I was asked to substitute teach for Priesthood recently. I feel that the boundaries and goals of Priesthood/Relief Society/Gospel Doctrine, which I don’t teach very often, are narrower than those of Institute, which I’ve taught for a long time.  As with all Church lessons, it is light-exegesis-pressed-into-inspirational-service. Preparation was different and more difficult than usual, but here’s how it went.

I began by handing everyone slips with these two quotes, which we read.

“We set up assumptions, based upon our best knowledge, but can go no further.”- Elder John A. Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations, 126.

“We have been blessed with much knowledge by revelation from God which, in some part, the world lacks. But there is an incomprehensibly greater part of truth which we must yet discover. Our revealed truth should leave us stricken with the knowledge of how little we really know. It should never lead to an emotional arrogance based upon a false assumption that we somehow have all the answers–that we in fact have a corner on truth. For we do not.” -President Hugh B. Brown (First Presidency), “An Eternal Quest” BYU Devotional of May 13, 1969, available from speeches.BYU.edu [Read more...]