Following are some practical teaching ideas to help promote spiritual self-reliance in the classroom:
Read a scripture and ask one or a few of the following questions:- What did I learn about the Lord? His character? His manner of dealing with His children?
What principles of the gospel were taught? What am I taught that will help me live from day to day?
Did I learn anything that will help me with a problem, concern, or decision I am currently dealing with?
Why is this story in the scriptures? What does the Lord want me to learn? What does the Lord want me to do? How do I feel when I read these verses? How are the things that happened in these verses like the things that have happened to me?
When you study the scriptures you are taught from the words on the page and from the Holy Ghost. Record those thoughts and feelings.
Study the words of the prophets and apostles and ponder how their words help you understand the scriptures.
Look for words and phrases that might be hard for you or your students to understand. Find ways to explain these words. Write definitions next to the difficult words in your scriptures.
Mark important words, phrases, ideas, people, and events in your scriptures. This will make them easier to remember and find.
Look for symbols in the scriptures and think about their meaning. A symbol is something that stands for something else. You may want to write the meaning of the symbol in the margin of your scriptures.
Use chapter headings, footnotes, maps, and other study helps in the LDS editions of the scriptures.
