“Principles of Teaching at a Historic Site: Forging Connections,” On Holy Ground: A Guide for Missionaries at Historic Sites (2024)

“Principles of Teaching at a Historic Site: Forging Connections,” On Holy Ground: A Guide for Missionaries at Historic Sites

Chapter 5

Principles of Teaching at a Historic Site: Forging Connections

At the site where the Lord has called you to serve, you might spend time in a quiet grove or on a riverbank. You might introduce visitors to historic buildings and artifacts. Your site might include vast, desolate landscapes or lush hills and forests.

During your time on this holy ground, you will come to know that the trees are more than just trees. Those historic homes are more than walls and windows and collections of old things. There is more to the landscape than sagebrush or small willow trees or towering maples. These places have meaning. They are places of promise and power—places where the Lord began to restore His gospel and where He continues to reveal Himself to His people today.

You have the benefit of serving at your site for an extended period. Visitors at the site will not have so much time to soak up its significance. Some will stay only an hour or two. How can you help them understand that the site is more than it appears to be?

Depending on where you serve, you may have many different opportunities to help people connect with the meanings of the site. For example, you might:

Greet visitors.
Orient visitors to the site.
Answer visitors’ questions as they walk through self-guided exhibits.
Introduce video presentations.
Guide tours of historic buildings and landscapes.
Recite scripts.
Speak briefly as if you were a person from the past.
Demonstrate trades and skills from the 1800s.
Lead activities.
Take care of the physical aspects of the site.
Help visitors learn about their family history at the site.
Post inspiring content about the site on social media.

This chapter covers principles of teaching that can guide you as you help visitors forge connections between their interests and the meanings of your site.¹

Seek Christlike Attributes

Your calling to minister to others at a historic site is an opportunity to be an instrument in the Lord’s hands. Through your words and actions, the Holy Ghost can teach visitors and help them connect with the site and its meanings. Because of this, personal worthiness is essential to your ministry. You prepare to be an instrument in the Lord’s hands as you strive to follow His example—to seek His attributes.

Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught of the effort required to seek Christlike attributes: “Attuning ourselves to the highest influences of godliness is not a simple matter; it requires calling upon God and learning how to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the center of our lives. If we do so, … the influence of the Holy Ghost will bring truth to our heart and mind and will bear witness of it.”²

Throughout your time at a historic site, refer often to chapter 6 in Preach My Gospel, titled “Seek Christlike Attributes.” The chapter’s principles, activities, and suggestions for scripture study can help you in countless ways. Here are a few quotations from the chapter, combined with questions to guide your service at a historic site:

“You express your faith through action. These actions include following the Savior’s teachings and example. They include serving others and helping them choose to follow Christ. You also express your faith through diligence, repentance, and love.”³ How can you exercise this kind of faith? What stories of faith can you tell at the site? How will your example of faith influence visitors?
“As you center your hope in Christ, you have the assurance that all things will work together for your good (see Doctrine and Covenants 90:24). This assurance helps you persevere with faith when you face trials. It can also help you grow from trials and develop spiritual resilience and strength. Hope in Christ provides an anchor for your soul (see Ether 12:4).”⁴ As you interact with visitors, what can you do to appropriately communicate your hope in Christ? In what ways does the site itself radiate hope?
“Charity is ‘the pure love of Christ’ (Moroni 7:47). It includes God’s eternal love for all His children. The prophet Mormon taught, ‘Pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love’ (Moroni 7:48). As you pray to have charity fill your heart, you will taste of God’s love. Your love for people will increase, and you will come to feel a sincere concern for their eternal happiness. You will see them as children of God with the potential of becoming like Him, and you will labor in their behalf.”⁵ Think about your interactions with other missionaries, with visitors, and with members of the community close to the site. How can you show your love for them? How will their experiences change when they know you care about them?
“Patience is the capacity to trust God as you face delay, opposition, or suffering. Through your faith, you trust God’s timing for His promised blessings to be fulfilled.”⁶ What opportunities do you have at a historic site to develop patience? How will your patience influence visitors and fellow missionaries? Can you think of stories related to the history of your site that teach the value of patience?

Personal Study

Sister Virginia H. Pearce, who served as First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, shared the following counsel about teaching in a Church classroom. Ponder how it applies to your ministry at a historic site.

“The skilled teacher does not want students who leave the class talking about how magnificent and unusual the teacher is. This teacher wants students who leave talking about how magnificent the gospel is!”⁷

Consider writing your insights in your journal. How might this understanding influence the things you say and do—or choose not to say and do—at the site?

