Attune to The Voice

I gave a lesson in church at the beginning of the month on personal revelation that included a homemade vintage T.V. I  posted the T.V. on my Instagram @raisinglemons.

Some ladies wanted me to share my lesson so I thought I would type it up here.

The lesson was from the May Come, Follow Me curriculum on Prophets and Revelation. It fits best with the lesson titled How Do I Receive Personal Revelation? but I took some liberties. You could also teach it for a Family Home Evening lesson.

The whole lesson was inspired by the video, “Voice of the Spirit,” and a Girls’ Camp I planned a few years ago. I’m going to outline how I would teach the lesson if I were to do it a second time. You get to benefit from my trial run 🙂 Things I would actually say are in italics.

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Attention Getter: Show the video “Voice of the Spirit.”

James E. Faust’s first words in the video are “The Voice….”. Write those words on the chalkboard right after he says them.

After the video mention that the video was about listening to The Voice. Box or circle the T and the V. Then show the girls a T.V. (See instructions below on different T.V. options.)

Objective: Today our whole lesson is a going to be one big giant metaphor comparing personal revelation to a T.V. We are going to figure out how to better tune in to The Voice. By the end, my hope is that we all better understand how to receive personal revelation because it is one of our greatest blessings.

Quote: (Elder Bednar) “Revelation is communication from God to His children on earth and one of the greatest blessings associated with the gift and constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.”

Lesson: Show the girls the T.V. and explain the channels, the static, and the antennae in that order.

The channels are where the revelation comes from. There are different channels of communication.

The static is what might be blocking our channels from coming in clearly. 

And the antennae is where we can tweak and make adjustments to clear up our static.

Divide the girls into three groups and assign them a category: 1) channels 2) static and 3) antennae. Have each group discuss their assigned T.V. part and be prepared to report how their part relates to personal revelation. They could share comparisons, thoughts, quotes, scriptures and personal experiences.

To facilitate and improve the discussion, provide each group with an envelope containing quotes, doctrines, and talks relating to their topic. I cut up the resources into several parts so each girl could have something to read in their group. Here are two good resources:

Revelation”- True to the Faith

“How to Obtain Revelation and Inspiration for Your Personal Life”- Richard G. Scott

I also wrote the questions under each heading on the actual envelope. I find that when you are explaining directions to large groups, people always have questions about what they are supposed to do. It is nice to have a written explanation to refer to once the group has formed and settled down.

Give the girls 10-15 adequate time to discuss their T.V. part. Then have each group come up front and present. Divide the board into three columns and have one girl from each group scribe and record her group’s findings on the board. After each group reports, open it up to the entire group for added perspective. I would ask, “Does anyone else have anything they want to add?” 

Sometimes personal stories were shared or extra knowledge was added on. This is where I would emphasize points I wanted to make or share personal examples as well.

Here is what our YW group came up with:

Channels

{What are the different channels of revelation? Where can it come from? What are the different ways the Holy Ghost speaks to us?}

  • visions
  • dreams
  • scriptures
  • prophets*
  • talks
  • lessons
  • leaders
  • thoughts
  • feelings
  • others
  • prayers
  • visitations
  • whisperings
  • ideas

*I shared a story where I was praying about serving a mission and my answer came over the pulpit in a sacrament meeting directly from the prophet words. I couldn’t believe the Lord answered my specific question via a letter from the prophet. (The answer was “Don’t go” by the way.)

The Spirit is not always a “burning in the bosom”. He has lots of ways he communicates with us. Remember the many channels available to you.

Static

{What is the static in our lives? What blocks our channels? What keeps us from feeling the Spirit?}

  • noise
  • social media
  • movies
  • TV shows*
  • music
  • technology
  • school
  • activities
  • negative thoughts
  • word of wisdom issues
  • peer pressure
  • friends
  • language
  • conversation
  • schedules
  • hobbies
  • trials

(Lots of discussion and personal examples were discussed on this one.)

*I shared a personal story about how my daughter is concerned about a popular Netflix series right now. She hasn’t watched it, but many of her friends have. My advice was, “Ask yourself: Can you feel the Spirit when you watch the show? That is your gauge.” Then I shared how I gave up two T.V. shows because the Spirit could not be with me as I watched them.

It’s important to note that not all of these things are “bad” things, but we need to be aware of how they may be fuzzing our signals.

Quote from President Packer:

“The world grows increasingly noisy… the trend to more noise, more excitement, more contention, less restraint, less dignity, less formality is not coincidental nor innocent nor harmless.

The first order issued by a commander mounting a military invasion is the jamming of channels of communication of those he intends to conquer.

Irreverence suits the purposes of the adversary by obstructing the delicate channels of revelation in both mind and spirit.”

Antennae

{How can we tune-in to celestial signals? What practices can we adjust in our own lives to clear the channels for personal revelation?}

  • say personal prayers
  • fast
  • study
  • listen to good music
  • read the scriptures
  • be still
  • keep commandments
  • be obedient
  • go to church
  • take the sacrament
  • go to seminary
  • keep your body clean
    • word of wisdom*
    • sleep
    • food intake
  • be humble

Challenge: Pick either a static you want to filter out of your life or an antennae you want to adjust and work on it this week so you can attune to The Voice.

Closing: The voice you must learn to heed is the voice of the Spirit.

Bear testimony about the importance of personal revelation.

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Making the T.V.

Here are some different options when making your T.V.:

You could draw one on the board and label the parts. You would have to erase it when the girls presented their discussion though.

You could use posterboard. The TV could be a brown poster board with a black frame on top and white paper for the screen. You could just draw on the static. The buttons could be drawn on and the antennae could be silver pipe cleaners or a wire hanger made into a V. This would be very easy to hang in the room somewhere.

You could find a vintage T.V. at a thrift store.

I wanted a 3-D version that was easy to transport (I originally took it up into the mountains.) So I covered a box with faux wood contact paper, cut a screen frame from black foam core, used gray chevron scrapbook paper for the static and glued on black buttons for the channels. I borrowed an old antennae from a friend.

Good luck! I hope this is helpful!

 

1 thought on “Attune to The Voice”

  1. Great post! I know this message left an impression and
    it will stick with the girls and be helpful to them.

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