Tag: teacher

Charity in Teaching

It is both unkind and ineffective to teach truths to those who are unprepared to understand them. A person who has learned and accepted a truth has an obligation to be as kind and patient with those she explains it to as the Lord was in bringing her to the understanding she was given.

You never want someone to reject truth. But if you’re going to teach something that hasn’t been understood before, you have an obligation to make the matter clear. You should prepare the the audience by laying a foundation using existing scripture, teachings and knowledge to show how the new concept fits into the existing framework. Just declaring something without a foundation to support it often offends instead of enlightens. It alienates rather than invites.

I’m somewhat concerned about those who try to get an understanding of what I’ve taught, but who haven’t read what I’ve written. In the material, I walk through existing concepts, accepted doctrines, recognized scripture, and language of Joseph Smith to first lay the foundation. Much of that may be familiar; some of it may be surprising, but I take the time to lay it out. Then, after clearing the path to the next ideas, using the existing body of recognized material, I go forward with something that may be new, or difficult, or challenging.

The book I am working on right now will introduce some important information that most people are unfamiliar with. But it will walk through, in the same patient way, building the foundation from which the conclusions are inevitable, and fit it into the framework of all that is known already. I know there are those who are unkind, impatient, or who don’t care about the audience. They will want to blurt out the conclusions, and only move quickly to the startling points. That is inevitable, I suppose. But anyone who does that is neither a good teacher, nor are they kind to their audience. They don’t care if someone rejects truth. They just want to be involved in the sensational, the surprising and the titillating.

Anyone who is going to teach has an obligation to bring along, in a kindly way, those they seek to reclaim from error. That’s how Joseph put it. If you think you have some truth and want to remove an error, you have an obligation to proceed in a proper and affectionate manner to reclaim them. (JS-H 1: 28.) When a new truth is introduced in a harsh, challenging, unkind way it will be disturbing, upsetting and alienating. Such a person is not a teacher, but instead an enemy to the truth. They make it hard for people to find their way back to God. It is wrong.

True teachers will always adapt to their audience and show kindness and patience to those they teach. When they are called upon by the spirit to rebuke with sharpness, they will afterwards show an increase of love, to make it possible to accept the inspired rebuke. (D&C 121: 43-44.) They want to bring people to a position where truth spreads, is accepted, and all can rejoice in the new light and knowledge shared between them.

This is not to say that all truth a person has should be always be shared. Unless the right circumstances arise, with a properly prepared student to instruct, some kinds of knowledge cannot be shared. But to the extent something is appropriate for instruction, the lesson should be adapted to the capacity and preparation of the audience. Some material may be appropriate with one person that would be inappropriate for another. Until an audience has first been taught basic information, they are unprepared to hear something further. We don’t discuss some things with investigators, but leave it until later for them to be taught. It takes about four years for a convert to receive the basics of the church. It takes years before some information can be put into context. Rushing to expose people to information is not only hasty, but oftentimes destructive. If you intend to be a teacher, and not an enemy to someone’s salvation, you should only proceed in the appropriate way, using kindness, meekness, gentleness, pure knowledge and love unfeigned. (D&C 121: 41-42.) Not haste, shock, surprise and ambush.

2 Nephi 33: 11-12

2 Nephi 33: 11-12:

“And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things, notwithstanding my weakness. And I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day.”

You judge. You decide. If you don’t believe, Christ will vindicate Nephi’s teachings, and you will learn just how wrong your judgment was. For Nephi will be at the judgment bar with Christ. You will stand “face to face” with Nephi as you stand before Christ. You will see, along with all those who abuse and treat true messengers as “things of naught,” that you have rejected Christ when you rejected His words delivered by one authorized to speak in His name. Nephi invites you to judge his words with the confidence of knowing that he was given power to say all he said. And he had the Lord’s confidence because he didn’t say anything about what the Lord instructed him not to speak about.

You will one day know Nephi was “commanded of [Christ] to write these things.” Nephi was commanded despite his “weakness.” In this context “weakness” is a relative thing. Because Nephi had seen the Lord his perspective allowed him to measure himself against perfection. It allowed him to assess the difference between the Lord as Teacher, and Nephi as servant.
The holiness, majesty and power of God were known to Nephi. He had already had the experience of seeing the absolute standard of holiness in Christ. For most people this will come at the last day, and will result in them understanding, for the first time, that they should have repented. (Mormon 9: 3-5.) Nephi had already been able to reconcile himself to Christ. Therefore Nephi knew of his own “weakness” and of the power of redemption found through Christ.

Nephi’s prayer was for the redemption of all. He hoped that “many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day.” Nephi knew he had been redeemed. Yet he identifies with all of us who read his words, and hoped all may be saved.

The measure of a prophet’s ministry is in the salvation of others. Nephi does not celebrate his own redemption. He agonizes over the salvation of others. He labors for the redemption of “many…if not all” of the rest of mankind. This is the pattern. Redemption causes the redeemed to work for the salvation of others. Perhaps it might be better put that the reason someone obtains the kind of redemption Nephi obtained is because they are of a character to work for the redemption of others. There is no reason to withhold the promise of eternal life from them, because others will be redeemed as a result of their redemption. They will labor, preach, teach, intercede, seek, pray, and work tirelessly to bring others to the tree of life. They become a fellow-servant with Christ and labor alongside Him in the work of redeeming others. This is one of the reasons for the parable of The Busy Young Man in Ten Parables.

