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“The Second Great Commandment” by President Russell M. Nelson certainly inspires us to get back out there and serve some more! What great examples of how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is serving the people around the world.

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Questions to Ponder

Thanks to Katie Dial for providing these questions. Sign up to help with questions next General Conference!

How can we extend sympathy to people not of our faith? How do we extend Christlike love without seeming condescending or "artificial"?
How do we remain committed to religious freedom with those around us? Why is it important that we cherish and protect the religious freedom of all?
What helps you look for ways to help, lift and love others? How do you follow through on those observations?
What distractions do we have that keep us from loving beyond our immediate circle of influence? How can we overcome those to truly love everyone?
Where do you feel you have made the most difference today? this week? this month? this year? President Nelson says we cannot calculate the service we render, but why is it important to you to realize you are making a difference?
How has the law of the fast blessed your family?
How can you improve your fast or fast offerings?
How do the stories shared help you have perspective in your own life? How do they increase your gratitude for all of your blessings?
What spiritual parallels do you see to the village in Africa working to bring access to fresh, clean water?
What lessons can our families learn from the Church in its humanitarian efforts? How can we prepare ourselves before tragedy hits? What spiritual blessings are there in preparation?
How have you built a strong family in your community? How have you improved the lives of those around you? Do you think your family is making a positive difference?
How can we teach our children to relieve the burdens of those around them? How can we teach them to recognize those burdens? Why is it important for them to see others' needs and push beyond the desensitization that runs so rampantly?

Discussion Ideas

In the beginning of President Nelson’s talk, he mentions how his goal is to strengthened the members when he goes around the world to visit them. However, they often strengthen him. How has righteous examples helped and strengthened you? How can we be those examples? You can tie in Paul’s words about being an example of the believers in 1 Timothy 4:10-16 (we studied it the week of Halloween). What do the examples in President Nelson’s talk inspire you to do? How did they strengthen you? You can go through and give each example a short name and divide into sections of the room to study as specific example (this section of the room read about the wheelchairs, etc.).
Review the covenants we make at baptism. How do our acts of service help fulfill our part of this covenant? Where can you find more opportunities to serve? How can you be more aware of those in this room that might need your unique ability to serve? You can show everyone how easy it is to use the app Just Serve (or head to JustServe.org). I love that you can narrow your search by how much time you have and where you want to serve.
Make a list of each other’s talents. Often people don’t like to say their own talents but they will say someone else’s so ask them to share those or pretend like it’s someone else’s but say your own talents. Because you have been blessed with this particular talent, how can you use it to bless another? I love doing this activity as it shows how the multitude of ways we can serve beyond the typical ones most usually think about. Each of us can serve in our own unique ways and contribute something.
Focus one fasting. President Nelson stated, “We go hungry to help others who are hungry.” How often do we think about the service we are doing by fasting instead of what we are fasting for (our own desire for answers and blessings)? How can focusing on serving others through our fasting help improve our experience? How can we help our families understand that fasting is more than being soooo hungry? What goal can you make with your fasting and fast offerings?
Is there a community need in your area? Brainstorm how your ward can help from the individual to the entire ward. Or write down some needs people have seen in your community and how you each can help. How can we open our eyes up more to the needs around us?
Show a visual representation of service needed. On one side of your table pile up trash and all kinds of mess. On the other side, keep it simple and just put an empty glass to represent someone being spiritually or emotionally empty. Which side of the table do you think we should focus on first? How do you think we should help each side of the table? Is one need more important than another? What can help us look beyond the obvious needs and minister to those running on empty or other less obvious needs?
Encourage people to send you texts throughout the week of acts of service they do. It can be anything small or big. Share a few but keep them anonymous. How does it help to hear how others are serving in your community?
If it’s around Christmas, use the Church’s #LIGHTtheWORLD resources to assist in your lesson.