Yesterday I had the privilege of teaching 16/17 yr olds the Gospel Doctrine N.T. Ressurrection of Christ section. It didn't go over super-duper, and well, part of the challenge I identified early on in the lesson when I observed out loud, "You folks don't have any clue about what death really is do you?"
I then went on to press each member of the class, asking them if they'd ever had anyone close to them die. None of them had actually really been touched by death, or seen the struggle of life that occurs in many who don't wish to die, and are clinging to it, and then in a moment are gone from life. Most of them still had their grandparents, even, and those who'd lost them, didn't remember them to really have formed an attachment they missed...
I tried to talk with them about how they might feel if one of their dearest friends, someone in the class were gone. You wouldn't be able to call him. THe support that friend gave you would be gone. You would no longer be able to rely upon that person or know that they were available and there would always be this empty hole missing where they once were...
But I don't know that I really even reached any of them. The sad thing is, I don't think they understood how marvelous the ressurrection really is, as a result. It caused me to reflect upon how I take the ressurrection for granted. It's a free gift of the Atonement, one hardly worth reflecting upon. Yet, those who know and have seen death up close and personal have a whole different level of love and understanding for the Savior's willingness to give up his life for us to unlock the gate, and break the chains of death.
A bodily ressurrection is a great thing that many in Christian faiths simply don't get. The whole concept of a physical restoration is lost. It's almost easier to understand forgiveness of sins, and spiritual rebirth... than what it means to be physically whole and glorious. Surely this ressurrection thing is a great mystery--that empty tomb a gaping question mark of what lies in store for each of us and the marvelous love and blessing that can be ours if we choose to believe that He is Risen.
--Ray
-- Edited by rayb at 11:06, 2007-07-30
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I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)
Don't be too hard on the teens. Most teens don't understand death that well. They're bullet proof. As far as their way of thinking goes, they're gonna live forever. I didn't think that much differently at that age. It wasn't until my friend was killed before graduation that I really gave it much thought. I had lost both my grandfathers but it was different because they were old. They will learn it soon enough. Just keep plugging away at the gospel principles so that when they do figure it out they will have those things already in their mind to fall back on.
Ray, having taught teens in Sunday School for a number of years, there are a couple things you need to remember in order to get through to them:
1. Trust. They need to know you love them. Without that they will not listen. It takes more than one or two lessons / filling in as a sub to establish this. Otherwise, you are viewed as only being there because you have to be there so they have a teacher. 2. The Spirit. If you do not have the Spirit in the room, they will not listen and will not learn. 3. Testimony and personal experience. Once you have the first two, this is where they will listen to you. You already know they don't have the experience themselves, but most kids are smart enough to know that with only gentle reminders from trusted adults of why it is important for them to know this for themselves, they will pay attention and catch the vision of what the message and principle is.
Don't worry... it comes with time, and you probably haven't scarred them for life... maybe scared them of you , but they'll survive!
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It seems to me the only thing you've learned is that Caesar is a "salad dressing dude."
I'm not that concerned about it. Besides I had the baby with me and he was really fussy, a huge distraction, so I don't think it went all that well, but whatever. It was my observation that the ressurrection just didn't seem that big a deal to them, however. I did get them to laugh at one point by stating, "So Christ's body wasn't there... He'd come back to life. (Generally speaking, this doesn't happen very often.)"
I have this tendency when speaking in a public setting of carrying on a conversation with myself. Kinda like a ventrilloquist, only I'm both the dummy and the ventrilloquist... or perhaps I just come across as doubly dumb... :)
--Ray
__________________
I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)
, but they'll survive!
