DP370887-2

Relief Society Lesson 24: Following the Example of Christ

Benedetto Luti (Italian, Florence 1666–1724 Rome) Christ and the Woman of Samaria, 1715–20 Oil on copper; 15 × 12 1/8 in. (38.2 × 30.9 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Rogers Fund, by exchange, 2015 (2015.645) http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/702752
Benedetto Luti – Christ and the Woman of Samaria, 1715–20

Traducción española/Click for Spanish Translation
In my experience, women in Relief Society can be prone to feel the weight of unreasonable expectations or burdened by guilt from lessons. My goal as a teacher is always to avoid this, and I think this lesson in particular has the potential to inadvertently be a source of depression and frustration rather than excitement and hope. I think one way to avoid this is to make sure each part of the lesson links the Savior back to everyday, current experiences. None of us is going to be completely like the Savior, but each of us could choose one small way to be more like Him this week. Focusing on everyday ways to be Christlike is therefore my approach with these lesson ideas.

“We should at every opportunity ask ourselves, ‘What would Jesus do?’ and then be more courageous to act upon the answer.”

This is the tagline of the lesson, and as a feminist it spoke to me. To me, courage is the ultimate virtue. It encompasses the moment that your principles are put to the test. Will you be brave?

  • Invite the class to share times in their lives when they felt like they were courageous
  • Link these experiences to being like Christ – the goal is to find Christlike attributes in ourselves that maybe we hadn’t considered before.
  • Some examples of what I’m thinking of:
    • If someone says something racist, and you contradict it. You were brave. You were also acting like Christ, who loved everyone and defended the weak.
    • You were frightened of childbirth, but you did it. You, and Christ, are crucial to the plan of salvation. Christ valued children. Christ cared about human suffering. Christ suffered so that we could have life eternal. Etc.

“[He] knew instinctively the course he would follow. That course would be to emulate the character of his Savior Jesus Christ.”

  • Have you ever had the experience of not knowing instinctively what Jesus would do in a given situation?
  • Invite class to share these experiences – silly or serious.
  • What did you actually do? How did you decide it was what the Savior would want?
  • How can we decide what the Savior would hypothetically do, if the scriptures offer no precedent? Is this a spiritually sound practice? How can it be problematic?

For instance, last week I found a slug on my rug. I wanted to ignore it, hoping it would go away and die. But then I thought “Jesus would pick it up and take it outside.” As I was carrying the slug (ugh!) I thought “wait. Would Jesus pick up a slug? How do I know? Where is the precedent?” – It’s a stupid example, but in fact the scriptures do not give us a comprehensive guide to all social situations. While you might be committed to following Christ, what that actually entails could be difficult.

“I pray that we might treat each other with more kindness, more courtesy, more humility and patience and forgiveness. We do have high expectations of one another, and all can improve. Our world cries out for more disciplined living of the commandments of God. But the way we are to encourage that, as the Lord told the Prophet Joseph in the wintry depths of Liberty Jail, is ‘by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; … without hypocrisy, and without guile’ (D&C 121:41–42).”

  • I think this quote alone could be the focus of a lesson, dissecting ways to show more kindness, courtesy, humility, patience etc.
  • I was particularly struck by the idea that courtesy is a Christlike attribute. When did he demonstrate courtesy? How can we find a balance between courtesy/meekness/gentleness and speaking out for what we believe?

In the manual, President Hunter enumerates 10 specific ways in which Christ was our exemplar. These provide a good outline of the Savior’s life, but they are far from an exhaustive list. Additionally, some of these divine traits are things we cannot possibly emulate. We cannot bring to pass the Atonement, and we are not yet resurrected or glorified.

  • Invite the class to share specific stories from the life of Christ that illustrate a characteristic we can Add these to the list of Christlike qualities.
  • For instance, Pres. Hunter later emphasizes that “he took their little children one by one” – we can emulate the Savior by giving undivided attention to people.

Finally I would encourage the class to privately select one way they wish they were more like the Savior and work on it that week.

spanish-icon

Lección 24 de la Sociedad de socorro: Siguiendo el ejemplo de Cristo

En mi experiencia, las mujeres en la Sociedad de socorro tienen son propensas a sentir el peso de expectativas irracionales o agobiadas por remordimiento a causa de las lecciones. Mi meta como maestra siempre es evitar eso, y pienso que esta lección en particular tiene la potencia de ser una fuente de depresión y frustración involuntarias más que una fuente de entusiasmo y esperanza. Pienso que una manera de evitar eso es de asegurarse de que cada parte de la lección está vinculada al Salvador de maneras que se experimenta su amor en lo cotidiano y diario.

