Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Bubble Bath Winnings

Our ward had its annual (and AWESOME) Sweetheart Ball Friday night.  I always have so much fun at these things.

The decor was amazing, the food was fantastic, and there was a hilarious The Not-So-Newleywed Game.  The committee did a great job.

They had a really fun game where everyone's wedding pictures are on display, and each picture has a number on it, and on your little worksheet, you write who think the couple is.  There were some hard ones.  But I was a super-sleuth.  I figured one out just by the hairdo - the dude has the same hair as he did 50 years ago when he got married.  I only missed two, out of 34 pictures.  I tied for first place with the Relief Society president.  Not bad!!  I won some bubble bath.

And since our tub is, like, five feet long, and two feet wide, we won't be taking any joint romantic bubble baths together anytime soon.  So I let the kids use it.  And they were thrilled:


Monday, February 25, 2013

When the cat's away, the mouse gets proper haircuts for her sons.

I'm a horrible hairdresser.  I can't cut my kids' hair worth a darn.  I've tried.  And failed.  Many times.

When Ben was gone, I used my grocery money to get the boys' hair cut about every six weeks or so.  But when he came back, he was like, "Oh, I'll cut their hair and save the money!!"  The results have been pretty hilarious.  For several weeks, Micah's hair ended up looking like that kid in the Adventures of Tin Tin.  (Is the kid's name Tin Tin? I haven't seen it.)
I wish I had a good picture of Micah to show it.

I told Ben to trim Dylan's mohawk with scissors, and then use the clippers for the sides and back, and here was the result:
Ben just cut the whole thing off.  And Dylan was REALLY MAD.  Haha!!  But it took like two seconds to grow back out.  That kid's hair grows so fast.

I haven't been terribly happy with the results of Ben's barbering, so when he left this weekend, I was like, "Yesss!  The kids need haircuts, and I can get it done while he's gone!!  At a proper haircutting place!  And they can have decent haircuts!"

As an added bonus, the hairdresser ladies put colored gel in the boys' hair.  They loved that. :)
In case you can't tell, Dylan has red in his mohawk:

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Arm Hair Combover

The other night, right before going to bed, I was putting lotion on my hands. (I have to do this constantly in the winter, or I get cracked, bleeding hands. I remember, as a young girl, seeing commercials about lotion helping cracking and bleeding hands, and I was like, "That happens to people?"  Turns out, it does.  I wish my face would dry out as much as my hands do.  I have eternal Puberty Face.  Oily.  Pimpley.  It's fun.  I'm 35 years old, dude.  Why do I still have the skin I had when I was 15???)

Tangent finished.

So anyways, I had extra lotion, and I'm like, "Ben, do you need some lotion on your hands or arms or anything?  I have too much on my hands."  And Ben was like, "Yeah, my arms feel dry."  So I lotioned them up. 

I was having so much fun playing with his arm hairs.  Lotion + arm hairs = fun artistic experiments.  I was making the hairs go different ways, and making patterns, and making some parts stick up and some parts stick down... Seriously so much fun.

"Is this the first time you've played with my arm hair in twelve years of marriage?" Ben asked.

"No, I don't think so, but I think this is the first time I've played with your arm hair with lotion," I responded.

By far my favorite arm hair/lotion experiment was making Ben's hair comb straight over his forearm.  I call it the arm hair combover.  We were laughing so hard that we had to take a picture.

We get into laughing fits a lot at night.  I think it's because we're both exhausted all the time.

Ben's in Kentucky on a sales trip and I'm majorly bummed about that.  I have to keep telling myself that this trip is just a short one.  He gets home on Wednesday evening.  Five days is a whole heckuva lot better than 10 months was. :)

Saturday, February 23, 2013

The Chalkboard Effect

My cute friend, Jennifer, invited me to a Stampin' Up party at her house last week.  We had a blast.  The demonstrator showed us how to make a card that looks kind of like an erased chalkboard:

Isn't it cute???

Jennifer and her friends have a party once per month.  The demonstrator shows them a technique and has each of them make a card, and they also do a card exchange with each other every month.  I've long been wanting to join this group - these ladies have been making cards for a loooong time and are really good at it, and they were gracious enough to let me join them.  I'm so excited!!

