April Apprentice Class

APPRENTICE:

Study/Learn

1 - Read: “21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader” Chapter 15: Relationships

2 - Read: “The Young Traveler's Gift” Chapter 8: Forgive Others – The Power of Grace and Mercy.  Then finish off the book by reading chapters 10 & 11.

3 – Read: Doctrine & Covenants 98:1

4 – Read this article: “The Merciful Obtain Mercy” by Elder Deiter F. Uchtdorf

5 – Read this article: “Hidden Wedges” by Pres. Thomas S. Monson

6 - Find principles as you read.  Choose 2 of the principles that you found in each article.  Re-write them in the "if...then..." format.  Make a list of 3 actions for each principle that you could take to more fully live that principle.


Know/Understand

DO THE FOLLOWING :

We often carry around hurt or pain from our past.  We may think that these things don't bother us anymore.  But unless we have made peace with them -- have expressed the feelings, got them all out, forgave and moved on -- we carry them around with us.  The old negative feelings continue to hold us back and taint the relationships that we build in the future.  These feeling continually keep us with a "heart at war" towards others.

Think of the people in your immediate family - parents and sibling (mentors, you can include your children in this).  Which family member do you have a "heart at war" with?  (Having a "heart at war" with someone doesn't mean that you hate them.  It looks more like someone who bugs you or who you are easily drawn into contention with.  We all have these feelings, so don't feel bad, we can fix it!)  Choose the person you feel your heart is most at war with and write, beginning your writing with "My heart is at war with _(name)__ because...".  Don't worry if you don't know what you are going to write.  Once you start a paper with that sentence, it will come to you.  Write everything that comes to your mind, don't edit things out (even if it's yucky).  Get it all out.  End your writings with "please forgive me for feeling this way and holding onto these negative feelings."

Now that you have written this paper, it is very important that you do the following: DO NOT SHOW IT TO ANYONE,  DO NOT SHOW IT TO THE PERSON YOU WROTE ABOUT, and DO NOT KEEP IT AND REREAD IT.  Take your paper and either shred it into little pieces and throw it away or even better, take it outside to your BBQ grill and burn it.  (Please get your parent's permission before using fire, and DON'T BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN!)

This pulls the negative feelings out of your heart and mind and is the beginning of healing your heart and your relationship with this family member.  Do this as many times as you feel like you need to and with as many family members as you feel you need to.

Become/Serve
(If you are doing more than 1 level of class this week, just choose ONE Become/serve for the whole week.)

Elder Uchtdorf said:

“My dear brothers and sisters, consider the following questions as a self-test:

Do you harbor a grudge against someone else?

Do you gossip, even when what you say may be true?

Do you exclude, push away, or punish others because of something they have done?

Do you secretly envy another?

Do you wish to cause harm to someone?”

Journal for 15 minutes about your thoughts on Pres. Uchtdorf's questions above.  Be honest with yourself.  How are you doing?  How can you be better?  Set 2 goals to improve on the questions you could use a little bit of help with and work on those goals this week.

April Journeyman Class

JOURNEYMAN:

“What is the answer to the dilemma that surrounds us?  The answer is to love our Founders, our country, our founding document, and the God that gave them to us.  We must teach that love to our children, pray for our leaders and plead for help.  The answer is to get involved.” 

- Pam Openshaw, author of “Promises of the Constitution”

Study/Learn

1 – Read: “Promises of the Constitution.”  pages 264-312.  Write one or more sentences at the end of each mini chapter that summarizes the main point.

2 - Do a Hero Study on someone you would consider a “present-day patriot” (See “Promises” 13.7).  This doesn't have to be someone who is alive today, but can be someone who lived within the last 100 years.

3 – Read this article: “Our Priceless Heritage” by Pres. Ezra Taft Benson


Know/Understand

CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

• Create an acrostic for the words “moral leader”.  Remember to use words, phrases or sentences that describe what moral leaders are or what moral leaders can do for their country.

• Do a word study on “apathy”.  What is an antonym, or opposite, for apathy?  Come to class prepared to discuss it.

• Read the story of Esther that is found in the Bible.  Mordecai's question, “Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” was an expression of faith in God's plan for Esther and the Jews.  Make a list of things that you can do to strengthen your faith to the point that you will be ready and willing to accept God's call to action in your life. Bring your list to class to share.

Become/Serve
(If you are doing more than 1 level of class this week, just choose ONE Become/serve for the whole week.)


In Pres. Benson's talk he said this:

“In the 1940s while serving as the executive officer of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives in Washington, D.C., I saw in a Hilton Hotel a placard depicting Uncle Sam, representing America, on his knees in humility and prayer. Beneath the placard was the inscription, “Not beaten there by the hammer and sickle, but freely, responsibly, confidently. … We need fear nothing or no one save God.”

That picture has stayed in my memory ever since: America on her knees in recognition that all our blessings come from God! America on her knees out of a desire to serve the God of this land by keeping His commandments! America on her knees, not driven there in capitulation to some despotic government, but on her knees freely, willingly, gratefully! This is the sovereign remedy to all of our problems and the preservation of our liberties”.

Your assignment this week is to kneel down and in prayer to Heavenly Father, thank Him for this wonderful nation that we live in.  Thank Him for your freedoms and everything you hold dear.  Thank Him for the courage of the Founding Fathers and the patriots and soldiers and all of those from the beginnings of our country who gave everything so that we could have what we have today.

April Master Class

MASTER:

For Master Class this week we will be studying a current issue - Religious Freedom.  

1 –  Go to this website.  It is the LDS church resource page on Religious Freedom.

Thoroughly read the information that you see on the page.  (When it says “read more” you do NOT have to click it, just read the first paragraph that you can see)

Watch all 3 videos.

Choose one of the topics to “read more” about.  (Email me which one you want and I'll update the blog).  Thoroughly study your section and prepare a lesson or way of teaching the rest of the class about your topic.

• What religious-freedom means. - ADRIANNA & TARA
• Why we need religious-freedom. - MEGAN & GRACE
• Why Religious Freedom Matters to Mormons. - PATTY & MACK
• How Religion Is Vital to Society. - HANNAH
• What Religious Freedom Requires of Us. - SAM

2 – In our most recent State Legislative session 3 bills involving religious-freedom were presented.

They were:

•  (1) Senate Bill 296 - a non-discrimination bill that the Church publicly supported and which carefully balances LGBT rights with religious liberty rights; 
• (2) Senate Bill 297 - a bill that provides religious liberty protections on same-sex marriage issues; 
• (3) House Bill 447 - a bill that gives parents the final say about what their children learn in school about human sexuality.

Go to this website (at lds.org) and read about what the problem is that the legislature is trying to solve.

All 3 bills passed and SB296 was signed into law by the governor on March 12, 2015

If you would like to read the bills in their entirety, you can find them by clicking on the bills above.

3 - Discuss this issue with your parents.  With their permission, do more research on the internet on this topic.  Come to class prepared to discuss what you learned and how you feel about it.