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Not really in the way you might think. For those that don’t know, I teach gospel doctrine class. The bishopric recently called two new teachers and have changed up our rotation so that I only teach once every 3 weeks, which is nice. They also changed it so that we rotate which room we teach in. We have two classes, one in the high council room and one in the RS room. I’ve been teaching in the HC room for the past 8 months or so and I’ve really enjoyed it. We have a smaller class, usually 10-12, and they’re all older, more seasoned members who like looking at things a bit deeper than the normal lesson might call for. Now I’ll be going back and forth every three weeks. I taught in the RS room for the first time this past Sunday. There were a lot more people in class and most of them just stared at me the whole time with that blank look on their face that always makes me think they’ve been suddenly infected by whatever virus is eventually going to start the whole zombie apocalypse that everyone keeps talking about.
The lesson was “Building up the Kingdom of God in Nauvoo, Illinois”. I referenced RSR quite a bit. I taught about the land and the layout of Nauvoo a little bit, mentioned John C. Bennett’s role in getting the charter and getting the government going with a little side note about his ‘scandalous’ activity
I started by having them define “Kingdom of God”, which means “the church” which means “the people gathered together who have come unto Christ”. I used the scripture in D&C 124:15 where the Lord mentions Hyrum’s “integrity of heart” and “love for that which is right”. We talked about the meaning of integrity, which I kind of boiled down to our actions and the desires of our hearts being inline with the values that we professed to have and hold dear.
I had decided to use this part of the lesson to talk about something that really bothers me. I see so many good, righteous, temple-going, calling-serving, church members who seem to feel that it is their duty to inform other church members of their lack of testimony, unworthiness, or obvious disregard for all the things the prophets have taught whenever they feel like it. I used examples from the wear pants to church day internet debacle. I shared some of the stories of women who had been pulled aside by bishops or even denied entry into sacrament meeting because they were wearing a pant-suit. I quoted some of the terrible things that were being said to and about the women that were supporting women who desired to wear pants to church. I noted that these awful, sometimes even hateful comments were coming from church members and being directed towards other church members, usually in a holier-than-thou type of tone. We didn’t have a lot of time for discussion, but what I basically said was that we can’t possibly be building the kingdom of God here on Earth when we are treating each other this way over small things, like wearing a nice pant-suit to church instead of a dress. The Saints in Nauvoo did a lot towards building up the kingdom of God. They built their city, the temple, new doctrines were taught, and they took care of each other. If we’re going to build the kingdom of God now, we have to start with building up each other and really having that integrity of heart that Hyrum possessed. We then ended with a great quote from Uchtdorf on how God doesn’t want us to all be the same cookie-cutter mold.
Anyway….Despite the glazed looks, it seemed to be pretty well received. I had a gentleman thank me for using RSR in addition to the manual. Our stake high council representative was there and thanked me for the last part, saying that it was a big problem in the church right now that he sees all the time and he appreciated me addressing it. I’m pretty sure I ticked off one woman who had given a RS lesson earlier this year in which she went on for at least five minutes about how misguided, deceived, and ill-informed “those women wanting to wear pants to church” are and how they were on the road to apostasy. I had just worn pants the Sunday before she gave that lesson, so this kind of felt like a tiny bit of pay-back.
So, what I’m getting at here is that it’s getting increasingly time consuming and draining to prepare meaningful lessons for GD. I find hardly anything in the manual useful and so I end up doing lots of my own research and I get a bit obsessed for the week or so before my turn to teach. I’m starting classes for my master’s degree at the end of this month and was planning to tell the bishop I wouldn’t be able to teach anymore. When I mentioned this to him a couple weeks ago, he reiterated how much he likes my lessons and said he really wants me to keep teaching. I told him I’d try it, but as soon as it gets to be too much….I’m out. As much as I want to help guide relevant discussions and introduce small tid-bits of real church history in my ward, I’m pretty sure that once my classes start I won’t be able to handle it anymore.