Nephi is working directly toward redemption of others. There is no secondary or indirect route being taught. There is no attempt to get some kind of “activity” started, or to introduce a program to do anything apart from bringing you to repentance. He wants you to approach Christ directly through the power of the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, which will teach you all things you should do. He wants you to hear and speak with the tongues of angels. He does not want to entertain, distract, or emotionally move you. He wants you to come to Christ. Nephi only tells you the minimum about himself, giving only such information as may be relevant to his message concerning Christ. To the extent he is able, Nephi consistently draws your focus to the Lord.

There is great understanding of how a true friend of Christ lives, acts and thinks found in Nephi’s writings. They are a urim and thummim into what you find in a man of God. Imitations will always exist. But the real thing is going to be far more like Nephi than Joel Osteen. More sleeves rolled up and fewer cuff-links.

I do hope we may all join Nephi and are saved in the kingdom at that last day. I hope we recognize how great Nephi’s teachings are, and how they address our day with the message we need to hear and heed.

“of strong faith and a firm mind”

Consider this:

“[N]either have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men. For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness. And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.” (Moroni 7: 29-31.)

Note that angels show themselves to those “of strong faith and a firm mind.” Also, that the visit will require them to whom such visits come to “bear testimony of [Christ]” as a result of those visitations.

From Joseph Smith:

“A fanciful and flowery and heated imagination beware of; because the things of God are of deep import; and time, and experience, and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out. Thy mind, O man! if thou wilt lead a soul unto salvation, must stretch as high as the utmost heavens, and search into and contemplate the darkest abyss, and the broad expanse of eternity—thou must commune with God.” (TPJS p. 137.)

Note that the “imagination” is not useful in gaining communion with God. Fanciful, flowery and heated imaginative thoughts will detract, not contribute, to knowing Him. The only way is to possess the same mental state as Moroni refers to – careful, sober, solemn, deep thoughts are required. The mind must reach into heaven as well as the darkest abyss. The opposition of things in this creation and the balance of those opposites will cause you to encounter the worst as you strive to enjoy the best. All is kept in balance throughout the process.

A person can’t imagine they have salvation. They must “know” they possess it. The heavens should declare it to them. When the heavens bestow this knowledge upon a person, it is an anchor to their soul and they will never fall. But until then, a person needn’t suppose they possess something which God has not declared by His own voice to be theirs.

True teachers will labor to help you understand how real, deliberate, attainable, and necessary this process is to engage in. They will not ask you to follow them. They will teach you how to follow God, and obtain from God knowledge of salvation. False teachers will distract you. They will tell you all is right, that there is enough good being done in your life to merit God’s favor, and that it is not necessary for you to do more than belong to a privileged group.

You cannot possess the knowledge which will save you until you have learned for yourself that God lives, and that He has promised to you eternal life.

Purpose of Teaching

I must clarify something very important for readers:

Giving answers to people apart from teaching how to get answers is wrong. Wrong because just giving an answer alone creates dependence upon the one answering. That is not the way in which I have tried to proceed. Instead, I have tried to teach how to obtain your own answers. The whole purpose of teaching is NOT to create dependence. It is to make you independent from me, establish your own capacity to relate to and get answers from God.

I’ve tried to give answers and illustrations inside the greater context of teaching “how.” The answer is nothing. It is the “how” that matters.

Some readers on this blog have not read The Second Comforter and presume incorrectly that it is a book about me. It is not. It is a book about the reader. It is an explanation of how the reader can grow into the greater relationship which Christ promised to them. All the illustrations from my personal experience, with the exception of nine words only, are taken from my mistakes, errors, or setbacks. The personal accounts of mistakes then are followed by chapters which explain how you can do it right. That is a teacher’s role: to make the listener understand how they can do something.

It has become apparent that there are questions coming in from people who want answers completely separated from learning “how” to get an understanding of the basic process by which they can do it themselves. That was never my intention, never asked of me, and not something that I want to start.

Your development is your responsibility. I am trying to teach from my own experience how to grow. Some of you have demonstrated a remarkable capacity to grow, and have been directly benefited from my efforts. I view those people as such a triumph that I will always hold them dear. I look forward to eternal joy with these people. There are clearly others who have never realized what it means to be taught or how a true teacher is to proceed. I can help. But I cannot properly go beyond helping. I cannot be your guru, your answer-man, or your leader. Nor have I been called to preside. I teach. You must decide if you want to learn “how” to engage the Gospel of Jesus Christ and its associated blessings. You must avoid at all hazards becoming dependent upon me, or any man, as your guide. I am only here to help you in your own growth and development, and I am not here to tell you secrets, or amaze you with recitations of my personal experiences. That would be wrong for two reasons: First, it would do you no good, nor equip you with what you need. Second, it would be both prideful and arrogant, setting myself up as a light instead of pointing you to the True Light.

Questions that change the focus and which prevent me from teaching as a disciple of Jesus Christ cannot be answered. Therefore, if I cannot change the “question” into something I can use to teach, I will not answer the question.