Opening question
Sister Runia says she loves fixing things: knots in necklaces, stains on clothing. Most of us like problems we can solve. What is it like when something comes into your life that you cannot fix, no matter how hard you try?
Relief Society · Elders Quorum · 25 minutes
The Sculpting of Our SoulsRelief Society & Elders Quorum lesson
Sister Tamara W. Runia · First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency · Saturday Morning Session
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A 25-minute class
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When hard things come that we cannot fix, God is using them to shape us, and the Savior does His deepest work in us after we humbly invite Him to.
Skip the umbrella-and-rock comparison and the Lego story so there is time for the sculpting story and the class's own experiences.
0–2Open2–5Hook5–20Discuss20–23Apply23–25Testify
Before Sunday
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Sunday: Sister Runia's talk on how God shapes us
On Sunday we will discuss Sister Tamara W. Runia's October conference talk, "The Sculpting of Our Souls." If you can, read or listen to it on the Gospel Library app, especially her brother Kent's story about the clay sculpture near the end. Think about this question before class: when has the Lord shaped you through something you would never have chosen?
Pick one opening
Opening question
Sister Runia says she loves fixing things: knots in necklaces, stains on clothing. Most of us like problems we can solve. What is it like when something comes into your life that you cannot fix, no matter how hard you try?
Story hook
Sister Runia's son Ryan, a husband and father of four young children, left for work one Monday and died that day from an undetected heart condition. The next day was his daughter Piper's second birthday. As the family lit the candles and sang, little Piper kept looking for her dad. Sister Runia said she realized this was something she would not be able to fix. Her talk is about what God does with experiences like that.
Opening question
In Liberty Jail, Joseph Smith pleaded for relief, and the Lord told him, "All these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good" (Doctrine and Covenants 122:7). Why do you think the Lord answered with that instead of simply taking the trial away?
Teach this first
The Savior shapes our souls when we invite Him to
Sister Runia teaches that God uses our hardest experiences to make us more like Him, because we must become like Him to live with Him. Her brother's sculpting story shows that the Savior is ready to do the deepest work in us, but our pride often holds Him back until we humbly ask for His help. His carving can feel sudden and hard, and in time we will see that His hand shaped what ours could not.
Sister Runia taught that the Savior "will lovingly chasten us to get our attention, but He waits for an invitation before He can really go to work."
Ask the class
- 1.In Kent's story, the instructor carved deeper and faster than Kent expected, and the eyes came to life. What does that teach you about how the Savior works in a life that is willing to let Him?
- 2.Kent struggled alone because he wanted the piece to be his own. What keeps us from asking the Savior for help, and what helps us finally ask?
If time remains
Not understanding is not the same as not believing
At her son's funeral, Sister Runia told the family she did not understand why he died, but that not understanding is different from not believing. Like Nephi, who said he knew God loved His children but did not know the meaning of all things (1 Nephi 11:17), she moved from asking "why" to asking, "I know that God loves me, so what is supposed to be happening here?"
Ask the class
- 1.How does starting from "I know that God loves me" change the questions you ask during a hard season?
Counsel together
Quorum / Relief Society business
- •Who in our ward or quorum is going through something they cannot fix, and how can we stand with them without trying to fix it for them?
- •How can we make it easier for people here to say they are struggling and ask for help?
Last 3–5 minutes
Close
This week, pick one hard thing in your life you have been trying to fix on your own, and in a specific prayer, invite the Savior to work on you through it.
Sister Runia promises that as time goes on we will begin to see the work of His hand, and that one day, when our pain is gone, we will look at our own souls and thank the Savior for all of it, because "we shall be like him" (Moroni 7:48).
Your witness: Think of a time you did not understand what was happening but kept believing, and share briefly what you know now about how the Savior was shaping you then.