“Chapter 19: The Lasting Influence of Teachers,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Thomas S. Monson (2020)

“Chapter 19,” Teachings: Thomas S. Monson

Chapter 19

The Lasting Influence of Teachers

“The basic goal of teaching in the Church is to help bring about worthwhile changes in the lives of boys and girls, men and women.”

From the Life of Thomas S. Monson

In his first general conference address as an Apostle, President Thomas S. Monson said, “I am so grateful for my teachers and leaders in my boyhood and young manhood in a humble, pioneer ward.”¹ Throughout his life, he continued to express gratitude for his teachers in church, frequently telling stories about their influence on him.

President Monson was likewise grateful for his schoolteachers. “I think it amusing that my elementary school music teacher was a Miss Sharp,” he said. “She had the capacity to infuse within her pupils a love for music.”²

As a university student, he had an effective approach when learning from his teachers: he imagined that he would have to teach the material they were teaching, so he worked to develop an understanding of the concepts that would enhance his presentation.³

President Monson instructed Church members in how to teach with power. “We are all teachers in some respect,” he said, “and we have a duty to teach to the best of our ability.”⁴ He also taught what the objectives of gospel teaching are:

“The goal of gospel teaching … is not to ‘pour information’ into the minds of class members. It is not to show how much the teacher knows, nor is it merely to increase knowledge about the Church. The basic goal of teaching in the Church is to help bring about worthwhile changes in the lives of boys and girls, men and women. The aim is to inspire the individual to think about, feel about, and then do something about living gospel principles.”⁵

Concerning teachers, President Monson said, “There is no privilege more noble, no task so rewarding.”⁶ He illustrated this point with the following story:

“Some time ago I overheard … three very young boys … discussing the relative virtues of their fathers. One spoke out: ‘My dad is bigger than your dad,’ to which another replied, ‘Well, my dad is smarter than your dad.’ The third boy countered, ‘My dad is a doctor’; then, turning to one boy, he taunted in derision, ‘and your dad is only a teacher.’

“The call of a mother terminated the conversation, but the words continued to echo in my ears. Only a teacher. Only a teacher. Only a teacher. One day, each of those small boys will come to appreciate the true worth of inspired teachers and will acknowledge with sincere gratitude the indelible imprint such teachers will leave on their personal lives.

“‘A teacher,’ as Henry Brooks Adams observed, ‘affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.’”⁷ President Monson taught that this far-reaching influence applies to all teachers—parents in the home, teachers at school, and teachers at church.

Primary teacher helping kid — “Build a bridge to each youth.”

Teachings of Thomas S. Monson

Parents have a sacred obligation to teach their children and set a good example.

Perhaps the teacher you and I remember best is the one who influenced us most. She may not have used a chalkboard nor possessed a college degree, but her lessons were everlasting and her concern genuine. Yes, I speak of Mother. And in the same breath, I also include Father. In reality, every parent is a teacher.

President David O. McKay reminded us that “the proper training of childhood is man’s most sacred obligation,” for a child comes from the Father pure and sweet, “‘a creature undefiled by the taint of the world, unvexed by its injustice, unwearied by its hollow pleasures, a being fresh from the source of light, with something of its universal luster in it. If childhood be this, how holy the duty to see that in its onward growth it shall be no other.’” (Improvement Era, May 1930, p. 480.) …

Prime time for teaching is fleeting. Opportunities are perishable. The parent who procrastinates the pursuit of his responsibility as a teacher may, in years to come, gain bitter insight to Whittier’s expression, “Of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: ‘It might have been.’” (John Greenleaf Whittier, “Maud Muller.”) …

Mothers and fathers, do you realize that we are making the mold into which the lives of our youngsters will be cast? To teach our children, we must be close to our children, and the place to get close to our children is in the home. We have a responsibility to set before them the proper example.

I think that I have never read a more scathing denunciation by the Lord than that found in the book of Jacob in the Book of Mormon, wherein the Lord said: “Behold, ye have … broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them.” (Jacob 2:35.) If our Lord would give unto us such a denunciation for setting a poor example, isn’t it logical to assume that he would give us his approbation if we set before our children a proper example? And then we can look back, as did John, when he declared: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” (3 John 1:4.)