I can’t decide if getting released will be helpful to me in my transition, as I won’t be compelled to dig into more history, issues, etc.(which in some cases just gets me upset all over again), or if it would make things worse because now I won’t feel like I have much of a purpose being at church on Sunday and I just have to listen to lessons straight from the manual. I’m already struggling with wanting to go on the days I don’t teach. My anxiety on Sundays just goes right through the roof. My kids love primary and that’s pretty much what gets me there for now. Thoughts? Opinions? Humorous anecdotes?
My last calling was Sunday School President, I would suggested that a release may be best. In my opinion, GD is one of the hardest callings in the Church and should be changed out if the instructor is getting tired. Adults are hard to teach sometimes, especially since we have all heard these lessons for decades. Share these thoughts with your SS President, I am sure he can try to find some relief for you. I always tried to follow up with the instructors to see if they were okay.
Good luck.
MayB wrote:I taught in the RS room for the first time this past Sunday. There were a lot more people in class and most of them just stared at me the whole time with that blank look on their face that always makes me think they’ve been suddenly infected by whatever virus is eventually going to start the whole zombie apocalypse that everyone keeps talking about.
This made me laugh out loud on the metro
As to your other questions. It must be hard work doing all that prep. Do you enjoy it? Do you feel like it enriches you? Do you feel positive after completing the lesson?
I think it’s a valid concern about the time it takes you and the impact it has on the rest of your life. You can serve God through other ways that being a SS teacher.
But… Even when I was ‘TBM’ I would have loved a SS teacher like you.
We had one in a previous branch for about 12 months. The teacher really struggled with his calling as he spent hours preparing for it and always agonised over it. The lessons were among the best I’ve ever been in because it really made us think and challenge our presumptions.
The lessons you teach and the way you teach them will be hugely appreciated by many in your class. We have a teaching rota in my branch right now, there are some I look forward to and others not so much (!)
It’s really up to you and your personal/family needs.
What mackay11 said – all of it. Don’t rush the decision, but don’t let guilt or a sense of duty dictate it, either. There is great potential for good, but there also is potential for burnout and frustration. Only you can make the choice.
I taught Gospel Essentials for a few years while in the midst of a commitment crisis and the blossoming of my own unorthodox beliefs. And then, moved onto High Priest Group teacher. Let me ask — what do you find more interesting — sitting through TBM lessons that often perpetuate cultural/non-doctrinal issues that you find disturbing, or those lessons where you step out on the plank, take risks (like you did with the pants-to-church scenario), and find the audience loved it? Where you find yourself a positive change agent, speaking for the silent minority or majority that believe many of the same things, but are afraid to say them?
I have had the same experience. I taught a lesson on not judging others. I taught it in jeans, tennis shoes and a loud, flowered shirt. At the end, unveiled that I did it intentionally to allow everyone to introspect on their thoughts as they saw me up there — a seasoned priesthood holder — openly violating the dress code. What did you think? Apostasy? Rebellion? Judgmental thoughts? I focused the lesson how we should be a light, not a judge, and that I had permission to be dressed that way from our HPGL. Powerful lesson with so many brethren, including a high councilor, sitting there with shocked and some of them, sheepish looks on their faces.
I had others like that too, where I elevated personal conscience above the statements of apostles and prophets — indicating all those words in General Conference are general principles and that “each person needs to pass all that through their own judgment and personal filters”. I quoted that “We believe in worshipping almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience and allow other men and women the same priviledge”….and got head nods from seasoned members — did that one in Gospel Essentials even.
So, I would read the manual, and then reflect on what it means to you. Unorthodox thoughts may come to you — that is your inspiration. You obviously are intelligent and gifted as a teacher — let that inspiration come to you about how to make powerful impressions that encourage them to challenge the assumptions they have assimilated without even thinking.
Learn to Rock the Boat, without Sinking the Ship. It is a delicate walk, but one that I think you are gifted at tackling given your posts so far.
