Hello, dear brothers and sisters.
Welcome to this special Teaching in the Savior’s Way broadcast with
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,
who presides at this broadcast.
He is joined by his wife, Sister Harriet Uchtdorf.
I am Ahmad Corbitt.
I serve as First Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency.
We are so grateful to be with you.
We also welcome Sister Bonnie H. Cordon,
Young Women General President, and Brother Mark L. Pace,
Sunday School General President, who are with us today.
The music for this broadcast was prerecorded.
Our opening hymn will be “Teach Me to Walk in the Light,”
performed by young adults from the Dominican Republic.
Sister Bonnie H. Cordon will then offer the opening prayer.
[“Teach Me to Walk in the Light” - young adults from the Dominican Republic]
Teach me to walk in the light of his love;
Teach me to pray to my Father above;
Teach me to know of the things that are right;
Teach me, teach me to walk in the light
[Music Playing]
Come, little child, and together we’ll learn
Of his commandments, that we may return
Home to his presence, to live in his sight—
Always, always to walk in the light.
[Music Playing]
Father in Heaven, we thank thee this day
For loving guidance to show us the way.
Grateful, we praise thee with songs of delight!
Gladly, gladly we’ll walk in the light.
in the light.
Our beloved Heavenly Father, we joyfully gather together as we get
an opportunity to hear from one of Thy beloved apostles,
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf.
We are so grateful for his life and his example of always teaching in
the Savior's way.
Father, we are so grateful for the opportunities that we have to teach
in settings small and large.
We’re grateful for the teachers of all ages.
Father, we pray that we might always testify of Thy Son, Jesus Christ,
of His life and His mission and His infinite atonement.
We love Him and are grateful for how that changes our life as we come to
know the Savior.
We are so grateful for the opportunities to learn more about
teaching, about loving, about ministering, and helping us be learners
always striving to come to know the Savior.
Father, we ask that Thy spirit may be with us in abundance, that we might
have eyes to see, and ears to understand in a way that it might
affect and enlarge our understanding to teach better, to love more
deeply, and to help those
around our influence to know Jesus Christ better.
We are so grateful for Thy glorious plan of happiness.
And as we strive to know the Savior and as we strive to love those that we
teach, we pray that we may feel and better understand more about
the eternities.
We say these things humbly, in the name of Thy Son Jesus Christ, amen.
Thank you for that beautiful music and that wonderful prayer.
We will first watch a video of teachers from around the world sharing their
experiences teaching in the Savior’s way.
This video illustrates that we are all teachers,
no matter where we are in life.
After the video, we will be pleased to hear from Elder Uchtdorf.
Following Elder Uchtdorf’s remarks, a multicultural choir from
Utah will sing “How Firm a Foundation.”
Brother Mark L. Pace will then offer the closing prayer.
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
on October 2nd, 2004.
He was the first Apostle ordained in the twenty-first century.
He served for 10 years in the First Presidency
and has served as a General Authority since 1994.
He and his wife, Harriet, grew up in Germany.
They have two children, six grandchildren,
and six great-grandchildren.
Sister Corbitt and I have long sustained Elder Uchtdorf and deeply
admire him and Sister Uchtdorf.
We have been inspired by their enthusiasm and the joy of the gospel
they radiate!
Since his assignment as chairman of the Priesthood and Family Executive
Council, I have had the privilege of working more closely with Elder
Uchtdorf and witnessing how the Lord guides His servants and uses their
substantial talents and gifts.
Elder Uchtdorf, thank you for your Christlike love and leadership.
We look forward to receiving your message following the video.
Elder Uchtdorf…
As a father, I think one of the most important responsibilities that I have
is to teach my teenage children to recognize truths and doctrine that can
be found in the scriptures that connect to them personally in their lives
and in their circumstances.
And that’s been a really important learning lesson for me to be aware of
the Spirit and to connect to them to be aware of their needs but, more
importantly, help them to discover a love of the scriptures
and understand that the doctrine can relate to their lives.
