Lesson #11

So, I realized last night that I taught Relief Society last week and didn't post about it. Here we go...

My lesson was about The Restoration of All Things: The Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. I started with talking about a few of the points that hit me most when I was preparing... Ummm, since it's been a week I'm having remember-y problems ;) Well, however I started it we ended up focusing on visiting teaching. We discussed reasons why we don't do our visiting teaching and how if we each start with ourselves, then eventually the church as a whole will be more ready and prepared for the Second Coming.
I tied everything back in to the topic at hand, ended with my testimony, and added that I was glad this was my last lesson of the year. With that comment, some of the girls asked if I was moving or something. I laughed and said "No. I'm not moving. It's December, so I don't have to teach anymore this year."

I can't believe I've taught 11 times now! I don't feel any better about this last lesson than I did with the first one. I still get so super nervous, but I think maybe it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would have been. 2010 will bring new adventures...

Lesson #10

I can't believe I've taught ten lessons already! Man this year has flown by...

My lesson yesterday was: Becoming Saviors on Mount Zion. I asked the class what they thought of when they heard the word 'savior'. Most of them said "Christ", "the atonement", etc. One sister raised her hand and said, "If it's just the word, then I think of anyone 'who saves' as a savior". I thanked everyone for their comments and asked if we could be saviors. The answer: YES. We then talked about how we can be saviors for those who have passed on before us by doing their temple work.
Sisters shared their opinions and stories and I thought it all went pretty well, even with me forgetting what I was saying again - and had a brain freeze for what seemed like forever... LOL. I challenged everyone to go to the temple more often to do the work for those who are not able to do it for themselves.

Lesson #9

Yesterday was hectic... so I will post today about my lesson from Sunday.
I taught about the Wentworth Letter. I asked who in the group (all 17 of them) had ever heard of the Wentworth Letter. Nobody raised their hand... which is fine, because before this lesson, I'd never heard of the Wentworth Letter either. I explained why the letter was written and what it contained. I tried to focus most of the time on the last part of the letter, which is where we got the Articles of Faith.
I don't know how my lesson went. I was having a 'down' day as it was, so I didn't feel anything... I wasn't nervous, I wasn't happy or sad, I could have just as easily sat down half way thru my lesson and not cared or been embarrassed. Luckily, I didn't sit down, I just kept plugging along - monotone as it was.
I think it was probably an o.k. lesson, but I know it wasn't one of my better ones. I know the next one will be better than this one was ;)

Lesson #8

I realized last night as I was in bed that I didn't post about my lesson on Sunday... oops. So here we go:
My lesson was Responding to Persecution with Faith and Courage. I was so nervous. I felt like I had not taught for three months or longer. My hands were all shaky and even though it was kind of funny, I didn't like the feeling ;)
We discussed different types of persecution, and how we (individually, as a church, as a family group) handle those persecutions. There was a lot of involvement from the class and I felt good about the things that were said. I did have a momentary lapse of memory... for about a full minute, I just completely forgot everything and there was nothing for me to say. I felt a little silly just standing there, but I wonder if that's what a "stupor of thought" is like... so maybe I wasn't really supposed to be saying anything just then anyway; just let the sisters think about things. The R.S. President did have a comment, so the silence wasn't too obnoxious. LOL
Hopefully next month I won't be too nervous again.

Lesson #7

So this is actually a week late... but better late than never, right?
I taught on the 16th this month (switched weeks with another teacher because she wasn't going to be in town) about Missionary Service. We spent most of the time talking about how we, as young single adults, could still be missionaries even if we don't receive an 'official' calling.
We shared some stories about who we'd known that was affected one way or another by missionaries, or people in general. The challenge I gave: Each of us try to be better aware of our actions because we are all 'missionaries' and people watch us whether or not we know it.
I felt it went pretty ok. I teach next month on having faith through persecution or something like that.

Lesson #6

Today I taught lesson #25 out of the Joseph Smith book. It was on the parables from Matthew 13. I think it went pretty good today. I started off by saying, "I have two stories I want to start with, and the first one has nothing at all to do with the lesson; but I will feel better if I tell it." We all chuckled, then I explained to them that I had an eye infection and am taking some medicine now and can't wear contacts. The glasses I was wearing were about 10 years old and the prescription proved it - I could only 'half' see while I was wearing them.
I then told them a story involving a bus, a group of girls, and hyenas. I asked them what they thought of the story and most shrugged their shoulders and one said, 'nice story, but what's the point?'. She hit exactly what I was looking for. I expounded the story a little better to them, and they understood it better. I then asked how often do we read the scriptures and the parables of Christ and say 'oh. nice story. what's the point?'.
I split them into 4 groups and each group got a parable to read over, discuss, and then teach the class. It turned out really well and I heard good comments from it. I didn't quite feel as nervous today, and I think that's because I couldn't see very well ;) We shall see what next month brings.

Lesson #5

Today I taught about Leading in the Lord's Way. It was a good lesson. I had woken up this morning not feeling very well, but by afternoon I was a little better. I got to church and started feeling weird again, but I stayed and taught.
We had a good discussion about leaders and different ways that leaders have influenced our lives. I only had half an hour to teach, so I was glad for that. I still felt very scatterbrained and unorganized, even though I'd read the lesson many times and knew what it was about. I was nervous, and my hands kept shaking. I had to hold on to the podium to keep them occupied so that I could think of what was going on. Someone commented to me later, that I don't seem nervous at all when I'm teaching. I replied that I don't know why that is, I get nervous every time I have to teach (and added that when I play the piano or organ in public I STILL get nervous doing that too... and I've been playing for 22 years!)
After church, I asked my roommate how she really thought it was. She said that it was really good, and the flow of it was perfect. I commented that maybe as long as I feel scatterbrained about my lessons, that means they went well; if I didn't feel scatterbrained, then maybe it didn't go so well.

