More

Please read this document before preparing your outlines: Guidelines for Preparing Your Presentations.

The preferred format of classes at BYU Education Week is to have an instructor teach four related 55-minute lectures, one each day, Tuesday–Friday (a “series” of lectures). When applying to teach, please include a proposed series title (one that ties the four related lectures together) and a separate class title for each day’s lecture. The lectures, while related, should each stand on their own. Students should not be required to hear other lectures in the series to understand the message of a single lecture. It is inappropriate to include a lengthy review of preceding lectures when presenting the series. Note: If you propose to teach only a single 55-minute class, a series title is not required. Please save and email the proposals to us in Microsoft Word format since we cut and paste them into our database (PDFs do not copy and paste well).

The following is a sample of a series title and corresponding classes. Submit an outline for each 55-minute class and list the main teaching points to be presented, along with corresponding references (one or two references per teaching point). Outlines for each 55-minute class should be no more than two pages in length.

Sample 4-Lecture Series (Note the formatting)

Series Title: Understanding Prophetic Priorities and How to Teach Them to Your Family

Class 1: Faith in a World of Doubt and Cynicism

Description: This class will help class members understand the Church leaders’ emphasis and teachings on how to deal with questions of faith in latter-days. Using the scriptures and the words of the prophets, we will identify a few key principles that can help members of the Church navigate through crises of faith. In addition, I will share ideas of how to teach these principles to the family. The main points of the class are as follows:

• Teaching Point 1: Introduce the concept of prophetic priorities

  Resources: (quote, scripture, or other source)

  “This has been the subject of General Authority training for some time now as we try to focus on what the current prophet is teaching and the direction in which he is leading” (Elder Richard G. Hinckley, “Prophetic Priorities,” BYU Devotional, March 15, 2007).
   

• Teaching Point 2: Share recent statements of the Brethren outlining the issue of attacks on our faith in the digital age

  Resources:

  “Gone are the days when students were protected from people who attacked the Church. . . . The Internet is expanding its reach across the world into almost every home and into the very hands and minds of your students” (“An Evening with Elder M. Russell Ballard,” February 26, 2016, available on lds.org).

  “My dear brothers and sisters, the assaults of the adversary are increasing exponentially, in intensity and in variety” (President Russell M. Nelson, “Becoming Exemplary Latter-day Saints,” Ensign, November 2018). See Mosiah 4:29.
   

• Teaching Point 3: We can resist Satan’s deceptions as we remember our previous spiritual experiences and have faith in them.

  Resources:

  Moses 1:12–23

  “In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited. . . . I am not asking you to pretend to faith you do not have. I am asking you to be true to the faith you do have” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Lord, I Believe,” Ensign, May 2013, 93–95).
   

• Teaching Point 4: “Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith”

  Resources:

  President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Come, Join with Us,” Ensign, Nov. 2013.

  Matthew 14:25–33
   

• Teaching Point 5: Prepare and Prevent (i.e. constant study of the gospel and inviting the Holy Ghost to be our constant companion will be a protection to us against doubt).

  Resources:

  President Henry B. Eyring, “The Holy Ghost as Our Constant Companion,” Ensign, Nov. 2015.

  President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Be Not Afraid, Only Believe,” Ensign, Nov. 2015.
   

• Teaching Point 6: Faith is not by chance, but by choice.

  Resources:

  “Faith in Jesus Christ is a gift from heaven that comes as we choose to believe and as we seek it and hold on to it” (Elder Neil L. Andersen, “Faith Is Not by Chance, But by Choice,” Ensign, Nov. 2015).

  “We believe in God because of things we know . . . not what we don’t know” (President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Be Not Afraid, Only Believe,” Ensign, Nov. 2015).

Class 2: The Role of the Family in God’s Eternal Plan

Lecture introduction and outline (use same format as Class 1).

Class 3: How Observing the Sabbath Day and Meaningfully Partaking of the Sacrament Can Keep Us Unspotted from the World

Lecture introduction and outline (same format as Class 1).

Class 4: The Protection and Joy that Comes from Participation in Temple and Family History Work

Lecture introduction and outline (same format as Class 1).

You may submit a maximum of two series proposals (four lectures per series) with your application.

Wording Class Titles (15 Word Maximum)

Please note the following essential guidelines as you develop your series title and daily lecture titles:

• Make sure your titles are concise but descriptive of the content. Each title should be submitted with a descriptive paragraph and a bullet-list outline of the main concepts or principles to be presented. Each concept or principle should have applicable references that support the content. Please give complete citations for any quotations.
• If you have published materials or marketed audio/video DVDs or CDs, the titles of these materials should not be used as Education Week titles.
• Be concise and to the point, but keep in mind that each title should reflect accurately what you intend to teach rather than just being an enticement.
• If your titles are of a religious nature, consider as models the titles of presentations given at LDS General Conferences.
• Please do not submit titles which are subject to misunderstanding or misinterpretation or which are speculative.
• Avoid wording that implies that you have "secret" or "never-before-known" information, or that you have knowledge that is unavailable to the general populace.
• Avoid dealing in absolutes. There is rarely a best, most important, or easy anything.
• Titles which suggest a specific relationship with a single member of the Godhead are not appropriate.
• Titles dwelling on the negative aspects of subjects, titles which encourage playing the devil's advocate, and titles which can lead to a disagreement among students are not appropriate.
• When considering titles about subjects of a sacred nature, avoid a frivolous, joking, or sarcastic slant.
• Be sensitive to men's and women's feelings and emotions; avoid wording that downplays the importance of either a man's or a woman's role.
• BYU Continuing Education programs are not a forum to deal with controversial issues.