Este es el eslogan de la lección, y como feminista me llamó la atención. Para mi, la valentía es la virtud más importante. Abarca el momento en que tus principios están probados. ¿Estarás valiente?

  • Invita a la clase compartir momentos en sus vidas cuando se sintieron valientes.
  • Haz un vínculo a estas experiencias  con la idea de ser como Cristo—la meta es de encontrar atributos cristianos en nosotras mismas que tal vez no hemos reconocidos antes.
  • Algunos ejemplos que se me ocurren:
    • Si una persona dice algo racista, y tu lo contradices. Estabas valiente. También estabas actuando cómo Cristo, quien amó y defendió a los débiles.
    • Tuviste miedo durante un parto, pero seguiste adelante. Tú, y Cristo, son cruciales en el Plan de salvación. Cristo valoró a los niños. A Cristo le importó el sufrimiento humano. Cristo sufrió para que pudiéramos tener la vida eterna. “(Él) conocía el camino que seguiría. Este camino sería emular el carácter del Salvador Jesucristo.
  • ¿Has tenido la experiencia de no saber instintivamente lo que Jesús haría en una situación? Invita a la clase compartir estas experiencias, cómicas o serias. ¿Qué hiciste en el momento? ¿Cómo decidiste que era lo que el Salvador querría?
  • ¿Cómo podemos decidir lo que Cristo haría si no tenemos un antecedente en las escrituras? ¿Es eso una práctica sensata? ¿Cómo podría ser problemática?
    • Por ejemplo, la semana pasada, encontré una babosa en mi alfombra. Quise ignorarla, esperando que se iría y moriría. Pero entonces pensé, “¿Cristo llevaría a la babosa afuera.” Mientras yo llevaba a la babosa afuera (¡caray!), pensé, “Espera. ¿Llevaría Jesucristo a una babosa afuera? ¿Cómo se sabe eso? ¿Hay un precedente?”—Es un ejemplo tonto, pero en realidad las escrituras no nos dan una guía completa para toda situación social. Aunque puedes estar entregada a seguir a Cristo, lo que significa esto puede ser difícil.
  • “Ruego que podamos tratar el uno al otro con más bondad, más cortesía, más humildad y paciencia y perdón. Sí, tenemos expectativas altas el uno del otro, y todos podemos mejorar. Nuestro mundo grita por más disciplina al vivir los mandamientos de Dios. Pero la manera en que animamos eso, como el Señor dijo al Profeta José Smith en las profundidades inviernas de la Prisión Liberty es ‘por persuasión, por longanimidad, benignidad, mansedumbre, y por amor sincero…sin hipocresía y sin malicia’ (DyC 121: 41-42)”.
    • Creo que esta cita por si misma podría ser el enfoque de una lección, analizando minuciosamente maneras de desarrollar más bondad, cortesías, humildad, paciencia, etc.
    • Me llamó mucho la atención la idea de que la cortesía es un atributo cristiano. ¿Cuándo mostró Cristo la cortesía? ¿Cómo podemos encontrar un balance entre la cortesía/la mansedumbre/la benignidad/la longanimidad al alzarnos en defensa de lo que creemos?

En el manual, el Presidente Hunter enumera diez maneras específicas en que Cristo fue nuestro ejemplo. Estos provienen un contorno de la vida de Cristo, pero no es una lista exhaustiva. Además, algunas de las características son cosas que no podemos emular de ninguna forma. No podemos hacer La expiación, y no somos seres resucitados ni glorificados.

Invita a la clase compartir cuentos específicos de la vida de Jesucristo que ilustran una característica que sí podemos añadir a la lista de características cristianas. Por ejemplo, el Presidente Hunter enfatiza luego que “tomó sus niños pequeños uno por uno”—podemos emular el Salvador al dar atención completa a los demás. Al final, yo animaría a la clase a seleccionar en privado una manera en que les gustaría ser más como Cristo y trabajar en eso esta semana.

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