A Teacher Come From God

SUPERIOR TEACHING

Jeffrey R. Holland, in his book, Broken Things to Mend, from the Chapter entitled, 'A Teacher Come from God,' has said, "Now, at a time when people everywhere need more faith through hearing the word of God, we must revitalize and reenthrone superior teaching in the Church—at home, from the pulpit, in our administrative meetings, and surely in the classroom. Inspired teaching must never become a lost art in the Church, and we must make certain our quest for it does not become a lost tradition.

President Spencer W. Kimball once pled: 'Stake presidents, bishops, and branch presidents, please take a particular interest in improving the quality of teaching in the Church. . . . I fear,' he said, 'that all too often many of our members come to Church, sit through a class or a meeting and . . . then return home having been largely [uninspired]. It is especially unfortunate when this happens at a time . . . of stress, temptation, or crisis [in their life].'

On this subject President Gordon B. Hinckley said: 'Effective teaching is the very essence of leadership in the Church.  May I repeat that? Effective teaching is the very essence of leadership in the Church.  Eternal life,' President Hinckley continued, 'will come only as men and women are taught with such effectiveness that they change and discipline their lives. They cannot be coerced into righteousness or into heaven. They must be led, and that means teaching."

Prepare lessons well.  Give scripturally based sermons.  Teach the revealed doctrine.  Bear heartfelt testimony.  Pray and practice and try to improve. 

May we exalt the teaching experience within the home and within the Church and improve our every effort to edify and instruct.  In all of our meetings and all of our messages may we nourish by the good word of God.  May our children and new converts, our neighbors and new friends, say of our honest efforts, 'Thou art a teacher come from God.'"

The Savior

TEACHING AS CHRIST TAUGHT  (By Robert J. Matthews)

"An idea put forth by Earl V. Pullias of the University of Southern California has become popular among several modern educators. He said, 'One can be no greater as a teacher than he is as a person.'

You teachers, the testimony that you bear, the spirit with which you teach and with which you lead, is one of the most important assets that you can have, as you help to strengthen those who need so much, wherein you have so much to give.  Jesus is the greatest of all teachers because he is the greatest of all persons. He stood on the higher ground and excelled in every way.

We cannot avoid wondering how many more times the Savior enhanced a teaching situation with a glance, a step forward, a raised hand, a louder or softer tone of voice, an inflection or emphasis on a word, a rapidly spoken phrase, a long silent pause, a quick retort, and so on. Undoubtedly Jesus' entire personality-all that he was physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally-served to convey the particular teaching of the moment. As was the case with Jesus, the teacher can be the most effective audiovisual aid there is.

Who in this world does not need the teachings and saving power of Jesus? Who among all mankind is truly righteous without the gospel of Christ? Can anyone be redeemed without the Redeemer? Is there any other way? Is there any other salvation? When Jesus said he was sent only to the sick, that was true; but who among all mankind is not sick?

Learning from 'my Father in heaven' represents learning by the Spirit, by revelation. There is an essential difference between the knowledge of the world and the knowledge of the Spirit: knowledge obtained through revelation saves one's soul: worldly knowledge, even if correct, cannot cleanse the soul nor qualify one for the celestial kingdom.

The Spirit reveals things absolutely essential to One's salvation, things that cannot be learned through the mortal, physical senses. Such things are learned through the Spirit, or they are not learned at all.

Jesus also taught by example. He prepared himself for his ministry and for the work he had to do. He fasted, he prayed, he read the scriptures. And he taught.

I have a love for the New Testament, especially as it has been made plainer through latter-day revelation and the teachings of the Brethren. There is a joy in learning about the Savior. My heart and mind have been made glad by the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, his compassion, his courage, his humility, his manliness, and his masterful ability to teach.

In the best sense of the word, he is a hero. I have a testimony by the Spirit that he is real. He is the Son of God; yet, I marvel, even in his greatness he has time for smaller things. He knows each of us; he knows our names and our joys, weaknesses, and trials. He knows and he cares. There is so much about him that 'I scarce can take it in.' He is our Savior, the great Exemplar, the Master Teacher."

(A small part of the words from Robert J. Matthews A Bible A Bible pages 222-237, Former Dean of Religious Education at BYU).

Testimony

Dr. Richard Lyman Bushman (Noted LDS Author, from the book, Why I Believe, by Compilation, only a fraction of his remarks are given here).

"No build-up of any kind can be found to the Book of Mormon—no preliminary drafts, no attempts at other kinds of literature, no wide reading that we know of. Joseph Smith dictated the entire work in less than ninety days, going on page after page without interruption or review of what was written. His wife, who watched him while he dictated (and took down some of it herself), said no manuscript was in sight. It all came from the mouth of this plain, visionary farmer.

While I consider the very existence of the Book of Mormon an intellectual puzzle that scholars have yet to explain, in the final analysis the marvels of the book are not the reason I believe. I don't think you can build a life on a few intellectual reasons. My real reasons for believing all these years are more abstract and more powerful.

The fact is that I find goodness in my Latter-day Saint life that I find nowhere else. When my mind is filled with scripture, when I speak to the Lord in prayer, when I comport myself in the way of Jesus, I am the man I want to be. I feel wisdom, concentration, compassion, and comprehension to a degree beyond anything I have known as a scholar or a teacher.

I do everything better under the influences that radiate from the Latter-day Saint religion. I am a better father and husband, I give more to my children, I connect with the poor and needy, I counsel my students more truly, I am more unselfish. Moreover, I like what the religion does for my fellow Saints, both longtime members and new converts. It welds us together into a community of mutual trust and aid. Latter-day Saints, in my experience, are people of goodwill. They give to each other and to worthy works of every kind. We care for each other the way Jesus said we should. These experiences in my own congregation have persuaded me that nothing is more likely to improve the world than conversion to the beliefs I have treasured all my life."