How can I use stories to teach others about the priesthood?

Stories can enrich our teaching and capture the interest of those we teach. Stories provide us with righteous examples and demonstrate the blessings that come from following the teachings of Jesus Christ. There are many stories in the scriptures, in the words of living prophets, and from our own lives that we can use to teach others about the priesthood.

Prepare yourself spiritually

What experiences have strengthened your testimony of the priesthood? What stories from the scriptures and the words of living prophets have helped you understand the power of the priesthood?

What experiences have the youth had with the priesthood? What stories about the priesthood would help strengthen their testimonies?

Prayerfully study these scriptures and resources. What will help the youth understand how to use stories to teach others about the priesthood?

Luke 10:1 (The Savior ordains the seventy)

Acts 3:1–9 (Peter heals a lame man)

Acts 8:14–24 (Simon tries to obtain the priesthood with money)

3 Nephi 18:1–9 (Jesus administers the sacrament)

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “On Being Genuine,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 80–83

David A. Bednar, “The Powers of Heaven,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2012, 48–51

L. Tom Perry, “The Priesthood of Aaron,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2010, 91–94

“Stories,” Teaching, No Greater Call (1999), 179–82

Videos: “Sanctify Yourselves,” “A Wartime Miracle”

Teaching in the Savior’s way

The Savior shared simple stories, parables, and real-life examples that made sense to those He taught. What stories can you share with the youth to help them understand the power of the priesthood? What stories do the youth know that will help them teach others about the priesthood?

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We Teach

Video: “We Teach”

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Make connections

During the first few minutes of every class, help the youth make connections between things they are learning in various settings (such as personal study, seminary, other Church classes, or experiences with their friends). How can you help them see the relevance of the gospel in daily living? The ideas below might help you:

Invite the youth to share how they are applying what they are learning in their personal study, family study, seminary, or other Church classes.
Ask the youth to share experiences that have strengthened their testimonies of the priesthood. Consider sharing an experience of your own. Ask the youth why sharing stories is a good way to teach others about the priesthood.

Learn together

Each of the activities below will help the youth understand how to use stories to teach others about the priesthood. Following the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, select one or more that will work best for your class:

Invite the youth to imagine that they have been asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting about the priesthood. Ask them to find a story in the scriptures that teaches about the priesthood that they could include in their talk (such as examples of healing or administering ordinances). If needed, they could refer to the scriptures suggested in this outline. Encourage them to tell the story they find to the rest of the class and explain what the story teaches us about the priesthood and how they might use it in their talks.
Assign each youth to read a story about the priesthood from general conference (such as the story about Potemkin villages in President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s talk “On Being Genuine,” the story about the father of Elder David A. Bednar in Elder Bednar’s talk “The Powers of Heaven,” or the stories from the testimony of an Aaronic Priesthood adviser in Elder L. Tom Perry’s talk “The Priesthood of Aaron”). Ask the youth to summarize the story they read and explain what it teaches about the priesthood. What opportunities might the youth have to teach others about the priesthood using these stories?
Show one or both of the videos suggested in this outline. Ask the youth what the stories teach us about the priesthood. Invite the youth to share the videos with someone they know who could be strengthened by their message. Encourage them to suggest ways they could share the videos with a friend or family member, and give the youth an opportunity to share their experiences in a future class.

Ask the youth to share what they learned today. What feelings or impressions do they have? Do they understand how they can use stories to teach others about the priesthood? Do they have any additional questions? Would it be worthwhile to spend more time on this topic?

Gospel study skills

Finding principles. A principle is an eternal truth that guides our actions. Sometimes principles are stated plainly in the scriptures or words of the prophets, and other times they are implied in stories or examples. In the first activity in this section, the youth are invited to find a story that illustrates principles related to the priesthood. Help them learn how to identify these principles by asking questions such as: “What do I learn from these scriptures that helps me understand this principle? Is there something here that teaches me how to be more like the Savior?” Encourage them to look for principles in their personal and family gospel study.

Invite to act

Ask the youth what they feel inspired to do because of what they learned today. Encourage them to act on these feelings. Seek the Spirit as you prayerfully consider ways you can follow up.