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I’ve scanned the 2014 Curriculum on LDS.org, and am not encouraged. The light and truth that characterized the Youth’s manuals last year continues, but the SS, PR & RS manuals are the same old, same old. If anything the PR & RS intros are more restrictive, although that doesn’t restrict the teachers from raising their own questions (presumably as long as they don’t use any outside material, i.e. no documentation or illustrations allowed, just your favorite hobby horse as long as you don’t document it with outside info. Faith promoting rumors are given free rain? Following are selected quotes from the three curriculum at LDS.org to show what I mean. The
boldand italicemphases are mine.
PR & RS Intro
If you are teaching a Melchizedek Priesthood or Relief Society lesson,
you should not set this book aside or prepare a lesson from other materials. Prayerfully select from the chapter those teachings that you feel will be most helpful to those you teach. Briefly share a personal experience about the topic.
Allow good discussions to continue rather than trying to cover all the teachings. To encourage discussion, use the questions in each chapter. Notes throughout each chapter refer to those questions.
You may also develop your own questions especially for those you are teaching.
SS Intro
…
Because this year’s lessons are thematic, some sections of the Doctrine and Covenants are not included in the reading assignments. Nevertheless, class members should plan to read the entire Doctrine and Covenants during the year. Read the sixth paragraph in the Explanatory Introduction (this paragraph begins with the phrase “These sacred revelations”). What does this paragraph teach about how the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants were received? Why is it helpful to understand that most of the revelations came as answers to prayers?
What about the role as a teacher in receiving revelations as answers to prayers?
Youth Intro
For example, you may find that the youth need more than one week to discuss a topic.
Let the needs of the youth, not a predetermined schedule, guide your teaching. Come, Follow Me: Learning Resources for Youth is organized into units based on principles of the restored gospelof Jesus Christ. Each unit includes several learning outlines that advisers and teachers can use to preparefor Aaronic Priesthood quorum meetings and Young Women and Sunday School classes. Parents are also invited and encouraged to use them in their families. The units have been arranged into a monthly schedule to help coordinate the gospel-learning experiences of the youth across the Church. There are often more learning outlines in a unit than can be taught in one month. Ward leaders and teachers of youth should counsel together to determine which learning outlines to teach from each unit. If you are an adviser in the Aaronic Priesthood or Young Women, counsel with your quorum and class presidencies when selecting learning outlines. You can also invite quorum and class members to discuss what they want or need to learn.
As you plan what to teach, prayerfully think about your youth. What experiences are they having? What challenges or temptations do they face? What questions do they have? What doctrine will they need to understandto prepare for their future? You may find that you need to make your plan flexible enough that you can adapt it as new needs or questions arise. For example, you may find that the youth need more than one week to discuss a topic. Let the needs of the youth, not a predetermined schedule, guide your teaching.
Last spring I was uninvited to teach the HP because some members reportedly complained that they couldn’t go home and discuss the lesson material with their wives. At the beginning of the year and several times later, I encouraged the class to read the manual before class (few if any did) and that I would try to teach fundamental gospel principles using the most positive uplifting resources, e.g. Socrates, Plato, “the Sound of Music”, “Man for all Seasons”, heartwarming video of Olympic athletes talking about their appreciation for parental support, statistics from secular sources identifying faith promoting facts about Mormonism. I always used quotes from the manual whenever I could.
I was told the intro to the manual forbade such meandering, to which I responded, that the manual, while officially approved by the Q15, it was not canonized scripture, approved as binding upon the church as a whole. I was sorry that some members felt slighted by my not regurgitating the manual back to them, nevertheless I encouraged them to read it by themselves. What I was trying to do was to follow the higher law in canonized scripture which says among other things:
“The glory of God is intelligence”
“Teach out of the best books words of wisdom”
He remained unswayed. But I’m sure he was following direction from the Bp, and the concern for the member who stopped going to PR because of my unorthodoxy. Nevertheless, I too remain unswayed. As I review my collection of quotes from the canonized scriptures and Q15, I feel I’m right.
But am I just pounding my head against the brick wall? If those who want a dumbed down gospel are justified in skipping priesthood, am I likewise justified in skipping priesthood, except for an occasional cameo appearance for wanting a more thoughtful 45 minutes? Is there a way of being in the Church without leaving your brain home?
A quick review of my collection includes the following canonized scriptures and statements by Q15 on the subject.
D&C 88:78–79
78 Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand;
79 Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms—
Doctrine and Covenants 88:118
118 And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning[/b], even by study and also by faith.
Doctrine and Covenants 109:7
7 And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom[/b], seek learning even by study and also by faith;
Doctrine and Covenants 109:14
14 And do thou grant, Holy Father, that all those who shall worship in this house may be taught words of wisdom out of the
best books, and that they may seek learning even by study, and also by faith, as thou hast said; D&C 130:19
19 And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.
D&C 9:7-9
7. Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.
8. But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
9. But if it be not right, you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me.
Articles of Faith 13
We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
Moroni 7:8
“For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him…Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.”
Brigham Young
“Mormonism embraces all truth that is revealed and that is unrevealed, whether religious, political, scientific, or philosophical.”
