Andersen-Teachers-2023Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks during a meeting held at the Salt Lake Tabernacle, broadcast Sunday, June 11, 2023, for Church Educational System teachers worldwide. Photo by Adam Fondren, courtesy of Church News. All rights reserved.
The elder Neil L. Andersen he has shared words of appreciation, counsel, and encouragement with tens of thousands of seminary and institute teachers around the world as they seek to strengthen the faith of the rising generation.
During a meeting broadcast Sunday, June 11, for teachers and Church Educational System administrators, the Apostle offered two food for thought for teachers: teach and testify of Jesus Christ more frequently and with greater vigor, and keep the doctrine pure and simple.
Teach and testify of Jesus Christ more frequently and more vigorously
Elder Andersen quoted President Russell M. Nelson as saying: “Whatever questions or problems you have, the answers are always found in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Deepen your knowledge of His Atonement, His love, His mercy, His doctrine, and His restored gospel of healing and progress” (“The Answer Is Always Jesus Christ,” Apr. 2023 general conference).
The apostle said he was recently in his grandchildren’s seminary building and was struck by the many pictures and words of the Savior on the walls. “There is transcendent power in the words of Jesus Christ,” Elder Andersen said.
If a teacher ever wonders what to say, say “the words of the Savior,” Elder Andersen encouraged. “Talk about his experiences; speak of his parables; speak the words of the scriptures and of the prophets who testify of Him. As we teach and testify of Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost confirms in the hearts of our young disciples the truth of His life and His teachings with power far more enduring than the power of what we can teach”.
Keep the doctrine pure and simple
“We focus our teaching on our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and Their revealed doctrine to help our youth increase faith in Them, be converted to Them, and receive Their promised blessings,” Elder Andersen told teachers . “The doctrine of Christ is found in the scriptures and in the teachings of the prophets, whose responsibility it is to communicate the will of the Lord.”
Elder Andersen reiterated his teachings in the October 2012 general conference. “[La dottrina] it is not hidden in an obscure paragraph of a single speech. True principles are taught often and by many. Our doctrine is not hard to find” (“The test of your faith”).
“In keeping the Lord’s doctrine pure and understandable, beware of [… evitare] the errors that occur with guesswork and personal nondoctrinal ideas,” Elder Andersen cautioned. When questions arise that are not clearly spelled out in Christ’s doctrine, be willing to say, “I don’t know, but this is what I do know.”
Andersen-Teaching-2023Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks during a meeting held at the Salt Lake Tabernacle, broadcast Sunday, June 11, 2023, for Church Educational System teachers worldwide. Photo by Adam Fondren, courtesy of Church News. All rights reserved.
He recommended being careful not to embellish and be sure to share scriptures or statements in the context for which they were intended. “Clear, precise, simple is the divine way of teaching”.
Elder Andersen said gospel truths should be shared in an atmosphere that welcomes and encourages the Spirit. “We cannot force the Spirit. We pray for the Spirit, we invite Him, but we don’t try to artificially fabricate a spiritual experience.”
Referring to the impact a seminary or institute teacher can have on a young person’s life, he said, “We invite the Spirit as we teach with love, peace, gentleness, gentleness, and faith.”
With apostolic authority, Elder Andersen blessed teachers to have their minds and hearts “filled with the love, mercy, teachings, and deep reverence for the matchless atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ . I bless you, if it is your desire, that your ability to teach the doctrine of Christ with purity and power will increase and that you will see and feel the invigorating witness of the Holy Ghost upon your good students.”
He was accompanied to the meeting by his wife, Sister Kathy Andersen. The elder Clark G. Gilbert, Church Commissioner of Education and General Authority Seventy, introduced the Apostle. Also in attendance were the presidents of all institutions within the Church Educational System and other high-level administrators of seminaries and institutes of religion.
The meeting has been translated into approximately forty languages and is available at Broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org and in Evangelical library.