What Does it Mean to Live the Doctrine of Christ? (YW and Aaronic Priesthood Lesson)

Me, my daughter, and husband are all separately teaching this lesson on Sunday. Here are a few thoughts on teaching that we’ve gathered in our studies this week.

First, before we really get down to discussing what it means to LIVE the Doctrine of Christ, let’s first discuss what actually is the Doctrine of Christ? Lucky for us, the “Come, Follow Me” reading for this week gives us the answers and in plain terms.   Don't you just love how Nephi uses a variation of the word "PLAIN" three times in two sentences in 2 Nephi 31:2-3?  😂 It's like he really wants us to know that the doctrine of Christ is not meant to be complicated.

  I created this visual, based on the episode of “Don’t Miss This” for this week. {By the way, if you don’t watch or listen to the “Don’t Miss This” podcast yet, you’re missing out! They really add a lot of insight and perspective to my CFM studies each week.}   So, I was going to draw this hand large on the board (or you could have it printed out if you prefer) and have them look up the scriptures and fill in the blanks.  This could be a group activity with the class looking up the scriptures one at a time and filling it in together, or you could have them fill it out individually first, then discuss each part afterward.  I think they definitely should be copying this visual down into their journals as they go.  

Then we were going to go through each of the fingers and fill in the blanks, so it'll look something like this: 

Then we will talk about the center of the hand, because the whole Doctrine of Christ  really does begin and end with Christ.    It is through Him that we have the gifts of faith, repentance, baptism, and the Holy Ghost in the first place.   And it is through His atonement that we can return to live with Him again someday. 

I plan on having a copy of this completed one done for them to tape into their journals.  They could also copy it into their journals from the board if that works better for your class.

I was thinking that we would finish up this part of the discussion with reading Moroni 7:41:“And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.”

Then I plan on asking if the Doctrine of Christ sounds familiar to them?   They may recognize that most of it is mentioned in the 4th Article of Faith, and more importantly, it's what they've been learning their whole lives!

 After discussing the simplicity, beauty, and importance of what the Doctrine of Christ is, I thought we'd start talking about what it means to live it.   These two quotes from Elder Ballard's talk (the one mentioned in the lesson) would be a great place to start:

"The best ways for us to see the spiritual purposes of the Church are to live the true, pure, and simple teachings of Christ and also to apply the Savior’s two great commandments: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. … Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”   Elder Ballard

" Loving God and loving our neighbors is the doctrinal foundation of ministering; home-centered, Church-supported learning; Sabbath-day spiritual worship; and the work of salvation on both sides of the veil supported in the Relief Societies and the elders quorums. All of these things are based on the divine commandments to love God and to love our neighbors. Can there be anything more basic, more fundamental, and more simple than that?" Elder Ballard

I really want to keep the focus on the plainness and simplicity of the Doctrine of Christ, so my plan was to ask a few questions from the lesson plan after reading the quotes and let that lead where our discussion goes from there.  

•  How do each of these principles of the gospel relate to each other? 
• What blessings do we receive when we follow the doctrine of Christ?

What would you add to this lesson?   I'd love to hear your thoughts on it too!    And let me know if you end up using any of these ideas in your lesson.  :)

25 Inexpensive Date Ideas

In honor of Valentine's Day later this week, here's  a list of some inexpensive date ideas I compiled a few years ago with my young women.   These are perfect for high schoolers, college kids, or anyone who likes saving money!  Almost all of these would be fun as group dates too!   