Friday, February 22, 2013

The Blue Belt Blues

It was time for Dylan to earn his purple stripe.
It was time for Dylan to earn his purple stripe.
He didn't want to go.
He was starting to gripe.

Chorus:
He had the blue belt blues,
They made him feel inadequate,
He had the blue belt blues,
And he felt like he wanted to quit.

Dylan's master assured him that he would pass the test.
Dylan's master assured him that he would pass the test.
Dylan didn't think he could.
He felt Master was being a pest.

(Chorus)

Ben encouraged Dylan to go and achieve his next rank.
Ben encouraged Dylan to go and achieve his next rank.
Dyl half-heartedly got dressed.
He thought this situation stank.

(Chorus)

Ben and Dylan drove an hour to go take the test.
Ben and Dylan drove an hour to go take the test.
When they got there, he froze up.
Dyl wasn't feeling his best.

(Chorus)

Ben and Master H. tried to talk him into it.
Ben and Master H. tried to talk him into it.
But Dylan wouldn't budge.
He was being a git.

(Chorus)

They drove all the way home with no purple stripe.
They drove all the way home with no purple stripe.
We were really confused.
Dyl isn't the quitting type.

(Chorus)

We talked a lot with Master H., who reassured us.
We talked a lot with Master H., who reassured us.
He said this happens a lot.
Blue belts in themselves don't trust.

(Chorus)

Blue belts start to realize how far they have to go.
Blue belts start to realize how far they have to go.
They start to see their mistakes
It makes them feel very low.

(Chorus)

Master H. recommended Dyl take a week off.
Master H. recommended Dyl take a week off.
Dyl liked this way too much,
Which really ticked me off.

(Chorus)

After a week, I took him back - I hoped it wouldn't be traumatic.
After a week, I took him back - I hoped it wouldn't be traumatic.
They got to break some boards in half.
The boy was extremely ecstatic.

Altered Chorus:
He had the blue belt blues,
But he started to feel better.
He had the blue belt blues,
And now he's a go-getter.

He seems to have been cured - he brought home a broken souvenir.
He seems to have been cured - he brought home a broken souvenir.
He's enjoying class again,
And has an attitude of cheer.

(Altered Chorus)

Dylan says he's ready for his tourney in a few weeks.
Dylan says he's ready for his tourney in a few weeks.
The tournament is five hours away,
Which really, really reeks.

(Altered Chorus)

If Dylan freezes up again, it's curtains for Taekwondo.
If Dylan freezes up again, it's curtains for Taekwondo.
His contract ends in May,
And to another sport he'll go.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Precocious Puberty?

Ohhhh my poor little Sadie Girl.  Kay.  So within just a couple of months, she jumped from a size seven in clothes to a size 10. She grew a TON.

And then, a few weeks ago, we noticed that one of her....nipples...(sorry, I don't like using that word for some reason) was getting big.  She told me that it felt like she had a nickel underneath, and she said that it hurt.


This set off alarms in my head, because I remember, when I started developing (at age 12 or so), that feeling; as if there were quarters inserted by aliens underneath my nipples while I was sleeping.  And they really did hurt, a lot.  I remember my mom even taking me to the doctor to see what was going on.  He told me that this was part of developing.


And I was twelve years old.  It was time to develop.


With Sadie, it was just on one side, so Ben and I hoped that maybe there was just some kind of infection, or a clogged sebaceous duct, or something.  So we had her apply heat to it every now and then, and within a few days, it looked like it had gotten smaller.


However, a few days later, it was back, along with the swelling of the other...nipple.  I was alarmed.  I called our nurse advice line that our insurance had given us.  I spoke to a nurse, and she said that, with Sadie's dramatic growth spurt, coupled with what seem to be developing breasts,  it sounded like Precocious Puberty - puberty that takes place before the age of eight.


Eight??? Sadie's seven-and-a-half, but even if she was the ripe old age of eight, I still wouldn't feel okay about her going into puberty.  I have heard, anecdotally, that girls develop earlier than they used to, because of all the hormones in milk and meat (which makes me really mad at the dairy and meat industries), but I don't know.  I don't feel right about my daughter getting breasts at the age of seven.  Or even eight.

