Micro-Training # 17

Teach by the Spirit
Help learners seek, recognize, and act on personal revelation

Theme

How to learn to better use the power of the Holy Ghost to enhance our teaching and our students' learning.

Illustrate

Students should understand that they are attending class to come to know Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, and to progress toward eternal life through a study of the scriptures and the words of the prophets.

Students should believe that through approaching the Lord in an attitude of inquiry and prayer, they can be taught and edified by the Holy Ghost. As teachers and students approach the study of the scriptures with the expectation to learn through the Spirit and from one another, they cultivate an environment that invites revelation.

The Holy Ghost can impress upon the minds and hearts of the students the significance of a doctrine or principle and can give the students a desire to implement the principle and the strength to do so. You should make every effort to facilitate this experience for each student in your class.

Helping others learn individually by the Spirit requires sensitivity to and trust in the Holy Ghost. He will guide discovery, understanding, and application of truth for both students and teachers as they invite His help. One of the most important things you can do as a teacher is to help those you teach recognize the influence of the Holy Ghost. Help them associate their spiritual feelings with the influence of the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost reveals “things as they really are and as they really will be” (Jacob 4:13). As students are invited to look inward and evaluate their own understanding and conviction, they can become aware of what they already know and invite the Holy Ghost to help them identify what they need to know, feel, and do to draw closer to Jesus Christ and become more like Him. This awareness can increase students’ desire and confidence to recognize how the Lord teaches them individually and to act in faith.

Here are two teachings from the president of the Church, Russell M. Nelson:

“Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, and regular time committed to temple and family history work.”

(Russell M. Nelson, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” general conference, Apr. 2018)


“We also hear Him more clearly as we refine our ability to recognize the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. It has never been more imperative to know how the Spirit speaks to you than right now. In the Godhead, the Holy Ghost is the messenger. He will bring thoughts to your mind which the Father and Son want you to receive. He is the Comforter. He will bring a feeling of peace to your heart. He testifies of truth and will confirm what is true as you hear and read the word of the Lord. I renew my plea for you to do whatever it takes to increase your spiritual capacity to receive personal revelation. Doing so will help you know how to move ahead with your life, what to do during times of crisis, and how to discern and avoid the temptations and the deceptions of the adversary.”

(Russell M. Nelson, “Hear Him,” general conference, Apr. 2020)

Here are some suggestions for giving your students time to meditate during your lesson and feel the voice of the Holy Ghost:

Invitation to act

In your next lesson, try to help your students realize that they also have a responsibility to foster the presence of the Spirit in the classroom (D&C 50:19) and in their hearts (2 Nephi 33:1) in order to to receive personal revelations.

Share your thoughts, experiences or questions with other teachers on your stake teacher's WhatsApp group.

If you would like to spend more time on this topic, I invite you to do the proposed exercise by clicking on this button.