The Two-Sided Coin
Man is a dual being, temporal and spiritual, and in the early revelations… the Lord took occasion, many times, to give direction and commandment regarding temporal matters. … All material things are but a means to an end, that the end is spiritual… Ezra Taft Benson
LESSON 1: TEACH SPIRITUAL TRUTHS: Spiritual Truths are an integral part of mentoring
What is most important for mentors to know?
- Self-reliance is a gospel principle
- Self-reliance can be likened to the two sides of a coin
- Mentors have a responsibility to teach spiritual truths with each visit when possible
- Faith is the basis of a person's momentum to become self-reliant
- Ward/branch resources can be called upon to ensure that the mentee(s) is being taught spiritual truths
- Mentors know the difference between casual and formal language.
- For less active members, the mentors take the Gospel TO them
- Mentors will teach the plan of salvation with its ties to self-reliance
- Mentors will use the My Foundation booklet when appropriate with their mentees.
- Mentors will look for opportunities to have prayer and to teach a spiritual lesson or concept at their mentee visits whenever possible; to invite the Spirit
- Mentors will teach using every-day language (casual register) when appropriate
- Mentors will use their ward resources to help build faith (and friendship) with their mentees
- Mentors will believe that self-reliance includes both the temporal and the spiritual and this understanding will be reflected in their mentoring
- From Moroni 7:45 “… hopeth all things.” Filled with Hope!
- As those we serve increase their faith and trust in the Lord and learn that He cares about their daily concerns, they will begin to have hope for their futures. As they begin to set goals and learn to achieve them, hope will rise in their hearts. We also will find ourselves growing in faith and hope as we love and support them.
1. Understanding how the spiritual combines with the temporal to change lives
A. Watch video Driven in Detroit: The Black Family video . Watch for the answers to these 3 questions:
- What was the impetus for the Blacks to change their lives?
- What did Elder Cooper hope to accomplish with his computer classes?
- What does Sister Black’s final comment say about “vision”?
2. Understanding The Two-Sided Coin
A. Watch and discuss the video: "I Will Provide for My Saints" Listen for the answers to these questions in the video:
- What did the Savior declare?
- What are the key principles of self-reliance?
- What does the Lord promise?
Now think about a coin and liken that coin to the two parts of self-reliance; one side being the spiritual and the other being the temporal; this would serve as a visual to help mentors remember this concept. The main point is that there would be no coin without the two sides. They cannot be separated and neither can the spritual and temporal parts of our lives be separated. Look at the illustration below and notice that the PSP box, which they all received, includes both the temporal and spiritual elements of our lives.
B. Please turn to the My Foundation manual: "Getting Started" - page 3 - and do the first 5 items: Ponder, Read, Discuss, Read, Discuss. Please follow the lesson outline and discussion.
C. All PSP mentors are considered to be missionaries. That includes the Church Service Missionaries, the full-time missionaries, the stake missionaries, and the ward welfare specialists.
- Why?
- "If you are mentoring someone who is trying their best to live the gospel - they will progress faster. But you have to be addressing BOTH the spiritual and the physical needs. The spiritual alone will not create self-reliance; neither will temporal alone."
3. Understanding how to teach spiritual truths to those being mentored
A. The My Foundation booklet can be used as a resource for teaching mentees. It is NOT a textbook for teaching. It is a resource that can help you to address issues that arise while mentoring. Every mentor should have access to a copy of that booklet and use it often. Many mentors have found it useful to teach all 12 lessons in that booklet to those they mentor. This booklet can be ordered at the LDS bookstore online or downloaded here.
B. Spiritual Truths Related to Self-Reliance
1. Read Appendix 1 below: Which Spiritual Truths Do We Teach? As you begin to understand those you mentor, you can use this resource to find scriptures that would be appropriate to share.
2. Using the Plan of Salvation Chart - Make sure you understand how the doctrines of self-reliance are woven into the Plan of Salvation. It is recommended that you use this chart to teach the Plan of Salvation with it's associated principles to all you mentor.
