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Teach by the Spirit
Bear testimony often and invite learners to share
their feelings, experiences, and testimonies
Illustrate
The sharing of testimony not only blesses the person who bears testimony but can also strengthen the faith and testimonies of others. Testifying gives opportunity for the Holy Ghost to bear witness of specific doctrine and principles of the restored gospel.
Teachers should find opportunities to bear testimony of Jesus Christ often. Look for ways to speak of Him with reverence, adoration, and gratitude. Teachers should also find effective ways to invite students to share their testimonies of Jesus Christ with each other.
Asking questions that encourage students to bear testimony of how the principles being taught connect them to Jesus Christ will invite the Spirit. As students ponder these questions, they will recognize times when they have seen the Lord’s hand in their lives.
When students have explained gospel principles and shared their experiences in applying them in their lives, they are often better prepared to testify of what they have come to believe. A testimony does not always begin with the phrase “I’d like to bear my testimony.” It can simply be a statement of what a person knows to be true, spoken with sincerity and conviction. It can be a simple affirmation of how a person feels about a doctrine or principle of the gospel and the difference it has made in his or her life. Students can understand more clearly how gospel principles can be applied and feel more inspired to apply them in their lives when they hear the teacher and other students bear testimony of the value of those principles.
Both teachers and students should have the opportunity to share their insights and understanding as well as personal experiences they have had with a doctrine or principle. They can also relate experiences they have witnessed in the lives of others.
As students and the teacher testify of how they have seen evidence of this principle in their lives, the Spirit can testify of its truth and inspire them to act.
Dallin H. Oaks and Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught the following:
“There has never been a greater need for us to profess our faith, privately and publicly (see D&C 60:2). …We need to affirm the existence of God the Eternal Father, the divine mission of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the reality of the Restoration. We must be valiant in our testimony of Jesus. …We should use these opportunities to express our love for our Savior, our witness of His divine mission, and our determination to serve Him.”
(Dallin H. Oaks, “Testimony,” general conference, Apr. 2008)
“Your strong testimonies will sustain the faith of your students and will help them develop their own testimonies of the gospel. Their testimonies will be one of the pillars that will help them to recognize the power of Christ’s divine atoning sacrifice in their own lives. As they act upon their testimonies in righteousness, I can assure you that their testimonies can become their shield against the adversary’s attempts to weaken their faith and instill disbelief in their minds throughout their lives. This foundation will give them the courage to boldly declare the truths of the gospel to the world.”
(Ulisses Soares, “Striving to Become” [S&I Annual Training Broadcast, June 9, 2019], ChurchofJesusChrist.org)
Invitation to act
In your next lessons, take time to specifically share your testimony about our Heavenly Father and/or Jesus Christ. Ask your students to share their feelings, experiences or testimony. Observe what this does to the students' feelings and the influence of the Holy Ghost during class.
To practice your skills on this subject, you can do the following exercises:
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