This is an automatic translation.
Teachers can be said to be called to:
1. In teaching gospel principles,
2. While using the standard scriptures,
3. By the power of the Holy Spirit
4. Always apply the teachings to individual needs,
5. I testify that the teachings are true.
“Perhaps the greatest temptation of the teacher struggling to maintain the attention of [a] class is the use of the sensational story. There are a number of these, of very questionable origin, continually being circulated throughout the Church. ...
These are not teaching tools: stability and testimony are not built on sensational stories.
Direction for us from the Prophet is dispensed through proper priesthood channels.
Careful attention should be paid to the messages of the General Authorities in stake and general conferences, and Church publications should be read regularly.
Meaningful attention will be accorded the teacher who establishes the reputation of being orthodox and sound in doctrine” (Instructor, Sept. 1969, 334–35).
Elder Boyd K. Packer said.
“When we teach moral and spiritual values, we are teaching things that are intangible. Perhaps no teaching is so difficult to accomplish, nor so rewarding when successfully done. There are techniques to employ and tools to use.
There are things that teachers can do to prepare themselves and their lessons so that their students . . . can be taught, and their testimonies can be conveyed from one to another” (Teach Ye Diligently, 62).
Emphasize that methods are important but that they should not be the focus of the lessons we teach.
They are tools to help those we teach focus on the saving doctrines of the gospel and apply them in their lives.
The Spirit is the real teacher and the true source of conversion.
Powerful gospel teaching requires not just preparing a lesson but preparing yourself spiritually well before you begin to teach.
If you are spiritually prepared, you will be better able to hear and follow the guidance of the Spirit as you teach.
The way to invite the Holy Ghost into your teaching is to invite Him into your life.
Elder David A. Bednar counseled.
“Our intent ought not to be ‘What do I tell them?’
Instead, the questions to ask ourselves are ‘What can I invite them to do? What inspired questions can I ask that, if they are willing to respond, will begin to invite the Holy Ghost into their lives?’” (evening with a General Authority, Feb. 7, 2020, broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
You are not teacher Holy Ghost is the teacher.
More important for investigator to learn than for you to teach.
As a teacher, one of your roles is to help your students accept the responsibility of learning the gospel on their own.
That is, to motivate them to study, understand, and live according to the gospel.
In the church, each person is responsible for acquiring knowledge of the truth through his or her own efforts.
Consider how you can help your students accept and fulfill this responsibility.
You first need to learn.
Understand what doctrine is.
Doctrine always answers question.
The Answer is Always The Doctrine.
A doctrine is a truth — a truth of salvation revealed by a loving Heavenly Father.
Doctrines are eternal — meaning they do not change— and pertain to our eternal progression.
They are foundational, fundamental, and comprehensive.
Doctrines answer the question “Why?”
The doctrine of the Plan of Salvation addresses why are we are here on earth.
The Atonement of Jesus Christ tells us why Jesus Christ is our mediator with the Father.
God is the source of doctrine.
It is not devised or developed by man. It is based on eternal truth and is revealed by God to man.
It can be properly understood only by revelation through the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:11-14; Jacob 4:8).
Some of the current confusion surrounding Latter-day Saint doctrine may derive from how it has been variously defined over time, which is primarily a question of semantics.
Commonly today, many Latter-day Saints define the word doctrine as those things which are eternal or unchanging gospel truths.
However, the term was much more loosely applied by past prophets to also include other types of non-eternal, authoritative teachings.
There are teachings that could be termed “core doctrines” or “eternal doctrines.”
In the words of Elder David A. Bednar, these are “gospel doctrines [that] are eternal, do not change, and pertain to the eternal progression and exaltation of Heavenly Father’s sons and daughters.”
Elder B. H. Roberts of the Seventy said that “the great framework of the plan of salvation” has “certain truths that are not affected by ever-changing circumstances; truths which are always the same, no matter how often they may be revealed; truths which are elementary, permanent, fixed; from which there must not be, and cannot be, any departure without condemnation.”
Elder David A. Bednar draws a distinction between three terms: doctrine, principles, and applications.
・Doctrines: eternal truths revealed by God.
・Principles: doctrinally based guidelines for the exercise of agency.
・Applications: actions we take in response to doctrines and principles.
A principle is a doctrinally based guideline for the righteous exercise of moral agency.
Principles always are based upon doctrines.
Principles tell us, “What?” Faith and repentance, for example, tell us what process we go through to access the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
They are not specific actions, but are guidelines for the actions.
An application is the actual behavior, step, practice, or procedure by which gospel doctrines and principles are enacted.
Applications help us understand, “How?” How do we exercise faith? How do we repent of my sins?
Elder Bednar said.
“Our tendency as members of the Church is to focus on applications.
But as we learn to ask ourselves, ‘What doctrines and principles, if understood, would help with this challenge?’
We come to realize that the answers always are in the doctrines and principles of the gospel”
“In your life as a member of the Church up until now, when learning the gospel and living within the gospel, have you focused first on doctrine and principles, or on application? ”...
...Everyone has been concentrating on the application.
Somehow, I don't know why, but when we try to improve things, when we try to make lives better, and when we try to help the church move forward on its path, we naturally gravitate toward application. It's like I'm getting lost. ……
Many men in the church are unable to base their answers on doctrine or cite scripture that explains the answer to this question.
This is the reason why home teaching doesn't work.” (Missionary Training Center, Provo, Utah, November 9, 2010)
