Leadership Training- Presentation outline

If you would like to listen to the audio recording of this training, please view the previous post on this blog.

Brother Curtis Banks Notes

Moscow Stake YW Leadership Training

October 26 2017

I. Five parts in the Come Follow Me YW Lesson Format:

1. Prepare Yourself Spiritually.
2. Share Experiences
3. Introduce Doctrine
4. Learn Together
5. Live What We are Learning

II. Talk Less:

Teachers who speak 90 percent of class time are probably talking too much.

III. Asking effective questions is one of the most important skills a teacher can develop.

To ask and to answer questions is at the heart of all learning and all teaching.

(President Henry B Eyring, “The Lord Will Multiply the Harvest” [An Evening With Elder Henry B Eyring, Feb. 6 1998] 5-6)

While there is a wide variety of questions a teacher may ask, there are four general types of questions that are particularly important in gospel teaching and learning:

1. Questions that invite students to search for information

2. Questions that lead students to analyze for understanding

3. Questions that invite feelings and testimony

4. Questions that encourage application

1.  Search Questions:

Some examples of questions that invite students to search for information include:

  

Read D&C 18:10-16.  What do these verses teach us about how Heavenly Father feels about His children?

When they saw Goliath? How did David respond in verse 26?

What counsel did Alma give his son Shiblon in Alma chapter 38, verses 5-15?

List five things the Lord told Joseph Smith in…

Identify two lessons from Sister Bonnie L Oscarson’s talk on…

2.  Analyze Questions:

Why is family history work a good way to invite less-active friends to participate in church?

What doctrines concerning the nature of God can we learn from the First Vision? (see JS-H 1:15-20).

What behaviors and characteristics would you see in the life of someone who was building their foundation on Christ?

Using what we have learned, how would you explain the Lord’s standard of chastity?

What do you learn from the actions of the shepherd, the woman, and the father in these parables?

3. Questions that Invite Feelings and Testimony:

Some questions help students think about and understand gospel principles and doctrines, while others can cause them to reflect on spiritual experiences and lead students to feel more deeply the truthfulness and significance of a gospel principle or doctrine in their lives.

These questions help bring the gospel from students’ minds down into their hearts. And when they feel in their hearts the truthfulness and importance of a gospel doctrine or principle, they are more likely to apply it in their lives.

Examples:

 When have you felt the peace and joy that comes from forgiving someone?

Think of a time when the Lord directed your decisions because you trusted in Him.

If you could personally express your gratitude to the Savior for His sacrifice for you, what would you tell Him?

How is your life different because of the Sacred Grove?

When have you seen others respond faithfully to trials?

Such questions invite students to reflect on the past, to “search their memories for feelings,” and to think of their spiritual experiences related to the gospel doctrine or principle being discussed.

Often, these questions result in students sharing those feelings and experiences or bearing testimony of a doctrine or principle.

4. Questions that Encourage Application:

Ultimately, the aim of gospel teaching is to help students apply the principles and doctrines found in the scriptures and qualify to receive the blessings promised those who are faithful and obedient.

Examples of questions that can help students think specifically about ways they can apply principles and doctrines in their own lives:

What changes would you need to make to better keep the Sabbath holy?

What is something the prophet has counseled that you could follow with greater exactness? (see Alma 57:1-27).

How can the principle that if we seek the kingdom of God first, we will be blessed in other areas of our lives help you prioritize your goals and activities?

Caution:  Teachers should be careful not to be too prescriptive in assigning specific applications for young women.  The most meaningful direction for personal application comes individually through inspiration or revelation.