How to Conduct Sunday School Conference by Karl G. Maeser

From Karl G. Maeser

How to Conduct Sunday School Conferences

Assistant General Superintendent Karl G. Maeser

My subject this afternoon is, "How to Conduct Sunday School Conferences."

[78] This subject has been before the Sunday School Union Board repeatedly on account of the many failures which we have encountered in our visits throughout Zion holding Sunday School Conferences. To illustrate this statement: In making my report of one Sunday School conference which I had been appointed to attend, I said I had filled my appointment, I went knowing nothing of the condition of the Sunday Schools in that stake, and now I had returned knowing as little concerning those conditions as I did before I went. I had nothing else to say. That at once satisfied the members of the Sunday School Union Board that that conference had been a failure.

It seems that the difference between a jubilee and a conference or some festival kind of meeting has never been realized by some of the stake superintendents; at least, it appears so from the way in which preparations for the conference have been made—or rather not made.

In order to be as brief as possible, I will state the following order of procedure:

The object of a Stake Sunday School Conference is a three-fold one. Every Sunday School superintendency should have them in view and take steps accordingly during the four weeks or so immediately preceding the sessions of the conference so that the three objects or aims of the conference may be reached.

The first point is to present in that stake a model for their own Sunday Schools at home—a model in regard to punctuality—commencing to the minute, as appointed. Why, we have gone to conferences—every one of my fellow-laborers of the Sunday School Union Board will bear me out in this statement—and have had to wait until half past ten; as much as half an hour of the precious time was thus lost. We cannot afford to lose half an hour or even a single minute of the precious time given to us for the meetings of the Stake Conference—every minute should be utilized.

The singing should be a pattern for all the Sunday Schools in the stake. For this purpose the Sunday School Union Board have selected certain songs to be sung at the coming stake conferences everywhere throughout Zion. The choirs should be given a chance. The stake superintendent in his travels through the stake has, no doubt, discovered a choir here or [p.79] there that is very excellent, producing fine music, having raised the singing in their Sunday School to an excellent standard. I would invite that choir to come and do the singing during one of the meetings of the conference. I say, therefore, give the best choirs a chance; give us the best you have to be found in the stake, belonging, of course, to the Sunday School.

Then the class exercises should be patterns. Suppose, I were a superintendent and discovered in my stake a splendid Primary class better than any other in the stake, I would like to have it there. But don’t bring any dead heads—I mean children that will not do anything—but select only those that will take an active part and who can answer the questions. Give us the best class exercises that are to be found in the stake, so that all can see what the best work is. The Sunday School that has not been invited to give an exercise will then say, "Now we will do our very best and we will beat that," or "We will come up to that exercise in the Primary, or give just as fine a chart exercise," or "We will have just as good a Book of Mormon exercise, and then we will have a chance to have our school represented at the next stake conference."

The marching should also be a model. Let those that have been invited to give class exercises at the conferences be drilled in marching at home the last Sunday or two before the conference comes off, that they may be able to file up nicely to the stand and face the audience and give their exercises, which should last ten minutes; that is all we need. We do not want exercises to last half an hour; five minutes would be sufficient to show us the way and manner in which the teacher handles the subject and the class, and to show how the pupils have been trained. We can learn that in five minutes time, but we give the classes ten minutes each that the children may think it worth while for them to come all the way to conference; and we do not want to dismiss them in five minutes, but give them ten. They should be model exercises, so that all the Sunday Schools in the stake will say, "That is the way it was done at the stake conference; we are going to do it that way too. That is the way the questions are to be put; that is the way the answers are to be given by the pupils," and so on.


The second point or aim of the Sunday School Conference is to give the visiting members of the Sunday School Union Board an opportunity to become acquainted with the condition of the schools in the stake. As you are aware, there are about 1,000 Sunday Schools. It is impossible that the members of the Union Board can visit all these schools each year. It is at these stake conferences that we wish to find out these conditions. We want to see the best class work that is done in the stake; by this we learn the condition of the other schools, if it is the best the stake can do. We don’t want all the classes from the same Sunday School; but we desire to [p.80] have each class exercise from a different Sunday School, if possible, that we may see the best exercises represented by eight Sunday Schools of the stake. That will give us a pretty good idea of the condition of the others. But sometimes one Sunday School does all the class work and we cannot get an idea of the condition of all the schools through this one. We prefer to have six or eight pupils represent a class, and, if possible, have an equal number of boys and girls. Sometimes we have exercises by young men’s or boys’ classes, but in most cases, unfortunately, we only have girls take a part in the exercises.

The next point from which we can obtain our information as to the condition of the Sunday Schools comes from the reports of the superintendents of the different schools. These reports should be based upon the twenty-one questions which are contained in the Sunday School Treatise. A written report should be received from those schools where the superintendents or their representatives cannot be present, this written report should cover the twenty-one points mentioned. While the exercises are going on, or between the meetings, the visiting brethren can take these reports, look them over and see what the condition of each Sunday School is. That is what we come for, my brethren and sisters, to get a correct understanding.

The third object of the Stake Conference is to give the visiting members of the Union Board an opportunity to give instructions. These instructions are based upon the notes which we take while witnessing the class exercises, or while listening to the reports, which are made, or while examining the written reports. And then again, I myself have thirty-two points on Sunday School work to select from whenever I visit a conference; sometimes I take up one point and sometimes another, as the Spirit of the Lord may impress me, or the circumstances may require. Brother Goddard has twenty points, and so on. Now from these points which we already have and from the notes which we take during the exercises we have plenty of material upon which to base our instructions.

[p.100] The Book of Mormon can be taught in all grades; but in giving lessons, do not, teachers, read them to the smaller pupils, but be absolutely familiar with these lessons in order that you can tell them the story and arouse a spirit of interest. You must have that same spirit yourself, or you cannot give it to them. I quote Brother Maeser when I say: "The teacher cannot give what he has not got himself." A teacher cannot afford to be unstudious, expecting the Spirit of the Lord to bring to his mind things to be said which he has never stored away; but he must first put them in his own mind, then the Spirit can aid him in bringing them forth; but he must not depend on the Spirit to do it all. As no teacher should teach without that Spirit, let us be prayerful and earnest in order that we may have it with us when we go before our classes, let us be humble and purify ourselves, both body and intellect, in order that the Spirit of God may dwell with us. Amen.