1. Take a hike together--on a trail or in the city.  Look for a certain bird, flower, or color of house along the way and keep a tally of how many you see. 
2. Cook together--a treat or a dinner item.
3. Photo scavenger hunt --do it together versus another couple.  Here's one I made for a historic part of town near DC.   Here's a general fun one I found online.  
4. Visit a pet store and play with the animals
5. Roast marshmallows and hot dogs over a fire
6. Play a board game
7. Visit a sculpture garden  (scroll down on this site for a list of sculpture gardens in your area)
8. Fly kites on a windy day (find cheap kites at a drug store)
9. Play frisbee and have a picnic
10. Outdoor movie (check for local parks and theaters that might show them in the summertime)
11. Make two different recipes of the same item--maybe chocolate chip cookies--and get people to do a blind taste test and see which one is better (or just get 2 brands of ice cream)
12. Visit a free museum together
13. Go fishing
14. Do a group date and everyone brings a sundae topping to make banana splits.  If you're really brave, get a giant bowl or dish and  have everyone combine their toppings into the "World's Largest Ice Cream Sundae" and then hand out spoons and enjoy.   Make sure to make a time-lapse video of you creating it.
15. Minute to win it games
16. Take advantage of cheaper movie prices on Tuesdays or Wednesdays
17. Letterboxing or geocaching (look it up online to find out more details)
18. Do a lip-syncing contest--this would definitely  be more fun as a group date
19. No-hands spaghetti dinner--definitely an outdoor activity with someone you know pretty well
20. Make homemade ice cream in a bag (here’s an easy recipe: http://recipeshoebox.blogspot.com/2009/07/cooking-with-kids-ice-cream-in-bag.html)
21. Go to the zoo (if your zoo is not free, then see if there's a farm that allows visitors to visit for free)
22. Watch a Bob Ross video and paint pictures
23. Do an exercise video together
24. Go on a bike ride on a trail and get ice cream along the way
25. Each come with a playlist and play “Name that Tune” w

Feel free to comment below with some of your favorite cheap date ideas!  

Why is Joseph Smith’s mission important to me?

When I read through the YW and Aaronic Priesthood lesson for Sunday, I was stopped up by the question it posed, “How did you gain your testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith?” I thought for a long time and realized that I’ve never really had a huge moment where I just knew. My testimony of Joseph Smith, much like my testimony of the gospel in general, has come to me piece by piece, as if I were putting together a puzzle.

My puzzle definitely still has many missing pieces, but the more I read and study, the more the pieces fall into place. When I was younger, I used to feel like I might be broken or missing something important, when I didn’t feel anything big or earth shattering when others around me were visibly moved by the spirit. It took me many years to understand that tears and emotion are not generally how I feel the spirit and that’s okay. For me, it’s much more subtle--more like just a sense that that concept makes sense to me.

When I talk to my kids and teach youth classes, I like to make sure that they know that different people feel the spirit in different ways, and that’s totally okay. I don’t ever want a young person to wonder if they have a testimony just because they don’t cry or feel anything huge. Also, I want them to know that it’s not only okay, but completely normal to still have missing pieces of that testimony puzzle. You don’t have to know everything to have a testimony. In fact, I don’t believe there’s a person alive whose testimony is perfect. We all wonder about some things that don’t make sense to us and that’s okay, as long as we don’t focus so much on those missing pieces that it distracts us from the things we do know.

“When problems come and questions arise, do not start your quest for faith by saying how much you do not have, leading as it were with your “unbelief.” That is like trying to stuff a turkey through the beak! Let me be clear on this point: I am not asking you to pretend to faith you do not have. I am asking you to be true to the faith you do have."   

Jeffrey R. Holland

One of the other things I feel like we need to talk about in our class are some of the lessons we learn from the First Vision. It really was a remarkable event that changed so much of what we knew about God. And it’s many of those lessons that are a foundational part of my testimony. Is there anything you’d add to this list?


     1. We learn the Heavenly Father and Jesus are separate beings.
     2. We learn that Heavenly Father and Jesus have a body of flesh and bones.
     3.  We learn that we can be influenced by Satan.
     4.  We learn that prayers are answered and God knows us by name.
     5.  We learn that answers come by exercising faith.
     6.  We learn that the true church had been taken from the earth and had not been restored yet.
     7.  We learn that Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead and still lives.
     8.  We learn that the scriptures provide guidance and answers for us.
     9.  We learn that God’s power is stronger than Satan’s.


The class I’m teaching is young, but I’m hopeful we can have a good discussion about testimonies, Joseph Smith, and his mission. Though we know that Joseph Smith was not perfect, his mission definitely was divine.

“Though Joseph was young and inexperienced, he had been foreordained from before the foundation of the world to be God’s prophet at this particular time. Joseph was tutored, trained, and prepared by heavenly beings." 

Russell M. Nelson

One more thing I just discovered that I want to talk about in our class too...check out Page 15 in the February 2020 edition of the "New Era".     "A Pattern for Seeking Truth" is a great way to apply what we learn about Joseph Smith to our daily lives. And isn't that what learning the gospel is all about?  Seeking truth, and then making it mean something in our everyday life. 