A lady in my spinning class said that her niece got her period when she was only nine.  How traumatic!!!  How awful!!
She said that Precocious Puberty not only is traumatic for a young girl, but it also triggers this thing in your body that makes it stop growing in height.  So it could stunt her growth, height-wise.  I'm not saying that I want her to be an amazon woman, but I want her body to reach the height it's meant to reach.  I don't think she'd like being 4' 3" for the rest of her life.
The nurse said that one thing you can do is have your kids get these shots - called Lupron - that make the puberty stop.  They have to get the shots once per month.  And then, at age 11 or 12 or whatever, you take the kid off the shots, and they start puberty when they're supposed to.  That sounds good to me.  But I do want to find out about potential side effects, etc.
We have a doctor appointment scheduled, but we couldn't get in until this coming Tuesday.  In the meantime, Sadie is just mortified to go to school.  She says you can see her...nipples... through her shirts, and she's really embarrassed.  So we went and got her some training bras.  They just look like sports bras.  They're a little large - the smallest size we could get was for a 27" rib cage, and Sadie's rib cage is 25", but she's relieved to have another layer between herself and her shirt.  She says some kids at school have been teasing her, but she seems to have been letting the teasing roll off her back.
You should have seen Dylan and Micah when she got her bras.  They kept gathering by her door, trying to peek in while I was showing her how to put it on.  It was fascinating to them.  Exciting.  Almost like Christmas.  I kept shooing them away and telling them to give the poor girl her privacy.
She likes to wear them at night, as well as in the day.  I told her that most girls like to take them off at night, but she wants them on all the time.  Perhaps, in a couple of months, she won't need them anymore for awhile....


Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Bloggies 2012

My adorable (you need to mentally read it in the French pronunciation here - ah-door-AH-bluh) friend, Pats, and I decided we should do these every year on our blog.  (That was a long time ago, Patsters!) Every year, I think, eh, should I still do bloggies?  And then Pats does them, and then I get all excited and decide what categories I want, who to nominate, etc.  It's just plain fun.

Pats gave me an award on her blog this year, which was an extremely pleasant surprise.  I usually win Best Commenter, but with my surgery, Ben's extended absence last year, plus my scanning job ending (There's just no more paper to scan.  And I used to peruse blogs while paper was being fed through the scanning machine), I haven't been able to be as good as a commenter as I used to be.  Lately, I've usually only had time to post something on my blog and that's it.  I've been a slacker.  But it's getting bettah oll the ti-i-ime...bettah, bettah, beeeettahhhh! ("Getting Better" by the Beatles.  I lurv the White Album.  It's my favorite of all the Beatles albums.)

But then she gave me the One-Liners Award!!!  Total, total delightful surprise.  Here is what she wrote, because I like to read nice stuff about myself.  Because I'm a Words of Affirmation person. (Read The Five Love Languages.  You won't regret it.)

One Liners AwardKar's Kith and Kin
Karlenn's blogs are so well thought out.  She is of English Teacher background and I wonder if she doesn't outline her posts before writing them.  They have such flow.  And they are loaded with great one-liners, zingers, and nuggets.  Sometimes its a song lyric or a well-placed movie line.  Sometimes (like a few days ago) it's just a phrase you haven't heard in AGES.  Like "Your funeral."  I died!  The blogger's got skills.  She also has really clever captions for her pictures.  Especially on the side-bar.

Ah, I blushed.  Thanks, Pats.  I miss you.  I miss our walks and our talks.  I miss eating egg salad sandwiches in your kitchen with you.

Alright.  So here we go.  The 2012 Bloggie Awards!!!!

Best Supporter:  Ken at Don't Be Too Laughy About It
Ken is in  my ward and is married to one of my favorite people in the world, Brooke.  Every now and then, he'll come up to me in church and say, "I just love reading your blog!  It makes my day!  Such-and-such post made me laugh so hard!"  And it makes me really, really happy.

Have I mentioned that I'm a Words of Affirmation girl? 

Well, I am.

