posted
We have two or three new elders in our quorum and the new EQP has had a couple 1st and 4th lessons that would best be described as Gospel Principle lessons.
In Tai Kwon Do class the teacher said it's never a bad idea to practice basic punches. Seems to me the same principle applies to the gospel. It's never a bad idea to review the foundations.
Posts: 10857 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
Yeah! I've always thought the Gospel Principles class would be fun to teach, but my current calling is RS teacher. So as long as they keep me there, I get to sort of do both.
Posts: 1330 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
Perhaps Gospel Essentials will get a different manual?
We're having a bizarre occurence in our ward with Gospel Doctrine and Gospel Essentials.
We are 18 months into a ward reorganization. All the people from the "old" ward that I was in (except for me) go to Gospel Essentials. All of the "new" people go to Gospel Doctrine.
The former bishop from the old ward is now the ward mission leader. Basically, the remnants from the "old" ward is made up of his cul-de-sac (plus me, who is outside of "Knots Landing"). He has basically invited all of his cul-de-sac neighbors into Gospel Essentials. We never have any investigators.
The teacher is the former ward's HP group leader.
Anyhow, I find the whole thing bizarre. We're not exactly meshing at this time.
Sorry for the derail.
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posted
WHAT?! Gospel Principles!? NOooo! What about the teachings from the prophets? Are we just gonna skip George Albert Smith, or Ezra Taft Benson? Or Gordon B. Hinckley?
Posts: 13023 | Registered: Oct 98
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posted
Of course gospel essentials wouldn't really get it twice because SS will always be ahead of P/RS. And I guess the repetition is no more tedious than our current JS in RS and D&C/Church History is this year.
And don't I recall that the teachings of the prophet series was originally supposed to be JS, but then they found out it would take them too long to figure out what was JS and what was not, so they did a few others while finishing up the JS book?
But if not,why don't we just search for the modern prophet material --- it is much more easily available than those of the prophets we've so far studied.
posted
A Lorenzo Snow manual is reportedly pretty much completed. Odds are that's the one we'll see in 2012.
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posted
Every meaningful class I ever attended, be it sales, management or whatever, had a strong "back to basics" lesson. We can get so involved in technique, we fail to remember why we are plying it.
posted
Will it have the ordinances? That is the one thing I have consistantly grumbled about in reference to the Teachings of the Prophets manuals.
It used to be every Priesthood manual had all the ordinances. Since going to the combined Priesthood/RElief Society manual, none of them do.
So what is a new Elder (of any age) to do when he is asked to perform an ordinance? Where is he to find them listed, so as to ensure they are done correctly? Sure those going on Missions will get their white bible, and those in the military get a copy with the servicemans scriptures set, but what about your average new Elder who didn't have one of those resources?
Just a question and my personal grumble about these manuals. If there is a reference source commonly given out, great but why isn't it given to all Melchezidek Priesthood holders at least every couple years? I've made sure I held onto a couple of the old manuals just so I would have a source of guidance available to me, but what if I lose them, or they wear out?
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We have the books on out shelves but they don't get used as much as the electronic versions... Hubby has both on his Blackberry... and I have a copy of them on my kindle for reference if I have to call someone else...
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posted
Okay, I figured they had to exist. But many wards don't do as good a job as yours at advertising their existance. And E-versions are only useful if you have a device for reading them. (Yes I know lds.org is always available on any of our computers.) I think they should be distributed every couple years. Not on request.
It's an issue with me because I've had to help a couple new elders with the words to a couple blessings before. With the old manuals they would have had a copy without having to ask for it.
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posted
DaKnife, then your EQP is failing in his duties because he can take and should take the first Sunday lesson each month to teach/review priesthood ordinances and how/when/why to perform them. The first Sunday of each month is reserved for the presidencies (EQ/RS) and High Priest grp ldrs to teach topics specific to their stewardship. For example, in our RS we as a presidency are focusing on each item in the RS Declaration, there are 9 so we figured that along with a Christmas lesson covers the year.
