More on Gospel Teaching

Continuing on with a discussion from earlier in the week, I want to go back to D&C 88, starting with verse 119, where we read the oft-quoted passage, "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God," which can easily be applied to our teaching in the church by replacing the word "house" (which itself can apply to our homes and the temple, among other things) with "class."

Other teachings in the next few verse also have clear applicability to formal teaching settings. Verse 122, for example: "Appoint among yourselves a teacher, and let not all be spokesmen at once; but let one speak at a time and let all listen unto his sayings, that when all have spoken that all may be edified of all, and that every man may have an equal privilege." Sounds like a good piece of class management theory.

Similarly, verse 120 has good advice about focusing the teaching by keeping an objective in mind: "That your incomings may be in the name of the Lord; that your outgoings may be in the name of the Lord; that all your salutations may be in the name of the Lord." By opening and closing with prayer we frame the learning experience with the proper context and purpose.

But less obvious lessons are also found in these verses. For example, in verse 121 we are told to "cease from all your light speeches, from all laughter, from all your lustful desires, from all your pride and light-mindedness, and from all your wicked doings." I will have more on this later, but the importance of establishing a learning environment that is conducive to being taught by the spirit is an important part of good teaching. This can be as simple as how the room is arranged or more profound, like the demeanor you have as a teacher and your relationship with the members of your class.

But I believe the most important thing we can know about gospel teaching comes from verse 123, where we read, "See that ye love one another; cease to be covetous; learn to impart one to another as the gospel requires." Caring for those you teach and knowing them individually is, in my opinion, the most crucial thing a teacher can do. Knowing the personalities and needs of our class members allows us to not just teach a lesson, but to teach a person.