Why I Get Up At 5 AM

I wanted to title this post "Slam Dunk" but then I thought it was prideful and so I went with the other title instead.  This figuring out pride is a beastly endeavor.   Really what I want to convey is that I think this seminary teaching thing is working out.  When I say working out, I mean this:

There are days and days and days and days.  And days- of training videos online.  The vision is clearly laid out for "Teaching in the Lord's way."  Problem is - most of the time I think those kids in the training videos are robots.  I've yet to meet one of those kids in real life (except I think I'm getting really close).  My class looks a lot messier than that and sometimes we manage to stumble onto greatness - AKA the right way to teach and learn.

Here's a couple of highlights that make me feel like we are getting it right.  Things that propel me out of bed when my alarm goes off at 5 am.

On the bulletin board we have a sharing section where you can come in and put your name next to the experience and then during the devotional you can share it.  I like this method better than just asking people every morning.  If you're thinking about something, you can come in to class knowing that you will be able to share it.

Those experiences are:

Moment in the scriptures

service moment

I have a question

gospel conversation

challenge

Here's the thing with opening that up.  You could spend your entire 45 minutes on those.  I knew that going in, and was hoping that those experiences - which are the living of the gospel- would become the pearl of our time together.  I just came off being in yw and I didn't have a whole lot of success with that method.  There were many variables that contributed to the success or lack there of.  First and foremost - yw is only weekly.  It's not a class room that's set up for constant following up.  We only had a bout 3 regulars.  There isn't a place to keep a bulletin board.  A week is a long time to remember something etc... I wasn't sure how successful it would be in this setting and I've been surprised by the results.

Ok, back to the highlights.  

The second day of class a student raised his hand at the end and said he would share a service moment the next morning.  He wasn't able to the following morning because he had fallen asleep after school so he hadn't been able to perform the service yet, but the next day he did and then shared.  Here's what I love about that.  Knowing that there was an opportunity to share service experiences encouraged him to create one that he could share.  Awesome!

Yesterday, which would be day 4, we had someone come in with a question.  They had been talking to their friend at school and realized that they didn't know how to answer a question that was posed.  He didn't remember he had the question until we were in the middle of an activity for the lesson (my partner was teaching).  I had him write the question down, hand it to me, so that I could make sure I had time to think about his question and answer it in a satisfying way.  Here's the cool thing.  Before I answered the question, I opened it up to the class.  4 other student gave a try at answering it.  They were all correct answers.  All I did was wrap up what everyone said and add the last component- which involves faith.  Here's the question:

Why did the Lord leave us to prepare for His coming but not set a day?

Here's what I love about how that went down.  The other students jumped right in with helping him answer that question.  They realized that they knew the answers.  They also realized that they can come to each other for help.  Someone else is having gospel conversations with their friends and it's ok to not know everything right away.  Awesome!

Today.  Last night I sent out the reading reminder for the next mornings lesson.  We were talking about studying the scriptures and the role of the learner.  There wasn't reading attached to the lesson so I decided to issue an assignment.  Their reading for the night was to be looking for scriptures that address those 2 things.  I wasn't sure if anyone would do it.  My own child said that was a counterintuitive question that didn't make any sense - I just love living with 2 of my students who tell me on a daily basis how much I don't make sense or how badly something worked or how I should have done this or that.....they do offer encouragement too :0)  

Emma actually took the assignment seriously and pulled up 2 things and shared them with us for family scripture study.  First was Alama 1:26

26 And when the priests left their labor to impart the word of God unto the people, the people also left their labors to hear the word of God. And when the priest had imparted unto them the word of God they all returned again diligently unto their labors; and the priest, not esteeming himself above his hearers, for the preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner; and thus they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man according to his strength.

She loved how it talked about us all being learners and teachers and we are all equal but have different strengths.  *sing song voice* Awesome!

Then she decided to look up Disciple in the bible dictionary.  She learned that a disciple is:

A pupil or learner; a name used to denote (1) the Twelve, also called Apostles, (2) all followers of Jesus Christ. We also read of disciples of John the Baptist and of the Pharisees (Mark 2:18).

She then related that if were going to be disciples we needed to be pupils/ learners.  She hadn't realized that before and learned something.  I told her that she had a "moment in the scriptures" and I wanted her to share it with the class.  She agreed.

What was super cool is that while students were filing in they started talking about scriptures they had found for the assignment.  We now has 3 people on the agenda for sharing.  The coolest thing is that while those 3 were sharing the other students started looking up scriptures to see if they could find anything.  Here's what they found in addition to Emma's 2:

Doctrine and Covenants 9:8

8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.

2 Nephi 32:3

3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.

John 5:39

39 ¶Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

1 Nephi 15:24

24 And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.

James 1:5

5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Exodus 13:15

15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the Lord slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.

(This one threw me for a loop.  He was trying to be funny -probably loved that it said matrix-, but then I was surprised when he pulled it around and gave  the reason for this scripture.  It was that you can trust God because he will always do what he says)  

3 Nephi 20:11

11 Ye remember that I spake unto you, and said that when the words of Isaiah should be fulfilled—behold they are written, ye have them before you, therefore search them—

You can imagine that this took up quite a bit of my time.  But how apropos was it that the kids were learning how to study their scriptures.  How to have questions and find answers.  How to be a learner during the lesson time about studying the scriptures and the role of the learner.  

I had about 5 minutes for my actual lesson.  I was a little bummed because there were some super inspirational videos attached to the lessons.  I love all the videos the church puts out for those purposes.  Some are better than others.  Out of the 6 that were attached to the 2 lessons, I narrowed it down to 3 and then prioritized from there depending on time.  I'll also note here -in case anyone looks up the lessons to find the videos- I surprisingly didn't choose all the Elder Bednar ones.....I know, no one is more surprised than me!  What I had time for was none of them.  I did put "Hearing His Voice" up because I thought that was the one that was going to connect the most and have the biggest impact.  I had it up while they were getting their breakfast (a mom brought breakfast in today)

Even though I have written all the references the kids found today, all of it means nothing.  It's like me describing to you my breakfast this morning and you expecting to be able to taste it and be filled by it.  You have to do the work yourself.  That's what I loved about one of the girls from that video talking about how she used to think that all you had to do was pray to God and he would answer you and how she realized that there was work involved in the getting of the answer.  So powerful.  

These students give me energy to keep going.  If we keep going like this we will have an amazing year where the students will come away knowing the doctrines and the principles of the gospel and be converted by them so they can be powerful disciples of Jesus Christ.