by Kelly Ann
It has come to our attention that we accidentally skipped posting an outline to Relief Society lesson 44 (The Second Coming of Jesus Christ) last week as was scheduled. A detailed lesson plan will be forthcoming, but for those of you prepping to teach tomorrow, hopefully this will provide a space for you to share your thoughts of what you are planning on presenting or any questions that you might have that other readers might be able to respond to.
Things to consider might be how would you …
– make the lesson applicable to women in varying family circumstances?
– include quotes from women–both women in and outside of the church?
– add historical context?
– offer a global perspective?
– give a ‘feminist’ perspective on the lesson?
(Note = please don’t suggest games or ‘cute’ activities w/o a specific learning objective)
Anyhow, We look forward to hearing your perspectives on the lesson about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. We again sincerely apologize for the delayed posting.
Links of Interest
http://gospelprinciplestpbair.blogspot.com/2011/04/chapter-44-second-coming-of-jesus.html
http://scottsworld.info/gp/gpc44com.htm
http://ldsliving.com/story/65861-gospel-principles-chapter-44-the-second-coming-of-jesus-christ
http://lds.org/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-44-the-second-coming-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng
Note: This lesson was originally written for the Relief Society audience in 2010-2011, when the Gospel Principles manual was temporarily used as curriculum for Relief Society, Elders Quorum and High Priest classes. The lesson may require adaptation for Gospel Principles classes, which are mixed gender and primarily serve new members and investigators of the church.
Katelin and Alison, The detailed lesson plan will unfortunately not be forthcoming. Rather we hope that you find the above links to detailed outlines and relevant posts on other bloggernacle sites useful. We apologize that we were not able to find someone able to post a full outline last minute. As many have already taught this lesson, we would again welcome any thoughts on the Second Coming from readers and teachers here.
The one thing that I found striking in the lesson taught in my ward a couple weeks ago was the introductory discussion/ question of whether or not we see the Second Coming as imminent. References were made to how some of the women present were raised to believe that they were part of the “chosen generation” and would hear stories of people’s patriarchal blessing’s promising them that it would happen in their lifetime … The consensus seemed to be that the message over the pulpit had become to prepare as if it would happen at any time but that it actually might not happen in our lifetimes. A reference was shared (sorry I don’t know it) from a recent general authority talk of how it is important to prepare for the future. The contrast was given to the recent end of the world dates. A fair amount of comments were made in regards. However, the sentiment that it could still happen at any time, although unlikely on a specific date, was also noted. Parallels were also given to how Mormon’s beliefs are shaped by general society and that given current economic hard times, it would not be unexpected for more people to focus on the hope that the Second Coming offers to those that believe. We also discussed how the early Saints fervently believed that it would happen in their lives and wondered how much they thought about it and were disappointed that it didn’t happen.
In truth, the two lesson about “The signs of the Second Coming and “The Second Coming” itself meld into one in my mind. However I liked how both the lessons became active discussions and in the end focused on Christ.
(Finally, if you are interested in a couple more links, the LDS.org study topic section actually has some interesting links to old Ensign articles that give a glimpse into how it has been taught over time. http://lds.org/study/topics/second-coming-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng&query=second+coming )
Also note there are a some entertaining end of the world cartoons (could be fun to project) at http://www.ldslastdays.com/default.aspx?page=cartoons1.htm . I got a good laugh from them. The LDSlastdays.com website also has a number of other quotes and resources.
For those of you interested, April stepped up and posted a detailed outline of lesson 44 that she is preparing to teach next week. Please see:
http://www.the-exponent.com/2011/11/03/relief-society-lesson-44-the-second-coming-of-jesus-christ/