January Sunday School: The Godhead - How can studying the scriptures help me learn about Heavenly Father (and Jesus Christ)?

 
Teaching tip

“Often a lesson will contain more material than you are able to teach in the time you are given. In such cases, you should select the material that will be most helpful for those you teach” (Teaching, No Greater Call [1999], 98–99).
(This tip was included in the lesson outline on lds.org.  I am taking this tip and applying it to this lesson this week.  The lesson I have prepared will be a short discussion and then will lead into a writing activity.)

From the lesson outline:
Invite the youth to list on the board some truths they know about God. Ask them how they learned those truths. Show them how to use the Topical Guide to find scriptures that teach the truths about God they have listed (for example, they could search “God, Love of” or “God, Wisdom of”). Invite them to write on the board the references they find. Encourage the youth to share any additional truths they learn about Heavenly Father as they read these scriptures and write them on the board. Why are the scriptures important in helping us understand God?

Invite the youth to read individually the entry “God” in the Bible Dictionary and write down one thing they learn about God the Father from what they read. Encourage them to look up any related scriptures referenced in the entry. When everyone is finished, invite each class member to find someone in the class who wrote something different, and ask them to share with each other what they learned (including any scriptures they found). Share how you have come to know Heavenly Father through reading the scriptures, and invite a few of the youth to share their own experiences.

For the rest of the class time we will be learning and writing about the names Jesus Christ is known by in the scriptures. This is a great way to learn and understand His nature as well as His Father's.  There are over 150 names listed in the scriptures for the Savior. Wow!  Did you know there were that many?  I didn't before I put these booklets together. I first made these a few years ago to give to my visiting teaching sisters.  I have since made two different versions.  This has been a great study aid for me and I hope it will be of value to the youth.  I don't have these pages on my computer anymore to be able to link, I'm sorry! I am using copies that I have had in a file in my desk. Hopefully you can read the names on the list if you are interested in making your own.  I have a booklet for each member of my class.

This is the version I made for my Relief Society visiting teaching sisters.  I printed the names on paper and glued them onto colored cardstock and put them into an envelope half that was glued onto the front cover.  

I also typed each name in a box at the top of each page of cardstock to make the booklet.  The one pictured below is my personal booklet.  I alphabetized the names and have done several myself.  I still have more to do.  It has been a fun study project!  I kind of have scripture studying ADD.  I like to jump from project to project.  It takes me years to finish them all. :)

This is another version of this booklet.  It is a little easier to put together in larger quantities.

The front is a 5x7 cardstock picture of the Savior.  They can be ordered through the Distribution Center online at lds.catalog.org.  They are fairly inexpensive, I think they were around 10 cents each the last time I ordered them.The names are listed on one page and glued onto the back of the picture.

The inside study pages are left blank at the top.  The user can write which name they are studying for each page in the box.

The whole thing is put together with comb binding. 

To end the lesson, from the outline:
Ask the youth to share what they learned today. What feelings or impressions do they have? Do they understand how studying the scriptures can help them learn about Heavenly Father? Do they have any additional questions? Would it be worthwhile to spend more time on this topic?