I am a Primary teacher.
I’ve got a large class.
We have some with some special needs and luckily, we had some great training
from our Primary President, and she taught us how not every child learns
the same way and some people are very tactical and need to hold something
or do something.
Some people really need to learn visually and things like that.
So, we as the three brethren in the class really try to pray about it
and think about how we can get from where our children climbing over each
other or out the window to something they could really learn about
the Savior and learn about things that would help them to be involved
and engaged in the classroom and we just had a great experience with these
children to be able to really have some engaging lessons.
I was recently given the assignment to speak about a very dark period in my
life, which was a period of grief.
And how I approached this assignment to speak
was to focus on the Savior’s example.
I reflected back on the many periods of sorrow that the Savior went through
and how He dealt with them.
I realized that through focusing on Him and how He dealt with these
personal circumstances,
everything that I went through was really for my betterment.
And I realized that it was all a part of a loving Father in Heaven who loves
us and does so perfectly, regardless of what it is that we go through.
In my teaching, I ended up asking for more examples.
I saw connections when we would talk about a doctrine and then I would ask
Young Women to see connections.
And one example was a Young Women who I just asked, for example, where do you
see the Savior in the sacrament?
And we had just talked about the sacrament and she just, lightbulbs
went off when she talked about (gasp), when we look at the sacrament table,
we are looking at His body.
And she just had this moment where even though she was seventeen years
old, she had never connected the Savior there, and just because of
that, for me personally preparing that way, I began to see Him more and it just
naturally flowed out of me.
Back when I was on a mission, I learned how to always be ready to listen to
the spiritual promptings of the Spirit.
As I strived to listen to the voice of the Spirit, it helped me understand my
investigators and helped to teach them according to the Spirit.
We have two older daughters that participate a lot in our study of
Come, Follow Me, but our third daughter was kind of shy and wasn't sharing much.
I saw during the week that she was
making drawings of what we were discussing.
And I thought it would be a wonderful
way to help her feel like she could contribute.
So I invited her to share with us those drawings, and every week she'd have new
drawings of all the things we were, we were discussing.
And then she started sharing her testimony together with those
drawings and writing them down.
And it was a wonderful way to help her feel like she was valued and that she
can contribute in the things we were discussing, and definitely helped us
all to develop our testimonies.
As a bishop, I work a lot with youth and I believe the best way to help them
is, by focusing on Jesus Christ.
And I do that by using the Personal Development Program that is designed
for all the youth.
I have one young man who was not attending seminary and I thought
that, helping him to understand the need to become like Jesus would
definitely help him.
So we organized an activity on the Personal Development.
And after that activity, he comes to attend seminary regularly.
So I understand that if we want the youth to grow spiritually
and temporally, we can help them to focus on becoming like Jesus.
My dear brothers and sisters, my dear friends, what a wonderful moment to be
together and watch this great wonderful and beautiful video showing us how
the members of the Church and the people of the world can teach every
age, every generation the Savior's way.
Well, my dear friends, I'm so grateful to be among my favorite people
today: teachers — past, present, and future!
Since all are teachers in one form or another, I should think my group of
favorite people is quite inclusive.
I love teachers.
I love being around them.
I love and owe more than I ever can repay to teachers in my life.
Scholars have been studying what makes an excellent teacher for hundreds of
years and have extensively proposed, promoted, and published their
theories as to what makes a successful learning experience.
We are all blessed to learn from the greatest teacher of all
time, Jesus Christ.
Over the better part of the past two thousand years, I don’t suppose there
has passed a single second when—somewhere in the world—His
teachings were not treasured, studied, pondered, repeated,
and modeled.
And is that not the goal of all teachers?
To make a lasting difference for good?
To bless the lives of others in a way that extends far beyond a lesson or
a classroom?
And Jesus of Nazareth has exactly that kind of influence—in the past, in
the present, and in the future.
