Acting or being Acted Upon

[Dusty52]

In the war in heaven we fought for the agency to choose for ourselves
Agency is an eternal principle, one which can help us guide our life here, for example if we meet someone who infringes on our ability to act for ourselves we need to distance ourselves from that person!
As a Sunday school president how do I help my teachers convey to their students how important it is for them to Act in their own learning, and not to be passive recipients attending class expecting to be filled!

[Juliet]

I like your questions Dusty.

I find that if you play the role of student then the students start teaching. So, ask questions, particularly in a way that references their own life experiences. So if you have a class member you know that plays a sport, you can ask them how playing the sport has taught them principles that may relate to the lesson, other etc.

[drtanner]

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make em drink.....BUT you can put SALT in their oats.

That Salt for your students may come in many forms that the spirit will help you figure out. Here are a few salty things that have helped for me over the years

Invite them to come with specific questions before hand. This can be done in a simple email, text or facebook post. The right questions are the key in my mind to unlocking revelation, preparation, and conversation.

Never underestimate reminders. There is a gospel principle in reminders and remembering, (think sacrament) but we all need them. We all forget and loose our attention to other things especially in the age of social media and non-stop stimulation. The numbers say on average we all loose our attention to a distraction 6-9 times every minute!! (so I guess in this sense we all have A.D.D. ) An invitation to please read next weeks lesson is simply not enough. You have to be more specific on what you want people to look for and think about. You have to be committed to reminding people to remember certain things. I have always appreciated a good reminder at the right time.

Teach them about the principles and blessings come from preparation and acting on their own. Remember Alma 12: 32 Therefore God gave unto them commandments, AFTER having made known unto them the plan of redemption. Before you give them a commandment so to speak about acting and preparing, teach them. Ex. Elder Bednar talks about what we get out of conference being "proportional" to our preparation. (lots of other good stuff out there)

Lastly it is all about Christ and the doctrine of Christ
"Just as a man does not really desire food until he is hungry, so he does not desire the salvation of Christ until he knows why he needs Christ." President Ezra Taft Bensen

Help them understand why they need Christ and they will act. Plead for the Holy Ghost to prick their heart to this end and you will see amazing things happen in your class.

[BeNotDeceived]

Check An Unlikely Mormon by Glenn Beck! I watched him make it, and it’s very good. Unfortunately he didn’t doit as a nonprofit, so it costs a few bucks. Maybe it would be a good addition for the Ward library?

His Gandhi Question is great.

[Gideon]

Pointing out a witness of the Spirit will help them realize that God wants to teach them. That might change their hearts, if needed.