Teaching the Gospel Virtually | An Interview with DeAnna Murphy

Popular guest DeAnna Murphy serves as the Chief Organizational Development Officer at People Acuity, The Interdependent Leadership Company based in the Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Her experience leading organizational leadership efforts worldwide informs her advice for leadership and teaching in the Church. Highlights 5:56 How do you teach in the Savior’s way to achieve dynamic, impactful, transformational virtual instruction? 7:06 She notices some Church leaders struggling with virtual classrooms and wanting to be able to accelerate people’s ability to create authentic connection with others, feel the Spirit, and counsel together in the same way as if they were in person. Many people are intimidated by virtual environments, but they can have positive experiences virtually to help others to feel the Spirit and feel the Savior’s love. There’s a very brief and simple way to approach lessons or talks in a way that invites others to participate in counseling together to experience the same gifts as if we were live. [Notice both DeAnna’s method as well as the content as she models teaching and leading in the following.] 8:15 If you are open to it, let’s start with a scripture together. Doctrine and Covenants 43:8-10 has some really important direction to give us that I believe can help us while we’re learning how to teach and operate in a virtual environment. Let’s take on this together. Listen for the promises that come and what it is that’ required of us. Then we’ll talk about the terms the Savior uses there and what that means for us in a virtual environment. After Kurt reads it, Deanna continues: Let’s just pause for a second and let me ask you as we are in a virtual environment, what words jump off the page to you when you read those verses. Kurt: Sanctified--we want people to have a personal, changing experience during a church interaction. Then, “you shall bind yourselves” is a unifying factor: we grow or bind closer together through that instruction. DeAnna: Wow. I’m just listening to how you’ve come to the essence. I’m noticing in our day, what’s important about 1) being sanctified and 2) being bound together at this time of division and tearing down? Kurt: With tribalism and separating that is happening via technology and social media, we need the blessing of the function in our church of geographic wards that come together regardless of economic status or background. It’s an opportunity to unify despite the disunity perpetuated online and in the chaos of the world. DeAnna: I’m loving what you are describing at a time when we are feeling more disconnected and pulled apart. The Lord has given us a promise that when we come together to instruct and edify each other, that our hearts will be bound together. I also love that you chose the word sanctified because these two promises are keys to a Zion society: that we become sanctified, holy, and pure, and we are bound together with others who also are. 12:20 I would love you to notice, too, that one of the other gifts is we are promised to know how to act. I was in Minneapolis when the rioting happened and things were going crazy. We literally were experiencing martial law with 700 buildings burning to the ground. We didn’t know how to act--it was coming to our neighborhood. THere’s something about us counseling together in a virtual setting that gives us increased ability to know how to act. And notice as we are starting today, we are doing what we are inviting others to do. Each person in a virtual environment sees something. I had a conversation with a client earlier today who said she had heard feedback from her team: they got a better experience from the virtual gathering than they did live because everyone had a voice. Isn’t that interesting that in a day when so many are marginalized,