Crabby Abi's Blabbing

Once a month we have a seminary teachers’ inservice meeting. Sister Morgan usually assigns us an article or two to read before going to the meeting. This week’s article was a Conference talk given by President (then Elder) Eyring titled “The Power of Teaching Doctrine.”

There are a couple of things in the article that really stood out to me. The first was this:

The need to open eyes and hearts tells us how we must teach doctrine. Doctrine gains its power as the Holy Ghost confirms that it is true. We prepare those we teach, as best we can, to receive the quiet promptings of the still, small voice. That takes at least some faith in Jesus Christ. It takes at least some humility, some willingness to surrender to the Savior’s will for us. The person you would help may have little of either, but you can urge that they desire to believe. More than that, you can take confidence from another of the powers of doctrine. Truth can prepare its own way. Simply hearing the words of doctrine can plant the seed of faith in the heart. And even a tiny seed of faith in Jesus Christ invites the Spirit.

To me this means that we try our hardest just to plant seeds and help lead those we help towards a small seed of faith. Once that small seed of faith has been planted, the Spirit can enter and teach the truthfulness of all things.

The second, and probably my favorite part of the talk was this part:

We have the greatest opportunity with the young. The best time to teach is early, while children are still immune to the temptations of their mortal enemy, and long before the words of truth may be harder for them to hear in the noise of their personal struggles.

A wise parent would never miss a chance to gather children together to learn of the doctrine of Jesus Christ. Such moments are so rare in comparison with the efforts of the enemy. For every hour the power of doctrine is introduced into a child’s life, there may be hundreds of hours of message and images denying or ignoring the saving truths.

The question should not be whether we are too tired to prepare to teach doctrine or whether it wouldn’t be better to draw a child closer by just having fun or whether the child isn’t beginning to think that we preach too much. The question must be, “With so little time and so few opportunities, what words of doctrine from me will fortify them against the attacks on their faith which are sure to come?” The words you speak today may be the ones they remember. And today will soon be gone.

I love President Eyring and I’m so grateful for these words of wisdom. He also talks about how little children are ready to hear the doctrine of Jesus Christ. Reading this complete talk helped to remind me that my kids are ready for the doctrines. They don’t need games and gimmicks – just truth. They need the doctrine. The Spirit will provide more for them than a game ever could.