Teach

The thought came to me this morning that if we really want to have an influence in our homes, communities, and the world, we need to be good teachers. The Topical Guide has several subheadings about teaching: Teachable (a must before you can be a teacher), Teacher, Teaching, Teach, Taught, and Teaching with the Spirit.

A few ideas really jumped out at me today.

First, under one of the subheadings were listed the following as other areas to study: "Children, Edification, Education, Motherhood, Instruct" and several others. I love those words, and I love to think about them as I am going through each day with my children.

Mosiah 23:17 says that you receive the authority to teach from God. Before I teach anything, I need to be sure it is consistent with what the Lord would teach if He were here. That way, my teaching can be done with authority, and others will feel the presence of the Spirit.

Matthew 10:19 says that it will be given you what ye shall speak. Inspiration clearly plays a huge part in teaching. Only the Lord knows the specific needs of the person with whom you are speaking, and He can help us to know what to say that will have the greatest impact on that person's life. (Oh, I wish that were easier to do!)

John 14:26 tells us that the Comforter will teach us all things. This is something I need to remember. At times I will feel that I am just not smart enough or energetic enough to accomplish a seemingly-impossible task. And sometimes I don't even ask the Lord for help because I figure He wants me to work it out on my own, or I think it's not that big of a deal in the eternal scheme of things. As I think about it deeply, though, I realize I need to go to Him more, be specific in what I need, and diligently seek His guidance.

Jacob 1:19 "teach them the word of God with all diligence." That shows us where the source of our information needs to be. If all truth is based on the gospel of Jesus Christ, then by truly understanding the Lord's word, we will be prepared to teach truth.