posted
For me Sunday school has been one that I go to and I quite enjoy it, but I can't say I remember much of anything the teacher said. A few times there's been a question or a verse coming later on during the lesson to which I feel I've received revelation as an answer or idea and then the teacher has read a quote about it saying exactly what I had just received - which has been a nice experience. And I remember once as an 18 year old having an "argument" with our teacher, an older man, the type of " I know it all" about the priesthood and Nephites and was able to show him later from the institute manual how we do believe things were.
Other than that, I don't remember a thing a teacher has said or done. Do you have great experiences when you really have felt that the teacher has done a great job or taught something so well that you remember it for ever or some kind of change has happened in you because of a Sunday School lesson? Or is it more of a sit down and get up and forget? I'd like to hear about the great and good experiences and why you think that made a difference?
Posts: 799 | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
I forget who explained this idea to me, but here goes:
Here are some things that you have learned: * The nature of the Godhead * The organization and history of the church * Scriptural foundations for much of what you believe, and why you believe it. * The importance of the family in God's plan * Answers to life's great questions like "why are we here" and "how can I find happiness" and "what does God want from me"
Think back in your mind - can you identify the exact moment and location when you learned any of these for the first time? Maybe you can for a few. Maybe they don't all involve teachers. But odds are, you picked many of them up in some classroom somewhere, having been taught it by some nice brother or sister who was just doing their best to present some lesson.
Therefore, even though you don't remember why, you owe your teachers a debt, and should think highly of them, and support and sustain them in their callings.
[This idea makes a lot of sense to me, and I've appreciated the heck out of every teacher I can find since first hearing the idea.]
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posted
I was in Sunday School the first time I heard that we should thank God for everything even the bad stuff. I guess it was shocking and memorable because of its unfamiliarity.
I think we go to Sunday School to have our spirits fed. Using that analogy, going to a class can be likened to eating a meal. Maybe you remember the meal you ate on July 10, 1998. But if you don't, that does not mean that it didn't sustain you and help to keep you alive. It's less important to remember the food we eat than it is to eat it, for the necessary nourishment at the time.
This idea is not original with me. I've adapted it from a talk, probably from GC, that I haven't located.
Posts: 3369 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
I find I gain much more insight when I take the time to read the lesson ahead of time. I consider Sunday School just as important as a class I take in any other setting. I get more out of it when I invest more of my own energies into it. I will add that an instructor who can make the lesson more interesting is a big bonus, but it's not always necessary.
Posts: 2595 | Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
Perhaps I wasn't clear. I'm sure I have learned a lot and Sunday school has played a role in my life. I'm just interested to hear if most people have similar experiences as me, not really remembering much of anything, or if some actually have either memorable teachers or many heureka moments...
How I see Sunday school, to me, it is or should be a time when an inspirational atmosphere is created and I can receive revelation during the lesson. Which I often have, but the things haven't been about the lesson really, but personal things.
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posted
I remember less than a dozen bits of my primary and teenage sunday school experience. Some of them were instances when I felt shame or embarassment. Some of them were of me leaning my chair against the wall and thinking I was cool. A couple of them were similar to when the teacher told us the third part who sided with Satan came to earth and got bodies, so 1 in 3 of every people you meet is actually a demon in disguise.
Three of them involve a teacher going above and beyond. Two of those were attempts to help me personally.
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