So thanks, Ken.  And Ken's blog is really fun to read.  He's a good writer.  And he's really into comic books, something I never knew about him until I finally found his blog.  A lot of the comic book stuff goes over my head, but I like his posts about how much he loves his wife, and I find his posts about his new commitment to working out and eating right to be really inspiring.  Ken and Brooke are the BEST.  And their son, who I watch once a week for an hour, is a crackup.  For reals.  I need to write a whole post about little Sam.

Most Improved in Frequency:  Lex at The Scotten Adventures

Lex used to not blog all that often.  Because she's been in Physical Therapy School.  Which is code for Go Through Hell School.  But she's been on one of her last affiliations in Arizona for the past two months (!! Time flies...) and has time in the evenings to blog, so she's been catching us up on her life. I loooove reading her posts.  I love how she utilizes that crossing out thing.  Where you write something, and then show a crossing out of it and re-word it - Lex is the master at using that thing.  I need to be better at using that thing.  Maybe that will be my belated New Year's Resolution.  Use the crossing out thing more.  Lex is really, really funny.  Reading her posts makes me laugh, and being with her makes me laugh.  She's just fun and very witty.

Best Writing:  Patty at Patty.  Published.
Patty is a fantastic writer.  She's fantastic at everything.  I've often wondered what her IQ is.  She's good at math, writing, playing piano, motherhood,  gardening,  public speaking....  Anyways.  Every time I read her blog, I giggle.  She's edgy, but soft.  She'll swear every now and then, which I love.  She's a righteous person with a bit of edge, and I love that about her.  But then she'll also speak with candor and relevance about motherhood and womanhood.  She has such an ability to pinpoint feelings and emotion.  She can convey feelings with such accuracy.  Often, when I read her blog, I think, "That is exactly how it feels!"  You know that poem by Keats that says, "Beauty is truth, and truth is beauty"?  Her blog is truth and reality.  Sometimes it's harsh reality.  Sometimes it's beautiful reality.  But the way she conveys both realities is beautiful.  I don't know if that makes sense.  One of the things that I struggle with is being able to accurately express my feelings, but Patty doesn't struggle with that.  Reading her blog makes me want to be a better writer.

Most Creative:  Mindy at The Education of Miss H
The first time I saw Mindy's blog title, I knew I would like her blog, because her blog title reminded me of one of my favorite books, The Education of Little Tree.  Every time she posts, I get really excited to see what she's written.  Not only because she has a really amazing life, but because her posts are so dang creative.  Sometimes she'll write a poem.  She recently wrote an ode to her new covered parking spot.  It was a crackup.  When her brothers were on missions, she would transcribe the entire Mother's Day phone conversations, and I would laugh my butt off.  Sometimes she'll write an entire post in scripture language - priceless.  Sometimes she'll change the words to a hymn.  She recently changed the words to O Ye Mountains High to talk about the scariness of driving on ice.  I. LOVE. HER. BLOG.  And I love her family.  (My sister married into it, and they are the greatest.)

Where in the Heck Does She Get the Energy???: Megs at Crafty Meggy

Kay.  Megs, can you bottle some of your energy and give it to me? Not only does she sew a new outfit, like, every single day, but she also cleans and organizes like ten rooms in her house every day.  I cannot figure out how she does all of this and doesn't just keel over from sheer exhaustion.  Sewing is something she's just taken up in the past couple of years, and she has a knack for it.  Which is more than I can say for myself.  I'm a horrible seamstress.  Megs, when Sadie's in high school, can you make her prom dresses for me?  Thankssss.

Most Interesting:  Kathleen at Pebble Pirouette
So Kathleen and her hubby, Nick, moved to China at the beginning of last year - Nick worked with Ben.  And I got acquainted via e-mail and then blog with his adorable (ah-door-AH-bluh) wife, Kathleen.  Nick and Kathleen have lived all over the world for Nick's job for the past several years. I think I would struggle with that kind of a life, but Kathleen really has embraced it.  She's a good sport.  I loved reading about her life in China (and could commiserate with a lot of it), and then they went to Korea for a month or so, as well, so that was fun to read about.  Now that she's back in Idaho, I hope she doesn't stop blogging.  Because she's always doing fun stuff and has interesting things to say.

