Slides used in a presentation at the LDS South Bay Youth Conference in East San Jose, CA. Have you every really wondered where you came from, and why you're here? What if I told you that you've been dropped into a sort of celestial boarding school, and you have incredible gifts waiting for you if you can return with high marks? Consider this a 'survival guide' to help you make it through the toughest part of your mortal school years.

1. Terra Firma
Academy

2. Earth

3. The
Terra Firma
Academy
A survival guide
by
ben bernards
#southbayconference
benbernards.com

4. Tip #1:

5. Discover
who sent
you,
and why
Tip #1:

9. Discover
who sent
you,
and why
Tip #1:

10. Discover
who sent
you,
and why
Tip #1: John 15:19, 20
If ye were of the world,
the world would love his
own: but because ye are
n o t o f t h e w o r l d …
Therefore the world
hateth you.
But all these things will
they do unto you for my
name’s sake,
because they know not
him that sent me.

12.
“Such longing for a heavenly home is real,
especially in view of how this life is designed.
After all, brothers and sisters,
when we rejoice in beautiful scenery,
great art, and great music,
it is but the flexing of instincts
acquired in another place and another time”
Neal A. Maxwell

14. Discover
who sent
you,
and why
Tip #1:
Once you
know
why
you’re
here,
everything
changes

15. Tip #2:

16. Trust the
rules and
trust your
Coach
Tip #2:

19. “Christ’s doctrines
pertaining to the
plan of salvation
stand like sentinel
scriptures to mark
and light the way.
His gospel
guardrails line the
strait and narrow
path to steady us,
nudge us, and even
jar us for the sake
of our spiritual
safety!”
Neal A. Maxwell

20. Trust the
rules and
trust your
Coach
Tip #2:
Rules,
commandments,
and programs
are WHAT we do.
Doctrine is
WHY we do it.

22. Coach
vs.
Judge
Who would you
trust more?

24. Trust the
rules and
trust your
Coach
Tip #2: Alma 7:11-12
“he shall go forth, suffering
pains and afflictions and
temptations of every kind; and
this that the word might be
fulfilled which saith he will
take upon him the pains and the
sicknesses of his people.
and he will take upon him their
infirmities, that his bowels may
be filled with mercy, according
to the flesh, that he may know
according to the flesh how to
succor his people according to
their infirmities.”

25. Tip #3:

26. Failure isn’t
optional — it’s
expected,
because this
is supposed
to be hard.
Tip #3:

28. "Unsurprisingly, therefore, this
mortal school produces some
soaring triumphs but also a history
filled with individual mistakes.
But we should not blame the
school, nor the curriculum! Least
of all, the Schoolmaster!
Meanwhile, brothers and sisters, no
o n e e v e r p r o m i s e d u s t h a t
discipleship in the last days would
be a picnic in the park."
Neal A. Maxwell

29. Failure isn’t
optional — it’s
expected,
because this
is supposed
to be hard.
Tip #3: He expects
and allows
you
to
get it wrong
so
you can
figure out
how to
get it right.

30. Failure isn’t
optional — it’s
expected,
because this
is supposed
to be hard.
Tip #3: He expects
and allows
you
to
get it wrong
so
you can
figure out
how to
get it right.

31. Tip #4:

32. Make-up
work is
available,
on one
condition...
Tip #4:

34. 3.00
4.00
Single Semester GPA
Cumulative GPA

35. 3.00
4.00
Single Semester GPA
Cumulative GPA

36. 3.00
4.00
Single Semester GPA
Cumulative GPA

37. 3.00
4.00
Single Semester GPA
Cumulative GPA
2 Nephi 9:21-24
D&C 19:16

38. Make-up
work is
available,
on one
condition...
Tip #4:
2 Nephi 9:21-24
D&C 19:16

39. Make-up
work is
available,
on one
condition...
Tip #4:
…that we join
His club and
follow His
rules.
2 Nephi 9:21-24
D&C 19:16

40. Tip #5:

41. The best
way to
know the
truth is to
test it
Tip #5:

42. The best
way to
know the
truth is to
test it
Tip #5:
Try it and
see.
But be
patient.

43. “Do not suppose that God
willfully causes that
which, for His own
purposes, He permits.
When you know the plan
and the purpose of it all,
even these things will
manifest a loving Father in
Heaven”
Boyd K. Packer

44. Tip #6:

45. When all else
fails, remember
your Heavenly
Parents love
you.
Tip #6:

46. When all else
fails, remember
your Heavenly
Parents love
you.
Tip #6:
“Our birth is but a sleep
and a forgetting:
the Soul that rises with us,
our life's Star,
hath had elsewhere
its setting,
and cometh
from afar:
Not in entire
forgetfulness,
and not in utter
nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory
do we come
from God,
who is our home.”
by William Wordsworth

51. The
Terra Firma
Academy
A survival guide
by
ben bernards
#southbayconference
benbernards.com

53. For a copy of this presentation,
follow me @benbernards or visit
benbernards.com