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quote:So what is a new Elder (of any age) to do when he is asked to perform an ordinance? Where is he to find them listed, so as to ensure they are done correctly? Sure those going on Missions will get their white bible, and those in the military get a copy with the servicemans scriptures set, but what about your average new Elder who didn't have one of those resources?
"The Family Guidebook" has all the instructions and each family should have one. They are free at any distribution center and extra copies can be kept to hand out any time you are asked to help with an ordinance.
Posts: 75 | Registered: Mar 2005
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quote: DaKnife, then your EQP is failing in his duties
Add an apostrophe and an s after that P. I've been in multiple wards with multiple EQP's since the Teachings manuals came out and have never seen such a lesson. That first Sunday lesson is almost invariably on Home Teaching.
But then again I haven't been to EQ for a couple months since I've either taking an ornery toddler home for a nap, or helping Janey out in the Library.
quote: "The Family Guidebook" has all the instructions and each family should have one.
Again why is it not just handed out periodically? We used to get a new copy of the ordinances every year (a bit of overkill in my opinion), why are we not still being given copies in our regularly used manuals like we used to? Why the need to somehow be aware of extra booklets that are freely available, but buried in the catalogues?
posted
Honestly, I'm intrigued about Gospel Principles as a PH/RS manual. Naturally, it's a good chance for everyone to get to know a newly revised manual. Going along with that, if EVERYONE in the Church needs to study from it, maybe the Church as a whole needs to understand and love the basic principles more...
Posts: 153 | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
can see the wisdom.. but do hope that teachers use it wisely and not too simply iyswim. esp in my ward where some leesons are like being in primary and we have very very few new members.. Posts: 151 | Registered: Nov 2006
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quote: Why don't you do something about it in your ward?
Why don't I? Because I'm lazy and it's not my stewardship, and even more importantly to the actual topic of my grumble, even if I were to do that, it would address my grumble for one ward and one ward only.
Why does the church not push these booklets out? They push out the practically useless home and financial prepardness brochures (they are a start but are really lacking on any details or suggestions on how to do what they suggest.) They've pushed out the church history booklets in the past.
Or hey here is a radical idea. There is a manual, used in the Priesthood quorums of the church, this manual is issued every couple years or so with new lessons, kind of like they were when they had the ordinances. Why not put the ordinances in those manuals like they used to be?
Anyway, back to the main topic of this thread, I like the idea of everybody reviewing the Gospel Principles manuals. It's a good idea to review the basics every now and then.
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quote:Or hey here is a radical idea. There is a manual, used in the Priesthood quorums of the church, this manual is issued every couple years or so with new lessons, kind of like they were when they had the ordinances. Why not put the ordinances in those manuals like they used to be?
I suppose they could do that. They could also put "The Family, A Proclamation to the World" there. And a blurb about the importance of Family Home Evening, along with a list of suggested topics. And maybe a couple of pages on the roles of fathers and mothers in a family, how to hold family councils, and the importance of reading to children, especially at bedtime.
Or, you could put all that into a separate, small, free guidebook.
It seems to me that emphasising the importance of the family is crucial to the progress of the church, and if it takes a separate booklet so that priesthood holders throw away all their old priesthood manuals and get a new booklet for the ordinaces instructions, along with other helpful infomation, it might be worth it.
But that is just me. I refer to my family guidebook often for lesson or talk ideas. It is a nice resource.
posted
BTW: I think it might be part of you stewardship to suggest lesson topics for first Sunday lessons to you Elders Quorum President that you and others in your quorum might need to hear. It goes along with that "support and sustain your local leaders" thing.
posted
Could be they'll do a Gospel Principles year periodically from now on. Time will tell. It is interesting that new elders are not instructed shortly after their ordination. Well, at least it doesn't seem to be a standard policy.
Seems to me that maybe this such a plain and simple idea that the leaders (regional and above) did not think it would be necessary to tell leaders they needed to do it. Imagine starting a new job at a business but never being told what your duties, responsibilities, and authority were. I'm sure it happens, but usually those businesses don't do so well.
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posted
As I taught GP class the last few years, I was sort of hoping for a revision. It'll be interesting to see what is added and what falls by the wayside.
For example, the old manual talks about the difference between "Filthy lucre" and "clean money". I can see the principle still being taught, but the verbiage changing a little.