So who better for us to study?
If we learn from Him, we will improve not only as teachers, regardless of our
situation in life, but we will also greatly improve as human beings.
So, it is my privilege and honor to speak to you today about
the Savior—because the best way to become a better teacher is to become
a better follower of Jesus Christ.
When I was an airline pilot, each time I settled into the captain’s
seat, I had one major goal—getting myself, my crew, and my passengers
safely to our destination.
This aim required focus and vigilance.
To maintain this focus, pilots perform a series of preflight checks,
rehearsing safety procedures and examining instrument functionality
and mechanical reliability.
Each item on the checklist is something the pilot has done hundreds (if not
thousands) of times.
An expert pilot never assumes that since he or she has flown hundreds of
times, there is no need to bother with
the preflight check or skim over it casually.
The preflight check disciplines pilots to keep their focus on the essential
things that make a successful flight.
Just as a pilot has a specific guiding purpose, so do we as teachers of
the Word: to bring souls closer to Christ.
Whenever we approach a teaching opportunity, that goal should be
foremost in our mind.
As teachers,
do we have a checklist to help us focus on our sacred objective? Yes!
This month, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will publish
a revised version of Teaching in the Savior’s Way.
It is a guide for all who teach the gospel—in the home and in church.
It will be available in 70 languages on the Gospel Library app.
Printed copies will follow in coming months.
This resource draws on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as our
guide and inspiration as teachers.
It helps us focus on teaching the way He taught.
Teaching in the Savior’s Way will help all who are teaching.
It can provide inspiration and instruction for parents,
neighbors, ministering brothers and sisters, missionaries, and all
disciples of Jesus Christ.
Discipleship means loving, caring for, blessing, and lifting
others, and that means teaching.
In other words, if you are trying to love and serve as Jesus did, then you
are a teacher, and Teaching in the Savior’s Way is for you and me.
I hope it will be a treasure to you, whether you are new on this
journey or have been walking for many years.
In part 3 of Teaching in the Savior’s Way, there is a self-assessment—a
flight checklist, if you will—that can help us become more focused in our
teaching efforts.
It will lead to introspection, reveal blind spots, and prompt inspiration
about ways we can improve.
It can be as useful for teachers as the flight checklist is for pilots.
If you will allow me to take a seat beside you in the cockpit, so to
speak, I would like to perform with you a preflight check for teaching.
I invite you to pull out a metaphorical clipboard and consider
how you would evaluate yourself on each item.
This self-evaluation can be a great blessing—today and every time we
prepare to teach the Savior’s way.
The first item on our preflight check is “Focus on Jesus Christ”.
It’s an opportunity to reflect on whether the Savior is truly at
the center of our teaching.
Please consider these questions:
Do I teach about Jesus Christ no matter what I am teaching?
Do I emphasize the example of Jesus Christ?
Do I help learners recognize the Lord’s love, power, and mercy in
their lives?
Do I help learners intentionally strive to become more like Jesus Christ?
These are profound questions!
Let’s face it: The gospel is so expansive that we could spend
a lifetime of study and scarcely scratch the surface.
Imagine painting a target as tall and wide as the side of a gigantic
wooden building that could represent the breadth of the gospel.
We all have our favorite gospel hobbies—things that interest us.
Periods of history, Church programs, doctrinal topics, or even single
verses of scripture.
And we might be tempted to mainly focus on these favorite topics of ours.
But as large as the target of gospel teaching is, the bullseye—the center of
the target we should never forget to focus on—it is small.
And it is the center given to us not in commentary, not by opinion
poll, not by debate.
The Savior Himself gave it to us.
Now, what is it?
Love God and love others.
That is the center.
Other things may be interesting to us.
They may even be important.
But they are not the center.
They are supporting cast.
They are the side dish on our menu; maybe the salad to the main dish.
They add spice, variety, and lots of vitamins perhaps, but they are not
the main course.
What is our goal, then, in teaching?
