WELCOME

President Ezra Taft BensonOnce we realize how the Lord feels about this book, it

should not surprise us that He also gives us solemn warnings about how we receive it. After indicating that those who receive

the Book of Mormon with faith, working righteousness, will receive a crown of eternal glory (see D&C 20:14), the Lord follows with

this warning: “But those who harden their hearts in unbelief, and reject it, it shall turn to their own condemnation” (D&C 20:15).

In 1829, the Lord warned the Saints that they are not to trifle with sacred things (see D&C 6:12). Surely the Book of Mormon is a sacred thing, and yet many trifle with it, or in other words, take it lightly, treat it as though it is of little importance.

In 1832, as some early missionaries returned from their fields of labor, the Lord reproved them for treating the Book of Mormon lightly. As a result of that attitude, he said, their minds had been darkened. Not only had treating this sacred book lightly brought a loss of light to themselves, it had also brought the whole Church under condemnation, even all the children of Zion. And then the Lord said, “And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon” (D&C 84:54–57).

Has the fact that we have had the Book of Mormon with us for over a century and a half made it seem less significant to us today? Do we remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon?

. . . If the early Saints were rebuked for treating the Book of Mormon lightly, are we under any less condemnation if we do the same? The Lord Himself bears testimony that it is of eternal significance. Can a small number of us bring the whole Church under condemnation because we trifle with sacred things? What will we say at the Judgment when we stand before Him and meet His probing gaze if we are among those described as forgetting the new covenant?

(“The Book of Mormon—Keystone of Our Religion,” Ensign, Nov. 1986, 4)

President Ezra Taft Benson

We need to use the everlasting word to awaken those in deep sleep so they will awake “unto God.”

I am deeply concerned about what we are doing to teach the Saints at all levels the gospel of Jesus Christ as completely and authoritatively as do the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. By this I mean teaching the “great plan of the Eternal God,” to use the words of Amulek. (Alma 34:9.)

. . . Just as man does not really desire food until he is hungry, so he does not desire the salvation of Christ until he knows why he needs Christ.

No one adequately and properly knows why he needs Christ until he understands and accepts the doctrine of the Fall and its effect upon all mankind.

And no other book in the world explains this vital doctrine nearly as well as the Book of Mormon.

We all need to take careful inventory of our performance and also the performance of those over whom we preside to make sure that we are teaching the “great plan of the Eternal God” to the Saints.

(A Witness and a Warning, pp. 32-33)

“STIR”

• to rouse to activity; • to evoke strong feelings in; • to provoke(Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary,

10th addition)

2 Nephi 28:19

For the kingdom of the devil must shake, and they which belong to it must needs be stirred up unto repentance, or the devil will grasp them with his everlasting chains, and they be stirred up to anger, and perish;

Jarom 1:11-12Wherefore, the prophets, and the priests, and the teachers, did labor diligently, exhorting with all long-suffering the people to diligence . . . . And after this manner did they teach them.And it came to pass that by so doing they kept them from being destroyed upon the face of the land; for they did prick their hearts with the word, continually stirring them up unto repentance.

Enos 1:23And there was nothing save it was exceeding harshness, preaching and prophesying of wars, and contentions, and destructions, and continually reminding them of death, and the duration of eternity, and the judgments and the power of God, and all these things-- stirring them up continually to keep them in the fear of the Lord. I say there was nothing short of these things, and exceedingly great plainness of speech, would keep them from going down speedily to destruction.

Alma 4:19And this he did that he himself might go forth among his people, or among the people of Nephi, that he might preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty, and that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions which were among his people, seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them.

Alma 60:10

And now, my beloved brethren--for ye ought to be beloved; yea, and ye ought to have stirred yourselves more diligently for the welfare and the freedom of this people;

D&C 18:6

Behold, the world is ripening in iniquity; and it must needs be that the children of men are stirred up unto repentance, both the Gentiles and also the house of Israel.

President Gordon B. Hinckley

I have been quoted as saying, “Do the best you can.” But I want to emphasize that it be the very best. We are too prone to be satisfied with mediocre performance. We are capable of doing much better.

(WW Leadership Training Meeting, January 10, 2004, p. 21)

Thus, it could be said that the power of the Word does one of two things generally:

Comforts the disturbed

or

Disturbs the comfortable

(See 1 Nephi 16:1-3 and Alma 35:3, 15)

TEACHINGTEACHING by the by the SpiritSpirit

Understanding the roles and functions of the various participants in learning and teaching

OVERVIEW To better understand the various roles and functions of each participant in the learning process, we must first identify who the participants are. Then we will take an individual look at the specific roles each participant plays. Finally, we will use the specific roles to identify a general function of each participant. This will allow us to discuss the implications of what we have discovered.