And if you only have to do it once every 3 weeks, that gives lots of time for percolation, posting your thoughts here for input (I did that constantly as a teacher and you get LOTS of good perspectives from people who know how to rock the boat without sinking the ship). My lessons have been been a collage of my own ideas, ideas from Ray, Wayfarer, Roy, Cwald, Hawkgrrl, Heber13, Orson, Brian Johnson and more…adapted to my own style and way of expressing myself. With three weeks between lessons, there will be a lot of opportunity to share you concerns about the lesson with people here and get input on how to address the parts with which you disagree. And you may even find yourself emphasizing only parts of the lesson you agree with — and sharing some new and powerful perspectives people have never considered.
It’s a great opportunity to change and contribution – and the Spirit can be there.
SD
First off, thank you for reading my novel of a post. I tend to go on and on sometimes. Secondly, thank you all for your input, support and encouragement.
SilentDawning wrote:Let me ask — what do you find more interesting — sitting through TBM lessons that often perpetuate cultural/non-doctrinal issues that you find disturbing, or those lessons where you step out on the plank, take risks (like you did with the pants-to-church scenario), and find the audience loved it? Where you find yourself a positive change agent, speaking for the silent minority or majority that believe many of the same things, but are afraid to say them?
You’re right SD. I can barely stand to sit through most of the TBM lessons. In RS last Sunday, the lesson was on sustaining the priesthood. I could tell that our instructor, also the RS president, was trying to get women to think of the priesthood as something they can utilize and be blessed by regardless of whether they have a PH holder in the home, but the women just kept turning it into an idolize-the-men-who-hold-it fest. They kept saying things about how we sustain the priesthood by making sure our husbands go home teaching, not complaining when they’re gone all the time with PH duties, being obedient to what our local and general authorities ask us to do. At the very last minute, I raised my hand and said that it’s important to realize that the priesthood and the men who hold it are two completely separate things and that we shouldn’t just give blind support to any man who is a PH holder in the name of doing our duty. I even said that I know many men who, while holding the priesthood and sometimes through the office or calling of the PH they held, have done some truly terrible things. The women stared at me, but the RS pres. came up to me afterward and thanked me for saying what she had been trying to get across the whole time.
SilentDawning wrote:I have had the same experience. I taught a lesson on not judging others. I taught it in jeans, tennis shoes and a loud, flowered shirt. At the end, unveiled that I did it intentionally to allow everyone to introspect on their thoughts as they saw me up there — a seasoned priesthood holder — openly violating the dress code. What did you think? Apostasy? Rebellion? Judgmental thoughts? I focused the lesson how we should be a light, not a judge, and that I had permission to be dressed that way from our HPGL. Powerful lesson with so many brethren, including a high councilor, sitting there with shocked and some of them, sheepish looks on their faces.
I love this! These are the kinds of lessons we need.
I do love being an agent for change or even just causing people to do a little bit of introspection. I usually feel very satisfied after my lessons are done. I guess I’m just a little worried about the stress of school being too much. I think I’ll keep teaching and just take it one lesson at a time. My next lesson is on the deaths Joseph and Hyrum at Carthage. I’m sure I’ll be picking all of your brains in the week or two before I teach.
🙂 Please do..and if your experience is anything like mine, your greatest inspiration will come during those periods your subconscious is working on the lesson, when driving or when your mind is using unproductive time (like waiting in line). And that time doesn’t distract much from other interests in one’s life, in my experience. Good luck, I hope you stay with it…
MayB wrote:I do love being an agent for change or even just causing people to do a little bit of introspection. I usually feel very satisfied after my lessons are done. I guess I’m just a little worried about the stress of school being too much. I think I’ll keep teaching and just take it one lesson at a time.
Of course, it’s up to you, but I hope you can keep on keepin’ on. You’re making a contribution and I enjoy reading your posts. Looking for another angle on the every three weeks thing: maybe having the intervening lessons will work well. People tend to be pretty suspicious of a teacher who seems to be just parachuting into the block to blow people away with a lesson, and then is gone. You being there for class on the days you don’t teach gives you “street cred” I think. You can observe how people discuss things without the fluster of being the teacher. You can say things that might rankle people if they were coming from you as a teacher, but statements from class members aren’t usually scrutinized to the same degree.
But, you’re the person/wife/mom/grad. student
:clap: in this thread! Good luck withwhateveryou decide.
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