If asked, most teachers and students would indicate the purpose of the 2nd & 3rd hour meetings is to help us learn more about the gospel. That sounds like a good reason, but it is missing the whole truth. The true purpose of our gospel class is to help build and strengthen the students' testimonies. Just learning is simply not enough. We must have the witness of the Holy Ghost confirming the truth of what we learn so it can lead to a change in behavior and allow us to testify of that truth to others. As gospel teachers we must keep this in mind throughout all of our preparation and throughout our lessons. If we are just intent on sharing information, we will more than likely miss the chance for the Holy Ghost to bear witness and help build testimonies.
Elder M. Russell Ballard shared these thoughts in the October 2004 General Conference on the impact of having a testimony: “Simply stated, testimony—real testimony, born of the Spirit and confirmed by the Holy Ghost—changes lives. It changes how you think and what you do. It changes what you say. It affects every priority you set and every choice you make.” This is the kind of impact we need to focus on for our students.
The second chapter in the “Teaching, No Greater Call” manual is entitled “Nourishing the Soul.”
There is much in here to help us understand the importance of testimony building over information sharing.
“There is hunger in the land, and a genuine thirst—a great hunger for the word of the Lord and an unsatisfied thirst for things of the Spirit. . . . The world is starved for spiritual food. Ours is the obligation and the opportunity to nourish the soul”
“Teach the doctrines of salvation; supply spiritual food; bear testimony of our Lord’s divine Sonship—anything short of such a course is unworthy of a true minister who has been called by revelation. Only when the Church is fed the bread of life are its members kept in paths of righteousness”
“Some years ago we visited a country where strange ideologies were taught and ‘pernicious doctrines’ were promulgated every day in the schools and in the captive press. Every day the children listened to the doctrines, philosophies, and ideals their teachers related. “Someone said that ‘constant dripping will wear away the hardest stone.’ This I knew, so I asked about the children: ‘Do they retain their faith? Are they not overcome by the constant pressure of their teachers? How can you be sure they will not leave the simple faith in God?’ “The answer amounted to saying ‘We mend the damaged reservoir each night. We teach our children positive righteousness so that the false philosophies do not take hold. Our children are growing up in faith and righteousness in spite of the almost overwhelming pressures from outside.’ “Even cracked dams can be mended and saved, and sandbags can hold back the flood. And reiterated truth, renewed prayer, gospel teachings, expression of love, and parental interest can save the child and keep him on the right path”
“Parents and teachers, our efforts to help our children establish a heritage of rich spiritual memories are never wasted. Sometimes the seeds we plant may not bear fruit for years, but we may take comfort in the hope that someday the children we teach will remember how they have ‘received and heard’ the things of the Spirit. They will remember what they know and what they have felt. They will remember their identity as children of Heavenly Father, who sent them here with a divine purpose”
“The youth of the Church are hungry for things of the Spirit; they are eager to learn the gospel, and they want it straight, undiluted. . . . “These students as they come to you are spiritually working on toward a maturity which they will early reach if you but feed them the right food. . . . “ . . . You do not have to sneak up behind [them] and whisper religion in [their] ears; you can come right out, face to face, and talk with [them]. You do not need to disguise religious truths with a cloak of worldly things; you can bring these truths to [them] openly, in their natural guise. . . . There is no need for gradual approaches, for ‘bedtime’ stories, for coddling, for patronizing”
“Teach the doctrines of salvation; supply spiritual food; bear testimony of our Lord’s divine Sonship—anything short of such a course is unworthy of a true minister who has been called by revelation. Only when the Church is fed the bread of life are its members kept in paths of righteousness”
In the news:
Three Questions to Ask When Teaching and Learning the Gospel
1. “What did I learn?”
2. “What did I feel?”
3. “What changes am I willing to make in my life because of what I felt and because of what I learned?”
Improve Quality of Our Teaching – Teach as the Savior Taught – Testimony Building, Not Information Sharing