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{LDS How-to} Get the Most Out of Sunday School: 10 Tips

Rachelle J. Christensen - November 01, 2012

Do you ever come away from Sunday School, Relief Society, or Priesthood feeling like you didn't get anything from that hour? You're not alone. The good news is this probably has more to do with you than the teacher - which means it can be remedied.

Each of us can do more to prepare ourselves to receive spiritual enlightenment. Here are my 10 tips to help anyone get more out of your Sunday meetings:

1. Read the lesson beforehand. This is important because it gives you a deeper understanding of the principles being taught. You’ll also be able to participate more readily if you’ve reviewed the lesson. 

With a young family and many interruptions, sometimes it’s difficult for me to remember during the week to read the lesson and nearly impossible to do in one sitting. I’ve found that if I leave my manual out, I’m reminded to read bits and pieces throughout the week. If you can, make an effort to read the lesson for the next week after church, then you have all week to think about the principles to be taught.

2. Pray that you might be receptive and learn something to improve your life. We have been taught that when we do our part and pray with purpose, the Spirit will be with us and fill our minds with those things we need to be successful in life. The Holy Ghost is always prepared to sow seeds of learning in a fertile mind.

3. Participate in the lesson. Commenting is not the only way to participate. Make eye contact with the teacher, listen attentively and encourage your whispering friends to do the same. Volunteer to read scriptures or other materials when the teacher asks for readers.

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{LDS How-to} Change the World on Make a Difference Day (or Any Day)

Merrilee Boyack - October 25, 2012

It’s that time of year again! No, not the time when we grow weary of all the painful politics and would like to just detach from Facebook for a couple of weeks if we could. It’s the time to do good!

One of my favorite national holidays is coming up October 27—national Make a Difference Day. Never heard of it? Well, it’s time you did.

Started by USA Today, Make a Difference Day has been going on for 22 years. Its mission is to unite the country in doing good and to highlight good things to do. So this is the perfect year for you to participate!

In my new book, Standing Up in a Sit-Down World: Making a Difference Is Easier than You Think, I talk about how each of us can do great good in the world: “So often we feel tired or discouraged and think that the country is sinking and there’s nothing we can do about it. Satan delights in this kind of thinking! He’s the one telling us to be discouraged and to sit down. But as our prophet has said, remarkable results come as we take small, collective steps for action.” 

In fact, one of my favorite quotes is from President Hinckley where he calls us to action, “I think the Lord would say to us, 'Rise, and stand upon thy feet, and speak up for truth and goodness and decency and virtue.' ”

So what can you do? What can your family do? Starting is easy! Just go to makeadifferenceday.com

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{LDS How-to} Play the Organ - for Pianists

Kate Ensign-Lewis - October 18, 2012

You know the two people in your ward who play the organ? They could use some help. Put your piano skills to use and learn some quick tips for pinch-hitting as an organist. 8729

If you're a pianist and a member of the LDS Church, chances are you (like me) have been asked to play the organ at some point. Most of you have probably pointed out that the instruments are different, said that you couldn't, and gone on your merry way. 

One fact remains—while there are plenty pianists in the Church, we are in short supply of organists. Look at any ward: the position of organist usually rotates between three people, all of which usually have another calling, or who have been ward organist for the last 10 years. (This was the situation in my ward until six months ago when I and another pianist agreed to learn how to play.)

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{LDS How-to} Use BYU Football to Help Raise Your Family

Alyson Von Feldt - October 11, 2012

A new leadership book about the coach of BYU’s football team has wider applications that just football—it can help you in parenting, too.

A few months after our son Jacob turned twelve, he began to resist participating in family work routines, such as setting the table at dinner or Saturday chores. He seemed angry more and more of the time. My husband and I responded in the best way we knew how—we held him accountable, and we tried to do so in a loving but consistent way.

Through prayer, fasting, and scripture study, we sought inspiration to know how we could improve our parenting and what we could to do help our son. Eventually, the situation became more serious, and we sought professional help. After more than a year, things were still getting worse, not better. 

Before BYU, Coach Bronco Mendenhall worked with many street-smart young football players who came from difficult family circumstances. He studied some of the world’s most renowned warrior cultures and talked with his teams about the practices that made these warriors stand out. Young men in these cultures were often required to undergo grueling initiation rituals that helped them prove their worthiness and desire to join the ranks of the adult world. Likewise, Bronco requires his team members to exert maximum effort not just on the practice field, but also in annual traditions such as the “Run to the Y.” These are design choices intended to foster discipline and hard work.

Likewise, families can make design choices intended to foster in their children the characteristics that they value. As in any organization, the way parents design their family life and the choices they make can change the outcomes of the struggles that they face. We came to believe that what Jacob needed most was a stiff, healthy challenge, not just a doctor.  There came a moment when, at wit’s end, we made the difficult decision to take a different path, and we helped Jacob choose a boarding school. We chose the firm structure and academic emphasis of a college prep boarding school as the right fit for Jacob’s intelligence and determination, though we considered many other options that would have presented our son with the adventure he seemed to require. He attended school away from home for a year and a half.

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{LDS How-to} Prepare a Great Sacrament Meeting Talk

Erin Jones - September 27, 2012

Giving a Sacrament meeting talk can be intimidating at the least, and terrifying at the most. Improve the quality of your experience and your final product with these 8 tips.

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I’m one of those weird people who actually likes to give talks, but I realize not everyone is as strange as I am. Not many churches besides ours let lay members talk in front of the congregation, and the prospect can be nerve racking, intimidating, and downright scary. It gets even worse if you are unprepared. Yes, the Spirit can inspire you, but not if you haven’t spent time and energy preparing. And remember, “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear” (Doctrine and Covenants 38:30).


Here are some of the things I’ve learned throughout the years that have helped me prepare better sacrament talks. 

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