Ideas to Teach Elder Bednar’s Talk “In the Space of Not Many Years”

Written By Camille Gillham

Elder David A. Bednar’s October 2024 General Conference talk, “In the Space of Not Many Years” was powerfully given. What a wonderful talk to dive into as we study the Book of Mormon this year. And yes, the Book of Mormon is absolutely written for our day- we are so thankful! Dive into this beautiful talk and get some inspiration as you teach below (be sure to check out the teaching ideas as well as the questions- keep on scrolling).

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Discussion Questions

Some ideas to help you get the conversation going on Elder Bednar’s excellent October 2024 General Conference talk.

  • What have you learned from the Book of Mormon recently that has helped you now as well as helped you prepare for the future? What has got you excited again?

  • What are some ways that the Book of Mormon has been your keystone? How has it guided, comforted, and helped you understand through the years?

  • How has remembering the Book of Mormon is for our day changed the way you study it? What has been of greatest worth to you?

  • What parts of the Book of Mormon do you feel are particularly relevant or instructive to challenges we face today?

  • In what ways can studying the Book of Mormon help us avoid the pitfalls of pride? Why do you think the Lamanites turned to God while the Nephites turned away, despite the Nephites’ knowledge of the gospel?

  • It does not take much time for us to forget the Lord if we are not intentional in our efforts. What are you doing to always remember the Lord? What have you seen others do that you admire?

  • What are some ways we can guard against pride? What helps keep Christ as our focus instead of ourselves? What are some ways we might unknowingly let pride enter our hearts today? How can we maintain spiritual sensitivity in a world that often glorifies individual achievement?

  • What are some examples of how we might allow our blessings to become our curses? How can these things blind us? How might it be manifested? How can we recognize and understand we need to change when we start to lean on our own wisdom instead of God’s?

  • The Church will not be lost again. We can be. How does that bring your comfort as well as help you be on guard?

  • We are vulnerable. What are some small and simple things you are doing to stay on the covenant path? How do you put your armour on each day? What can we do when we forget to take our shield with us?

  • What can we learn from the righteous Lamanites about enduring in faith despite societal changes?

Print Questions for Elder Bednar's talk
 
 

Teaching Ideas

Looking for ways to expand a concept. Try these teaching ideas for Elder Bednar’s talk “In the Space of Not Many Years.”

  • Elder Bednar stated, “As we follow President Benson’s counsel and ask ourselves why the Lord inspired Mormon to include in his abridgment of the book of Helaman the accounts, admonitions, and warnings that he did, I promise we will discern the applicability of these teachings to the specific conditions of our individual lives and families today.” Break into some smaller groups and dive into the Book of Mormon for examples of how they can solve your current problems and questions. You can invite each group to share a problem and look up scriptures to help together as well as provide some backup options for inspiration.

  • Write some examples of prideful statements on slips of paper. Hand these out before class and invite your class to read them one at a time. Statements could include, “I can handle it by myself. I don’t need help.” “Everything is so easy for her. It’s never like that for me.” “I know what’s best.” After they read each one, discuss how it can manifest in our day-to-day lives and how we can counteract it with God’s help.

  • Prosperity is not a bad thing. It’s such a blessing. However, our love of prosperity is a problem. One way to demonstrate this is by holding up a small pebble. No big deal right? Now invite someone to hold it up in front of their eye. Place a picture of Christ on the board as they do this and ask them what they see. If done right, they will still only be able to see the pebble- maybe a little around it but not much. If we are focused on our prosperity, we miss the mark. Now invite the individual to put the pebble down. Now what do they see? How do we sometimes put pebbles in front of our eyes? What helps us remove them? What are some ways we can use our prosperity whether that is our time, resources, or talents to help another this week? How can service help us shed pride and keep our focus on Jesus Christ instead?

  • Share some scriptures from this week’s Come Follow Me lesson (whatever it is) and discuss the questions “Why did Mormon include this?” He had a ton of options, why was he directed to choose this verse, this scripture story for OUR day. What can we learn from it? You can do this in groups then report back or as a class.

  • Draw a pathway on the board and title it, “Humility Road.” What are some landmarks along this pathway that we can heed? Brainstorm ideas together and add them to your path as you go. You can cut out shapes that represent different road signs and write on them as you add them to board. What are some practical ways we can heed these signs each day?

  • Discuss the different ways we identify and describe ourselves. Then read President Russell M. Nelson’s quote, “Labels can be fun and indicate your support for any number of positive things. But if any label replaces your most important identifiers, the results can be spiritually suffocating. I believe that if the Lord were speaking to you directly, the first thing He would make sure you understand is your true identity. My dear friends, you are literally spirit children of God.

    “No identifier should displace, replace, or take priority over these three enduring designations:

    - Child of God

    - Child of the covenant

    - Disciple of Jesus Christ

    “Any identifier that is not compatible with those three basic designations will ultimately let you down. Make no mistake about it: Your potential is divine. With your diligent seeking, God will give you glimpses of who you may become.” How can remembering these identifiers help us each day as we walk the covenant path? How do they help us guard against pride?

Teaching Kids?

Here are few helps we’ve created over the years. Many include additional links to resources on ChurchofJesusChrist.org as well.

Camille Gillham

Gospel games and coloring for Latter-day Saints

http://cknscratch.com
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