THE PARTICIPANTSTHE PARTICIPANTS

D&C 50:17-18

D&C 50:19-20

=

=

?

SPECIFIC ROLESSPECIFIC ROLES

D&C 79:1

D&C 29:4

D&C 20:59

D&C 68:1

Alma 4:19

Proclaim

Declare

Invite

Expound

Testify

SPECIFIC ROLESSPECIFIC ROLES

D&C 11:21

1 John 5:6

D&C 50:22

Alma 18:35

Mor. 7:32-33

Convince

Witness

Understand

Knowledge

Power

SPECIFIC ROLESSPECIFIC ROLES

D&C 132:3

Alma 32:28

1 Nephi 2:16

Alma 32:37

John 7:17

Prepare

Give Place

Desire (Cry)

Nourish

Do / Apply

Overview of Roles

Proclaim

Declare

Invite

Expound

Testify

Convince

WitnessUnderstand

Knowledge

Power

Prepare

Give Place

Desire (Cry)

Nourish

Do / Apply

GENERAL FUNCTIONSGENERAL FUNCTIONS

Proclaim

Declare

Invite

Expound

Testify

D&C 50:17D&C 42:6Alma 31:5

Preach

GENERAL FUNCTIONSGENERAL FUNCTIONS

D&C 36:2John 14:26

TeachConvince

WitnessUnderstand

Knowledge

Power

GENERAL FUNCTIONSGENERAL FUNCTIONS

D&C 50:19-21Receive

Prepare

Give Place

Desire (Cry)

Nourish

Do / Apply

IMPLICATIONS The traditional “teacher” is not really the teacher! The spirit is the real teacher! Therefore the preacher acts more as a guide, leading students to a watering hole of new thoughts and insights, and cannot be held responsible for the Students’ willingness or unwillingness to “drink”.

Elder David A. BednarI suspect we emphasize and know much

more about a teacher teaching by the Spirit than we do about a learner learning by faith. Clearly, the principles and processes of both teaching and learning are spiritually essential. However, as we look to the future and anticipate the ever more confused and turbulent worldin which we will live, I believe it will be essential for all of us to increase our capacity to seek learning by faith. In our personal lives, in our families, and in the Church, we can and will receive the blessings of spiritual strength, direction, and protection as weseek by faith to obtain and apply spiritual knowledge.

Nephi teaches us, “When a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth [the message] unto the hearts of the children of men” (2 Nephi 33:1). Please notice how the power of the Spirit carries the message unto but not necessarily into the heart. A teacher can explain,

demonstrate, persuade, and testify, and do so with great spiritual power and effectiveness. Ultimately, however, the content of a message and the witness of the Holy Ghost penetrate into the heart only if a receiver allows them to enter.

Brothers and sisters, learning by faith opens the pathway into the heart.

(Address to CES Religious Educators, February 3, 2006,

Jordan Institute of Religion)

AGAIN . . . The student must, therefore, take responsibility for his or her own learning. Once a student has been guided to the watering hole of new thoughts and insights, only that student can choose whether or not he/she will drink. (i.e. choose whether or not to seek learning by faith.)

Spencer W. KimballBecause the speaker is local, or dry, is a poor

excuse for not attending meetings, though it is often given. How very weak! If you sing and pray . . . you could sit through the next hour in worshipful contem- plation with profit even if the speaker is poor. It is your responsibility to make the meeting worthwhile by your individual contribution . . . .

One good but mistaken man I know claimed he could get more out of a good book on Sunday than he could get in attending church services, saying that the sermons were hardly up to his standards. But we do not go to Sabbath meetings to be entertained or even solely to be instructed. We go to worship the Lord. It is an

individual responsibility, and regardless of what is said from the pulpit, if one wishes to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, he may do so by attending his meetings, partaking of the sacrament, and contemplating the beauties of the gospel. If the service is a failure to you, you have failed. No one can worship for you; you must do your own waiting upon the Lord.”

(Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, pp. 514-15, emphasis added)

CONCLUSION

The Holy Ghost =Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth,understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together. - D&C 50:22 -

PrepareGive Place

Desire (Cry)Nourish

Do / Apply