The same counsel
is repeated in D&C 10:4, “Do not run faster
or labor more than you have strength and means
provided… but be diligent unto the end.”
As a seminary teacher,
I was being diligent, but to the exclusion of
all else. Desire to enthuse my seminary kids
with the gospel, coupled with my studies in
human resource development/communications, had
filled me with all kinds of ideas to teach the
gospel. And I was excited to do so. But going
full-force ahead with my plans meant that I
was leaving my family, my health, and everything
else in the dust.
I soon saw the
folly of my ways. I was out of balance and running
“faster than [I] had strength.” I wanted clarification,
so I sought a priesthood blessing. I didn’t
want to forsake my seminary class for my family,
yet I definitely did not want to forsake my
family for my seminary class.
I’m not sure what
I was expecting to hear in the priesthood blessing,
but what I did hear surprised me. To my astonishment,
one of the counsels I received in that blessing
was that “even the most worthy of endeavors
sometimes require less effort than expected.”
You’re kidding!
I’d always lived my life “over the top” (at
least, in most things). As a result, success
came easily to me. So I wondered: was it really
possible to achieve success with my seminary
assignment without “over the top” effort? That
phrase from the blessing stuck with me, like
some oversized prickly bur. Even days after
receiving the blessing, I couldn’t stop thinking
about that hard-to-ignore phrase. Could I work
less and still get the same benefits? It was
mind-boggling to me. I was about to find out
the truth of the matter, because after all —
I’d been admonished by the Holy Spirit to slow
down and I wasn’t about to ignore the counsel.
What ensued has changed my life.
In retrospect,
I now can see unsurprising wisdom in that admonishment,
even though I found it astonishing at the time.
Moderation really is key to so many things.
Unfortunately, I had been blinded in my pursuit
of excellence. In truth, I had been leaving
my children in the dust. They were spending
practically no time with their Mommy, and if
I had continued on like this through the years
(not just through this seminary assignment,
but through other future “important” projects),
I could see this lack of Mommy-time resulting
in potential future nights of sorrow on my part.
I could see myself
futuristically saying, “Oh, if only I’d spent
more time with them when they wanted
to be with me. Now they never want to be home
— only with their friends.” And carrying that
further, what teachings would they have missed
out on (which could have strengthened them against
temptation), simply because I was too focused
on teaching other parents’ kids the gospel?
So there was my
conundrum: I now faced working “smarter, not
harder” as I prepared for each seminary day.
But how to do it? This was quite new to me.
I struggled with not feeling guilty. As a side
note, it’s tough being a volunteer seminary
teacher at times. Instead of prep time being
part of a paid seminary work-day (with prep
and teaching actually being part of the
job), volunteer teachers squeeze lesson prep
it into the cracks of the day after their
other full-time job, parenting, house upkeep,
and so on. I’d had the funny opinion that it
should be really hard and require great sacrifice
in the effort. But there is a reason for the
moderation the Lord teaches.
And this is the
beauty of faith. This is the beauty of trust.
When the Lord speaks, whatever He says is possible.
There. Just like that. And it is our job to
apply it and to figure out later that He was
right all along.
Perhaps you, too,
are facing a time squeeze as you work to prepare
spiritually inspiring classes for your seminary
kids. If that is the case, here are a few ideas
to help:
1. Always, but
always, remember to start your lesson prep with
prayer.
We read in D&C
88:2 that for those who assemble themselves
before the Lord, to receive His will concerning
them, that the reward is the following, “Behold,
this is pleasing unto your Lord, and the angels
rejoice over you; the alms of your prayers have
come up into the ears of the Lord… and are recorded
in the book of the names of the sanctified,
even them of the celestial world.”
This can inspire
each gospel teacher to no end, to know that
the Lord is pleased when we approach Him in
humble prayer, requesting help to know His will
and ideas for our lessons. In fact, we are told
later on in that same chapter, “Organize yourselves;
prepare every needful thing; and establish a
house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting,
a house of faith, a house of learning, a house
of glory, a house of order, a house of God”
(D&C 88:119).
As we seek to be
organized, by preparing every needful thing
(but not by going “over the top”), and as we
establish a house of prayer, faith, fasting,
and all those other things, we indeed will be
blessed and receive inspiration from on high.
We simply won’t need to work as hard, driving
ourselves into the ground! Instead of relying
on the arm of flesh, we will be relying
on the arm of God.
2. Always, but
always, remember to PAUSE after prayer to listen.
