Teaching in the Church | An Interview with Russell Osguthorpe

Russell T. Osguthorpe has served as Sunday School General
President, Area Seventy, and with his wife Lolly as mission leaders
and temple president and matron. They are currently serving as
virtual BYU-Pathway missionaries for students in the Caribbean. He
holds a Ph.D. in instructional psychology and has served as a
professor and administrator at Brigham Young University. He speaks
several languages and enjoys swimming, hiking, and biking. He and
his wife are the parents of five children and live in Provo, Utah.
Highlights 01:30 Brother Osguthorpe relates his experience of how
he got called to be Sunday School General President. 07:00 His
calling is equal parts revelation and using his professional
background of education and teaching. The Lord prepares us with
gifts to help us in our callings. 10:30 Brother Osguthorpe’s
professional background 12:30 Brother Osguthorpe explains how he
balanced using his professional background and using revelation
from God when making decisions about Come Follow Me. 15:30 Gospel
learning is distinct from educational learning. 18:00 Discussion on
the struggle leaders face when it comes to trying to motivate the
ward or fix problems in the ward 19:30 The lesson doesn’t come from
the manual or from a group of people. It comes from inside the
learner. Leaders are to motivate, invite, and inspire the learner
to look inside themselves. 21:45 Elder Bednar says that we don’t
want teachers to act upon the students. As students we need to act
and the desire needs to come from within them. 23:45 As leaders we
think that we are there to just help fix problems and try to meet
needs. However, what really needs to happen is we need to think of
how we can magnify their gifts. 25:00 How do you teach doctrine
rather than application? 29:00 How do we approach balancing
lecturing and discussion? 36:00 Brother Osguthorpe talks about how
he prepared General Conference talks and what he has learned from
it. 41:45 Brother Osguthorpe discusses his new book, Filled with
His love: Strengthening Our Attachment to God and to Others, and
why he wrote it. 46:00 Attachment theory and fixing relationships
50:50 Kurt talks about how leaders can best help individuals that
are struggling with their relationship with God. Oftentimes we
focus on behaviors rather than the deeper cause of their struggles.
It’s so important to listen to their story. 52:52 We need to
analyze the relationships we had growing up to understand why we
are struggling with relationships as adults. 53:15 Relationships
are at the core of our doctrine. Covenants with God can be likened
to creating a deeper relationship with God. 55:40 Brother
Osguthorpe explains more about attachment theory and how it affects
our relationships. 1:01:30 How to help negative self-talk in the
individuals that we are trying to help. 1:10:25 Leaders should
remember that every trial, sin, problem, etc., begins with an
attachment problem and a detachment from God. 1:10:55 Brother
Osguthorpe simplifies attachment theory and gives an example of how
to use it to help individuals dealing with relationship problems.
1:11:45 A person’s desire can change their attachment style.
1:15:30 Our attachment to God has the most powerful influence on
our attachment to others. Links Filled With His Love Podcast Filled
with His Love: Strengthening Our Attachment to God and to Others
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