Options

There are any number of words I could have selected for today's "good word." Maybe my choice was dictated by the barrage of election ads coming my way these days. Each candidate offers me a "better option." Perhaps it's a recent experience of dressing a four-year-old for school. Her options needed to include more than just the shorts and t-shirt offered by daddy. (Although that was her final choice in the matter, much to daddy's delight!)

All our lives we're presented with options. Options are good things.

In my job I'm often asked for "the answer." And even when I have several good options to offer, my questioner wants me to make the judgement for him or her and just tell them the one, best way to proceed.

One of the big pieces in my department is study. I'm in the business of offering options for folks who want to learn something or who need to study something. Questions come from adult class teachers, or pastors or new priesthood ordinands. Years ago, when I first came to this job, the questions tended to be posed something like this:
When and where is the next temple school course being offered for this or that required credit?

My response was never a direct one. I'd be more inclined to ask them:
What is it you need to learn? What do you want to study?

And then I'd start to look for options. I'm happy to say that things have changed as my callers these day are much more open to hearing the various possibilities and selecting the one or more that work best for them in their various situations.

In just the last couple of weeks I've had conversations with people who will be ordering the home study version of their priesthood office course, but will be working together with another elder in her congregation to review the course and to work on ministry plans together, applying what they'll discuss as they study to the situation in their own congregation.

Another coordinator has a couple of courses running. One of them was opened to all members of the congregation who wanted to share in the study. Some will take credit; others will not. That group is meeting in a home mid-week. But for their second course, most will do the home study questions, then meet all together with the coordinator for a final discussion session and sign-off to obtain the credit.

I just saw a notice that a third congregation is holding a full-blown temple school weekend with a qualified instructor. They've sent out the announcement so that others who want to come can join their class.

And finally, a Sunday morning adult class will use temple school material as their main study book for the entire next semester. They haven't decided whether or not to give/take credit for it.

So there you are-- several viable options for using temple school materials (available from Herald House directly: call 1-800-767-8181 to order and obtain any more information you need).

Call me for more suggestions if you want to branch out into other study materials. I've got options for you.

Posted by Marion