Help Visitors Learn of the Savior and Come unto Him

The foundational purpose of the Church’s historic sites is to help people learn of Jesus Christ and come unto Him. The sites bear tangible witness of the great things He has done for His covenant people in the latter days. These sacred places testify that His Church is on the earth today—with revealed truth, priesthood authority and power, ordinances, and covenants.

Many people who visit your site are faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They have embraced the Savior’s restored gospel, and they yearn to receive all He is prepared to give them. Other visitors are members of the Church but have wandered from the covenant path. Others love the Lord but don’t know that His Church has been restored. Some visitors don’t know about Him at all. As you help all visitors connect with sacred places, you help them come unto Christ and receive His gospel more completely. Your teaching will be most effective when you testify of Him in natural and normal ways, without being preachy or overbearing (see “Communicate in Natural and Normal Ways” in this chapter and “Share Your Testimony Appropriately” in chapter 6). The following guidelines can help you:

Remember the Lord’s words in reference to the Restoration of His gospel: “I will show unto the children of men that I am able to do mine own work” (2 Nephi 27:21). When you talk about the Restoration, remember whose work it is. Speak reverently and openly of Jesus Christ and His power in the lives of individuals and families. For example, rather than saying, “Joseph Smith received a revelation,” you might say, “The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith that …” Rather than mentioning the power of the early Saints’ faith, you could consider emphasizing their faith in the Savior and His power.
Use the name of the Savior’s Church. In stories about events that occurred before March 1838, when the Lord revealed the name of His Church, consider using the phrase “the restored Church of Jesus Christ.” When you share stories that occurred later, you can use the Church’s full name (see Doctrine and Covenants 115:4). President Russell M. Nelson declared, “I promise you that if we will do our best to restore the correct name of the Lord’s Church, He whose Church this is will pour down His power and blessings upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints [see Doctrine and Covenants 121:33], the likes of which we have never seen.”⁸
Study and ponder the truths the Savior has revealed about Himself at the site where you serve. At many of the Church’s historic sites, He has restored truths about His divine nature, His Atonement, His power in our lives, and His Second Coming. The Book of Mormon, which bears witness of Him and His Atonement, is central to the history of many of the sites. At all the sites, the Lord has taught people about Himself as He has performed miracles in their lives. You can find ways to weave these truths into the stories you share.
Every day, take the Savior’s name upon yourself and receive His image in your countenance (see Mosiah 5:7–8; Alma 5:14). Visitors will feel your love for Him. As they interact with you, His servant, they will also feel His love for them, whether they realize it or not. They will find that your site is sacred not only because of the great things the Lord did there in the past but also because of the great things He does there today—for them.

Personal or Companionship Study

Ponder what the Savior has revealed about Himself in the places where you serve. You might find answers in the scriptures or in stories about the places. Consider sharing your insights with your companion.

Focus on Key Messages

Your site has key messages that have been approved by Church leaders. These messages are consistent with the history of the site and with the foundational principles of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. They express the site’s historical and spiritual significance.

Strive to understand and internalize the key messages for your site. Then make those messages the filter through which you see the site and its features. Just as having a specific theme helps you prepare for a sacrament meeting talk or a teaching visit, key messages help you prepare to guide visitors at sacred historic places. They can influence your decisions about which stories to tell and which stories not to tell, which artifacts deserve close attention and which artifacts do not.

Your site guide includes interesting historical information about the places where you serve. Remember that much of this historical background is just that—background. Most visitors are not ready or willing to listen to that much information. Use the information to prepare yourself and to answer visitors’ questions, but always remember that the most important details are those that will help visitors connect with the key messages.

Instead of telling visitors what the key messages are, find ways to weave the messages into the information and stories you share. As you do so, you will help visitors discover truth for themselves. They will not feel that you are telling them what to think.

For example, one key message for Historic Nauvoo is covenant community. In the Riser Boot Shop, it would feel unnatural for a missionary to say, “The key message of this boot shop is covenant community.” Instead, she might say something like this: “For George and Christiana Riser, this shop was more than just a place to sell boots and shoes. It was an expression of their faith. It was a place where they contributed to a covenant community, supporting and strengthening their neighbors. One thing they did was provide paying jobs for people in need.”

As you consider stories and other details to share at your site, ponder this counsel from President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency:

“Just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention. …

“We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best.”⁹

Personal or Companionship Study

On a piece of paper, list the key messages for your site, leaving space after each message. Review stories about the site from the scriptures, the site guide, Saints, and other approved resources. Below each key message, list stories that communicate that message. Some stories might relate to multiple key messages.

