Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said this about your calling as a teacher: “To teach effectively and to feel you are succeeding is demanding work indeed. But it is worth it. We can receive ‘no greater call.’ … For each of us to ‘come unto Christ,’ to keep His commandments and follow His example back to the Father, is surely the highest and holiest purpose of human existence. To help others do that as well - to teach, persuade, and prayerfully lead them to walk that path of redemption also - surely that must be the second most significant task in our lives. Perhaps that is why President David O. McKay once said, ‘No greater responsibility can rest upon any man [or woman], than to be a teacher of God’s children’.”
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
"A Teacher Come from God"
General Conference APR-1998
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1998/04/a-teacher-come-from-god.p7?lang=eng
Elder David O. McKay
General Conference OCT-1916
https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-david-o-mckay/chapter-12?lang=eng
To help us all with this "demanding work", The Church has prepared a self-evaluation questionnaire found in the appendix of the new Teaching in the Savior’s Way manual.
Improving as a Christlike Teacher: A Personal Evaluation
https://www.lds.org/manual/teaching-in-the-saviors-way/appendix/improving-as-a-christlike-teacher?lang=eng
Love Those You Teach
- I pray for those I teach.
- I express my love to the people I teach.
- I understand the needs and experiences of those I teach.
- When I prepare to teach, I focus more on the people I am teaching than on making a presentation.
- As prompted by the Spirit, I alter my plans in order to address learners’ questions and needs rather than trying to cover everything I have prepared.
- I reach out to those who are not attending class.
Teach by the Spirit
- I pray for the guidance of the Spirit in my life and in my efforts as a teacher.
- I strive to live worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost.
- I listen for spiritual promptings as I prepare and as I teach, and I have the faith to adjust my plans accordingly.
- I bear my testimony to those I teach.
- I help those I teach to recognize the Spirit’s influence.
- I begin preparing at least one week in advance, and I record spiritual impressions that I receive.
- The environment in my classroom invites the Spirit.
Teach the Doctrine
- My teaching is centered on the scriptures and the words of latter-day prophets.
- As appropriate, I use stories, music, artwork, and other appropriate resources to help those I teach understand doctrines.
- When difficult questions arise, I respond in ways that build faith.
Invite Diligent Learning
- I help those I teach become responsible for their own learning.
- I ask questions that encourage pondering.
- I invite learners to share their insights and testimonies and to strengthen one another.
- I ask follow-up questions to encourage learners to think more deeply about gospel principles.
- I help learners find answers to their questions, rather than answering all their questions for them.
- I provide opportunities for all learners to participate in discussions.
- I invite learners to act on what they learn, as guided by the Spirit.
- I follow up on invitations to act, and I ask learners to share their experiences.
- I encourage learners to study the scriptures on their own and with their families.
One of our Ward Sunday School Presidents recently used this as a handout in his ward's Teacher Council Meeting.
Please consider doing the same in your Wards and Branches.
Please take a few minutes periodically to review these questions to help measure your personal progress on becoming a teacher who teaches in The Savior's Way.