Our goal is to help those we teach to come closer to Christ, increase in
their knowledge and love of God, and serve God by reaching out in
compassion towards all His children.
That is the center.
And where do we find our greatest example of loving God and others?
In the life and teachings of our Savior and Redeemer.
As we bring souls closer to Christ, we help them increase their
faith and love for God.
And we help them increase in their compassion and love for others.
Whenever we are tempted to veer off and get distracted by some other topic
that may seem interesting to us, we should really ask ourselves:
Do I focus on the Savior, no matter what I am teaching about?
Is what I'm teaching helping others to grow in their love for God and to show
that love by loving and serving, and by applying the Savior’s
teachings in our lives?
As teachers, we may speak with the tongues of angels; we may
entertain, delight, amuse, astound.
But if we have failed in keeping our focus on Jesus Christ, we have missed
the mark and our teaching is only a shadow of what it ought to be.
Always keep the focus on our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
The Second Checklist Category Is “Love Those You Teach”.
This checklist category allows us to reflect on our own motives
as teachers, and it reminds us to keep our hearts centered on loving
and valuing those we teach.
Here are some questions to consider: Do I strive to see learners
the way the Savior sees them?
Do I seek to know those I teach— to understand their
circumstances, needs, and strengths?
Do I pray for learners by name?
Do I create a safe environment where all are respected and know their
contributions are valued?
Do I find appropriate ways to express my love?
I heard about one woman who was a skilled high school teacher.
She had spent years developing her approach to teaching and had
contributed significantly to the lives of high school students.
She knew how to handle this age group perfectly.
Now, one year, she took part in a summer school program where she
taught much younger, much different students, even five-year-old children.
Of course, the children were excited and full of energy as they poured into
her classroom.
They were very noisy and full of laughter, shouting, running between
the desks, and chasing each other.
Now, this teacher, to bring the class to order, used her “teacher's voice”
that worked with high school kids to get them to settle down and take a seat.
But what happened?
A hush fell over the classroom.
The children immediately stopped what they were doing and,
wide-eyed, rushed to an open desk. All except two.
The first child, a small girl, melted onto the floor and began sobbing.
Although the teacher didn’t feel even a trace of anger toward her,
the little girl felt she must have done something really bad and melted into
the puddle of tears.
The second child, a small boy, but strong, looked at the teacher with
fear and bolted for the doorway, where he disappeared down
the corridor at warp speed.
The teacher wondered if he would ever come back.
That day, the teacher learned an important lesson: the techniques she
used with teenagers did not work well with very young children.
And that is a lesson for us, for you and me, as well.
Every person we teach is a child of God and has a personality.
Do we see them the way our Heavenly Father does—as unique individuals with
their own thoughts, feelings, trials, and struggles?
Are we creating a safe learning environment—a place where each person
can feel secure and accepted?
Whatever our native language may be,
do our students know that we speak the universal language of love?
That we value them, that we have compassion for them, and that we
respect them?
The Savior spent much of His life with the outcasts and castoffs of society.
He could have lectured and condemned them.
Instead, He embraced, healed, and comforted them.
Yes, He taught them “go and sin no more.”
But to the sick, the sinners, and the disabled, He spoke and acted out of
love, compassion, and respect.
He sees each of us as sons and daughters of Almighty God
—not beneath Him, but with the eternal potential to walk beside Him in glory.
The great Christian writer C.S. Lewis echoed this perspective when he taught,
“It is a serious thing to live
in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that
the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be
a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship.”
He continued, “There are no ordinary people.
You have never talked to a mere mortal… it is immortals who we joke
with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit — immortal… everlasting
splendors.” [end of quote] When we treat others with this kind of
respect, we reflect the example of Jesus Christ.
As He loved, we love.
As He lifted, we lift.
As He taught, we teach.
Now, let us remember to love, respect, and lift those we teach.
The Third Checklist Category is “Teach by the Spirit”.