If any parent needs added inspiration to commence his God-given teaching task, let him [or her] remember that the most powerful combination of emotions in the world is not called out by any grand cosmic events nor found in novels or history books—but merely by a parent gazing down upon a sleeping child. That glorious biblical passage, “created in the image of God,” will acquire new and vibrant meaning as a parent repeats this experience. Home will become a haven called heaven, and loving parents will teach their children “to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord.” (D&C 68:28.)⁸

There are those who delight to destroy faith rather than build bridges to the good life. … Since we cannot control the classroom, we can at least prepare the pupil. You ask “How?” I answer: “Provide a guide to the glory of the celestial kingdom of God, even a barometer to distinguish between the truth of God and the theories of men.”

Several years ago I held in my hand such a guide. It was a volume of scripture … containing the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. The book was a gift from a loving father to a beautiful, blossoming daughter who followed carefully his advice. On the flyleaf page her father had written these inspired words:

“April 9, 1944

“To My Dear Maurine:

“That you may have a constant measure by which to judge between truth and the errors of man’s philosophies, and thus grow in spirituality as you increase in knowledge, I give you this sacred book to read frequently and cherish throughout your life.

“Lovingly your father,

“Harold B. Lee”⁹

Teachers at church can have a lasting influence.

Let us turn to the teacher we usually meet on Sunday—the teacher in the Church. In such a setting, the history of the past, the hope of the present, and the promise of the future all meet. … The teacher is judged by his students—not alone by what and how he teaches, but also by how he lives.

The Apostle Paul counseled the Romans: “Thou … which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?

“Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery?” (Rom. 2:21–22.)

Paul, that inspired and dynamic teacher, provides us a good example.¹⁰

It was my experience as a small boy to come under the influence of a most effective and inspired teacher who listened to us and who loved us. Her name was Lucy Gertsch. In our Sunday School class, she taught us concerning the Creation of the world, the Fall of Adam, the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. She brought to her classroom as honored guests Moses, Joshua, Peter, Thomas, Paul, and, of course, Christ. Though we did not see them, we learned to love, honor, and emulate them.

Never was her teaching so dynamic nor its impact more everlasting as one Sunday morning when she sadly announced to us the passing of a classmate’s mother. We had missed Billy that morning but did not know the reason for his absence.

The lesson featured the theme “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Midway through the lesson, our teacher closed the manual and opened our eyes and our ears and our hearts to the glory of God. She asked, “How much money do we have in our class party fund?”

Depression days prompted a proud answer: “Four dollars and seventy-five cents.”

Then ever so gently she suggested, “Billy’s family is hard pressed and grief stricken. What would you think of the possibility of visiting the family members this morning and giving to them your fund?”

Ever shall I remember the tiny band walking those three city blocks, entering Billy’s home, greeting him, his brother, sisters, and father. Noticeably absent was his mother. Always I shall treasure the tears which glistened in the eyes of all as the white envelope containing our precious party fund passed from the delicate hand of our teacher to the needy hand of a grief-stricken father.

We fairly skipped our way back to the chapel. Our hearts were lighter than they had ever been, our joy more full, our understanding more profound. A God-inspired teacher had taught her boys and girls an eternal lesson of divine truth: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Well could we have paraphrased the words of the disciples on the way to Emmaus: “Did not our heart burn within us … while [she] opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24:32).

Lucy Gertsch knew each of her students. She unfailingly called on those who missed a Sunday or who just didn’t come. We knew she cared about us. None of us has ever forgotten her or the lessons she taught.¹¹

Lucy Gertsch and her Primary class, including Thomas S. Monson — Lucy Gertsch (back row, middle) with her Sunday School class in 1941. Tom Monson is on the first row, second from the right. He described her as “a most effective and inspired teacher.”

The classroom at church adds a vital dimension to the education of every child and youth. In this setting each teacher can provide an upward reach to those who listen to her lessons and feel the influence of her testimony. In Primary, Sunday School, Young Women meetings, and those of the Aaronic Priesthood, well-prepared teachers, called under the inspiration of the Lord, can touch each child, each youth, and prompt all to “seek … out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith” [Doctrine and Covenants 88:118]. A word of encouragement here and a spiritual thought there can affect a precious life and leave an indelible imprint upon an immortal soul. …

The humble and inspired teacher in the Church classroom can instill in her pupils a love for the scriptures. … The teacher can bring the Apostles of old and the Savior of the world not only into the classroom but also into the hearts, the minds, the souls of our children.¹²

We teach not only with words, but also by how we live our lives.

