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Help learners seek, recognize, and act on personal revelation.

“Help learners seek, recognize, and act on personal revelation,” Teacher Development Skills (2022)

Help learners seek, recognize, and act on personal revelation,” Teacher Development Skills

Teach by the Spirit

Help learners seek, recognize, and act on personal revelation.

Skill: Before responding to a student’s question or comment, pause and think, “What can I ask them?” or “What can I invite them to do?”

Define

When a student makes a comment or asks a question, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught: “Instead of thinking, ‘What am I going to tell them?’ the focus should be, ‘What would I ask them?’ And not only ‘What would I ask them?’ but also ‘What would I invite them to do?’” (“An Evening with Elder David A. Bednar” [evening with a General Authority, Feb. 7, 2020], broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org). When a teacher asks the question “What can I ask them?” the teacher can be guided by the Holy Ghost to either gain more information to see the learner more clearly or to know how to help him or her seek for and act on personal revelation.

When a teacher asks the question “What would I invite them to do?” the teacher can connect with the Holy Ghost to know what invitation to extend, and the student can better consider how to act on personal revelation.

Model

Look for how the teacher thinks before responding:

  • After class, Maria waits to ask how she can tell the difference between her own thoughts and the promptings of the Spirit.

  • Before I respond, I pause and think, “What can I ask that would invite her to seek her own answer through personal revelation?” and “What can I invite her do so she can learn the answer for herself?”

Click here to see a video of this model.

Practice

In class, Jafari asks the following question: “How can I use the Atonement of Jesus Christ to help me with things other than forgiveness?”

Before formulating your response, pause and think, “What can I …”

Note: The practice is not asking the question or invitation. It is asking you to pause and think, “What can I ask him or invite him to do so that he can connect with the Holy Ghost and learn the answer for himself?”

Annie says, “I’m never getting married. Too many members of my family are already divorced, so it’s not worth it.”

Before formulating your response, pause and think, “What can I …”

Nick asks, “What is the best thing I can do to prepare for a mission?”

Before formulating your response, pause and think, “What can I …”

Discuss or Ponder

  • What is your typical response after someone asks you a question?

  • What have you learned about guiding learners to seek and act on personal revelation?

Incorporate

Each day this week, imagine a student asking you a question. Before you respond, silently say to yourself, “What can I ask or invite them to do that will connect them with the Holy Ghost to learn the answer for themselves?” Then, throughout the week, when a student asks you a question or makes a comment, pause and think about what question or invitation you can ask them rather than what you will tell them.

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