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Getting Started with Youth Goals for 2020

It's been a couple months now since we first heard about the new "Youth Guidebook" and goal plan that is replacing Personal Progress and Duty to God for young men and young women.  It's an exciting concept, but like so many of the new "home-centered" shifts the church is making, it can be hard to figure out how to help our youth get on board with it. 

  Now that I have recently been called back into young women, I've got double reason to try and figure out how to get the  youth excited about it.  I've got my own two kids and a whole class of brand new young women and I want them to feel the power of setting goals and striving to reach them.    As youth leaders I know we are not meant to be the overseers  of these goals, but I do feel like some inspiration and encouragement can go a long way to getting them engaged and excited about it.   

To begin with, I asked at the beginning of class on Sunday if anyone had any success stories with their goals that they wanted to share with the class. I plan on doing that every Sunday as part of the "counsel together" part of class that the class presidency member leads.  When I got blank stares and realized that not one of the ten girls in my class had even set any goals yet, I shared with them some feelings I'd had about one of my goals.   I then went over  the first few pages of the guidebook with them and encouraged them all to go through the DISCOVER and PLAN sections before we met for class again in 2 weeks.

We talked a little about what the DISCOVER section contained and I encouraged them to answer those questions for themselves (either on pages 18-19 of their guidebooks or in their journals) before moving on to the PLAN section. 

 

Here is the letter I sent to the YW in my class, as well as their parents:   (feel free to copy/paste/make it your own)

I'm hoping that by sending the letter during the week, we can try to  get the parents on board as well as generate a little enthusiasm when there's actually time for them to work on the goals.  The offered treat is bribery at its best and I think is absolutely appropriate as an occasional incentive! 

With my own kids I want to spend a little time discussing their plans with them in more detail and making vision boards together, but for the girls in my class, I feel like inviting them to include their parents was the best I could do.  We simply don't have enough time together as a class to spend a lot of time on it and the YW presidency I am working with keeps a pretty hands-off approach with this type of thing, so I'm not sure we'll ever do any activities with it.  

I was asked to do a presentation on the goals in  New Beginnings and hope to do some more enthusiasm building there....including hopefully getting the parents and older girls excited too!  

I plan to talk about Ether 12:27 and the idea that we can "make weak things become strengths" as we focus on overcoming and working on our weaknesses.  I also plan on using some of the quotes from the letter above and this FHE lesson on goal setting.    I love the quote from Johann Sebastian Bach about working hard.  I actually found that the quote differs slightly depending on where you find it, but the idea is powerful...

“I was obliged to be industrious. Whoever is equally industrious will succeed . . . equally well.”   Johann Sebastian Bach 

That's as far as my plan goes for now, but I hope that by consistently asking the girls about their goals in the "counsel together" part of YW each time we meet, that we can help them keep it fresh on their minds.  

So what are you doing in your families?  What about in your wards?  I'd love to hear your ideas! 

Napoleon Dynamite Mutual Activity

When you've been helping plan youth activities for almost five years, sometimes it's hard to come up with new and creative ideas.   We were in charge of the combined activity this month and couldn't come up with any ideas we all liked.  We've done a few meaningful combined activities lately, so wanted to make this a fun one.   We were planning on it being a game night of some kind, but had trouble focusing in on which games to do and how to structure it for the 50-60 youth that would come.    Finally, my counselor mentioned potentially making it a Napoleon Dynamite activity and suddenly it all clicked together.  We planned and pulled it together in a weekend, spent little money, and everyone had a fantastic time.

First off, I sent this email (linked in a google doc) to tell everyone about the activity and invite them to dress the part.      We offered prizes (chapstick) for the best costumes.  :)

We started the night by showing some favorite clips of the movie, then went to the gym and explained each of the stations, then let them go to it. :)   We thought about assigning them groups and making it more structured, but worried that each station would take a different amount of time, so we just let them do it at their own pace.  

You'll want a table and a little sign for each station explaining what it is, along with a leader to instruct what to do (and to garner enthusiasm).    Not every station will need a separate leader, but you'll want some oversight to keep it from getting too crazy, especially if you have a large group like we do.

