Course: Gospel Topics Essays Certification Course

Dates: M-F, July 9-23

Instructor: Brandon Comstock

Email: comstockbj@ldschurch.org

Phone: (435) 237-7046

Course Overview
In 2016, Elder M. Russell Ballard spoke to employees of Seminaries and Institutes about the gospel topics essays, and noted that “It is important that you know the content in these essays like you know the back of your hand.” This course is designed, primarily, to help teachers answer that call.

The course will stretch over 11 days, with a new topic addressed in each of the first ten days, and the final day being used to compile and submit a portfolio. In addition to the 15 hours of class time, students will be provided with enhancement materials on each essay to help them better understand the topics, and reach the 30 hour minimum required for certification projects.

It is anticipated that teachers who choose to attend the course will utilize the storage features on LDS.org and the Gospel Library app as a method of creating a project portfolio. In so doing, students who attend each day of class, and complete the supplementary reading should be prepared to submit their completed project at the conclusion of the course without additional effort.

Objectives

• Help teachers meet Elder Ballard’s call know the Gospel Topics Essays like the back of their hand. 
• Provide teachers with additional study materials to enhance their understanding of each of the essays. 
• Provide teachers with examples of places, and ways, that the Gospel Topics essays can be utilized. 
• Model exemplary usage, and teaching, with Gospel library and LDS.org.

Content
For each of the essays addressed the instructor will provide participants with a document containing scholarly resources to enhance understanding. While there will be no requirement for students to insert content into their personal copies, the writers workshop will be designed to help students who inserted scholarly content into the margins of their essays easily convert their work into a professional portfolio. Each day’s scholarly resource document will be posted on the course blog gospeltopicsessays.blogspot.com before that day of class begins.

In addition to the content in the essays, and additional scholarly sources, the instructor will provide participants with several short video trainings on how to utilize the Gospel Library App. Each of the training is less than two minutes in length, but will teach a skill that will be valuable, both in completing the course, and in helping future students to effectively utilize their electronic devices in the future. These training videos are currently available on the class blog. 

Since the course is taking place during the summer, there is a high likelihood that many participants will need to miss one or more class sessions. To accomodate for such circumstances, a video recording of each session will be available for viewing on the course blog by the end of the day that the particular session was held. In accordance with policy, it is asked that participants not share recordings of the classes with any person who is not a S&I employee residing in the Utah South area. Recordings of class sessions will remain visible on the blog until the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year, at which point the site will be deleted.

Schedule

July 9th - Are Mormons Christian? Harrison, M. I. (2015, August 19). Are Mormons Christians?. Huffingtion Post  North American Mission Board. (n.d.). FAQ: Are Mormons Christians?  Peterson, D. C., & Ricks, S. D. (1988). Comparing LDS Beliefs with First-Century Christianity. Ensign Magazine. LDS Media Library. (2009). Are We Christians?, LDS.org  Holland, J. R. (Oct, 2003) The Grandeur of God, LDS.org  Holland, J. R. (Oct, 2007) The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent LDS.org Richards, L. (Oct 1972), Strange Creeds of Christendom  July 10th - Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham LDS Media Library (n.d.) Episode 42 - The Book of Abraham. Rhodes, M. D. (1988) Why Doesn't the Translation of the Egyptian Papyri Found in 1967 Match the Text of the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price?. Ensign, July Muhlestein, K. (2011) “Egyptian Papyri and the Book of Abraham: A Faithful, Egyptological Point of View,” in No Weapon Shall Prosper: New Light on Sensitive Issues, ed. Robert L. Millet (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake Muhlestein, K. (2014). The Religious and Cultural Background of Joseph Smith Papyrus I. Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture, 22(1), 20-33. Muhlestein, K. (2013, Nov 12). The Book of Abraham, Joseph Smith, Revelation, and You. Devotional at Brigham Young University Hawaii  July 11th - Joseph Smith's Teachings about Priesthood, Temple, and Women/Mother in Heaven Ballard, M. R. (2014). Men and Women and Priesthood Power. Ensign, September Ballard, E. M. R. (2015). Women of Dedication, Faith, Determination, and Action. Dew, S. (2013, October 08). Sheri Dew on LDS Women. Retrieved January 13, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EZYlEpBbIk July 12th - Book of Mormon and DNA Studies Whiting, M. F. (2003). DNA and the Book of Mormon: A phylogenetic perspective. Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, 12(1), 5. Perego, U. (2010). The Book of Mormon and the Origin of Native Americans from a Maternally Inherited DNA Standpoint. Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011, 22(1), 9. July 13th - First Vision Accounts Harper, S. & Topp, B. (N.D.). Historical Accounts of the First Vision - Episode 2. Past Impressions Perspectives on Church History (2016) Joseph Smith's Account of the First Vision. Backman Jr, M. V. (1985). Joseph Smith’s Recitals of the First Vision. Ensign, 15, 8-17. (And read each of the accounts) July 16th - Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo Hales, B. (n.d.). Commonly Questions. Retrieved From: http://josephsmithspolygamy.org/mormon_polygamy/ Hales, B. (2014, Feb 21). Joseph Smith's Polygamy-Dr. Brian Hales-Fair Mormon Podcast.  [Audio Podcast] Retrieved From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sgJzVMcyoE July 17th - Race and the Priesthood LDS Media Library (n.d.) Race and the Priesthood.  Official Declaration #2 Compilation of documents July 18th - Becoming Like God Snow, L (1866). Sermon on Our Divine Potential. Church History Archives. Hales, R. D. (2017).Becoming a Disciple of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Ensign, May July 19th - Peace and Violence Among 19th Century Latter-day Saints Walker, R. D., Turley, R. E., & Leonard, G. M., (n.d.). Interviews with Authors of "Massacre at Mountain Meadows". Mormon Newsroom Turley, R. E. (2007). The Mountain Meadows Massacre. Ensign, September Eyring, H B. (2007). 150th Anniversary of Mountain Meadows Massacre. Mormon Newsroom. July 20th - Book of Mormon Translation Turley, R. E., Jensen, R. S., & Amhurst-McGee, M (2015). Joseph The Seer, Ensign Magazine. Maxwell, N. A. (1997) By the Gift and Power of God. Ensign Magazine Nelson, R. M. (1993). A Treasured Testament. Ensign, July, 61-65. July 23rd - Writers Workshop/Assembly and Submission of Portfolios Ballard, M. R. (2016, Feb 26) The Opportunities and Responsibilities of CES Teachers in the 21st Century. An Evening with Elder M. Russell Ballard, Salt Lake Tabernacle Andersen, E. N. L. (2015). Faith Is Not by Chance, but by Choice. Ensign, November Oaks, D. H. (2015). The Parable of the Sower. Ensign. May Cook, Q. L. (2015). The Lord is My Light. Ensign. May Stevenson, G. (2018). Spiritual Eclipse. Ensign, Nov.