Best Eye Candy:  Julia at Chris Loves Julia

Ohhh, how I love this blog.  Julia and Chris are renovation/home decor geniuses.  I'm always so excited when they've updated.  Right now they're working on their daughter's bedroom and their kitchen, and I can't wait to see what they do.  Hop on over there.  You will die and wish that you were reincarnated as a piece of their furniture. :)

Funniest:  Josh at The Weed

Josh doesn't know me.  I found this blog on facebook.  One of my friends linked to it, and my curiosity was piqued, so I headed over there and was instantly hooked.  You see, Josh came out of the closet last summer, but he's also happily married.  To a woman.  They've been married for many years and have three beautiful girls.  And he and his wife have known he was gay long before they married.  It's truly a fascinating and interesting story and dynamic they have.  But my favorite part about Josh's blog is that he is really, really, really funny.  When you go to his blog, head over to the right-hand side, with the most popular posts.  Start reading those, and you will giggle and giggle.  He's a gifted writer.  And funny as heck.

Alright, I'm ready to hear your acceptance speeches/comments!  (Wow, then I'll actually get some comments!  Wah-wah-wahhhhhhh....)

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

We're on a first-name basis with the dudes at AAA Sewer Service.

For reals.  They come to our house a few times per year for various plumbing issues.

So on...Saturday night?  Yeah.  Ben put rice down our disposal.

Those of you who live in...normal houses...may not understand what a horrible, horrible mistake this is.  Those of you who live in houses built in 1945 understand.  No rice.  No pasta.  Nothing too hard or too sticky.  Basically, I scrape any food into the garbage before I put it in the sink for rinsing.  I can use the disposal for old, soggy cereal, but that's really it.

So the sink got all clogged.  Ben went to Home Depot and got some de-clogger stuff.  The next day, Sunday, nothing had de-clogged.  So Ben bought three more bottles of de-clogger and dumped them in.  That evening, nothing had de-clogged.  So he went to Home Depot and bought one of those cleaner-outer thingeys.  (I don't know any kind of tool or home-improvement terminology.  The other day, I asked Ben for one of those screwdriver thingeys that looks like a stop sign when you look at the end.  He said, "An allen wrench??"  "Oh, is that what you call those things??")

So he cleaned it out from under the sink:
And then he tried to clean it out from the vent pipe thingey on our roof.  And then he tried to clean it out from the basement (in our storage room).  And he broke this cap thing that keeps the water in the pipe.

And he didn't move any of the boxes with our kids' clothes in them, so the chemicals spilled out onto the boxes and ruined a couple of boxes of clothes, plus one of our 72-hour kits (which ended up being a good thing, because upon further inspection, I realized that all of the food in our kits has expired.  In 2007.  Good to know):
So the size 3T summer clothes I was holding onto for Gage this summer - gone.  Dylan's summer clothes - gone.

Poor Ben.  He didn't mean for all this to happen.

I had to do dishes in our bathtub for two days:

The plumbers finally came yesterday evening.  They recognized me from the few times they came last year for main line issues.  Which is neat.  I was like, "'Sup?"

Because of all the chemicals Ben had used, they couldn't use their cable to clean out the pipe, because those chemicals crystallize the cables, and the cables break off inside the pipes. So they had to do this mega power blast water thing.

$200 and two days after the first clog, we can use our kitchen sink again.

It's time to move.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

The Lesson - What is the role of agency in learning the gospel? - What I Did

1.  An Unexpected Direction

A couple of weeks ago, when I first introduced the theme for this month - the plan of salvation - I had the students assemble a diagram of the plan of salvation.  And there were a couple of questions they had, most notably, "Does the final judgment come before or after the millenium?"  I was pretty sure it came after, but I didn't have any scriptures memorized about it or anything.  So I promised to do some research on it.  I found some quotes and printed them on a paper for this one student whose question this was.  Here are the quotes:

The Millennium is the thousand-year period when Jesus will reign on the earth. At the beginning of this period of time, the righteous will be caught up [resurrected] to meet Jesus at his coming.

