Young Women Camp

As Stake Young Women Camp Director, this Laurel Expedition would be my dream to plan and implement for the Young Women in my Stake.
Specifically, the YCL (Youth Camp Leaders who are 16-18 year old) or Laurels.

It takes a lot of "out of the box" thinking and support on the part of Young Women Leaders and Priesthood Leaders. A LOT. A lot that I would totally be up for!

The area I currently live in would not have the support or understanding for this need from the Stake Level and many of the Wards, It takes so much to change perspective and thinking of "this is the way we always do it".

As a people, we need to be much better at providing these opportunities for our boys AND girls. MUCH BETTER.

I love this. I love the leaders who made this happen!

Go Laurel Expedition 2017

Camp Planning Perspective

Camp 2017 is in the books and it was a remarkable year. One of the best I can remember. In the next few days, I will post photos and my thoughts on why it was such an incredible week.
For now, I am sharing this post I read a few years back and it rings true for me.

Planning Young Women Camp in different parts of the world takes a different approach for each leader. It is important to not compare your camp to others and to do the best with the resources and circumstances available to you and your Stake.
It is generally much more expensive and involved to plan a camp outside of the Utah/Idaho (Western USA) where there are more choices in low cost camp facilities.

My perspective is to do your best.

Enjoy this read from Mormon Girl in the Bible Belt. 
I totally get where she is coming from.

Happy YW Camp planning! Stay tuned for 2017 details.

Palm Sunday- The Triumphal Entry

My students were greeted by a palm lined entrance to class as we begin 

Easter Holy Week.

The Triumphal Entry of Jesus Christ is noted each Palm Sunday as he first day of the last week of Jesus Christ's life.

When He Comes Again

Music teaches and touches our hearts in a way that words cannot.
For our lesson on the Second Coming of Christ, we closed by singing, When He Comes Again.
I gave a copy of the music to each of my students and had them stand as a choir (all 6 of them) and sing.
The room was filled with the Spirit.
It was beautiful
The music I copied for each student is HERE or HERE
I used the accompaniment from the Children's Songbook in the LDS Music Library.

Another option is to have students sing along with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir using THIS LINK

Too many times, when we discuss the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, we focus on the negative, dreadful events that will happen. This song is a reminder of how sweet it will be to meet our Savior. The message brings hope and a clear vision of how blessed that day will be.

Use this song with any discussion/lesson on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Use this method of having students sing with any lesson that has a powerful hymn to teach and reinforce the doctrines and principles taught.

Image is from LDS.org, Children's Songbook

Philippians 4

Philippians 4:8 is cross-referenced to Article of Faith 13.
I want my students to associate Paul's counsel to the Philippians with Article of Faith 13.

I sent my students on a "Treasure Hunt" to students seek the virtues that taught by Paul and in Article of Faith. (Honest, True, Chaste, Benevolent, Virtuous, Doing GOOD to all men, virtuous, praiseworthy, lovely, good report)

They were divided into color-coded teams  (see photos below) and had to go around the building seeking for the words to fill in the blanks. Each team had 11 words to look for (good report counted as 2 words). When they returned to the classroom, they had to put the words in the correct blanks.

Each team selected one of the virtues we seek after and had to look up a scripture or quote to support that virtue and then explain how we can best seek after than virtue.

I showed the video,  "Texting Truth", that reinforced seeking truth and using the recent messages from LDS General Conference.

This was an interactive lesson that created the opportunity for students to  get up and move, use foot notes,  and "dive in" to their scriptures.

We are at the time in the school year where everyone is tired. Spring Break was very early for us and the months of April and May have very few days off. These "up and moving" days are important to balance out the dark, sleepy mornings.

(and yes, I corrected the spelling of Philippians on the posters pictured below)

 Happy Teaching!

Forgiving Others- Part 2

Object Lesson:

In 2 Corinthians 2:11, the Apostle Paul teaches that when we don't forgive others, we give satan an advantage over us.
I showed this powerful video, click HERE  and used the following object lesson based on a few ideas I have seen.

This object lesson demonstrates the protection that forgiving others brings to us.
Other applications for this object lesson: Put on the whole armor of God-Arming ourselves with spiritual protection, etc.

Here are the supplies and method:

1) Jar of "Forgiveness" aka Liquid Dishwashing Soap (I used Dawn)

2) Container of "Temptation, Evil, Spiritual Danger, Wickedness" aka Ground Pepper

3) Clear glass bowl filled with water

 The bowl of clean water represents the world

 Add some Temptation, Evil, Spiritual Danger, and Wickedness to the world

Dip your finger into the world  filled with evil and it will come out covered with pepper, "evil"
Clean your finger completely and dip it into the jar of "Forgiveness"
Dip the finger coated with "Forgiveness" in the center of the dirty water.
The "Temptation, Evil, Spiritual Danger, and Wickedness" scatter to the edges of the bowl and will not stick to your finger that is protected with "Forgiveness"

 Your finger will come out clean demonstrating that forgiving others protects us from satan's influences. Satan will not have an advantage over us when we forgive others.

