Dear Brethren,
Congratulations on your call to the Stake Sunday School Presidency. We appreciate so much your devotion and service.
As you were being set apart yesterday, I had come to my mind the importance of what I expressed to you afterwards. President Christiansen, himself a master teacher, will develop the following thoughts with you over the coming weeks.
I feel strongly there are three ways we (as Church leaders) can support home-centered gospel learning:
1. HELP EVERYONE PARTICIPATE: Please remind ward SS presidencies that the “essential purpose of gospel learning is to change lives” i.e. help every member become a true convert. We are not only to help our classes on Sunday to be the most effective possible, but also to help and encourage individuals and families to study the gospel at home.
Attached is a document the Stake Presidency drafted earlier this year that we would appreciate you reviewing again and training your ward counterparts about the principle of finding ways to encourage members to bring their gospel-learning at home to Church (i.e. everyone participate) and not vice versa as it has been for generations.
2. IMPROVE ALL TEACHING IN THE WARD: Secondly, Sunday School presidencies should be reminded often that they are not only to oversee the Sunday School, but serve as a valuable resource to all ward organizations and improve classroom instruction.
Consistently prepare and conduct helpful and effective Teacher Council meetings in every ward is essential. We hope that a member of the Stake Sunday School presidency will attend as many ward Teacher Council meetings as possible so you can identify the needs and challenges of teaching in our stake to guide you in your training.
3. ENCOURAGE MEMBERS TO STUDY AT HOME: Finally, there is much the ward Sunday School presidency and teachers can do to encourage gospel learning in the home. We strongly encourage instructors, under the direction of the ward Sunday School presidency, to communicate with their students each week offering a very brief encouragement and reminder of what we are to be studying. That communication can be through email, text, social media—whatever works for the instructor and students.
That weekly message should be very brief and could draw attention to (1) a gospel insight in the block of scriptures being studied that week, (2) a link to a video that the teacher won’t be using in the class but is inspiring (often the Teacher’s Manual suggests support materials, like videos, that the teacher won’t have time to use in class), or (3) a reference and link to a General Conference talk that supports the principles taught that week.
By communicating weekly with their students, teachers can help remind everyone that we are to be studying at home from the Come, Follow Me manual and not just on the weeks before Sunday School class (1st and 3rd Sundays). Help all of us remember that the most important gospel study will happen at home, not in the classroom.
I hope this is helpful as you begin your administration and prepare for Stake Organization training on Nov. 19.
Gratefully,
President Lewis
P.S. The example of a teacher sharing in the attached document is, of course, my wife, an adult SS teacher in our ward. I did not prime her on what to write nor had I even shared my feelings with her when I saw her email to our ward SS president. I was gratified to see her validate some of my feelings about how to involve more members in the classroom experience.
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