Quote:
Originally Posted by Archaea
I like Pelagius's approach to the new testament lessons.
I have found these lessons almost unteachable, but fortunately we've had instructors who could make heads or tails out of the lessons. Most of the quotes are not directed toward a structured approach but Faulkner flow of consciousness. Although one might read that type of literature for enjoyment, in terms of a structured program for personal improvement it seems much less effective. It is neither scholarly, with references, nor thematically structured. If it were thematically structured, one could reference the then current status of a policy, map its development and changes.
However, I find most of the talks, basically, "the prophet was a very good man, he set an example, this is how you should love your wife, this is how you can pray."
Fortunately, we have instructors who much more than is in the manual, but a pure thematic discussion after decades within the Church seem very routine and often not motivating.
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I suspect that the makers of the manual do not have those who have been in the church for decades in mind. I don't know that they should be, either. The church had about 9 million members when Gordon B. Hinckley became president a little over 10 years ago, and is now at nearly 13 million members. This means about 25 percent of the church's membership have been members for less than one decade.
That said, teachers should be able to use the manual to get the most benefit to the particular groups they are teaching. A lesson in the High Priests quorum, for example, ought to be somewhat more engaging than in, say, the Elders Quorum of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, where there are only two men who have been members more than 10 years.