Forgiving Others

In 2 Corinthians 2:11, Paul teaches that when we don't forgive others, we give satan an advantage over us.
This powerful video featuring Kristy Glass shows the importance of forgiving others-even those who never apologize to us. Click HERE to view.
I told my students that one of the most difficult things they would ever have to do is to forgive someone who does not show remorse or never apologizes.
Forgiving others is not for them, it is for us and Kristy clearly shares this principle.

Image from Soulseeds

General Conference Countdown Part 2

We made our General Conference Countdown paper chain this morning. It was a wonderful activity that supported Acts 27 when Paul and the other prisoners were taken on a ship. He warned everyone that it was not a safe time to travel due to weather conditions. It was storm season. He tried to warn them but they tried to sail anyhow. This ended with the prisoners and crew shipwrecked. We discussed how heading the counsel of Prophets will help us avoid storms, whirlwinds, and experiencing our own "shipwreck"

With 31 days until General Conference, on 15 of the paper strips, we wrote the names of the current Prophet, his counselors, and the 12 Apostles.
On the remaining strips of paper, we wrote principles and doctrines we have received counsel on from Prophets.
Each day, during devotional, we will remove a link. If there is a name, we will learn about that person, if there is a doctrine or principle, we will discuss quotes and scriptures that teach and give counsel on that subject.

I love when I have an idea and I can feel the Lord take over and fine tune the details. He is in charge.

General Conference Countdown

Tomorrow, March 1, my Seminary Class will make a General Conference countdown paper chain.
I am still developing the idea, but each day that we remove a link, I would like to share a quote about preparing for General Conference, following the counsel received in General Conference, how to take notes, etc.

Will edit as this plan evolves.
Feel free to leave a comment as to how this can be memorable and effective.

Passover 2017

Each year, I host a Passover Seder with my Seminary Class.
It is a much anticipated event for my students and fondly remember for those who are graduated.

I just read that BYU is hosting Passover Seders this year.
Very exciting. I will be out there for at least one of the dates. Maybe I will attend?
Here is a link for past years of my Seminary Passover Seder

Your Seder does not have to be elaborate, simple is best.
Most important is the experience, the discussion of symbols, etc.

The Apostle Paul

As I am teaching the New Testament, I am developing a great love for the Apostle Paul (Saul) and his ability to teach and connect with a variety of audiences with confidence. I appreciate that he reaches "the one" yet can teach an entire town.
He teaches with the power of the Holy Ghost, knowing this is his greatest source of strength.
This is an example I strive to emulate in my teaching.

Illustration by Dan Burr

I recently read this article that describes much of what I admire about Paul.
It is fitting for all teachers. The Apostle Paul as Master Teacher
Enjoy!

Journal Writing Ideas

This is a wonderful article containing 100 Journal writing prompts.
It could be used in a Sunday Youth lesson, Fireside, Seminary Lesson, or a weekly activity for Young Women or Young Men.

Copy the list and cut into strips with each idea on one strip.
Place them inside a "Journal Jar" that the youth decorate during the activity.

JOURNAL PROMPT IDEAS

Scriptures Side By Side

Happy New Year!

Some lessons call for comparing scriptures from John in the New Testament and John in the JST (Joseph Smith Translation) or other books from the Bible.

Most of the the time when we do this comparison, we meet the following challenges or I lose half of my class for one or all of these reasons:

a) Merely finding the JST (although each of my students have a bookmark in the JST section of their Scriptures)
b)We don't use it often enough for them to be confident in locating it.
c) The switching back and forth as we compare verses, sentences, and words is confusing for some
d) The confusion caused by the switching back and forth is such a distraction that the messages and meanings are lost or, better yet, never found.

This morning, I had a brainstorm as to how to avoid the switching back and forth (the bookmarks help them find the JST but don't solve the switching back and forth) and more importantly, how to have my students gain understanding and find meaning in the messages.

This method took no advance preparation or extra supplies.

At the beginning of class, I divided my students in groups of 2.
In each group, I asked one student to turn to John in the New Testament and the other to turn to John in the JST.
Then they put their books side by side (some put theirs one above the other)

It was very effective for them to see each scripture at the same time. The students were able to compare words, meanings, and clarifications with ease. As a result of their understanding the messages, they gave meaningful input which created a discussion that demonstrated to me that a few lights were turning on in their understanding. At the end of our study, a few of my students even turned to both the New Testament and JST in their own scriptures and highlighted some points that were important to them.

Another noted benefit was have a "study buddy". If one was not sure where to look or what to read, they helped each other.

This method would  also work when the reading calls for several footnotes and cross-references. The two students could keep one book on the main scripture while they use the other book to turn the pages to the references.

***I will note that in our class, we use paper scriptures. It is the best choice for our class. Many of my students don't have their own electronics and I find it is important that we are all on the same page, literally and figuratively.
We do have  "Tech Tuesday" where we use electronic scriptures, lds. org, mormon.org, etc. so that my students who do have their own portable electronic devices understand how  and where to search for answers. Most of them have access to a computer of some sort and hopefully, "Tech-Tuesdays" will inspire them to use sites that will help them search and find answers to their Gospel and Doctrinal questions.