STATION #1: HELP PEDRO ASK SUMMER TO THE DANCE (CUPCAKE DECORATING)--

They got to design their own "cake" to help Pedro ask Summer to the dance and then eat it or save it for when we served the snacks later. Most people ate it on the spot...hahah!

Materials needed: unfrosted cupcakes, a big bowl of white frosting, sprinkles, red gel decorating frosting, and a picture of the cake Pedro made for Summer.

STATION #2: SKETCH A FRIEND  (based on the sketch Napoleon did for Trisha)--

At the beginning of the activity when we were all still gathered we had everyone put their name in a bowl. Then when you arrive to the station you draw a name, write that person's name on the back of the paper, then sketch them. After the sketches were done, we hung them up, so everyone could guess who was who. This was probably their favorite activity of the night!

Materials needed: blank sheets of paper, pencils, and maybe a picture of the sketch Napoleon did for Trisha

STATION #3: FEED TINA THE CASSEROLE

Essentially instead of "pin the tail on the donkey", people were trying to feed Tina the casserole while blindfolded.

Materials needed: a large picture or drawing of a llama, a proportionately sized picture of a casserole, blindfold, tape

STATION #4: GLAMOUR SHOTS BY DEB

We had one of our leaders dressed like Deb and would take pictures of people with the tablecloth as the backdrop. She talked like Deb and had them do the awkward glamour shot poses. We will show the pictures at a later activity.

Materials needed: tablecloth (hung over a portable chalkboard), camera, props (if desired).

My counselor has all the official glamour shots on her computer, but this shows the general set-up of what we did.   The pictures were HILARIOUS! 

STATION #5: NAPOLEON TRIVIA:

Materials needed: Copies of a fill in the blank Napoleon quote page (HERE IS THE LINK), pens

STATION #6: HAPPY HANDS CLUB:

Materials needed: An enthusiastic leader and a video of the Happy Hands club performing, "Love is a Rose"

OR you could have someone teaching the Napoleon dance

STATION #7:  MAKE A SIGN FOR PRESIDENT WHEATLEY--

This wouldn't work for most wards, but our stake president happens to be President Wheatley, so we had everyone make a sign and write nice notes to President Wheatley (instead of mean ones to Summer Wheatley).

STATION #8:   TETHERBALL

Unsurprisingly, this was a big hit!!!

STATION #9:   SNACKS: tots, quesadillas, and cupcakes served on lunch trays!

8 Quotes on Faith

Quote #1 “It is never too late to strengthen the foundation of faith. There is always time. With faith in the Savior, you can repent and plead for forgiveness. There is someone you can forgive. There is someone you can thank. There is someone you can serve and lift. You can do it wherever you are and however alone and deserted you may feel.”  Pres. Henry B. Eyring

Quote #2  "Immersing oneself in persistent doubt, fueled by answers from the faithless and the unfaithful, weakens one’s faith in Jesus Christ and the Restoration. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him.” Elder Neil L. Andersen

Quote #3 “Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel and is more than mere belief. 4 Faith is a “hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” 5 “Faith always moves its possessor to … physical and mental action.” 6 “To have faith in Jesus Christ means to have such trust in him that we obey whatever he commands. There is no faith where there is no obedience.”  Elder L. Whitney Clayton

Quote #4   “Your faith will grow not by chance, but by choice.      How we live our lives increases or diminishes our faith. Prayer, obedience, honesty, purity of thought and deed, and unselfishness increase faith. Without these, faith diminishes. Why did the Savior say to Peter, “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not”? Because there is an adversary who delights in destroying our faith! Be relentless in protecting your faith.” Elder Neil L. Andersen

Quote #5 “No matter who we are or where we live, there is much about our daily lives that is routine and repetitive. As we go about this dailiness, we must be deliberate about doing the things that matter most. These must-do things include making room first for the minimum daily requirements of faithful behavior: true obedience, humble prayer, serious scripture study, and selfless service to others. No other daily vitamins strengthen the muscles of our faith as fast as these actions. We also must remember that genuine fasting fosters strong faith. This is especially important as we faithfully seek to fix deeply embedded character flaws which go “not out but by prayer and fasting.” Elder L. Whitney Clayton

