Teaching Doctrine by the Spirit Meets Needs

One of my favorite shifts has become the last Saturday evening, the one where we squeeze nearly every activity into 3 hours?! Ya, that one.

I love the objective of the Lessons in Chapter 3, that is to help the missionaries understand the message and that teaching doctrine meets needs. I feel that this objective can meet every one of Brian Kholer's purposes of the MTC. 1) The Missionary experiences conversion, 2) Understands His/Her Message, and 3) Understands His/Her purpose. Doctrine understood changes behavior. That is what missionary work is all about: changing behavior.

I have experimented with how to do this shift without making myself or the missionaries feel overwhelmed or burdened by so many activities. Truthfully, I don't see them as many activities anymore; they are one with one objective: To summarize a missionary's experience and all they have learned that Doctrine understood can change their behavior and that of their investigator.

I have taught it more than once. Each time the order of activities has been different. Each time there is a different emphasis struck unintentionally. Each time the missionaries and I have left with a better understanding of the Doctrine, more fully converted, and with a better understanding of how to fulfill the missionary purpose (which can still be ours!).

I know that if you ponder over your missionaries and seek to meet their needs, the many activities will become one with one objective. You and your missionaries will change.

Missionary Preparation

I wanted to add a quick little note while I had time.  The topic of lessons in Chapter 3 has very much been on my mind as of recent.  There are two simple things that I have tried to implement that I felt have helped missionaries to better understand the lessons as outlined in Chapter 3, and have helped missionaries to better implement these lessons into their teaching.

1. As you teach the fundamentals, distinguish the difference between the fundamentals and the lessons in Chapter 3.  This can simply be done in the explain portion, and in the practice portions.  When you go to practice, instruct the missionaries where the practice might take place in teaching a lesson, and what doctrine might support it.
2. Prepare the missionaries for their doctrinal study times.  We need to be more aware of what is coming up on their schedule.  Missionaries need to be aware of what doctrinal study time is, what it is used for, and what the objective of that time is.  If missionaries will adequately use that time to study the doctrine, less time will be spent in the classroom trying to clarify what the lesson is, and more time can be spent bridging the gap between the content of the lesson and how it helps one to experience the Doctrine of Christ.