3. PROBLEM: The materials we just shared with you are all presented in a very formal language combined with a lot of religious terminology. Most of us are very used to that type of language. The people you teach, for the most part, are not going to relate to this language. It may feel like a foreign language to them. Therefore, you may very well need to "translate" the message or the meaning. You can do this by:
- asking questions to see what they understand
- by rewording or paraphrasing the message
- by illustrating concepts through stories or common examples.
- Using a few familiar scriptures, "translate" them into everyday language. Moses 1:39, Alma 37:36-37, 2 Nephi 2:16
- Caution: When you use simple language you may find yourself feeling like you are talking to a child. And in actuality some people are "children in the gospel" but you don't want to talk in a condescending voice to them or you could offend. We'll talk more in lesson 4 about using an adult voice and why that is important.
To understand casual and formal language more completely, please watch the following video: VIDEO: What about Jack?
4. It is essential that mentors understand how to use the ward/branch resources to help teach the spiritual
A. Encourage mentees to attend church or take the gospel to them (Frequently there are transportation issues that need to be addressed)
B. Remember the question is not whether they come to church but “Are they having a spiritual experience?”. What can a mentor do to facilitate that spiritual experience every time they come to church? What can you ask the ward council do to help?
C. Contrast: Bring them to Church. Bring them to Christ. 1 Cor 13 and Moroni 7
Practice and Invite:
1 . PRACTICE: Use the My Foundation as needed when mentoring or with your family.
2 . PRACTICE: Mentors "translated" scriptures into everyday language and are prepared to teach in a casual register when appropriate.
3 . INVITE: We invite you to teach a spiritual message when you mentor this month, using casual language as appropriate, and share how that is working.
Appendix 1 - Scriptures related to Self-Reliance
PERSON DOESN’T UNDERSTAND HIS TRUE NATURE
1. Divine Nature: we are the children of our Heavenly Father
Moses 1:39
Romans 8:14-17
Matthew 5:48
PERSON DOESN’T KNOW OR UNDERSTAND THE PLAN OF SALVATION
2. Teach the Plan of Salvation – use the chart
PERSON DOESN’T BELIEVE GOD CARES ARE HIS/HER TEMPORAL LIFE
3. The Lord's purpose is to provide for His saints, and He has all power to do so.
D&C 104:15-16
1 Nephi 17:50-51
Matt 28:18
PERSON CANNOT RELATE SPIRITUAL TRUTHS TO EVERYDAY LIFE. HE KNOWS HE IS A CHILD OF GOD BUT CANNOT SEE A PURPOSE FOR HIS LIFE ON EARTH. HE DOESN’T RECOGNIZE HIS UNIQUE GIFTS AND TALENTS.
4. The temporal and spiritual are one
D&C 29:34
1 Nephi 18:1-2
Alma 34:20-25
Alma 37:36-37
5. Gifts of the Spirit
D&C 46: 11-26
I Cor 12: 7-11
PERSON IS STUCK IN FATALISM – DOESN’T BELIEVE ANYTHING HE/SHE DOES WILL AFFECT HIS/HER FUTURE
6. The Atonement: the Grace and Power to change and improve our lives
Mosiah 3:19
2 Nephi 31:20
Alma 34:15
PERSON DOESN’T RECOGNIZE ROLE OF CHOICE IN HIS/HER LIFE
7. The Gift of Agency: the freedom to work, learn and choose our path in life
Moses 3:15-17
2 Nephi 2:25-27
8. Individuals must act
2 Nephi 2:16, 26
D&C 88:124
D&C 104:17
Matt 25: 20-21
9. Faith in Jesus Christ
Moroni 7:33
Ether 12:4, 6-8
Appendix 2 - Scriptures for the casual register exercise + the Plan of Salvation told in casual register
Scriptures for the Casual Register Exercise
Moses 1:39
For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
Alma 37:36-37 Temporal and Spiritual are one
36 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.
37 Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.
2 Nephi 2:16
16 Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.
Plan of Salvation told in casual register:
I'd like to tell you a story. It's a true story and it's a love story. It's about a Father and His love for his children. The Father is God and He is our Heavenly Father. Isn't that wonderful? He knows us and He loves us because we used to live with Him in heaven before we came to earth. We did and so did everybody else. Must of been a very large family if we are all brothers and sisters. Did you ever think of that?
