Update 11.4 (How can I stand as a witness of God?)

Happy Wednesday, everyone!
This week Brian and I team taught our lesson about goals.  Thanks, Brian!  I took the class on a little trip down memory lane from own "decade of decision" and then Brian introduced this video and led a discussion about what we learned from it about setting goals.  A few things we talked about were starting early, set worthy goals, and work hard.  I enjoyed listening to your perspectives!

This coming Sunday, our lesson will be How can I stand as witness of God?  Sarah and I will be team teaching this week!  Can you think of a time when you had to stand up for your beliefs in the face of criticism or opposition?  We'd love to hear your story.  :)

Here are a few links if you'd like to include them in your study this week:
1 Nephi 8:24-34
Talk from President Monson
Talk from Elder Holland 
Talk from Elder Anderson

Oh, and don't forget the church's Christmas campaign #lighttheworld starts tomorrow, Dec. 1st!

Counting down to Christmas by giving for 25 days in 25 ways.  I LOVE this!  If you participate, tell me about it on Sunday!  I'm going to put the links to each day here, to make it easy!
Dec. 1st: (Thursday)

Dec. 2nd: (Friday)

Dec. 3rd: (Saturday)

Dec. 4th: (Sunday)

Dec. 5th: (Monday)

Dec. 6th (Tuesday)

Dec. 7th (Wednesday)

Sunday School Update 11.3 (How can setting goals help me become self-reliant?)

First of all...

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday week!

This last week, Brigham and I team taught with the theme "How can I learn to make my own decisions?"  We studied the scripture block, Doctrine and Covenants 58:26-29 and discussed how we can be led by the Lord at the same time as not being "compelled in all things."
Then we brainstormed what decisions class members might be making in the next decade of their lives.    Brigham led an activity using Elder Robert D. Hale's talk,"Preparing for the decade of decision," and his advice was so great!  I hope you all thought about this and are choosing now those things that will affect you positively in the decades ahead.
Here's a video message from Elder Holland that relates:

Coming up this Sunday, we will continue with the self-reliance theme as we discuss how setting goals can help us become self-reliant.  Brian is going to be team-teaching with me!
Think of a time you set a goal; what process do you go through to achieve it?
Check out these scripture blocks:
Philippians 3:13–14
2 Nephi 32:9 

Whether or not you're planning to serve a mission, page 146 of Preach my Gospel has a great resource about goal setting.  If you have time, study it and see how you can apply these principles in your life now. :)

See you Sunday!

Oh, and there's a potluck after church :)  That will be fun!

Update 11.2 (Overcoming Doubt with Faith)

This past Sunday we discussed "How can I overcome doubt with faith?"  Although many people struggle or have questions at one time or another about church doctrine, policies, or history, when we approach these feelings from a place of faith and belief, we can actually strengthen our testimonies!  In class, we discussed the importance of good habits, like scripture study, prayer, and church attendance.  Kyle then led us in an activity asking "What is something you love about Jesus Christ, his gospel, or our church?"  These are the great responses he got:

Often times, reflecting on the things we are grateful for can put our doubts and fears in perspective.  Thanks Kyle!  This video just came out last Friday that relates to our lesson and came from one of the talks in the outline:

Coming up this week, we will discuss another aspect of spiritual self-reliance with the topic of "How can I learn to make my own decisions?"  

Brigham will be helping me out this week!  To study up, here's a couple of really great talks:

Good, better, best

Preparing for the Decade of Decision

What life decision will you be making in the next 10 years?   Hopefully our discussion will leave you with confindence in your abilities to make the right ones!

See you there!

Oh, PS: We'll be celebrating 2 birthdays!  Madison (Nov 12) and Hyrum (Nov 22)!

Update 11.1

Hi everyone,
This last Sunday was our regional conference with Elder Rasband.  I hope you got to see it, I really enjoyed it!  Coming up this week our Sunday School lesson will be How can I overcome doubt with faith?  There were several talks in General Conference directed at those suffering from a crisis of faith.  There's so many great resources listed with this topic, but we are going to focus mainly on this talk from Elder Ballard, "To Whom Shall We Go?"  Kyle's going to be team-teaching with me, yay!  If you'd like to prepare, please take some time to ponder what it is about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and our church that you love?
Also, are there difficult questions that you are struggling with about the gospel?  If so, please send me a note or let me know on Sunday, and they can help guide us to future lessons where we address those topics.
Can you guess what this is?

 

I'll reveal the answer on Sunday!

PS: Madison's birthday is on Saturday. Happy birthday, Madison!  Because of fast Sunday, we won't be able to "properly celebrate" until next week, along with Hyrum!