General Leaders Answer Questions about New Curriculum for Relief Society, Melchizedek Priesthood - 18-DEC-2017
“The most noticeable change is that elders quorums, high priests groups, and ward Relief Societies no longer have a lesson manual on which to rely. This means that Church members will take more individual and collective responsibility for what happens during this time.”
“The first Sunday in the month is perhaps the most significant change, because that is going to be a council meeting involving the entire quorum, group, or ward Relief Society. On the second and third Sundays of the month, the curriculum, which in the past has been the Teachings of Presidents of the Church manuals, now will be drawn from talks from the most recent general conference. On the fourth Sunday, it will be a single topic selected by the First Presidency and the Twelve for a six-month period. The fifth Sunday will be as it is now, with a topic chosen by the bishopric for instruction to the combined Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society.”
The first Sunday is “a council meeting for the quorum, group, or Relief Society, led by their individual leadership. It addresses the needs of the quorum or organization and how we can better prepare ourselves, then organize to meet those individual needs. It is not a lesson—we have lessons or discussions on the other Sundays in the month—but the first Sunday is meant to be a true council, led by leadership but involving everyone.”
“One of the beautiful things about this council meeting is that you actually come up at the end of the meeting with an action plan. You choose an action individually, and possibly as a group. Then, in the next week, they have an opportunity to briefly report: What was the effect of what you chose last week? Did it really make a difference?”
“The first week allows an opportunity to receive collective inspiration by truly counseling together and understanding multiple perspectives from which the Holy Ghost can introduce a revelatory experience as a council. Then, we begin to exercise the service component of what it means for us to fulfill some duties that we have as covenant members of the Church. The result of that is a more unified group and Zion-like community.”
“I would hope that in a year, the members would feel more united, they would feel more in tune with the Spirit, they would feel more supportive of one another, and they would actually feel that living the gospel of Jesus Christ makes a difference in their daily lives.”
Instructions for Curriculum 2018
https://www.lds.org/manual/2018?lang=eng
https://www.lds.org/bc/content/ldsorg/PDF/PD60003936/PD60003936_eng.pdf?lang=eng
My Most Influential Teacher: “I Knew He Loved Me” - 21-DEC-2017
https://www.lds.org/church/news/my-most-influential-teacher-i-knew-he-loved-me?lang=eng
Find Resources for Teaching the 2018 Mutual Theme on LDS.org - 08-DEC-2017
https://www.lds.org/church/news/find-resouces-for-teaching-the-2018-mutual-theme-on-ldsorg?lang=eng
BYU Pathway president encourages students to 'rise up and become the person the Lord wants you to become' - 20-DEC-2017
Dr. Clark G. Gilbert Inaugurated as BYU-Pathway Worldwide’s First President
16 November 2017
https://pathwaynewsroom.org/gilbert-inauguration/
Teaching after the Manner of the Spirit
Matthew O. Richardson
Second Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/teaching-after-the-manner-of-the-spirit?lang=eng
"We teach what we are, which means that our discipleship, our traits, our testimonies, and our commitment to the gospel can influence others as much as our words."
A Language beyond Sound:
By Jan Underwood Pinborough
Seventy Identifies Four Steps for Pondering That Can Lead to Personal Revelation
8 NOVEMBER 2017
Learning and Teaching by the Spirit, LDS Sunday School Training
Training Provided by the Sunday School General Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (A. Roger Merrill, Daniel K. Judd, William D. Oswald) 2004 to 2009
http://viewpure.com/8kyPXhpV050?start=0&end=0
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Receiving by the Spirit
A. Roger Merrill
Sunday School General President
OCT-2006 General Conference
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/10/receiving-by-the-spirit?lang=eng
Scripture Study—The Power of the Word Teacher Manual
https://www.lds.org/manual/scripture-study-the-power-of-the-word-teacher-manual?lang=eng