Well, we were all there together and one day Father called us all to a family meeting and told us that He had a plan to send us to a place called "earth". We were excited when He told us because we loved Him so very much and we wanted to be just like Him. But there were some things that were different about Him that we didn't have. He had a body - a real tangible body and we were just spirits. We also knew that He was perfect in every way and we were struggling to be as good as He was.
He told us that when we came to the earth we would arrive in families as little babies in cute little bodies. We were going to get bodies. We would have earthly moms and dads. I really like my mom and dad but I know some people don't like theirs. That is one of the problems of life here on the earth. Some people just don't do nice things and then their kids don't like them. All of these problems happen because of something Father gave us. It is called agency but it's not like when you go down to the Social Security agency. This kind of agency means He gave us the right and the privilege to make our own choices but some people make bad choices and then their kids don't like them.
The bigger problem is that we all make bad choices sometimes and that reminds me of Adam and Eve. You know how when they ate that apple in the garden of Eden? And then they had to leave the garden? Well, because they had sinned they couldn't live in the garden any more. Well, our sins cause a similar problem. We can't go back and live with Father until we take care of our sins. That is a bad problem to have because some sins you can't even fix. I told my sister I was sorry when I took her candy once and my mom said I had to go buy her some candy and replace what I took and I did that. But sometimes you can't do that. When I told a lie about a friend it got spread around the whole school and I couldn't take back those words. Father knows how we get ourselves into these messes and He made a plan from the very start that would help us with this problem. You know what that is, don't you? You how the scriptures say God so loved the world He gave His only Begotten Son? Well, that is called the Atonement. And Atonement means that Jesus is our Savior and because He came and died for us, it is possible for all of us to go back and live with Father in heaven again. That is the greatest news this world has ever had.
But then Father told us something else. He said that we'd have to work hard while we are on the earth. You remember how He told Adam that he would earn his" bread by the sweat of his face?" That is a part of all of our lives and we get to make a lot of choices here because there are so many things you can do in this world to earn your money so you can have a home and food and a family and all of that. He also told us we wouldn't like everything that happened on the earth. There would be wars and tornados and Satan would be down here trying to get people to be mean and awful. But Father said He would always be available to us even though we wouldn't see Him. We could come and talk to Him any time and that is called prayer. He would help us and give us strength to endure. But then He told us something really important. He said we would learn from all of these experiences and it would help us to be more like Him. And when we talked to Him it would help us remember that we are His children and because we are His children we can become like Him. We have divine DNA. Some people call that divine potential. And that means that no matter what you decide to do with your life while you are here on earth you can do it because you are God's child with that good DNA inside you.
He also told us to be happy while we are here. But how can you be happy when there are wars and tornados and Satan is doing all his bad stuff? Well, Father said that we can choose happiness and that Jesus would help us with that, too. Jesus can heal our wounded hearts and bring peace to our lives.
The last thing Father said was that everybody will die. Death is the end of our time on earth and that when we die we will have to come back and tell Him what we did with our time on earth. Now, I already know what it feels like when I had to tell my mom that I took my sister's candy and when I lied about that friend of mine and I didn't like having to tell my mom about that. I don't look forward to telling God about every mistake and sin I ever did so I am really glad for repentance and forgiveness and for my Savior. Jesus says that we are washed clean when we repent and I hope to stand clean before that Judgment bar when I die. I think we can then have a really good talk with Heavenly Father about our lives here on earth and what we learned and how we changed because you remember back at the beginning I said that we wanted to be just like Father. Now we are going to see how we are more like him. We'll get resurrected bodies just like His and all of our experiences on earth will have helped us to be more kind, loving, forgiving, and all those wonderful things that we love about Father. Then it is going to be like one big happy family reunion and I really look forward to being with Heavenly Father and with all the people I love. Isn't that a great ending for this love story?
A POWER POINT PRESENTATION FOR EACH LESSON AS WELL AS COPIES OF ALL VIDEOS USED IN OUR TRAINING ARE ON THE DVD OF MENTOR TRAINING MATERIALS THAT IS INCLUDING IN THE MENTOR TRAINING MANUAL.
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