Now, please consider these questions:
Do I prepare myself spiritually to teach?
Do I respond to spiritual promptings about the needs of learners?
Do I create settings and opportunities for learners to be taught
by the Holy Ghost?
Do I help learners seek, recognize, and act on personal revelation?
Do I bear testimony often and encourage learners to do the same?
I try to remind myself often that in all my efforts to teach the gospel
and bring people to Jesus Christ, I cannot convert anyone.
Only the Holy Ghost can do that.
We can speak the words, but conversion is a matter of the Spirit.
It happens when the Holy Ghost touches the heart and a person responds to His
influence by following the Savior.
If, because of persuasive words or well-reasoned arguments, someone is
“convinced” to follow Jesus Christ, that conviction may be
as fleeting as the seed that falls upon stony places.
Our job is not to convert.
That is not our responsibility.
But what is our job?
To teach the good news of Jesus Christ and His gospel that has been restored
in our time!
And it is our job to validate and support our words with our honest
and sincere deeds!
Our life, how we live and act.
Whether someone responds to what we teach is between them and God.
But we can be the bridge that connects them with the Holy Ghost.
We can be the window through which the Holy Spirit will enter into their lives.
Our words and our actions can teach the doctrine of Christ in a way that
helps students experience the intercession of the Holy Ghost.
As then Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught,
[quote] “Study and reason can find the truth, … but only
revelation can confirm it.” Let me repeat that sentence,
“Study and reason can find the truth, … but only revelation
can confirm it.” At times we kind of sleepwalk through life.
We see things but scarcely remember them.
Commercials, Pinterest quotes, even road signs.
Most of it washes over our minds without penetrating the heart.
But if the Holy Spirit speaks to your soul, to my soul, you and I,
we, cannot forget it, because it changes you, it changes us.
Remember what Joseph Smith said after reaching and reading James 1:5:
“Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to
the heart of man than this did at this time to mine.”
The Spirit can take an ordinary thought spoken in an
ordinary way and cause it to burn like fire.
Another person’s conversion is not dependent upon our eloquence
or command of scripture.
It’s not dependent on how well we teach or defend doctrine.
It’s not dependent upon our intelligence, charisma, or command of
the language.
All we need to work on is – to know for ourselves.
Then our Heavenly Father invites us to “open [our] mouth[s] at all
times, declaring [His] gospel with the sound of rejoicing.”
And if we do that, the Holy Spirit will testify of the truth.
We don’t have to “be” anything more or less than we really are, and that is
children of God and followers of Jesus Christ.
Can you, with rejoicing, express your love for the Savior, His
gospel, and His Church?
If we do our part, the Spirit will do His.
That is the way we “teach by the Spirit.” Now, the fourth item
on our preflight check is “Teach the Doctrine”—not just any doctrine,
of course, but the doctrine that Jesus Christ received from His Father.
The Savior said, “My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.”
To evaluate how well you are following His example, consider these questions:
Do I learn the doctrine for myself?
Do I teach from the scriptures and the words of latter-day prophets?
Do I help learners recognize and understand truths in
the scriptures?
Do I focus on truths that build faith in Jesus Christ?
Do I help learners find personal revelation in the doctrine?
In our dispensation, the Lord has said: “I give unto you a
commandment, that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom.
Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you.”
What is the doctrine we are to teach?
It is the word that proceeds from the holy scriptures and the mouths of
apostles and prophets.
It is they who have the right and authority to expound
and clarify doctrine.
And it is through them that God has always declared His word, giving
guidance and understanding to His children.
The central and saving doctrine
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is
that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of all.
The Apostle Paul, who saw and communed with the risen Savior, wrote to
the Corinthians, “I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you …
that [Jesus the Christ] died for our sins … that he was buried, and that he
rose again the third day… and that he was seen of Cephas, then of
the twelve.” [end of quote]
We are commanded to “lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick
and powerful … and [will] lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course
… and land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of
God in the kingdom of heaven.” As teachers, we must not be ashamed of
the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Rather, we must joyfully raise our voices in teaching His doctrine even
when it may seem a stumbling block to some and foolishness to others.
