Relief Society Lesson: Sharon Eubank “Turn On Your Light”

The new teaching module encourages a discussion-style approach to lessons.  Since that means that the teacher is really a facilitator, to me the preparation you need is a good arsenal of open-ended questions.  This post will therefore primarily consist of possible angles for discussion.  Since the talk itself is already offered by a woman there is less call to bring in female voices, in my opinion.

The friendships that Relief Society women, young women, and Primary girls build with sincere, faithful, godly women and girls of other faiths and beliefs will be a significant force in how the Church grows in the last days.

• Think about a meaningful friendship you’ve had with a nonmember.  How did you meet? What brought you together? What interests did you share? Did belonging to different faiths present challenges? Opportunities?
• If you don’t currently have non-member friends, what barriers have kept you from doing so? What changes can you make in your life to expand your circle of friendship?
• What can we do as a ward/branch to build meaningful bonds with women outside our faith community?
• Notice that the talk doesn’t say we should make friends for the purpose of converting them, though of course it would be wonderful if someone did join the church.  What are benefits of friendship without a goal to convert? What can friendship outside the faith offer to you? How have you grown and changed in positive ways by having friends outside of the church?

President Kimball called these women from other backgrounds “heroines” who will be more concerned with being righteous than selfish, who will show us that integrity is more valuable than visibility.

• What women in your life (that you know personally, or admire from afar) do you consider to be models of integrity? What does it mean to you to have integrity?
• Who are some women that you think of as heroines?
• How is righteousness the opposite of selfishness?

Being righteous doesn’t mean being perfect or never making mistakes.  Women who have repented change the course of history.

• How can repentance change history?
• What does being righteous mean to you?

Being articulate means to clearly express how you feel about something and why.

• How can you become more articulate? Do you have role models you admire who are articulate?
• What barriers do women face that can make speaking up difficult? How can we as a Relief Society work to overcome these barriers?

Be distinct.  Distinct means to be recognizably well defined. . . we need to practice living the gospel before the emergency so that, unafraid, we will be strong enough to help when others are being swept away by the current.

• We often talk about how we, as a people, need to stand apart.  What about on an individual level? What do you do to be distinct within the Gospel? Are your personal beliefs well defined?
• How can we work to be clear within ourselves about what we personally believe?  How is distinctiveness an advantage within the church?

Being happy doesn’t mean to slap a plastic smile on your face no matter what is going on.  But it does mean keeping the laws of God and building and lifting others.  When we build, when we lift the burden of others, it blesses our lives in ways our trials cannot take away.

• What does it mean to you to “build?” How can you be a builder?
• What is the distinction for you between being happy and appearing happy? Do you feel you can tell the difference in someone else?
• How does social media play a role in doing things “in happy ways?” How do we sometimes “slap on a plastic smile” in our lives? What can we do to be more authentic?