The True Teacher
As you prepare to listen to and study the upcoming general conference messages, consider the topics and ideas that you might share under the direction of the Holy Ghost. You could share the feelings of the Spirit that you experience during general conference or even answers that you may receive.
Encourage your students to do the same and share their feelings and impressions from general conference with those around them. From Doctrine and Covenants 34:10–11 we learn that if we open our mouths to declare the gospel, the Lord will inspire us with what to say: “Wherefore, lift up your voice and spare not, for the Lord God hath spoken; therefore prophesy, and it shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost. And if you are faithful, behold, I am with you until I come.”
Doctrine and Covenants 34 is discussed in lesson 39 of the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History Seminary Teacher Manual. In this lesson, we learn about the Lord’s way of preaching His gospel. As we strive to preach the gospel, the Lord will bless us with the power of the Holy Ghost to testify of Him.
Whether you’re a student bearing testimony to a friend or as a teacher instructing a seminary class, the Holy Ghost will share the Lord’s message with those whom you are teaching. President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles reaffirmed that your role as a teacher is to teach with the Spirit so “the student will feel as well as hear the message” (“We Are on the Lord’s Errand” [address given at the Church Educational System annual training broadcast, Aug. 3, 2010], 2). He continued to explain that the ultimate teacher is the Holy Ghost, who comforts and reveals truths to God’s sons and daughters on the earth. It is the Holy Ghost who gives us the power to testify of God’s teachings.
Matthew O. Richardson, then Second Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency, expanded on this concept: “While we are all teachers, we must fully realize that it is the Holy Ghost who is the real teacher and witness of all truth” (“Teaching after the Manner of the Spirit,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 94). It is your responsibility to invite the Spirit and prepare an environment where He may come and testify truth to your students.
How to Share
Invite your seminary council, class president, or other class members to initiate a discussion online. Encourage them to challenge their friends to participate in the conversation by answering the following questions:
- How did you find answers during general conference?
- What have you learned through the Spirit?
- When have you taught with the Spirit?
Include #LDSSeminary in the post.
