Love Those You Teach

The first section in the Teaching in the Savior's Way manual is titled - Love Those You Teach.  There is truly no better way to teach as the Savior taught than through love.  Love enables us to look beyond the frustrations, the foibles, the imperfections and see beyond the face to the person that the Savior loves.

"Everything the Savior did throughout His earthly ministry was motivated by love—His love for His Father and His love for all of us. Through the power of the Holy Ghost, we can be filled with this same love as we strive to be true followers of Christ (see John 13:34–35; Moroni 7:48; 8:26). With Christlike love in our hearts, we will seek every possible way to help others learn of Christ and come unto Him. Love will be the reason and motivation for our teaching." 
(Teaching in the Savior's Way part 1 section 1)

As we let love be the guiding motivation behind our teaching, our focus shifts from material and presentation to the people - to the individuals.

“A gospel teacher, like the Master we serve, will concentrate entirely on those being taught,” said Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “His or her total concentration will be on the needs of the sheep—the good of the students. A gospel teacher does not focus on himself or herself. One who understands that principle will not look upon his or her calling as ‘giving or presenting a lesson,’ because that definition views teaching from the standpoint of the teacher, not the student. Focusing on the needs of the students, a gospel teacher will never obscure their view of the Master by standing in the way or by shadowing the lesson with self-promotion or self-interest.”
(Dallin H. Oaks, “Gospel Teaching,” Ensign, Nov. 1999, 79.)

One of my very favorite quotes is this:

"The real work happens when we touch someone individually."
(Julie B. Beck, Relief Society General President 2007-2012)

Recently as I was pondering that very quote, I made a connection - saw a pattern of change within the Church - a shift in focus to individual ministering.  Let me share what I saw:

October 2012 a change to the youth curriculum was announced - the new Come Follow Me curriculum shifted the focus of teaching and learning to a more personal learning environment rather than a set of cookie cutter lessons.

Temple and family history work has seen similar shifts.  The new technology enables us to print our own cards for ancestors ordinances.  The focus of Take - Find - Teach creates a personal experience that spirals out as we help others become involved in the work.  The recent title changes to those who have associated callings Temple & Family History Consultants was much more than just a title change.  It is another shift toward personalized experiences in learning and teaching - a focus on individuals.

The whole concept of the Teaching in the Savior's Way is to bring our gospel teaching and gospel learning back to the people - to the individuals we are.  It prompts us to minister to the individuals we teach rather than just presenting a lesson.

The new Self Reliance Initiative truly shows the focus on the individual.  Those who participate in the classes are encouraged to personalize their learning.  They are supported individually by facilitators as they learn and make positive changes that bring more self reliance into their lives.

What struck me the most as I saw this shifting pattern is that love is the motivating factor.  We can see the love the Lord has for His children in the inspired direction and programs that we have access to in the Church.  He helps us help ourselves and in so doing He helps us help others.  Our love for Him grows as we serve His children and our love for His children grows as we serve Him.

-Lorie Pierce

Personal Moments with Gordon B. Hinckley

Susie Rosenquist - Columbia 1st Ward

When I first joined the church, President Hinckley was the prophet. I had always wondered why we no longer had prophets on the earth, so it was easy for me to believe and accept that Joseph Smith, Jr. spoke with God and restored His church on the earth. I did struggle with accepting President Hinckley as a modern day prophet. That concept was still a bit foreign to me. Weren't prophets all supposed to be dead and we read their works as scriptures?
Before my second or third General Conference as a member, I decided I needed to gain a testimony of Gordon B. Hinckley as a modern day prophet. I believed that Brigham Young was the prophet after Joseph Smith. There were too many miraculous events described regarding the mantle of the priesthood passing to him after the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. It stood to reason that if I believed that transfer of authority, then I should also believe all subsequent transfers of authority. I recall attending that next General Conference broadcast with the faith and hope that Gordon B. Hinckley was a prophet. During that conference the Spirit confirmed that truth to me.
My favorite thing about President Hinckley was his unsinkable optimism. My favorite teachings are his Ways to Be.

Coming Up - General Women's Session

Come join us for a delicious Ice Cream Social prior to viewing the General Women's Session of Conference.  There will be tables of toppings in all sorts of flavors and varieties.

Your ward/branch RS presidencies have electronic copies of flyers that you can print and take to sisters you visit teach.

We are looking forward to mingling with our sisters from around the Stake.

Topic Suggestions for Women's Conference

Our Stake Relief Society Activity for April 29, 2017 will be a women's conference format.  We plan to have morning class/discussion rotations, displays and lunch.  The exact times of the event will be published in a few weeks with our official publicity.

The past couple Sundays, you should have seen a suggestion survey paper being passed around.  We realize though, that some of you may have not seen it and want to give you a chance to submit suggestions.  If you have a subject for a class, discussion or display - please email it to loriepierce.rs@gmail.com by March 1.  Also feel free to provide name suggestions for teachers, discussion facilitators, etc.