Lesson #4

Yesterday I taught about Establishing the Cause of Zion... a relatively easy topic. I had read my lesson quite a few times, and had read through the Conference Issue of the Ensign, so I felt ok about teaching. I stood up (not nearly - or at all - nervous as I had been the three previous months) and began my lesson.
I started out by playing "build a sister" - as opposed to hang man, when the correct letters were guessed, I drew the parts of the 'sister'... it was funny. Then I proceeded with the lesson. My roommate told me afterward that I seemed less nervous and scatterbrained than previous lessons, but in my head I could not gather my thoughts at all! I knew what I wanted to say, but I could not form the correct words to say what I was thinking. I felt like my brain was scrambled. Ha.
Aside from my brain getting in the way, I think the lesson went pretty well. Hopefully next month I'll be able to keep my thoughts organized and clear. We shall see...

Lesson #3

I taught this past Sunday, but because I left right away after church, I have been without internet access to blog about it. I am home now... so here we go :)

I did not teach the 'assigned' lesson for Sunday, but got permission to do something different... I presented The Garden by Michael McLean and Bryce Neubert (I hope I spelled their names right, I'm going off memory here). The Garden is an allegorical (like a parable... uses objects to represent something else) oratorio (done in singing). When I was in my home ward, I was part of this presentation (that was back in April of '98!), and I fell in love with it. I listen to it as frequently as I can, and talk about it as much as I can too.

It starts with 'Elements' (Seedling, Ram, Olive Tree, Millstone - representing each of us) singing about how bad their lives are and how they are feeling unloved and depressed. A Gardner (representing the prophet) comes and starts to care for this garden. The Landlord (Satan) comes to the garden and tells the Gardner to leave. The Gardner tells the Elements that there is one who will come to save them... the Man With Many Names (Jesus Christ). Then it proceeds with the Elements' view of the pain and suffering of Christ as He was atoning for all of us. After He was risen, the Elements are amazed at how happy and free they feel.

If you've never heard of The Garden, I would recommend finding it and listening to it. Such a great message and I still learn things from it every time I hear it. Incredible. At any rate, after it was over, there was a very good spirit in the room - I hope the sisters felt it.

Lesson #2

I sense a pattern... I am supposed to teach the lesson in Relief Society every second week, so far, I have had my lesson bumped up to the first week (which is Fast Sunday - so I have shorter time) both times I've taught.

I was far less nervous today than I was a month ago, which is good. I wore one of my 'mood necklaces' and told the class that it was a special necklace, connected to my heart and if it turned black, then my heart had stopped beating and I needed some help. *Great ice-breaker, I know :)

I had about 20 minutes to teach today, and the lesson actually went over by about 10 because there was a question I didn't know the answer to and I happened to notice a member of the Bishopric walking by the room. I said to grab him. He came in and answered the question (while he was doing that, I noticed a quote in one of the books that also answered the question). Another question was asked, and he proceeded to answer that one too. It was a good discussion we had.

I was told it was another good lesson. I still don't know how I feel about it, but I do know that since I had prepared and had prayed for God's help, He was the one teaching today. I teach again on April 12. We'll see how that goes :)

First Lesson

Sunday, Feb. 1, 2009 was quite the day for me. In my singles ward, I am the organist in Sacrament Meeting and have recently been called as an Instructor (teacher) in Relief Society. My first lesson was supposed to be Feb. 8, but it was bumped up to last Sunday. I was NERVOUS the entire time I was up front teaching. I could not stop shaking.

I was so nervous about it, I messed up the closing song in Sacrament Meeting too! I completely botched the intro, so (red-faced) I turned toward the congregation and said, "I'm going to start over". Those who heard me had a good chuckle. I started again and still messed it up, but it was better than the first time.

When I stood up to teach in Relief Society, everything I had in my mind to say left. I made some comment about if they caught a whiff of camp fire, it was my hair and I was sorry... (What the heck! They didn't need to know that!) I started my lesson... "Who has experienced the death of a loved one?" Those who had raised their hands. "For those of you who haven't yet, you will." (HELLO??? I know it's true and all, but come on! My face turned bright red, I almost started crying due to embarrassment, and I SSSOOOO wanted to run out of the room and hide - and not go back!).

It didn't get much better from there. I did get through some major points, I think (my lesson was on words of hope and consolation at the time of death...), and there was a lot of participation - which I was very grateful for! After class, quite a few of the girls and adult leaders came up to give me a hug and tell me how good my lesson was. My face was still red and I was still shaking, but I was glad that it wasn't horrible. I was told that it will get easier, the more I teach. I responded, "That's what they say about playing the piano in front of people too, but I've been playing the piano for 22 years now and I STILL get nervous playing in front of people!"

I still don't know how I feel about how my lesson went, but I am very grateful I was not by myself... I'm glad the spirit was there, helping the sisters understand what I was trying to say, helping them not judge me as a teacher (did I ever mention that I HATE speaking in front of people?). Hopefully next time I teach I will not be as nervous, but if I am, I pray the spirit will still be there, encouraging me to do my best.

(Sorry for the apparent lack of paragraphs... they are there, but for some reason, not showing up how they are supposed to here. Dang it. Maybe the extra spaces will help with that...)