Virginia H. Pearce - Creating Terrific Talks

The image on page 41, Christ and the Children by Harry Anderson by Intellectual Reserve, Inc., is used with permission.

Im Trying to Be Like Jesus, reprinted on pages 2223, is used with permission. 1980 by Janice Kapp Perry.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Pearce, Virginia H.

Creating terrific talks / Virginia H. Pearce.

p. cm.

ISBN 1-57008-949-3 (Paperback)

1. Public speakingStudy and teaching (Elementary) I. Title.

PN4086.P43 2003

372.622dc212003004432

Printed in the United States of America72076-7074

Publishers Printing, Salt Lake City, Utah

10987654321

The Big Picture

I am fascinated by the story of Zions Camp. Like a good mystery, the ending is completely unexpected and yet illuminates a truth that is a daily challenge in my life.

As you probably remember, Church membership in the winter of 1834 was spread between two main centers, one in Kirtland and one in Missouri. In Kirtland, the Saints were completely engaged in building the first temple of this dispensation. Joseph and Hyrum were on site and all was moving forward in a grand way.

In Missouri, however, mob persecution of the gathering Saints was increasing at a fearful rate. In February, Joseph Smith received a revelation directing him to gather a military force and march a thousand miles to secure Zion in Missouri. It was clear that this was the Lords will (see D&C 103). The Saints were told to gather a force of five hundred; but if they couldnt get that many, one hundred would do. The Lord instructed Joseph Smith to go also to preside, organize, and establish the children of Zion upon the laws and commandments which have been and which shall be given unto you (D&C 103:35). He also promised, All victory and glory is brought to pass unto you through your diligence, faithfulness, and prayers of faith (D&C 103:36).

The task must have seemed very clear: With victory and glory in mind the two hundred men, eleven women, and seven children were to liberate the Saints from the tyranny of mobs. The prophet organized the camp in military fashion with groups of ten and fifty. They practiced military skills, obviously expecting to defeat the mobs and secure the future of the Church in Missouri at the end of their nine-hundred-mile march.

Well, they began to march. They got blisters, the food was poor, and the weather was bad. They began quarrelling among themselves, and many members of the camp blamed Joseph Smith for their discomfort. Some, suffering the same discomforts, still demonstrated great faith and kindliness. Somehow, for them, the journey itself became a great learning experience in which their faith and ability to persevere grew.

What happened to The Task, the only reason some supposed they had suffered all of these discomforts? After weeks of marching, the night following their first encounter with a threatening mob, the Lord caused a great hailstorm. The mob dispersed. And then, at Fishing River, the Lord told Joseph that he was pleased the men had made the journey and accepted their sacrifice. But it was over. Zions Camp had already served His purposes, which turned out to be quite different than the men of the camp had expected. His purpose, it seems, was to test and cultivate the faith and character of the individual men. The companies were disbanded and the members of the camp found their way back to Kirtland, sharing the gospel with those they met along the way. (See Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols. 2nd ed. rev, ed. B. H. Roberts [Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 193251], 2:61134.)

Now, why do I like this story so mucha story that sort of fizzles and whimpers to an end? Ill tell you why: It is because this is the story of people who think that the task is the important thing and that however they behave on the way to doing it is inconsequential. And then the Lord clearly teaches them that sometimes tasks are meant only to be vehicles, means to give us an opportunity to develop personal qualities and attributes that are much more important than military victories.

And isnt that the eternal truth about the very purpose of our earthly experience? We recognize this grand truth in almost clich fashion: Its not what you earn or accomplish in your career that counts. Its what you become by doing it. Elder Neal A. Maxwell talks often about those portable qualities that we must develop: patience, faith, integrity, and so on. They are portable because, unlike our daily tasks that seem to be the important thing, the qualities we develop as we set our hearts and minds to our work are the things that will be transported with us into the future and even beyond the grave.

If we were to carry this broadened view of our lives, would we do our tasks differently? I believe we would.

And that takes us to our work with children. As parents, we are literally blitzed by the tasks around us. Our children are required to accomplish many things each day. There is a math assignment with a deadline, a project due tomorrow, a discrete musical task to be practiced and conquered, a sport to master, a game to win, a bed to make, a Primary talk to be prepared and delivered. Those are just some of the tasks, and they are to be taken seriously. Like rescuing the beleaguered Saints in Missouri, these tasks are worthy of the time and energy of our children. However, what happens to the character and capacity of the individual child along the way is of far more lasting consequence than the completion of the task.

Perhaps one of the great joys of grandparenting is that we are removed from the multitude of task-oriented deadlines and we can actually see those portable qualities being developed. We can rejoice and reinforce the process, while parents are blinded by their immediate workload and seemingly more pressing deadlines.

This book is an effort to help teachers, parents, and children see Primary talks as more than an assignment to filljust another deadline for adult and child. Rather, we can see a talk assignment as an opportunity to develop important, portable skills and attributes. We will rejoice in the process and use our time and energy in the most effective way to achieve the most important and lasting results.

Remember the Real Possibilities

There are many different ways for parents and teachers to help children prepare and present talks. Perhaps the most commonly used is for the adult to simply write a very short, simple talkor get one from the Friend or another sourceand help the child memorize it. This seems to be time efficient on the part of both parent and child. This method also increases predictability. For example, the parent knows exactly what the child is going to sayat least, what she is supposed to sayand should she falter, the parent knows exactly what to whisper. There is nothing wrong with this approach, but the question is this: Are there better ways? This becomes a pertinent question as we rethink the story of Zions Camp and the real work that happened during the journey.