Comments on: In Our Ward: Lesson 1: “That Ye Might Believe that Jesus Is the Christ”

By: Steve C.

Steve C. — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 17:24:12 +0000

I was the substitute Gospel Doctrine teacher yesterday. All I can say is I wish you would have posted this late Saturday evening as I was preparing my lesson.

I like your extensive linkage between the OT and the NT. My approach was not so elaborate.

In my lesson, I emphasized the importance of the NT. So often members shrug off the Bible and turn all their attention to the Book of Mormon. I wanted to stress how important the NT was in its account of the life of Christ. I also discussed its importance in showing how the early Church was organized and functioned. Finally, I noted how the letters were written to combat apostate ideas that were quickly entering the Church. Not only is there a wealth of doctrinal information in the letters, but they also are a record of the beginning of the Great Apostasy.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 15:12:01 +0000

The lesson purpose is from the manual (but greatly sharpened from their generic one), as is the scripture discussion at the end. The part you’re talking about, though, is the result of about a month’s worth of study in extra-manual sources. I thought it was important to link the Old and New Testaments without the abrupt switch as if the premortal Jesus had not been intimately involved with the history of Israel, and part of it is in passive-aggressive response to some ideas that were mentioned by someone else in a recent lesson that I heartily disagreed with. I hope it’s accurate (I tried to make it so, but it’s all new to me), I realize it goes far beyond the teacher’s manual (it does, though, fully support the stated purpose of this lesson), and I wasn’t happy that it involved so much lecture and so little discussion (my lessons are usually discussion-heavy, teacher-lite, but there seemed to be no way to invite discussion of factual matters most of the class knew nothing of).

I was a little fearful of the reception it would get, but comments were positive (including follow-up email), there were enthusiastic nods from the bishop at one critical point, and the class was absolutely silent with their eyes riveted on mine, which I took as a sign of interest.

This, I repeat, is not a typical lesson for me. I don’t think it’s the Sunday School teacher’s job to do a data dump, ordinarily, and I don’t ordinarily recommend that teachers go as far afield as I did this time. This time, though, I thought it was important to build the link, and that it all supported the designated goals, and whether it’s obvious or not, I felt that I was continually bearing my testimony that even during that 400 years we often (mistakenly) think of as heavenly silence, Jehovah continued to honor his part of the covenant with Israel, blessing them as often as they turned to him.

By: Mommie Dearest

Mommie Dearest — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 08:51:00 +0000

I’m wondering what is the source of this information. Is this from the Gospel Doctrine teacher’s manual, or is this your own compilation? I started attending Sunday School again this morning, with hope for something inspirational. Unfortunately it was a torture of boredom and the most superficial of readings of the beginnings of the NT.

This information is quite meaty in comparison.