“For it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.”
Now, the final item on our preflight checklist is “Invite Diligent Learning.”
This item is a reminder that the diligent teaching we do is only
half of the equation.
The other half—in the long run, perhaps the more important half—is
the diligent learning our students do.
Here are some questions to help us evaluate whether our diligent teaching
is leading and helping to diligent learning:
Do I help learners take responsibility for their learning?
Do I encourage learners to study the gospel daily?
Do I encourage learners to share the truth they are learning?
Do I invite learners to live what they are learning?
Our spirits need constant nourishment so we can become the beings of light
and glory God created us to become.
When we study and ponder the words of the prophets of God, we drink of living
water and feast upon the word of Christ.
It is not enough merely to read the words.
We need to hearken unto them; we need to ponder and internalize them.
To paraphrase a proverb,
“Teach a man the gospel and you have blessed him for a day.
Teach a man to feast upon the word of God and connect with the Holy
Spirit, and you have blessed him for a lifetime.”
It is through this process
of inspiration and personal revelation that we build our lives on the rock of
our Redeemer.
It is then that the gospel of Jesus Christ can become “an anchor of
the soul.” Teaching the gospel is important.
Teaching others to immerse themselves in prayer, seek the Spirit, and apply
what they have learned is at least equally important.
Now, My dear brothers and sisters, my beloved friends,
dear and precious teachers—and you’re all teachers, we all are teachers—
thank you for your faithfulness and for your desires to do good.
Thank you for the many hours you have spent preparing, ministering
to, and teaching others about the gospel joyfully.
I invite you to study the new guide Teaching in the Savior’s Way and use
the self-evaluation to remind you of your purpose.
By laying hold upon the word of God and teaching others to do the same—by
teaching in the Savior’s way—we show our love for God and for our fellow man
and fellow human beings.
And as we walk that strait and narrow course, we take part in that holiest of
callings to lead our own immortal souls and the souls of others towards
the “right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with
Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy
fathers, to go no more out.” May God bless you, my fellow teachers, my dear
friends, my fellow servants, for your sincere labors to teach in
the Savior’s name.
In the holy name of the greatest teacher of all time,
in the name of our Master, and the name of Jesus the Christ, amen.
[Closing Hymn: “How Firm a Foundation” - Multicultural Choir from Utah]
How firm a foundation, ye Saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
What more can he say than to you he hath said,
Who unto the Savior, who unto the Savior,
Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?
In ev’ry condition— in sickness, in health,
In poverty’s vale or abounding in wealth,
At home or abroad, on the land or the sea—
As thy days may demand, as thy days may demand,
As thy days may demand, so thy succor shall be.
Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, I’ll never, no never,
no never forsake!
Amen.
Our dear Heavenly Father,
how grateful we are for the opportunity we have had this day to be here and to
hear from Elder Uchtdorf as he has taught us of the Master Teacher
and has taught us
how we might improve in our service as teachers in Thy kingdom.
We are grateful for this privilege, we're grateful for what
we've learned, we're grateful for what we've felt, we're grateful for
the inspiration that has rested upon us.
It is our desire, Heavenly Father, as Thy children to teach
the gospel of Jesus Christ more effectively in our homes, in our church
opportunities, and in seminary and institute, and in all aspects of
our lives.
May we, indeed, follow the example of the Savior and teach in His way.
We are grateful for this new resource, Teaching in the Savior's Way
that has been provided to us.
We look forward to receiving it, we look forward to reading it
and to studying it, and making it our preflight checklist as we learn to
teach in Thy way.
We love Thee, Heavenly Father, we love the gospel, we are so grateful.
We thank Thee for the privilege of this moment and for the sacredness and
for the spirit we have felt.
And we express this to Thee with much love,
in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.