S&I Policy on Certification Courses

Some areas may be able to organize a lecture series or class sessions as the basis of a project. Fifteen one-hour sessions or ten one-and-a-half-hour sessions constitute a class. Participants are expected to attend a minimum of 80% of lecture/class sessions and to make up any sessions missed. Each class project will be documented by either a Written Paper or Portfolio relating to the subject of the class. However, the paper length and portfolio expectation is half of what is required for a Self-Designed Project.

Since participation in a Certification Class is optional, there is no mileage reimbursement for attending area Certification classes.

Areas should regularly rotate class instructors to provide opportunities for individual growth and development. Also, for the same reason (and for convenience of travel), it is preferred that areas not combine for such gatherings.

Some areas may desire to record class sessions for showing at a later date or broadcast them to allow for increased area participation. If recorded, the recordings should only be made available for local use and should not be distributed to other areas.

While the primary purpose of some of the classes is to strengthen gospel scholarship and to provide the “content mastery” portion of the Certifications, it is expected that class instructors will model effective teaching.

Classes should be held either before or after normal working hours. A 6-8-page paper, or an equivalent portfolio is required for each class project following the Written Paper Standards or the Portfolio Standards. A class project should not be just a rewrite of class notes. Each class project should document the participant’s efforts to implement and apply elements of the class into their own assignment.

Your completed paper or portfolio will be reviewed by two peer reviewers before you submit it for credit. Those who review your work will use the “Paper and Portfolio Standards” as a tool to provide feedback. After receiving input from peer reviewers, you may revise your work and submit it to your immediate supervisor for approval.

The instructor may also receive project credit by obtaining approval from his immediate supervisor to teach the class, document preparation and presentation, and compile this material as a portfolio. The instructor will submit this portfolio to two reviewers just as they would any other Certification project.

Gospel Library How-To Screencasts

Using the Direct Quote Search Function

In this screencast you'll learn how to use the direct quote search function to help your students quickly find a specific source without lengthy navigation process.

Using Dual Screen Mode to Insert Quotes Effectively

For each of the essays covered in this course I'll be providing a document with additional quotes to help enhance your understanding. This screencast shows how you can make the most of your IPad's dual screen mode to save those quotes in your own margins as we go through class.

Creating a Collection

While the Gospel Library App offers a seemingly endless amount of content to explore, most of us utilize just a handful of the resources on a regular basis. This screencast teaches you how to create your own "collection" of your favorite content, and access it from the main navigation page.

Searching for Notes

 While Gospel Library allows you to make freestanding notes, there is no feature for tagging those notes. This screencast teaches you how to use LDS.org to tag those notes, and sync them to your Gospel Library App.

Tagging a Note in Your Margins

In this screencast, you'll learn how to tag a note that you place in the margins of an essay so that you can easily find it later in your notes.

Inserting Bookmarks to Save Time on Navigation

In this video, you'll learn how to utilize bookmarks to return to the middle of a lengthy document at a later time. This skill, when utilized by your students, will dramatically reduce the amount of time wasted navigating to commonly used documents.

Making Sense of My Highlights

 Throughout this course I will be projecting my Gospel Library App at the front of the class. This screencast is designed to help you understand why I highlight things the way I do.

Using LDS.org to Tag Freestanding Notes

While Gospel Library allows you to make freestanding notes, there is no feature for tagging those notes. This screencast teaches you how to use LDS.org to tag those notes, and sync them to your Gospel Library App.