To Teach and To Learn

As mentioned in previous posts, Christ spent some time among the Nephites after his resurrection, teaching and healing the people. One evening, after a long day of teaching, Christ spoke these words:

“I perceive that ye are weak, that ye cannot understand all my words which I am commanded of the Father to speak unto you at this time. Therefore, go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I come unto you again” (3 Nephi 17: 2-3).

There are two principles I would like to pull from these verses. The first is found in verse two, when Christ “perceives [the people] are weak” and stops his lesson for the day. Christ was in tune with his audience, and understood when they needed a break. This is a great example for us, in any teaching we may do. We must understand that first and foremost, we are teaching people. People are weak, and people are flawed. We may not understand things right away, and we get tired. As a teacher, we must be conscious of those we are trying to teach, or we may find our lessons ineffective. For this kind of teaching, patience is necessary.

I want to quickly make clear that I do not specifically meaning religious teaching. Any kind of effective teaching requires patience, and attention to the learner. Imagine trying to teach children to be responsible by outlining every single thing they must do in one blow, and leaving them to it. Would the children change their behavior? No. They would probably shut down and tune your voice out entirely.

Which brings me to my next principle, this time on the part of the learner: learning takes time. For example, it takes years for a person to learn and develop how to be responsible. For this principle I would like to focus specifically on spiritual things however.

Christ instructed the people to go home, ponder, pray, and prepare for Spiritual guidance. This is a blueprint on how we can gain our own personal knowledge and instruction on spiritual things. To go home is to remove oneself from the crowds and distractions of the world. Pondering involves highlighting a specific area of interest, and then using the powers of intelligence we have been given to try to come to our own conclusions. Or in other words, we must put forth some of our own effort. Then, through prayer, we involve our Heavenly Father as we converse with him. After prayer we cannot just shut down though, and expect to be hit in the face with answers and knowledge. We must prepare our minds for the Spirit to edify and enlighten us (as we cannot be taught directly from Jesus Christ like the Nephites).

All of this learning takes time, and is a constant process. We cannot expect to become enlightened immediately, nor can we assume we know everything after one experience with this process. For me, I know I am still learning how the process even fully works. In a world where instant gratification is becoming easier and easier, a slow process such as Christ outlines can be frustrating; but I guess that means we should start it as soon as possible.