In our previous discussion of Mormon rhetoric, the idea of being "simple" and "sharing pure testimony" came up as the most powerful form of teaching. It was argued that perhaps any other way might not be able to conjure up those same emotions and feelings. At the time I felt that this was simplifying the topic a little too much--there's more to a sermon than being easy to understand.
The passages given from Paul, George A. Smith, and Neal A. Maxwell go a long way to help us understand what that really means. The advice Elder Smith receives to be "short" probably doesn't mean to literally be speaking for a very short time. Rather, it likely means to "cut the fat" as they say, and to share only what is necessary for the sermon to be effective.
Elder Maxwell then tells us how to properly be influenced by the Spirit, especially when preparing and teaching, lest we waste everyone's time. In his Do's and Dont's list, he mentions several things that suggest one thing: let the doctrine speak for itself, so the Spirit can do the teaching. This means presenting it clearly, with reverence, context, and power. There's nothing about fancy words in there.
Another important point mentioned by Elder Maxwell was to truly feel your discourse before you give it. To really believe it.
In Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's address at a BYU devotional in 1989, he begins by almost trying to prove to his audience--BYU students--that he cares about them and the message he's about to give. He tells them with a heavy heart that, "your hopes and dreams become evermore important to me the longer I am at BYU," and that, "your growth and happiness and development [...] are the central and most compelling motivation in my daily professional life."
Much like Jacob did before sharing a topic that grieveth him so, President Holland then went on to discuss sexual purity and the importance of staying chaste before and after marriage. Not once did the sermon have a feeling of a "guilt trip," where someone simply wants to make you feel bad about something. Instead, his sincerity and genuine concern for his audience and topic resulted in a sincerely heartfelt plea to follow Christ and His teachings.
The passages given from Paul, George A. Smith, and Neal A. Maxwell go a long way to help us understand what that really means. The advice Elder Smith receives to be "short" probably doesn't mean to literally be speaking for a very short time. Rather, it likely means to "cut the fat" as they say, and to share only what is necessary for the sermon to be effective.
Elder Maxwell then tells us how to properly be influenced by the Spirit, especially when preparing and teaching, lest we waste everyone's time. In his Do's and Dont's list, he mentions several things that suggest one thing: let the doctrine speak for itself, so the Spirit can do the teaching. This means presenting it clearly, with reverence, context, and power. There's nothing about fancy words in there.
Another important point mentioned by Elder Maxwell was to truly feel your discourse before you give it. To really believe it.
In Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's address at a BYU devotional in 1989, he begins by almost trying to prove to his audience--BYU students--that he cares about them and the message he's about to give. He tells them with a heavy heart that, "your hopes and dreams become evermore important to me the longer I am at BYU," and that, "your growth and happiness and development [...] are the central and most compelling motivation in my daily professional life."
Much like Jacob did before sharing a topic that grieveth him so, President Holland then went on to discuss sexual purity and the importance of staying chaste before and after marriage. Not once did the sermon have a feeling of a "guilt trip," where someone simply wants to make you feel bad about something. Instead, his sincerity and genuine concern for his audience and topic resulted in a sincerely heartfelt plea to follow Christ and His teachings.
important to me the longer I am at BYU
I hadn't noticed how much Elder Holland showed his love and connection for BYU students at the start of his talk. The times in my life when I have been most receptive to teachings are when I knew that the teacher cared for me. I think that's why it's so important for the gospel to be taught (and learned) in the home.
ReplyDeleteToo often I feel we emphasize the fact that we need to show people we love and care about them through our actions and deeds. This doesn't mean however tht they should never be accompanied by words. If we do care about something or someone we should tell them. That's exactly what Elder Holland did, and you knew that he meant it by the end of this talk if you didn't at the beginning.
ReplyDelete