After the beginning of the Millennium, those who will receive a terrestrial glory will be resurrected (see D&C 88:99; 76:71–80). When all these people have been resurrected, the First Resurrection will be completed.

The wicked who are living at the time of the second coming of the Lord will be destroyed in the flesh. They, along with the wicked who are already dead, will have to wait until the end of the Millennium before they can come forth from their graves. At the end of the Millennium, the Second Resurrection will take place. All of the remaining dead will rise to meet God. They will either inherit the telestial kingdom or be cast into outer darkness with Satan (see D&C 76:32–33, 81–112). - “Chapter 43: The Second Coming of Jesus Christ,” Gospel Principles, 277

“The resurrection is followed immediately by the Final Judgment (see 2 Ne. 9:15, 22; Mosiah 26:25; Alma 11:43–44; Alma 42:23; Morm. 7:6; Morm. 9:13–14).” - Resurrection, Dallin H. Oaks, April 2000 General Conference

I had just made this one copy for the girl whose question it was, but the rest of the students asked if they could have a copy, too.  Which was cool.  And then we read the first two scriptures at the top of the quotes, again, per the students' request.  So we ended up spending a lot of time on this, but I was happy to let it go in this direction, because that's how the Holy Ghost works.  I prepare, and I listen to Him as I prepare, and then He takes over and teaches the things that the kids need to know and to hear.  One of my old students, who is leaving on a mission in a few weeks, came to visit, and I think he was glad to have this specific information in his arsenal, as well.

I love the Holy Ghost.  And I love the gospel.

2.  Making Connections

I really felt, as I was preparing, that I needed to text my students and ask them to prepare something for class the next day.  I've learned that calling them and leaving them messages is fruitless.  They will only respond to texts.  And I've finagled all of their cell numbers.  In fact, I had a couple of wrong numbers, plus a new student who just moved in, and all three willingly wrote their numbers on a paper for me to enter into my phone.

I have the best students in the world.

So I texted them and had them prepare.  J was to tell us something he's learned recently in seminary.  P was to tell us something she's learned recently in sacrament meeting.  L was to tell us something she's learned recently in her personal scripture study.  B was to tell us something she's learned recently in Young Women's. I couldn't get ahold of another boy to share what they've been learning in Priesthood, but the guys were able to remember and tell what they've been learning, just on the spot.  As they were telling me the things they've learned, I jotted notes on the board in kind of a grid like this:

Name
Setting
What you've learned
How this relates to the Plan of Salvation
J
seminary




P
Sacrament meeting




L
Personal scripture study




?
Priesthood




B
Young Women's





Then we worked together to come up with what the things they've learned have to do with the plan of salvation.  This also ended up being a really special part of the lesson, because when L shared about her scripture study, she shared that her family has been making an increased effort to have family scripture study and family home evening, and that it's made a huge difference in their family life, but it also strengthens her for when she faces the school day.  She got a bit teary-eyed, and it was really just a great moment.  P was talking about how she took notes in sacrament meeting, and we talked about how taking notes helps us not only to pay attention, but we can record the impressions we're getting as we listen to the speaker.

Did I mention that I have the best students in the world??

Another part of the making connections part of this lesson is to talk about how participating in lessons helps us to learn.  I had asked A to share a time when she actively participated in a lesson or a church activity and what that helped her to learn.  She talked about how her family does baptisms for the dead every Friday at the temple, and how that has really affected her testimony.

3.  Activity - Things that Help and Hinder Gospel Learning

I got this idea from a reeeeally old FHE manual.  I found a bunch of pictures online of things that help and hinder learning in church/scripture study/seminary settings.  I set up two areas - a smiley face area and a frowny face area.  I gave each student a picture, and then we each took turns showing their picture and putting it in the appropriate area.  This is what it looked like when we were done:
Here are the pictures I handed out to them.  On some, I had to jot a little note above or below the picture to describe what was happening.  I'll jot the notes here, too:

I got this off a blog - it's during General Conference:

I should have put a caption on this next one, because it became a point of contention.  I meant it to be - "flirting really loudly during Sunday School class."  :)  I like to tease them.  Some of them were like, "Maybe the girl is being encouraging to the guy, and telling him to serve a mission!"  And some of them were like, "All they're doing is smiling.  That's okay during Sunday School."  In the end, the students decided to put this picture in between the smiley area and the frowny area. :)


 This one is kind of hard to see - it's a scripture journal:





 This one is also hard to tell - it's taking notes during sacrament meeting:
This cracked me up - I found it just on some random blog - a note that a lady's daughter had written to a boy during sacrament meeting:
The kids loved this note so much.  One of them asked to keep it. :)  Haha!  It really is so funny.