Quote 6:  “I have never witnessed the removal of an actual mountain. But because of faith I have seen a mountain of doubt and despair removed and replaced with hope and optimism. Because of faith I have personally witnessed a mountain of sin replaced with repentance and forgiveness. And because of faith I have personally witnessed a mountain of pain replaced with peace, hope, and gratitude. Yes, I have seen mountains removed”  Bishop Richard C. Edgley

Quote 7:  “When faith is properly understood and used, it has dramatically far-reaching effects. Such faith can transform an individual’s life from maudlin, common everyday activities to a symphony of joy and happiness. The exercise of faith is vital to Father in Heaven’s plan of happiness. But true faith, faith unto salvation, is centered on the Lord Jesus Christ, faith in His doctrines and teachings, faith in the prophetic guidance of the Lord’s anointed, faith in the capacity to discover hidden characteristics and traits that can transform life. Truly, faith in the Savior is a principle of action and power.”  Elder Richard G. Scott

Quote #8 “Because of the conflicts and challenges we face in today’s world, I wish to suggest a single choice—a choice of peace and protection and a choice that is appropriate for all. That choice is faith. Be aware that faith is not a free gift given without thought, desire, or effort. It does not come as the dew falls from heaven. The Savior said, “Come unto me” (Matthew 11:28) and “Knock, and it shall be [given] you” (Matthew 7:7). These are action verbs—come, knock. They are choices. So I say, choose faith. Choose faith over doubt, choose faith over fear, choose faith over the unknown and the unseen, and choose faith over pessimism.”  Richard C. Edgley

7 Quotes on the Atonement

Quote #1 “For some reason, we think the Atonement of Christ applies only at the end of mortal life to redemption from the Fall, from spiritual death. It is much more than that. It is an ever-present power to call upon in everyday life. When we are racked or harrowed up or tormented by guilt or burdened with grief, He can heal us. While we do not fully understand how the Atonement of Christ was made, we can experience “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding.”    Elder Boyd K. Packer  

Quote #2   “Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that the Atonement is also for saints—for good men and women who are obedient and worthy and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully.” Elder David A. Bednar

Quote #3  “It is my testimony that many of the deepest regrets of tomorrow can be prevented by following the Savior today. If we have sinned or made mistakes—if we have made choices that we now regret—there is the precious gift of Christ’s Atonement, through which we can be forgiven. We cannot go back in time and change the past, but we can repent.”   Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Quote #4 “Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely… He Loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken.”   Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Quote #5 “The Atonement has practical, personal, everyday value; apply it in your life. It can be activated with so simple a beginning as prayer. You will not thereafter be free from trouble and mistakes but can erase the guilt through repentance and be at peace.”  Elder Boyd K. Packer

Quote #6 "The gospel of the Savior is not simply about avoiding bad in our lives; it also is essentially about doing and becoming good. And the Atonement provides help for us to overcome and avoid bad and to do and become good. Help from the Savior is available for the entire journey of mortality—from bad to good to better and to change our very nature."  Elder David A. Bednar

Quote #7 "The Savior has suffered not just for our iniquities but also for the inequality, the unfairness, the pain, the anguish, and the emotional distresses that so frequently beset us. There is no physical pain, no anguish of soul, no suffering of spirit, no infirmity or weakness that you or I ever experience during our mortal journey that the Savior did not experience first. You and I in a moment of weakness may cry out, “No one understands. No one knows.” No human being, perhaps, knows. But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He felt and bore our burdens before we ever did."  Elder David A. Bednar 

YW in Excellence with a Nautical Theme

I was just going through old pictures and came across these pictures from our YW in Excellence program this past fall.  In keeping with "Embark in the Service of God"  from last year's mutual theme, we decorated in a nautical theme.  

See below for some of our pictures and ideas:  

We dressed as cruise ship directors. 

We decorated the lobby to look like an entrance to a cruise ship.


We served nautical theme foods (that also happen to be super easy to make):








We have 33 girls in our YW program, so the only space big enough for us was the gym.  We used portable chalkboards to partition off the back half, then decorated the one half to look like a cruise ship.


All posters and  decorations were made by the girls at a mutual activity before YWIE.

 These posts were made from painted shipping tubes, cardboard, and paper chains.  The life preservers were made with posterboard and cardstock.


The girls also rolled these cute silverware place settings.


This mural was purchased.









It was a great night and although the girls helped make all the decor, they were definitely still wowed when they walked in the door and saw it all come together.