter how ripped, wrinkled, or stained that fifty dollar bill was; it was still worth fifty dollars.  And no matter how broken, messed up, or scarred your life is; it is still immensely valuable to our Heavenly Father.

Do not forget that in your dark moments!  You may feel worthless, but to God your worth is infinite.  No matter where you are in your life, He still wants you to return to live with him.  That's the wonderful miracle of the resurrection and the atonement of Jesus Christ: every single thing that was ever wrong on this world can be set right through Christ.  What a wonderfully comforting thought that is.

It's Probably Been Too Long Since I Shared a Spiritual Thought

I apologize for not updating this blog as regularly as I should.  I really wanted to get this up before Easter, but things have been a little nuts lately with finals last week, and then this week my body decided to go crazy with allergies, which left me a sniffling, eyeball-watering, mess for most of the time.  Classes start again tomorrow, so hopefully things clear up by then.

This post is mainly directed at a man named John who is currently the only person cool enough to have left any comments on the post I wrote back in November titled "A Talk I Recently Gave on Baptism."   John requested that I answer a couple of questions about the LDS church, which I am more than happy to do--especially since he asked so nicely.

So here is my response:

John,

In the brief conversation I've had with you, I mentioned that "We are unique among Christian churches as being the only one that claims to receive its doctrine by revelation from God, and then we use the Bible and other scripture to confirm what we believe."

In response to this, you asked: "What is the revelation of doctrine LDS has received from God?"

Before I get to that question, I have a quick side-note:  I feel that one of the root causes of all the contention between Mormons and much of the Christian community is that both sides spend too much time talking about why they are different from each other and not enough time talking about the beliefs and goals they have in common.  I came to this conclusion while serving a mission in Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi.  My companion and I would of run into people who had a built-in mistrust of Mormons, which when coupled with our different terminologies, would lead to some deep misunderstandings.  I usually left these encounters with lots of negative energy and also feeling spiritually empty.

Me as a missionary in Senatobia, Mississippi

One of the biggest arguments that we ran into was that we taught a different Gospel--one in which we worked our way into Heaven without relying on Jesus.  This is simply not true.  While we do believe that "faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone," (James 2:17)  we likewise believe that works without faith is just as dead.  I soon came to realize that most churches believe the same thing, with some noteworthy exceptions. 

So first of all, here are the basic steps of the Gospel that we believe:

1. We believe that having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is absolutely necessary to salvation and that no one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven without it (Acts 16:31).
2. We believe that no unclean thing can dwell with God the Father, therefore, repentance from our sins is the second major step of the Gospel (Luke 13:3).
3. We believe that as a witness of our willingness to follow the Savior, and as a saving ordinance, baptism by immersion is required (John 3:5).
4. We believe that after baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost is received by the laying on of hands (Acts 8: 14-20).
5. We believe that it is important to endure to the end--meaning that we continue to exercise faith in Jesus Christ and to strive to be more like him throughout our lives (Titus 3:8).
6. All of this is possible only because of the infinite and eternal sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  He is the only way into Heaven (John 3:16, Isaiah 53:3-5).

This, in a super-condensed nutshell, is the Gospel.  It is unchanging and cannot be added upon. Based on what you wrote, I think we have very similar ideas on what God requires of us--believe, repent, be baptized, and keep the commandments.

With Mormons also believing in modern-day prophets, temples, abstaining from alcohol, and new scripture; it can sometimes become easy to lose focus on what is at the center of all that we do.  The Prophet Joseph Smith once declared that all things “which pertain to our religion are only appendages” to the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Carl Bloch's Gethsemane

 There are very few members of the church, if any, that do not understand how important the doctrine of Christ's sacrifice is.  But like I said before, I think we sometimes spend too much time focusing on what sets us apart from everyone else.  You mentioned that members of the Mormon church that you knew often appear to pedal their church rather than Christ.  Regardless of whether that was intentional or not, it is truly unfortunate.  I hope that everything we do and say would be a proper reflection of our beliefs and our testimonies of the living Savior.

This might lead you to ask why things like the Book of Mormon or a living Prophet are necessary if the basic steps of the Gospel never change.  This is because people are imperfect, and if there is something in the scriptures that can be misunderstood, people will misunderstand it.  That is the reason there are so many different churches on earth today.  They all started with someone saying something along the lines of "I think we're doing <blank> wrong," or "this is what the scriptures really meant."

The Book of Mormon adds another witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Much like how the four different Gospels in the New Testament support each other, the Book of Mormon helps confirm what is written in the Bible.

For example, here is a passage out of the Book of Mormon that talks about Jesus Christ and his infinite and eternal sacrifice:

“Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah. …

“Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.

“Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.

“Wherefore, he is the firstfruits unto God, inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in him shall be saved.”-2 Nephi 2:6-9

This is just one of many examples of the doctrine taught in the Book of Mormon.

The living prophet, on the other hand, helps keep the doctrine that has been set forth in the scriptures pure.  His main calling is a teacher of the Gospel.  He also gives us council that applies specifically to our day and age, and warns us of the consequences of sin.

Since it is the Easter season, I figure it would be appropriate to share this video produced by the LDS church.  It shows one of our apostles, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, sharing his thoughts about the death and resurrection of Christ:

The full text of his talk can be read here.

I hope this answers your questions, John.  I know it's not exactly scholarly writing, nor is this very comprehensive, but I think it at least answers your questions.

Sincerely,

-Jake

P.S.  I love answering questions about the LDS church, so feel free to ask away.  However, I will not answer any questions that have malicious intent, and I will  delete any comments I deem to be negative or belittling of what I (or anyone else, for that matter) believe.