June 9 - Priesthood Responsibilities

At the beginning of class, we shared our good news from the week--birthday parties, sleepovers, sporting events, beating personal records, etc.  As part of that, I also shared some chocolate that I brought back from France for the students.  They loved the chocolate, but they had some strong opinions about whether the chocolate was worth the expense!

This week, we focused on understanding the basics about the Priesthood.  We broke into groups, and each group read a passage from the scriptures:

Connor & Scott - Doctrine & Covenants 84:33-44
Emily, Isabel, & Maile - Doctrine & Covenants 20:46-59
Jaxon & Justin - Doctrine & Covenants 121:34-46

We then used these scriptures as a springboard for discussing the duties of different priesthood offices, the oath and covenant of the priesthood, and the sacred obligation to adhere to principles of righteousness.

I then asked the students if they had any personal experiences with the priesthood that they'd like to relate.

We closed with a video depicting a story about an 18-year-old who was prepared to exercise the priesthood when spiritually prompted:

Scott - Sanctify Yourselves

Carter also sent me his video, but since he wasn't able to be in class today, we'll wait to hear from him next week along with a couple other students!

Speaking of next week... I'm preparing a special Father's Day lesson about the priesthood that I'm really looking forward to.  To make the discussion more relevant, I'd love if each student could do a little preparation beforehand.  Please ask your parents about your name:

• Where did your name come from?
• Are you named after anyone or anything in particular?  Why?
• What is the significance or meaning of your name?
• Why did your parents choose your name for you?
• How does your name reflect your heritage?
• How does your name demonstrate your parents' hopes for you and your life?

Anything you can find out along these lines will be so helpful for our discussion!

References

Thomas S. Monson. Photo by Brian Tibbets. Used under Wikimedia Commons License. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_S_Monson.jpg on 6/12/2013.