I taught two lessons yesterday. One for my calling, another because I was subbing.
The YW lesson that I taught absolutely flabbergasted me. The title was "Finding Joy in our Divine Potential." I was excited. Then I read the lesson.
The first line said this:
"Invite an exemplary sister (preferably one who has married in the temple and has a family), who has been approved by priesthood advisers, to speak to the young women about the joy of being a woman."
The rest continued in the same vein.
And there was not a single scripture to share included in the lesson materials (unless you count the ones referenced in a letter from the general YW presidency, but they weren't part of the "lesson development").
The SS lesson was titled "What Happens After Death?" and was full of scripture references to discuss. There was a cautionary note about avoiding speculation and supernatural stories (Yeah, didn't need that, I'm fully aware of the tendencies of 12- and 13-year-old boys!). :-)
So, the contrast between the two is striking (make sure we give scriptures to the boys, just make it up as we go for the girls; the idea of "approving" a woman because she's temple-married and has children). Those issues aside, the thing that makes me laugh is that for all intents and purposes, judging just on outward appearances I could be that "exemplary woman" that they suggest you bring in. I graduated seminary, went to BYU, got married in the temple to a returned missionary, have young kids that wear matching outfits to church as often as not (just kidding...well, sort of), pay tithing, read my scriptures, do visiting teaching and compassionate service, attend church, accept and fulfill callings....you know, all that jazz. But if I had been the "guest speaker" instead of the teacher, you can bet that only 5 of my 20 minutes would have talked about motherhood as a joy in my life. It is; but it's not alone. Probably not what they had in mind, since the thrust of the entire lesson was mothering. Maybe that's why there were no scriptures given - finding scriptural basis for the motherhood = a woman's divine potential is pretty sketchy. Speculation and unofficial statements are the majority of it.
As it went, I ended up spending my portion of the lesson talking about the sources/root words of "divine" and "potential," and talked about how divinity = God and Heavenly Mother, and potential = power/ability and the idea of becoming. Ability to have divine attributes. That sort of thing.
The girls liked the lesson. So did I.
5 comments:
I find the YW manual horribly out of date. Even more doctrinally-based lessons have quotes from apostles I've never heard of, let alone the girls now. The resource guide is helpful, though. Did they give that to you? When we had that lesson a few weeks ago, we focused mostly on some our divine nature as children of God in general and less on specific life achievements. I would have loves to sit in on your lesson!
Er, loved.
The YW/YM manuals have been really out of date for about 20 years now. It's a travesty. I've heard that this site is quite helpful:
http://beginningsnew.blogspot.com/
Why weren't there any girls in the Sunday School class? Is that age group all boys?
Hey - I was that speaker in YW in my ward! I doubt I was "approved" by any priesthood leader, simply because nobody in my ward follows any sort of protocol (good for some things, not so much for others). You'll be happy to know that I did talk about the joys of motherhood (how could I not? I love it), but I also talked a LOT about being independent, getting an education, traveling the world, etc. I also encouraged them to be their own people, for while marriage and family is an admirable goal, it's not the be all and end all, and besides, it doesn't happen for everyone (whether by choice or not), and we need to be okay with who we are, not our marital/maternal status. I hope they listened to all of it.
Sounds like a wonderful lesson! Those YW were lucky to have someone like you teach that lesson. And props to you for being willing to teach two lessons on one Sunday!
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