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Quick Quotes on Teaching
 "In a hundred years, it
will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the
kind of car I drove.
But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."
- Forest W. Witcraft
Elder Gene R. Cook of the Seventy counseled: “Who will do the teaching? The
Comforter. Be sure you don’t believe you are the ‘true teacher.’ That is a
serious mistake....Be careful you do not get in the
way. The major role of a teacher is to prepare the way such that the people will
have a spiritual experience with the Lord. You are an instrument, not the
teacher. The Lord is the One who knows the needs
of those being taught. He is the One who can impress someone’s heart and cause
them to change.” When we teach we use a variety of methods, sometimes when the
teaching is in everyday life we don’t
recognize that we are using “a method”. No matter what teaching role you
are in, (mother, missionary, friend, etc.) by following Christ’s
examples of teaching you will have the Spirit with you and the people you are
teaching will feel it; then your teaching will be more effective.
"The Apostle Paul taught that the Lord's teachings and
teachers were given that we may all attain 'the measure of the stature of
the fulness of Christ' (Ephesians 4:13). This process requires far more
than acquiring knowledge. It is not even enough for us to be convinced of
the gospel; we must act and think so that we are converted by it. In
contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know
something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something."
-Dallin H. Oaks, "The Challenge to Become," Ensign, Nov. 2000, 32
There is a certain law in teaching:
If you aren't having a wonderful time, the children aren't enjoying it either.
This is the time to stop and realize that you are doing something wrong because
real teaching is a great experience for both teacher and student.
Elder
Delbert L. Stapley gave this advice to gospel teachers (Conference Report,
April 1969, p. 44): "A wise man, when asked to list three cardinal points
that exemplified the lives of the great teachers of all time and that
would be a guide to new teachers, said: "First, teach by example.
Second, teach by example. Third, teach by example."
If the Lord
Jesus were here, What He would say in this situation would be perfect. But He
is not here. Instead, He has sent me to represent Him. I should say what He
would say if He were here; I should say what He wants said. The only way I
can do this is to have Him tell me what to say. This revealed direction can
come to me only by the power of His Spirit. Therefore I must be guided by the
Spirit if I am to teach in my capacity as an agent of the Lord.
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