Teaching

Teaching

Preach My Gospel

“'Preach My Gospel' is intended to help you be a better-prepared, more spiritually mature missionary and a more persuasive teacher.” (PMG p.v)

Some Inspirational Thoughts

Let's read examples of the best teacher the world ever has, Jesus, even from the age of 12:

“And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him was astonished at his understanding and answers.” (Luke 2:41-47)

Another example:

“And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? How readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest htat way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.” (Luke 10:25-37)

Now, why didn't Jesus give a straight forward and direct answer in reply? Why did he use a parable? Why did he refer to the law first?

From Preach My Gospel

“Our purpose is to teach the message of the restored gospel in such a way as to allow the Spirit to direct both the missionaries and those being taught.” (PMG p.29 + p.175)

“Speak from the heart.”

“Learn to rely on the Spirit to give you what you should say and do.” (PMG p.176)

From the Saviour

“by the Spirit, unto the elders of his church, and let us reason together, that ye may understand; Let us reason even as a man reasoneth as a man; even so will I, the Lord, reason with you that you may understand. Wherefore, I the Lord ask you this question – unto what were ye ordained? To preach my gospel by the Spirit, even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth. And then received ye spirits which ye could not understand, and received them to be of God; and in this are ye justified? Behold ye shall answer this question yourselves; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto you; he that is weak among you hereafter shall be made strong. Verily I say unto you, he that is ordained of me and sent forth to preach the word of truth by the Comforter, in the Spirit of truth, doth he preach it by the Spirit of truth or some other way? And if it be by some other way it is not of God. And again, he that receiveth the word of truth, doth he receive it by the Spirit of truth or some other way? If it be some other way it is not of God. Therefore, why is it that ye cannot understand and know, that he that receiveth the word by the Spirit of truth receiveth it as it is preached by the Spirit of truth? Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together.” (D&C 50:10-22)

Your Role and Responsibility (PMG p.3/p.92)

“Every missionary has an important role in helping 'to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man'” (PMG p.v; Moses 1:39)

“Your responsibility is to teach clearly and powerfully so they can make a correct choice.” (PMG p. 10)

“Your role is to help strengthen people in their resolve to change.” (PMG p.200)

“you are responsible to thoroughly understand the lessons and teach by the Spirit in your own words. Teach so that others will strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ, desire to repent, and enter into covenants with God.” (PMG p.19)

“You are commanded to reason with and expound the scriptures when you teach. Expounding the gospel means that you explain the meaning of doctrines and scriptural passages simply and clearly, relying on the Spirit to guide what you say.” (PMG p.182)

“Your purpose is not only to cover the material; it is to help others come unto Christ through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.” (PMG p.vii)

“Teach so that people will make commitments and prepare for baptism and confirmation...Learn what someone should know, feel, and do because of your teaching.” (PMG p.20)

“You have not finished your ministry until people are living these commitmensts, or in other words, until they have repented.” (PMG p.200)

“Make sure those you teach qualify for baptism and confirmation by making and keeping all of the commitments.” (PMG p.29)

The Power of the Spirit in Conversion

“True conversion comes through the power of the Spirit. When the Spirit teaches the heart, hearts are changed. When individuals...feel the Spirit working with them, or when they see the evidence of the Lord's love and mercy in their live, they are edified and strengthened spiritually and their faith in Him increases. These experience with the Spirit follow naturally when a person is willing to experiment upon the word. This is how we come to feel the gospel is true.” (PMG p.93)

“There is one language...that is common to each missionary – the language of the Spirit. It is not learned from textbooks written by men of letters, nor is it acquired through reading and memorization. The language of the Spirit comes to him who seeks with all his heart to know God and keep His divine commandments. Proficiency in this language permits one to breach barriers, overcome obstacles, and touch the human heart.” (PMG p.133)

“This witness of the Holy Ghost should be a central focus of your teaching.” (PMG p.103)

Preparation

“If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.” (D&C 38:30)

“You cannot convert people beyond your own conversion” (PMG p.182)

