Good week last week. Here's some highlights:
Wednesday - Great devotional from EJ on the Book of Daniel and what we can learn from it. Then we had an excellent class dramatization on the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego from Daniel 3. We talked about how the important part of the story -- their faith and commitment to the Lord -- wouldn't really change even if they had been burned up in the furnace. Then we watched most of a conference talk called "But if Not" from about 10 years ago: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2004/04/but-if-not?lang=eng and ended by thinking about the 'fiery furnaces' we face and what the "But if Not" principle from Dan 3:18 means to us.
Thursday - Spencer started us out with an insightful devotional on Hosea. Then we went back to Daniel to spend some time with Daniel in the Lion's Den. We watched a video clip on the life of Joseph F. Smith about when he proudly declared his Church membership to mobsters who were threatening the Mormons. Then we thought about times that we have faced unique challenges b/c of our faith and read most of Daniel 6 to reflect more on Daniel's experience -- we all know the story, but how does it really apply to us? We talked about being bold in our declarations of faith regardless of circumstances.
Friday - McCord and Lorenzo both shared great thoughts from Joel and Amos. We wrapped up the week by splitting into three groups. Each group did some focused study of either Hosea, Joel or Amos and then we brought it back together to share the modern applications of what we learned from these books. The combined take-away? The Apostasy is over, the true church of Jesus Christ is restored, we are literally fulfilling prophecy and preparing the way for the Lord's second coming, and even though we make mistakes along the way, we can always repent because of the Lord's never-ending love and mercy for us.
Keep up the good work
Wednesday - Great devotional from EJ on the Book of Daniel and what we can learn from it. Then we had an excellent class dramatization on the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego from Daniel 3. We talked about how the important part of the story -- their faith and commitment to the Lord -- wouldn't really change even if they had been burned up in the furnace. Then we watched most of a conference talk called "But if Not" from about 10 years ago: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2004/04/but-if-not?lang=eng and ended by thinking about the 'fiery furnaces' we face and what the "But if Not" principle from Dan 3:18 means to us.
Thursday - Spencer started us out with an insightful devotional on Hosea. Then we went back to Daniel to spend some time with Daniel in the Lion's Den. We watched a video clip on the life of Joseph F. Smith about when he proudly declared his Church membership to mobsters who were threatening the Mormons. Then we thought about times that we have faced unique challenges b/c of our faith and read most of Daniel 6 to reflect more on Daniel's experience -- we all know the story, but how does it really apply to us? We talked about being bold in our declarations of faith regardless of circumstances.
Friday - McCord and Lorenzo both shared great thoughts from Joel and Amos. We wrapped up the week by splitting into three groups. Each group did some focused study of either Hosea, Joel or Amos and then we brought it back together to share the modern applications of what we learned from these books. The combined take-away? The Apostasy is over, the true church of Jesus Christ is restored, we are literally fulfilling prophecy and preparing the way for the Lord's second coming, and even though we make mistakes along the way, we can always repent because of the Lord's never-ending love and mercy for us.
Keep up the good work
