Before identifying some marks of Spirit-empowered preaching,
it may be helpful to begin with what Spirit-empowered preaching is not. Particularly,
it refers to the act of trying to be someone else in the pulpit. Some Mormon speakers
do an incredible transformation, turning into an entirely different person on
the platform; nevertheless, the lack of genuineness is not a sign of the
spirit.
Preaching by the power of the Spirit is often tempted to
push the audience’s in order to elicit a response. In contrast, as speakers we
should avoid such manipulation and make an effort to deliver our messages with
prayerful hearts. Getting a verbal response is no a barometer for the presence
of the spirit, instead we have to communicate based on the principles we are
inspired to share. Similarly, we learn that “the man who has the fewest words
communicates his ideas“; this phrase suggests that every principle God has
revealed carries its own convictions of its truth to the human mind. Therefore,
during such a deliberate pause, the spirit will supply the evidence of things
not seen, and will focus on the teaching moment by becoming settled and serene
in your own heart.
Rhetorical Analysis
A speaker’s basic motivational drive is to discover and
validate the truth. While Elder Holland addressed the issues we are facing as
youth, he expresses his great gift of teaching the doctrine. It was during his
talk “Of Souls, Symbols, and Sacraments” that Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
recognized the responsibility that was given to him to speak to BYU students. In
addition, Holland’s talk was linguistically and rhetorically focused on persuading
the growth and happiness that we can develop as latter day saints.
Moreover, Holland’s style draws the audience’s attention to
the sense and substance of his words. The reason for the “Human Intimacy”
section was due to the social issues we are facing as a society that reflects
the current temptation of this time, giving the students an eye to the future.
I thought your point was very interesting and very true. However, I wanted to bring up a bit of a counterpart: What really defines successful speaking? As Latter-day Saints, we believe successful speaking is attained when the audience feels the Spirit or is inspired to change. Maybe it is with humility that a speaker is successful. In Protestant churches, or any other church where the preacher's livelihood depends on the contributions or the verbal and physical response of his congregation, success is when he excites the congregation. Success for another religion, particularly protestant, is when the parishioners pay a higher tithing or bring more to the congregation. It doesn't matter for them what the message is, or even if it was delivered by humility or by the Spirit, it must be exciting to the congregation and what they want to hear.
ReplyDeleteI think you add a great point, and I understood and agree with you. It reminds me of something Brother Burton mentioned in class, when he told of how a missionary had taken so much time giving his talk (or just speaking...there is a difference), that there wasn't much time left over for the high councilor to speak, and so when it was his turn, he stood up, bore a powerful, short, and simple testimony, and that is what Brother Burton remembered most. I think that is something for us to remember. Perhaps the greatest sermons are the ones with fewest of words. Isn't that how the Savior taught?
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