What can you do to weave key messages into these stories?
How might this effort influence the way visitors connect with the site?

Teach with Accuracy

The Holy Ghost is the most powerful teacher about the Church’s sacred sites. He testifies of truth. Good intentions or partially accurate information cannot bring forth such a powerful witness. Stories that are impressive and sentimental but exaggerated or untrue might tug at people’s emotions, but they do not invite the Spirit.

Visitors will appreciate your efforts to be authentic, honest, and true. To ensure accuracy in your teaching, follow these guidelines:

Rely on the resources listed in chapter 4 of this book. If you see inconsistencies in the content of these sources, use the information in the most current source.
Be cautious about repeating information and stories you hear from visitors or from other missionaries. If you are not certain that the information or stories come from the sources listed in chapter 4, search those sources before sharing the information. Withstand the temptation to repeat stories, no matter how inspiring they might seem, until you know they are thoroughly and authoritatively documented.
When you are unsure about the answer to a question, be confident and humble enough to say, “I don’t know.” This answer is always acceptable. It is better than sharing information that might be inaccurate.

Communicate in Natural and Normal Ways

Speaking about sharing the gospel, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, “Always look for opportunities to bring up your faith in natural and normal ways with people.”¹⁰ This counsel applies to your work at a historic site. When you guide visitors through a sacred historic place, you are not a performer. You can be yourself—your best self—in a dignified manner that honors your calling. The Lord called you to minister to others in this place because of gifts He has given you. No matter what you are doing—greeting visitors, weeding a flower garden, or telling a sacred story—you can smile, enjoy the experience, and communicate in natural and normal ways.

If you are overly expressive or dramatic, or even if you try too hard to communicate reverence or spirituality, many visitors will feel uncomfortable. They prefer to talk with a real person who has real understanding and real feelings. When they sense your authenticity, they will sense the authenticity and truth of the words you speak.

The more you know about the site’s stories and key messages, the more you will be able to share them in natural and normal ways. You will be able to talk about them as easily as you might talk about your family, your favorite meal, or things you like to do at home. These stories and messages will become part of you. You can help visitors take the stories and messages into their hearts as well.

Companionship Study or Site Training

Throughout the world, dedicated professionals and volunteers give service that is similar to the work you do. They guide people’s experiences in places like historic sites, visitors’ centers, and national parks. The professional term for their work is heritage interpretation—often simply referred to as interpretation.

You have been called and set apart as a missionary to share the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, so your service is different from the work of tour guides and park rangers. But in many ways, you do similar work: you help visitors make meaningful connections with places that are important to you and to them.

The following statements are about the field of interpretation. They were not written about the Church’s historic sites, and they were not written by members of the Church. They are somewhat complex, and they use words such as revelation, inspiration, and spiritual in ways that are different from the ways Latter-day Saints use the words. However, as you read them, you can find valuable applications to your missionary service. Take time to read them and discuss the principles they share.

Sam Ham, an experienced teacher of interpretation, has defined interpretation as “a mission-based approach to communication aimed at provoking in audiences the discovery of personal meaning and the forging of personal connections with things, places, people, and concepts.”¹¹

How does this statement relate to the work you do?
What does it mean to you to help people discover personal meaning and forge personal connections at the places where you serve?

Freeman Tilden, a pioneer in the field of interpretation, said that individuals who serve as interpreters “are engaged in the work of revealing, to such visitors as desire the service, something of beauty and wonder, the inspiration and spiritual meaning that lie behind what the visitor can with his senses perceive.” He continued: “Interpretation is the revelation of a larger truth that lies behind any statement of fact. … Interpretation is revelation based upon information.”¹²

As you have spent time at your site, what have you learned about the importance of going beyond statements of fact?
What are some of the larger truths you have learned about Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the restored gospel? How can you help people discover these truths when they visit the site?

Tilden taught that true interpretation leads to provocation. In other words, it inspires people to think, learn, understand, and act. “Not with the mere recitation of facts,” he said. “Not with the names of things, but by exposing the soul of things—those truths that lie behind what you are showing your visitor. Nor yet by sermonizing; nor yet by lecturing; not by instruction but by provocation.”¹³ He emphasized: “The job is very little to instruct, but rather to provoke the desire to know. One plants this seed of provocation, and will not know the harvest, nor need worry about that, if it be that one has demonstrated that the beauty that lies behind what the eye sees is far greater than that which is so seen.”¹⁴

Why do you think reciting facts, sermonizing, and lecturing do not often “provoke the desire to know”? What are some methods that are more effective?
What can you do to help visitors understand the beauty beyond what they can see or hear?