Who is the teacher you best remember from your youth? I would guess that in all probability it was the one who knew your name, who welcomed you to class, who was interested in you as a person, and who truly cared. When a leader walks the pathway of mortality with a precious youth alongside, there develops a bond of commitment between the two that shields the youth from the temptations of sin and keeps him or her walking steadfastly on the path that leads onward, upward, and unswervingly to eternal life. Build a bridge to each youth.¹³

Treat [students] with dignity and provide them your very best. You not only teach a subject; you also mold human nature. You light the lamp of learning, that your students will better understand their earthly mission. You, through your spirit, your faith, and your love, will bless generations yet to be born. Your opportunities are not dissimilar to the Master Teacher—even Jesus Christ, the Son of God.¹⁴

Frequently the profound influence one life has on the lives of others is never spoken and, occasionally, little known. Such was the experience of a teacher of girls, even twelve-year-olds. … She had no children of her own, though she and her husband dearly longed for children. Her love was expressed through the devotion to her special girls as she taught them eternal truths and lessons of life. Then came illness, followed by death. She was but twenty-seven.

Each year, on Memorial Day, her girls made a pilgrimage of prayer to the graveside of their teacher. First there were seven, then four, then two, and eventually just one, who continued the annual visit, always placing on the grave a bouquet of irises—a symbol of heartfelt gratitude. This year [1981] marked her twenty-fifth visit to the resting place of her teacher. Today she herself is a teacher of girls. Little wonder she is so successful. She mirrors the reflection of the teacher from whom came her inspiration. The life that teacher lived, the lessons that teacher taught, are not buried beneath the headstone which marks her grave, but live on in the personalities she helped to shape and the lives she so selflessly enriched. One is reminded of another master teacher, even the Lord. Once, with His finger, He wrote in the sand a message. (See John 8:6.) The winds of time erased forever the words He wrote, but not the life He lived.¹⁵

We should ever remember that we not only teach with words; we teach also by who we are and how we live our lives.¹⁶

Jesus Christ is our example as a teacher.

There is one teacher whose life overshadows all others. He taught of life and death, of duty and destiny. He lived not to be served, but to serve; not to receive, but to give; not to save his life, but to sacrifice it for others. He described a love more beautiful than lust, a poverty richer than treasure. It was said of this teacher that he taught with authority and not as did the scribes. I speak of the Master Teacher, even Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind.

When dedicated teachers respond to his gentle invitation, “Come learn of me,” they learn, but they also become partakers of his divine power.¹⁷

As we teach others, may we follow the example of the perfect teacher, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He left His footprints in the sands of the seashore but left His teaching principles in the hearts and in the lives of all whom He taught. He instructed His disciples of that day—and to us He speaks the same words—“Follow thou me” (John 21:22).

May we go forward in the spirit of obedient response, that it may be said of each of us as it was spoken of the Redeemer, “Thou art a teacher come from God” (John 3:2).¹⁸

Jesus Christ teaching — Jesus Christ is “the Master Teacher.”

Suggestions for Study and Teaching

Questions

President Monson taught that parents have a sacred obligation to teach their children (see section 1). What are some important things you learned from your mother or father? If you are a parent, what do you hope your children will learn from you? What have you learned about how to teach children? Why is setting a proper example essential in teaching children? How can parents help their children build strong faith?
Review President Monson’s story about his Sunday School teacher (see section 2). What can we learn from this story to help us be better teachers? How can we teach the gospel with greater power—whether in the home, in the classroom, or in other settings?
Review the qualities of good teachers that President Monson outlined (see section 3). Reflect on some of your teachers who have exemplified these qualities. Why were these teachers influential in your life? As teachers, how can we “build a bridge” to those we teach? How can we “light the lamp of learning”?
What can we learn from the Savior’s example as a teacher? (See section 4.) What does it mean to teach in the Savior’s way? Why is it important that we focus on the Savior when teaching the gospel?

Related Scriptures

Exodus 4:10–12; 2 Nephi 33:1; Alma 17:2–3; 31:5; Doctrine and Covenants 11:21; 42:12–14; 88:77–80

Teaching Help

“To be a Christlike teacher, perhaps the most important thing you can do is to follow the Savior’s example of obedience and live the gospel with all your heart. … You don’t have to be perfect, just diligently trying—and seeking forgiveness through the Savior’s Atonement whenever you stumble” (Teaching in the Savior’s Way [2016], 13).