So many of us (or
maybe it’s just me) rush immediately into the
activity awaiting us after uttering the final
word of prayer, “amen.” In fact, I was shocked
while serving my mission in Brazil to notice
the difference between the average American
prayer I’d been used to back in the States in
Sunday School and other meetings, compared to
the average Brazilian prayer in church settings.
It took me some
time to slow down and to incorporate that which
I was learning from my Brazilian companions
and members around me. Not only did the Brazilians
seem to speak more slowly during prayer (instead
of rattling off usual and customary phrases),
but they paused after saying “amen” — sometimes
with a pause that lasted up to nearly thirty
seconds! I embarrassed myself not a few times
when I immediately rose after saying “amen.”
I was ready to get going, only to see my companion
still kneeling, eyes closed, obediently listening
for a response.
At first, this
“pausing” seemed perfunctory to me, until I
noticed that my companion was sincerely and
humbling kneeling in a true manner of worship.
It wasn’t just for show. She really was
listening. I didn’t have this experience with
just my first companion; this was customary
for the Brazilians in their manner of prayer,
in most of the wards where I served. They were
taught to really listen to what the Lord might
tell them during moments of worshipful prayer.
This marked me
for a long time. I still realize its importance.
Prayer is essential for guidance, but so is
listening for the response to a sincere prayer,
whether that response comes in a form of intuition,
an impression of guidance, or (for some, perhaps)
an actual voice. So again, before getting up
from praying, make sure you pause for more than
just a few seconds — quieting your inner thoughts
— so that you can be privy to the impressions
the Lord really is sending you, as an answer
to your request for help with inspired teaching
your seminary class. A flash of insight is far
better than hours upon hours spent in a Martha-like
frenzy.
3. Seek to involve
your students.
One of the wisest
approaches (remember the “working smarter, not
harder” goal?) I have found for seminary teaching
is to seek activities that involve my students
during class time. This is the goal, after all.
We want our students involved in the
learning experience. As my current CES Director
likes to put it, “Let’s be a Guide on the Side,
not a Sage on the Stage.”
In other words,
don’t be a blabbing monotone up in front of
the class. Don’t be the person the students
tune out because of talking too long without
inviting their participation. Let them share
the spotlight some. Not only will it alleviate
some of the burden of lesson preparation, but
it will get them involved in explaining, testifying,
and sharing the gospel — one of the very things
we’ve been counseled as seminary teachers to
do!
Indeed, let us
seek for ways for the lesson to come alive in
the hearts, minds, and mouths of the students,
because they are the ones involved participating
in teaching it somehow, some way to their classmates.
As seminary teachers,
we are beholden to deliver the words the Lord
would have us speak, the witnesses He would
have us deliver. But we are also to make sure
that each day we’re also incorporating student
research time, student sharing time,
student testimony time. For our students,
these are the times when they learn best. It’s
all too easy otherwise for the kids to tune
out the teacher while he or she stands up at
the front of class, droning on and on about
some church history date or ancient prophet.
Just think about
it! What happens when our own adult Sunday school
teacher stands in front of the class, droning
on, lecturing, pontificating about some gospel
topic? I’ve looked around in Sunday school and
have seen the result — adults snoozing, checking
their PDA device, reading in the scriptures
on their own, and even passing notes to their
neighbors.
We ourselves know
what it is like to be on the receiving end of
a teacher’s voice that just won’t quit. Therefore,
it should be easy to put ourselves in the lives
of our students. The way a human being learns
best is by hands-on discovery. How do we do
that as seminary teachers? By getting our kids
into the scriptures — not just talking about
them in front of the class as the teacher! And
by allowing them to do this, it takes some of
the burden off of our shoulders.
We can do this
in so many ways. How to do so is really the
topic of another day, another article, or chat
session. But in the interim, each of us can
ask the Lord how He would have us teach. We
can ask Him to help shoulder the burden of the
responsibility and to learn from Him how best
to involved the students.
How do your students
learn best? He knows. Ask Him. Each class is
a unique combination of learners, and what works
for one class might not work for another.
Regardless of the
approach, you will know best. The Lord has endowed
you with your own unique combination of insights,
gifts, and testimony. I’d love to hear your
thoughts! Feel free to write us and tell us
what works best for you.
When students are
involved, whether by being asked to find the
most important principle (from their perspective)
from a block of scripture, or from helping their
fellow peer/student share an “ah, hah!” learning
moment with the class — that is a treasure
to share and a moment of rest for us as teachers.
And in so doing, we soon will find that we have
been blessed to create permanent spiritual moments
for our students — with time still remaining
for our own families!
Look
for C.S. Bezas’ new book, Powerful Tips
for Powerful Teachers, soon to arrive in
LDS bookstores Fall 2006!
