“Opening the Scriptures,” Ensign, Mar. 2001, 69
Opening the Scriptures
Part of the Savior’s greatness as a teacher is captured in the question posed by the two disciples He taught as they walked along the road to Emmaus: “Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24:32).
A worthy goal for every teacher is to be able to open the scriptures to the members of a Sunday School class so that they are edified by the Spirit and motivated to apply scriptural teachings in their lives. Equally worthwhile is fostering a love for the word of God. A teacher who values the scriptures and consistently teaches from them with enthusiasm and the Spirit can accomplish both aims. A young man who had such a Sunday School teacher said: “I could tell just by the way my teacher held his scriptures and made them come alive as he taught that they meant a great deal to him. It wasn’t long before they became very important to me also.”
As ward and branch Sunday School presidencies visit classes, counsel with each teacher quarterly, and participate in teacher improvement meetings, they can help teachers learn to teach from the scriptures. Presidencies might consider the following ideas:
• Invite teachers to develop a personal gospel study plan centered on the scriptures as outlined in part A, article 7 of Teaching, No Greater Call: A Resource Guide for Gospel Teaching.
• Review with teachers the principles contained in part B, article 12, “Teaching from the Scriptures,” in Teaching, No Greater Call.
• Encourage students to bring their own scriptures to class and ensure that, when needed and if possible, scriptures are available from the meetinghouse library.
As Sunday School teachers earnestly seek to teach from the scriptures, they and their students will come to understand as Alma did that it is “expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God” (Alma 31:5).
Photo by Steve Bunderson