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TEACHING WITH THE SPIRIT

The Holy Ghost acts under the direction of the Father and the Son to teach, testify, enlighten, comfort, guide, and sanctify.  No matter how righteous a man or woman may be, they cannot fulfill the role of the Spirit.  We may say that we want to give our students a "spiritual experience".  We cannot.  We can do things that can influence whether or not the Spirit is present, but we cannot fulfill his role.  It is the the Holy Ghost that "carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men" (2 Ne 33:1).

Though we may master many teaching skills and methods, we can still fail to provide an edifying experience if the Spirit is not present.  Teaching by the Spirit is defined as taking place when the Holy Ghost is performing his functions with the teacher, with the student or with both.  It can happen during preparation time, during time when the teacher is interacting with the students, even out of class.  It can happen long after the class is over.

Roles of the Holy Ghost as related to teaching and learning:

1.  Shows a person what to do  (2 Ne 32:5, D & C 28:15; 39:6)

2.  Bestows "fruits of the Spirit", which include love, peace, joy, patience (Galatians 5:22-23;  D&C 6:23;  11:12-13)

3.  Gives "gifts of the Spirit" (Moroni 10:8-17;  D&C 46:11-26)

4.  Inspiration in a "moment's notice"  (Luke 12:11-12;  D&C 84:85, 100:5-6)

5.  Carry truth to the heart of a person (2 Ne 33:1)

6.  Enhance a person's skills and abilities (1 Ne 18:1-4;  D&C 46:18)

7.  Edifies teacher and student (D&C 50:22-23; 84:106;  1 Cor 14:12)

8.  Brings ideas, principles into remembrance (John 14:26)

9.  Gives us power of discernment (Alma 12:3;  18:16-35;  D&C 63:41)

10.  Testifies of truth (John 15:26;  D&C 21:9;  100:8)

11.  Allows person to speak with authority  (1 Ne 10:22;  Alma 18:35,  Moroni 8:16)

12.  Gives comfort (John 14:26;  D&C 88:3)

The importance of teaching with the Spirit, in my opinion, cannot be understated.  Sometimes we are tempted to "sugar coat" the gospel when
teaching.  Elder McConkie once said " If you want to know what  emphasis to give the principles of the gospel, simply teach the scriptures and in the process, you will have given the Lord's emphasis to every doctrine and principle."  In a conference talk not too long ago, and I can't remember the speaker at the moment, she said that the students should not leave a classroom thinking how awesome the teacher is, but how awesome the gospel is.

I have been in classes where the Savior has not even been mentioned, where the scriptures have not even been opened.