We are looking forward to this event and hope that we can provide content that will be helpful and applicable to our sisters across the Stake.  If you have any other suggestions or questions, please feel free to send an email. (same address)

- Lorie Pierce

Did You Know? Family History Discovery Center

Many of you may have seen the publicity about the opening of a Family History Discovery Center in Salt Lake. But you likely aren't aware that our own Columbia Family History Center has recently opened a Family History Discovery Center too. A few weeks ago, my husband and I were able to go and have our own family history experience there. I was also fortunate enough to go again to take pictures and observe as another family came for their personalized visit. What a fun experience it was both times!



We began with having our picture taken in front of a green screen. Those pictures were then turned into fun pictures of us “visiting” the lands of our ancestors. It was a fun souvenir of our visit to the Center.





The Gardners had lots of great tech tools both for our devices and for our computers. Even though I've been doing family history for many years – there were still applications they introduced us to that I hadn't ever tried before.

We created a photo family tree with their wall mural. Glad to say we were successful in putting all our people where they belonged in the roots and branches.

We talked with the Gardners about our family stories and traditions and especially about how family history can be part of our daily lives, our daily conversations – it's not all about research and paper work.

We don't have children at home anymore, but the Family History Discovery Center experience is designed for all ages and family shapes. They have games and activities for young and older children. The teens and adults are able to focus on using the technology to not only research, but to collect and preserve memories, stories, photos, etc.



The Family History Discovery Center is open by appointment only – as the Gardners create a personalized experience for each group that comes and need time to prepare for your visit. To schedule your visit give Sister Gardner a call at 410-461-5596 or send her an email at ddgardfam@gmail.com.

-Lorie Pierce

Teaching in the Savior's Way Series

Many of you will already be aware and involved with this new approach to improving teaching and supporting teachers.  I have felt it would be a good idea though, to have some posts focused on this subject.  This first one is simply an introduction to the new Teaching in the Savior's Way curriculum and program.  I hope it will be helpful to any that haven't yet heard about it or who maybe have heard, but aren't really sure how it might help or impact them.

The introduction page to the Teaching in the Savior's Way manual says this:

The goal of every gospel teacher—every parent, every formally called teacher, every home teacher and visiting teacher, and every follower of Christ—is to teach the pure doctrine of the gospel, by the Spirit, in order to help God’s children build their faith in the Savior and become more like Him.

The manual is designed to help us as teachers, leaders and parents improve our ability to teach in the Savior's way.  It helps to refocus our methods in ways that will more fully invite the Spirit and foster gospel learning.  Personal and group study of the manual are intended implementations of the curriculum.

Those serving in callings as teachers are now participating in monthly Teacher Council Meetings.  The purpose of these meetings is to allow teachers to "council together about principles of Christlike teaching".  This unique council environment is designed to allow the teachers to learn from one another as they share ideas, concerns, experiences and as they use the principles found in the Teaching in the Savior's Way manual to find better ideas, solutions and invite the Spirit into their class experiences.

While many of us do not currently have teaching assignments, we all have opportunities to teach.  We can all benefit from reviewing these resources.  I hope that in our future posts, as we cover more specifically these Christlike principles of teaching, that we will all find ways to improve our own teaching moments.

-Lorie Pierce

Personal Moments with Gordon B. Hinckley

Helen Stanger - Eldersburg Ward

I am filled with love as I reflect on my feelings from that very formative time in my life.  

Unfortunately, I cannot recall any specific experiences, but I can recall distinct impressions.  I remember being impressed with how “up to date” President Hinckley was with the times…especially for an old guy!  He was very aware of technology and he knew how to take advantage of it and use it for the Lord’s work, rather than shunning it as something worldly and evil.  He was extremely well-informed about history and current events.  I remember being a little bit in awe of just how much he knew!  He seemed to understand and relate to people of all different situations and circumstances.

I LOVED listening to him speak.  He was always a straight shooter, never shy about telling it like it was, never intimidated by what the world might think—and yet, his words were always filled with love and gentleness.  He was blunt without being offensive.  I always felt compassion in his words.  I knew he was filled with love for all of us…and I could never quite understand how that was possible; it always kind of blew my mind!

I was also very impressed with his seemingly limitless energy: he traveled all over the world and was always busy, always involved.  It was easy to lose track of which temple he was dedicating, which country he was visiting, which conference or fireside he was speaking at.  As he soared into his 90’s I started to think he was something of a miracle.  I thought maybe the Lord was going to preserve him indefinitely and that he would be the one to escort us into the Millennium!  Frankly, I was a little shocked and disappointed when he passed away!  (At least until the Spirit bore witness to me that Pres. Monson had received his calling and mantle from the Lord, and then I knew we’d be okay.)

I discovered a more personal connection with Pres. Hinckley just recently as I was reading about his life in our new manual.  I was deeply moved when I learned that he lost his mother to cancer as a young adult.  He had a really hard time getting over that loss, but he often felt like his mom was there supporting him, especially on his mission.  Having just lost my own mom to cancer recently—and feeling the same sense of her guiding presence in my life—I was touched and even more grateful for his strength and his example!