Teaching Ideas for Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's "The Message, the Meaning, and the Multitude"
This post may contain affiliate links meaning I may make a commission on products purchased through my links. See my full disclosure for more.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland gave us the perfect opening to October 2019’s General Conference with his talk, “The Message, the Meaning, and the Multitude.” Didn’t you love how he said, “Welcome to general conference” at the end? This was a great way to help us remember what it really is we are seeking as we listen to the words of the prophets and other church leaders.
SAVE IT FOR LATER- PIN IT NOW!
Questions to Ponder
Thanks to the volunteer who provided these questions! Sign up to help next General Conference!
What does it mean to be a spiritually sensitive person? How can we become this person?
Why is it good to have spiritually sensitive people around us? Can they help us understand things we are misunderstanding? How?
Who can we go to for spiritual guidance?
How is Jesus Christ “meaning personified”? What does Christ represent in being “meaning personified”?
Why is it so important that we speak while in tune with the Spirit?
How do we help our children to realize that Jesus Christ is the focus of the entire Book of Mormon?
What can we do to help people learning about the gospel and our beliefs focus on the Savior, His Atonement, and the Restoration of truth instead of all the small things?
How do we help people going to the temple realize that the sacred symbols, revealed rituals, ceremonial clothing, and visual presentations never distract from but rather point toward the Savior?
How does using the proper name of the church keep our focus on the Savior and His Atonement?
Why is it important that the Father said, “This is my Beloved Son, Hear Him!”?
How does the Savior help us find meaning in the midst of a multitude of opinions?
What are some of the things you do daily to call on the Savior to have mercy on you?
How do you make Christ the center of your life, faith, and service?
What helps you remember the why (Jesus Christ) as you go about doing your routines like going to church, dropping kids off at youth activities, teaching the Come, Follow Me lessons, etc.?
Help your class visualize Christ being in the center of all we do with this coloring page. You can give one to each in your class to write down ways they can keep their lives focused on Christ.
Discussion Ideas
Discuss how each of you saw Christ in General Conference. You can have people write their answer on a sticky note then post it to the chalkboard. Then discuss what people wrote. Was it a particular talk that helped them see Christ? Was it story? Was it a feeling? What helps us cut through the noise so we can always see Christ at General Conference and everything else we do?
We know Jesus Christ is the reason we come to church, partake of the sacrament, repent, have joy, etc. What happens though when we start to lose that focus or forget that Christ is the reason we are doing things? You can go through a sample day with some tasks that your class may experience then ask, if I’m focused on Christ, how am I approaching this? If I lose my focus, how might this go instead? When I’m losing my focus, what can I do to find it again?
What are some of your General Conference or holiday traditions? Make a list on the board and comment on how fun and great these things are. Then ask how might those traditions, while well intended, might get in the way of our true focus? Even a tradition that is originally meant to help you focus on Christ can cause problems if we focus too much on the doing instead of the why. How do you find the balance? What helps you realize you might be going too far with the tradition instead of your focus?
Where do you find Christ? Ask people to draw or write a place they find Christ on a regular basis. You can hand out a few markers to write on the board then when they are done, they pass it on to the next person. Then discuss how we can find Christ wherever we are.
Use pictures or write on strips of paper some of the things we do in church that might not automatically make us think of Christ at first. Elder Holland gives a few example in his talk: dietary restrictions, self-reliance supplies, pioneer treks, digitized family trees, stake centers, etc. How can we help cut through the surface of these things and help others and ourselves see Christ? You can also point out that many of the changes we are experiencing in the church is to help us see Christ more clearly instead of the program itself. Then ask or share examples of that. For instance, the new youth program is all about getting the youth to connect personally with God instead of focusing on the weekly activity or the necklace that we earn.
Ask people to think about what is in their homes. How are those things helping you see Christ? Does your family know that at well? If not, show them how to look at the things in your home in a new way so they can stay connected to Jesus Christ more.
Coloring page and notes will be available soon.
