PREPARATION TO TEACH
When we are teaching by the Spirit, preparing our hearts is
far more important than preparing the actual material we will be presenting.
This is not easier; it is much harder. But this kind of preparation is
infinitely more rewarding.
Seek the Gift of Teaching
Boyd K Packer has taught us to pray for the gift of
teaching. It is a gift that has to be earned, but it can come. You never have
to teach alone.
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“Teaching that is nourishing to the soul uplifts others, builds
their faith, and gives them confidence to meet life’s challenges. It motivates
them to forsake sin and to come unto Christ, call on His name, obey His
commandments, and abide in His love (see D&C 93:1; John 15:10; Moro. 10:32).” (Increasing Participation in Lessons, John D Claybaugh
and Amber Barlow Dahl, Ensign, Mar
2001)
Being Prepared to Teach By the Spirit
“Seek not to declare my word, but
first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if
you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto
the convincing of men.” (D&C 11:21)
“…treasure up in your minds
continually the words of life, and it shall be given
you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man” (D&C
84:85)
“Spirituality while
consummately strong, reacts to very delicate changes in its environment.' We
should take care to completely avoid anything that would cause us to lose the
Spirits companionship.” (Boyd K Packer, Teaching No Greater Call, 13)
“We grow to love people as we serve them. When we set aside
our own interests for the good of another… we become more receptive to the
Spirit. As you pray for those you teach, ponder their needs, and prepare
lessons, your love for them will increase.” (Teaching no Greater Call, 12)
“Teaching by the Spirit requires first that we keep the
commandments and be clean before God so his Spirit can dwell in our personal
temples… We must, therefore, cleanse ourselves by repentance, by confession
when necessary, and by avoiding impure actions and thoughts…[We also] obtain
the Spirit by reading the scriptures or reading or listening to the talks of
inspired leaders.” (Dallin H Oaks, Teaching and Learning by the Spirit, Ensign,
Mar 1997, 9)
“To receive the Spirit in our teaching,
we need to desire that Spirit, be worthy, and seek it through prayer, with
humble hearts.” (Teaching by the Spirit, Gene R Cook, 92)
“When we study the scriptures
regularly and diligently, earnestly seeking guidance from the Spirit, we will
be receptive to enlightenment about how to prepare lessons. We will also be
prepared to receive and follow promptings from the Spirit while we teach.”
(Teaching no Greater Call, 14)
“Fasting has the tendency to humble us and cause us to set
aside the temporal world and our temporal desires and to focus on that which
his spiritual. It will draw us closer to God and thus allow us to speak by the
Spirit more fully.” (Teaching by the Spirit, Gene R Cook, 89)
“There are probably few things that will
increase our ability to speak by the Spirit as much as learning, understanding
and even memorizing some of the scriptures. When we allow the Lord to speak by
quoting or reading the Lord’s answers to the various questions of life, we will
find there is much greater power in our teaching. The scriptures will allow us
to speak for the Lord clearly and with authority. To do so, we must search them
and learn what the Lord has said.” (Teaching by the Spirit, Gene R Cook, 88)
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Be still and listen to the voice of the Spirit.
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Counsel from
Julie B Beck:
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Seek,
receive and act on personal revelation to do the Lord’s work.
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Be
still and listen to the voice of the Spirit
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Receiving
revelation requires serious effort.
“The best way to have the spirit of revelation is to
listen to and study words spoken under the influence of the Holy Ghost. In
other words, we obtain the Spirit by reading the scriptures or reading or
listening to the talks of inspired leaders.” (Dallin H Oaks, Teaching and
Learning by the Spirit, Ensign, March 1997, 7)
“We feast upon the word of God in the scriptures and
study the words of the living prophets. We fast and pray to invite the Spirit
for ourselves and the person we would teach.” (Henry B Eyring, The Power of
Teaching Doctrine, Ensign, May 1999,
73)
“We invite the Holy Ghost as our companion when we are
careful to teach only true doctrine… avoid even getting near false doctrine [by
choosing] to be simple in your teaching.” (Henry B Eyring, The Power of
Teaching Doctrine, Ensign, May 1999,
73)
“Power comes when a teacher has done all that he can to
prepare, not just the individual lesson, but in keeping his life in tune with
the Spirit. If he will learn to rely on the Spirit for inspiration, he can go
before his class… secure in the knowledge that he can teach with inspiration.”
(Boyd K. Packer, Teaching the Gospel, A Handbook for CES Teachers, 6)
“I ask every man and woman occupying a place of
responsibility whose duty it is to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ to live it
and keep the commandments of God, so that their example will teach it.” (Heber
J Grant, Teaching the Gospel, A Handbook for CES Teachers, 6)
RECOMMENDED READING:
Teaching No Greater Call Chapters 30-31
Being Led by the Spirit
“Draw near unto me
and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask,
and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Doctrine and
Covenants 88:68)
“Yea, behold, I
will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall
come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart. Now, behold, this is the
spirit of revelation.” (Doctrine and Covenants 8:2-3)
“[We] are willing
to put aside all our preparation and follow the Spirit’s direction. That is a
difficult principle to understand and an even more difficult one to apply… We
should be in constant general preparation by ‘treasuring up’ in our minds the
teachings of the gospel... and make specific preparations [to teach]… Sometimes
there will be an authentic impression to leave something out or to add
something. We should make careful preparation, but we should not be exclusively
bound to that preparation.” (Dallin H Oaks, Teaching and Learning by the
Spirit, Ensign, March 1997, 7)
“The language of
peace, as spoken by the Lord, embraces a sense of quiet confidence, comfort,
and warmth. It is gently and calm, amiable and sweet; it is temperate and kind;
it is orderly and identified by happiness, joy and feelings of love” (Joseph
Fielding McConkie and Robert L Millet, The Holy Ghost [1989], 14)
“The Lord will
speak to us in his own time and in his own way. This is usually by what the
scriptures call the ‘still small voice’ of enlightenment. We are often obliged
to act upon our best judgment, subject to the Spirit’s restraining impressions
if we have strayed beyond permissible limits. Revelation is a reality. It comes
in the Lord’s way and according to the Lord’s timetable.” (Dallin H Oaks,
Teaching and Learning by the Spirit, Ensign, March 1997, 7)
RECOMMENDED READING:
Teaching No Greater Call Chapters 4-9
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