Joseph Smith
One of the grand fundamental principles of Mormonism is to receive truth, let it come from whence it may. I don’t reject truth for being non-mormon or accept it just because a mormon said it.
Joseph Smith
Mormonism is truth. . . . The first and fundamental principle of our holy religion is, that we believe that we have a right to embrace all, and every item of truth, without limitation or without being circumscribed or prohibited by the creeds or superstitious notions of men, or by the dominations of one another, when that truth is clearly demonstrated to our minds, and we have the highest degree of evidence of the same.
Joseph Smith
“I want the liberty of thinking and believing as I please. It feels so good not to be trammeled. It does not prove that a man is not a good man because he errs in doctrine.” (Discourse to Saints, April 1843; DHC 5:340)
Hugh B. Brown’s statement
“Preserve, then, the freedom of your mind in education and in religion, and be unafraid to express your thoughts and to insist upon your right to examine every proposition. We are not so much concerned with whether your thoughts are orthodox or heterodox as we are that you shall have thoughts.”
Gordon B. Hinckley
This restored gospel brings not only spiritual strength, but also intellectual curiosity and growth. Truth is truth. There is no clearly defined line of demarcation between the spiritual and the intellectual when the intellectual is cultivated and pursued in balance with the pursuit of spiritual knowledge and strength.
Good for you. The suggestion to teach nothing but the content of the manual is a nonsense. Rumour has it that there is a major revision in the pipeline, but we’ll probably have to wait a while. In teaching Gospel Principles I use other quotes but always and only use resources that can be found through an lds.org search. That’s a lot of stuff given the conference archives etc.
Keep teaching the way you feel is best. The manuals don’t forbid outside sources; they simply say not to set aside the manuals and teach your own thing. If the leadership doesn’t like the way you teach, there is an easy solution: release from the calling. It’s not like there is a fine associated with teaching differently than some class members would like. If you still get complaints, smile and say,
Quote:“I’m trying to teach the same way the apostles do in General Conference. I use the manual and try to share other inspiring things that support what the manual teaches.”
One of the things that makes me hate RS as much as I do is the fact that 90% of the teaching is done straight from the manual and the whole class is basically reading the manual. When I was a teacher I tried to use the lesson as a guideline and bring in other sources to supplement that. I always got praise for my lessons. I wish more teachers would do what I did. It’s not that hard to do a simple search on lds.org or google to find great quotes on any topic. I think if more teachers did this more people would participate. After all we get the same lessons every 4 years it’s a nice breath of fresh air to do something a little different. The OP is just chuck full of all kind of good. Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
When I teach I say what I want within reason trying to be considerate of the audience. I use whatever sources I like and do not think twice about it. I mean what are they going to do fire me for insubordination? Cadence wrote:When I teach I say what I want within reason trying to be considerate of the audience. I use whatever sources I like and do not think twice about it. I mean what are they going to do fire me for insubordination?
They might.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
I was relieved to read over my next lesson today and feel inspired to focus on certain sections. I’m not trying to scoff at blanket instructions, but I feel like I’ve been entrusted with the material and whatever I think is the best approach will be okay. (Crossing fingers.) Quote:I mean what are they going to do fire me for insubordination?
That is exactly what they did to me a little over 6 months ago. In this class are ex-bishops, stake president, high councilmen, and most are mufti-generational Mormons. Now it wasn’t that I didn’t have my supporters, starting with the HP Quorum Pres. And I was never accused of teaching a gospel falsehood. I was just accused of wandering from the manual, though no specific examples were stated. But my teaching style obviously was unacceptable to at least one class member and the bishop.
I have only attended PR meeting a few times since then, because 1) I don’t see value in regurgitating pablum over and over again. 2) I was giving 10 hours prep time to each lesson, pondering, researching, documenting, and organizing it for presentation. I gave them my best, but it was not good enough.
Outside of HT I have no calling, and since it is a rather large ward they can find plenty of “yes” men. I enjoy Sacrament meeting even sometimes when it gets silly. Maybe I’ll just wait till they split the ward and they get more desperate.
I feel like you can pretty much get away with straying significantly from the manual as long as you have respect for who you’re teaching. It’s like anything in the media, you can say whatever you want, but if viewership/readership declines, you may get axed. To hedge myself, I use supporting materials from outside the lesson manual and if I want to bring in something that is more challenging, I make sure it is from a BYU professor or lds.org. It’s not hard to do 
I’m sure most members love the time and thought you put into your lessons, keep it up!
Thanks richdunn for the encouragement. I definitely had my supporters and at least one detractor. I really did enjoy it for the 4-5 years I did teach. Every year I told them my objective was to inform, motivate, or inspire. Otherwise I was wasting their time. I truly believe that, and is the reason I don’t hang around long for the pablum. Another note is a friend of mine who is a NM had to do a several week presentation on the Armor of God. He was quite versed in the subject as he was a history major and a SCA member (they do medieval reenactments). I love the idea of this. Rather than going through the 4 books every 4 years do a in depth study of different subjects. Also instead of calling people to teach have the members who may have special insight teach that subject. For example I’ve done an in depth study of Charity and would love to do a several week course on the subject. This way it’s new and refreshing, gives different members an opportunity to teach and lets us have a true lay ministry.
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