And then we ran out of time!

But, if we hadn't, this is what I would have done next:

4.  Scripture Study Group Activity

I was going to divide them into three groups and give each group the following slips of paper:


As a group, read 1 Nephi 2:14-16. What principles about learning the gospel do you discover from reading about Nephi's experience?

As a group, read D&C 138:1-11. What principles about learning the gospel do you discover from reading about Joseph F. Smith's experience?

As a group, read JSH 1:10-18. What principles about learning the gospel do you discover from reading about Joseph Smith's experience?

I would have given them pens and had them write the principles of learning down.  What I came up with myself, and what I would have brought out if the students hadn't found it, was the following:

Nephi - He heard what his father taught, desired to know for himself, and acted on that desire.
Joseph F. Smith - He read the scriptures, pondered them, and read them some more.
Joseph Smith - He thought, read scriptures, reflected on them, prayed, and asked questions.

Then I was going to just remind them that, if they have a question about the gospel, they can follow these scriptural examples to find their answer.

5.  Elder Bednar Worksheet - Taking Responsibility for Your Gospel Learning

I was going to have them do this worksheet individually, since they would have just worked in a group:

Read the following excerpt from Elder David A. Bednar's article, “Seek Learning by Faith.” List as many things as you can that Elder Bednar suggests you can do to take more responsibility for your gospel learning.

A learner exercising agency by acting in accordance with correct principles opens his or her heart to the Holy Ghost and invites His teaching, testifying power, and confirming witness. Learning by faith requires spiritual, mental, and physical exertion and not just passive reception. It is in the sincerity and consistency of our faith-inspired action that we indicate to our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, our willingness to learn and receive instruction from the Holy Ghost. Thus, learning by faith involves the exercise of moral agency to act upon the assurance of things hoped for and invites the evidence of things not seen from the only true teacher, the Spirit of the Lord.

Consider how missionaries help investigators to learn by faith. Making and keeping spiritual commitments, such as studying and praying about the Book of Mormon, attending Church meetings, and keeping the commandments, require an investigator to exercise faith and to act. One of the fundamental roles of a missionary is to help an investigator make and honor commitments—to act and learn by faith. Teaching, exhorting, and explaining, as important as they are, can never convey to an investigator a witness of the truthfulness of the restored gospel. Only as an investigator’s faith initiates action and opens the pathway to the heart can the Holy Ghost deliver a confirming witness. Missionaries obviously must learn to teach by the power of the Spirit. Of equal importance, however, is the responsibility missionaries have to help investigators learn by faith.

The learning I am describing reaches far beyond mere cognitive comprehension and the retaining and recalling of information. The type of learning to which I am referring causes us to put off the natural man (see Mosiah 3:19), to change our hearts (see Mosiah 5:2), to be converted unto the Lord, and to never fall away (see Alma 23:6). Learning by faith requires both “the heart and a willing mind” (D&C 64:34). Learning by faith is the result of the Holy Ghost carrying the power of the word of God both unto and into the heart. Learning by faith cannot be transferred from an instructor to a student through a lecture, a demonstration, or an experiential exercise; rather, a student must exercise faith and act in order to obtain the knowledge for himself or herself.



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Here are the things I found when I read the article:

1.  Open your heart to the Holy Ghost
2.  Exert yourself
3.  Study
4.  Pray
5.  Attend church meetings
6.  Keep commandments
7.  Exercise faith
8.  Act
9.  Heart and a willing mind

I would have had them share their answers, and then add some of the others if they hadn't found them.

Then I was going to close the lesson. :)

 
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