Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints attend meetings on the Sabbath day for many reasons. They seek to feel God’s love, strengthen their faith in Him, and receive instruction, inspiration, guidance, peace and healing. To help meet these needs, classes include teachings from the scriptures and modern prophets.
These classes provide opportunities to feel the influence of the Holy Ghost and help us better understand the character of Heavenly Father and the central role of Jesus Christ in our lives. They are not intended merely to cover material, but to create spiritual experiences that deepen conversion to Jesus Christ and His restored gospel and help us become more like Him.
To help teachers create these kinds of learning experiences, teacher council meetings are held in each ward or branch. Under the new Sunday meeting schedule, each council lasts 25 minutes.
In each teacher council meeting, teachers may be given a few minutes to report on progress, briefly share experiences or ask questions. The majority of the time should be devoted to explaining, modeling and practicing principles and skills from “Teaching in the Savior’s Way: For All Who Teach in the Home and in the Church.” These principles include focusing on Jesus Christ, loving those you teach, teaching by the Holy Ghost, teaching the doctrine and inviting diligent learning. The final few minutes of the meeting could be reserved for teachers to make plans and decide how to apply what they have learned.
When possible, each teacher should participate in one teacher council meeting each month. Wards that can do so might hold more than one teacher council meeting to accommodate all teachers.
For example, Sunday School teachers could attend during Relief Society or elders quorum meetings, while Relief Society, elders quorum, Aaronic Priesthood quorum and Young Women teachers could attend during Sunday School. Primary presidencies should be consulted to determine the best time to hold teacher council meetings for Primary teachers.
These meetings could take place outside the two-hour Sunday schedule, or Primary teachers could attend during part of Primary, depending on ward needs and circumstances.
Teacher council meetings are under the direction of the ward council and are usually led by a member of the ward Sunday School presidency. Together, the ward council and Sunday School president can identify ward needs and determine how best to address them.
Resources for these meetings are available in the Gospel Library under “Books and Lessons” and then “Teaching and Learning.” Ward organization presidencies should encourage their teachers to attend council meetings and to be prepared to participate.
As teachers are given time to practice teaching skills that they can immediately incorporate, teaching and learning experiences will improve.
Teacher council meetings for parents may also be held under the direction of the ward council. They do not need to occur regularly but may be held as needs arise. They are often most effective in groups with similar family circumstances, such as parents of children preparing for baptism or missions, or parents of Primary children or youth.
As teacher council meetings are held consistently, and when they are focused on deepening conversion and implementing the principles of “Teaching in the Savior’s Way,” teachers will be better prepared to create learning experiences that help members come to Jesus Christ — which is the aim of all gospel teaching and learning.
— The Sunday School general presidency consists of President Paul V. Johnson, first counselor Brother Chad H Webb and second counselor Brother Gabriel W. Reid.