“The lessons...contain the essential doctrines, principles, and commandments that you are to study, believe, love, live and teach...They are organized so that you can help others clearly understand the doctrines of Christ.” (PMG p.29)

“To teach effectively, you need to obtain spiritual knowledge.” (PMG p.17)

“Acting on what you have learned will bring added and enduring understanding.” (PMG p.19)

“Effective teachers are always working to improve their knowledge and abilities. Although you will not teach all you know about the doctrine, your increased knowledge will build your testimony and your ability to teach with spiritual power.” (PMG p.19)

Check List

Teaching with Love

“speak from the heart, giving that which he is inspired to do, according to the interest and needs of the investigator” (PMG p.30)

“More important than speaking is listening. Be genuine. Reach out sincerely. Ask these friends what matters most to them. What do they cherish, and what do they hold dear? And then listen. Something in what they say will always highlight a truth of the gospel about which you can bear testimony and about which you can then offer more...If we listen with love, we won't need to wonder what to say. It will be given to us – by the spirit and by our friends.” (p.185)

Commitment

The Book of Mormon: For Enduring Conversion

“The Book of Mormon Testifies of Christ....by affirming the reality of His life, mission, and power.” (PMG p.105)

How do you affirm the reality of a person's life?

“Missionaries need to show how [the Book of Mormon] answers the great questions of the soul.” (PMG p.107)

“As we read the Book of Mormon with the guidance of the Spirit, it helps us answer personal questions. It teaches that prayer and revelation are the key to solving particular problems. It helps us have faith that God will answer our prayers.” (PMG p.107)

“The Book of Mormon also helps us understand that God's commandments are not a restrictive list of dos and don'ts but guideposts to a happy, abundant life.” (PMG p.108)

“The gospel can resolve almost any question or need.” (PMG p.108)

Furthermore: (PMG p.38)

Questions to ask your self,

What do you think the message of the Book of Mormon is?

What does it mean when we say that the Book of Mormon is true?

Resolving Concerns

“Investigators must resolve for themselves their concern and objection.” (PMG p.109)

“Learn to ask questions as prompted by the spirit, the right type of question at the right time can greatly help those you teach to to learn the gospel and feel the spirit.” (PMG p.184)

“Asking appropriate questions at the right time requires that you are in tune with the Spirit, that you listen to those you are teaching, and that you focus through out the teaching experience.” (PMG p.184)

“Effective teaching can be hard work and requires concentration and effort on the part of you and your companion.” (PMG p.184)

Let's look at some case examples of asking questions:

“And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he looked upon the twelve whom he had chosen, and said unto them: Remember the words which I have spoken. For behold, ye are they whom I have chosen to minister unto this people. Therefore I say unto you, take no though for your life what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothed the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith.” (3 Nephi 13:25-30)

“Or what man is there of you, who, if his son ask bread, will give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (3 Nephi 14:9-11)

Trust/Have Faith in the Promise of the Lord and the Light of Christ and the Truthfulness of the Gospel

“By obeying the commandments, people will grow in their testimony of the gospel, show that they have 'broken hearts and contrite spirits,' and begin to repent of all their sins.” (PMG p.71)

“For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ. And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit. And every one that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Father.” (D&C 84:45-47)

“THEREFORE seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. But if your gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:1-6)

Explanation/Interpretation: We do this missionary work and we need to be untiring. We declare that we are against any form of wickedness. We need to preach the gospel or else the people without the gospel are forever lost because they could never find the it. The devil has blinded them from the truth because he is afraid that the gospel would reach them. (Hence the gospel truths have power and he's afraid of it, therefore we should trust in the gospel and preach it.) Therefore, we should not preach anything else but the pure doctrines of the gospel of Jesus Christ on his behalf, which we are told to do.

More Teaching Style Inspirations

Consider the teaching situations that resulted in the book of Revelations and 1 Nephi 1, 8, 11-5

Especially pay attention to the visions of Nephi how the angel asks “Behold, what desirest thou?” (1 Nephi 11:2) and how Nephi was eager to receive answers and wanting more knowledge and edification and also how the teacher never directly answer the question, but shows the student something, and then explain.