[Teachldsseminary] Teach: Christmas Advent Calendar

[Mom TheCool]

Here is an Advent Calendar idea I've used for many years, with adults and in
Seminary.  On Dec. 1 (or the Sunday closest if I'm teaching a Sunday class)
I bring in a large advent calendar I made out of two pieces of poster board
stapled together back to back.  The front piece has a large picture of the
Savior--try to find the one of the Savior in red robes by Minerva Teichert,
if you can.  This is an advent calendar counting down the days to the Lord's
Second Coming!
      On the front poster board, surrounding the picture,  I have the usual
"doors" cut open with the numbers 1-24 on each.  Behind the doors, on the
back poster board, I pasted a brief outline of each of 24 "signs" of the
Savior's 2nd coming that has been prophesied.  For instance: the gathering
(of 12 Tribes of Israel, Zion, the dead, the whole world); the battle of Gog
and Magog; wars and rumors of wars; gospel preached to the world, etc.
      Everyone gets a handout listing the 24 signs and 24 scriptures from
that book of scripture describing that particular sign.  Here's where it
gets fun!  I was totally amazed at all the signs of the Lord's Second coming
described in such great detail the year I was teaching the Old
Testament--just think about Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Amos,
Zechariah, etc.  I tried to find scripture references scattered about that
book of scripture, not everything all from Isaiah, etc.  Now that we're
teaching D&C, it should be a pretty simple job of finding scriptures for the
signs of the times.  (**If you can spare the time, it could be fun having
the students each find a scripture for one of the signs beforehand; then you
assemble the calendar for everyone to discuss.  You would need to be sure to
challenge them to really think and search for a scripture really describing
the sign in detail; this will make for better discussion.)
      We would open a door, assign someone to read that scripture, and
discuss as a class whether the sign had already taken place, or is yet
future.  We would then shut the door if that sign is still to be fulfilled
in the future.
      I always had great discussions in the class when we used the Advent
Calendar, and it really seemed to help class members get "the big picture"
of all that we have seen and are yet still to see before the Savior comes
again.
Nora, 11 students, Awesome Class