The notion that a female is better off dead than raped, fell out of the book a long time ago, and I wouldn't expect to see it back in this version.
quote: They push out the practically useless home and financial prepardness brochures (they are a start but are really lacking on any details or suggestions on how to do what they suggest.)
I found out this month they are revising or adding to these with more information. I don't know how soon they will be out though.
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posted
The older copy of the Gospel Principles manual (circa late 1980s-early 1990s) I have, also taught the minimum righteous level and requirements for each of the three kingdoms.
Understanding that, helps everyone why the Endowment is structured the way it is. That old Gospel Principle manual is the best Temple Prep book around.
posted
Could this be the beginning of a consolidation of the consolidated programme?
Could Priesthood/Relief Society and Sunday School be consolidated so we have a 2 hour block in future? I have heard the 2 hour block has been experimented with in various places around the world.
Posts: 74 | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
ooh I hope so! seriously 3 hours on a sunday just drains me these days ( or is that because i'm in nursery?!!) we had an investigator coem out recently and when it came to sacrament meeting after the other 2 hours he was like no way!! when your coming from nothing it must be abit of a shock!
I well recall the old ways of ss in the morning and sac in the afternoon except for F&T days when it was one long sunday morning. great times but I saw the wisdom in changing it then its probably high time for another change!
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We have great instructors in the Gospel Doctrine classes and great instructors in Priesthood. I would hate to give any of them up. I can't get the same quality gospel discussions anywhere.
Except here, of course.
Posts: 11546 | Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
The length of church as it is would be inconsequential to me. However, we belong to a church that believes meetings are good. We hope to find many more meetings, and believe that we can endure all meetings.
That being said, if all the other meetings would go away, or were at the very least efficient, three hours of meeting would be nothing.
Or maybe virtual meetings, then we could show up to meetings in pajamas.
Posts: 10857 | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote: We have great instructors in the Gospel Doctrine classes and great instructors in Priesthood. I would hate to give any of them up. I can't get the same quality gospel discussions anywhere.
So how about they do every other Sunday, move to a 2-hour block, and do away with 3 solid hours of what often is tedious, boring, etc. Posts: 3371 | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
If you want to get rid of long and tedious, then maybe we should get rid of high council Sunday.
:nudge: :nudge: :wink: :wink: (knows that PF was or is on the high council, and has previously denounced the HC speaker is boring mantra) Posts: 10857 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
I like High Council Sunday because it is one less sacrament meeting I have to schedule a speaker for. Posts: 1017 | Registered: Jun 2006
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quote:So how about they do every other Sunday, move to a 2-hour block, and do away with 3 solid hours of what often is tedious, boring, etc.
Like Prelude music. Just getting rid of that for priesthood/relief society and sacrament meetings, start them earlier and you could get out 10-15 minutes early every week.
No one listens to it anyway.
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posted
I have to admit, I really don't understand this obsession with a 2 hr meeting schedule. What's the big deal? Other churches typically have a hour long worship service and an hour long or so Sunday School. But then they have another worship service on Wednesday nights for about an hour. We just do our 3 hrs of worship service/SS all at once (although I think it was broken up but that was way before I was a member).
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posted
I would have enjoyed a 2 hour block last Sunday. I have tried so hard the past while, since I decided to try to make all of the meetings relevant.
But last Sunday's priesthood meeting in my ward was just beyond awful. No one had much to say about friendship, including the instructor.
Curiously enough, no one even went to the "my wife is my best friend" well. I was shocked.
We did have an interesting discussion where we had to figure out who was the "friend" in Missouri who helped put all the other leaders in jail. Some thought PP Pratt, and some thought WW Phelps. We found it interesting that (after a quick perusal of the index) that Pratt was there for the "demons of the infernal pit" speech, and Phelps helped a little too much to bring to pass that speech.
So, I guess I was wrong. We did have 10 minutes of interesting discussion.
posted
beefche, here in the buckle of the Bible Belt, there are also Wednesday night services at most protestant churches. In fact, many have moved to preparing a dinner for a nominal fee so that families can get a meal before the meetings begin.
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