Suggestions for how to Make Conference Talk Lessons Interesting?

[Anonymous]

Given the new apparent guidelines regarding what we teach on Sunday, I was wondering if anyone would like to share some strategies for effective usage of Conference talks in lessons. I believe it’s the adult lessons, right?

I’d like to kick the discussion off with a few suggestions.

1. Use a video for a fragment of the talk that is particularly poignant, with question (s) about the talk fragment before you run it.

2. Teach the main idea of the talk, even if this means you have to draw on other resources.

3. If you like to read, pull down other talks on the same topic and compare them. Look for parts that seem to conflict with each other and ask the class to reconcile them.

4. Use a minimal phrase from the talk that segways to a topic related to it, but not addressed specifically in the talk.

Any more suggestions? Planning to do a teacher’s council on it.

SD

[Anonymous]

There were several good suggestions in this post on Sacrament talks on conference talks: http://forum.staylds.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8363&p=117443&hilit=Bednar#p117443

[Anonymous]

Make it a discussion. This is easier said than done because when there’s One True Answer, what’s there to discuss?

So what I mean by discussion:

I really like what they said here. [Reasons]

I don’t agree with what they said here. [Reasons]

A discussion. But I don’t know that this is possible in the current climate of going against the lord’s anointed, or however you want to frame things when people disagree with a voice of authority, even if it’s on the most minor of points.

[Anonymous]

Last week our RS lesson took a talk and divided it up. Then we divided into discussion groups of 8 people. Each group had a section of the talk. In our group we made a mini lesson about it. Then had a spokesman share our group overview with the class.

I know it’s old but it works. And the discussions can be more interesting.

[Anonymous]

* Don’t use dictionary definitions.

* Don’t just parrot large sections of the talk.

[Anonymous]

I once gave a priesthood lesson using a conference talk from the 1920’s. It had all kinds of prohibitions against playing billiards (pool) and face cards. I used it to push the fact that many of the “rules” will change over time. I think I even brought it closer and showed the 1964 Miss BYU and she wouldn’t be allowed into a youth church dance today.

[Anonymous]

Have a compelling message taken, in one way or another, from something in the talk. (LookingHard’s example is perfect for “another way”.)

I guarantee I can present a good lesson that will not ruffle too many feathers from any GC talk ever given. No exceptions.

[Anonymous]

LookingHard wrote:

I once gave a priesthood lesson using a conference talk from the 1920’s. It had all kinds of prohibitions against playing billiards (pool) and face cards. I used it to push the fact that many of the “rules” will change over time. I think I even brought it closer and showed the 1964 Miss BYU and she wouldn’t be allowed into a youth church dance today.

I love it, LH. But I’m sure that ruffled plenty of feathers. I remember my parents were very against face cards growing up, but I loved to play “scum” with my friends. I once bought a “pack” and kept it hidden. When my parents found it… it might as well have been a pack of cigarettes.

[Anonymous]

Use the talk as a launching point for a wider discussion. Some of my all-time-favorite lessons were off the script into a totally new perspective. Sometimes these were only tangentially related to the original topic. I think I even had one that wasn’t related at all.

IMO, the fastest and surest way to disengage the class is to read the manual (or in this case, the talk). When I taught Gospel Doctrine 2 years ago, I refused to read out of the manual on principle and even made printouts the one time I felt it had something quote-worthy just to avoid doing it.

… and it’s looking like I’m going to end up teaching Gospel Doctrine once again, so I better prepare for rocking the boat a little.

[Anonymous]

LookingHard wrote:

It had all kinds of prohibitions against playing billiards (pool) and face cards.

Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got trouble. Trouble right here in river city.

With a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for pool.

[Anonymous]

One of the best lessons I had was on self-improvement. Our R.S. president (who was teaching) brought in her antique kettle and some polishing silver with rags. We would shine the kettle for a minute or 2 then pass it on. The contrast between it at the beginning and at the end was stark.

[Author]

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