Ups and Downs

So on the upside, we chapped into a few nice people recently! Pretty miraculous, very prepared people. :) We've been directed by the spirit to a few miracles (e.g.: feeling we should go by a potential, no one home. Then turn around to leave and their car pulls in!) and I've felt my testimony growing. 

Read a cool lecture called the Donaldson Papers, where it mentioned how angels teach. Look at 1 Ne 11:10-18 How does the angel teach? (cf. Revelations)

The angel shows Nephi an image, then asks Nephi what he sees. Nephi describes it, to his knowledge. The angel asks another question Nephi doesn't know the answer to, and then explains it with more images. 

This can be done with any picture, but specifically for missionaries, it works wonderful with the pamphlets. It really quickly lets you know where people are. 

e.g.: 

What do you see here? 
I see an old man writing something. 
Yeah, that's a prophet, and he's writing scripture. God's talking to him, and he's writing what's coming to mind. 
vs
What do you see here?
Oh, that looks like Isaiah, writing the great Isaiah scroll! I once visited jerusalem and saw it!
Okay, we can move on then. 

 

It also allows people to teach themselves, rather than us just spurting information at them. 

e.g.: 

What are the parents doing here? 
Teaching the kid to walk.
How does the kid look, like his expression?
He looks kind of scared. 
Yeah. So why would the parents do that to him? 
They want him to learn how to walk.
Exactly. Just like our parents taught us to walk, our Heavenly Father wants us to learn to walk like him. 

but wait - it gets better: 

Is the kid ever going to fall?
yeah...
Why would the parents let that happen?
He needs to learn. 
Exactly! God lets us make mistakes and get hurt so that we can learn! That's why Adam needed to fall - so that we could learn how to walk like our Father. 

 . . . and so forth. Teaching this way is great. A lot more interactive, more simple, and a lot more fun. You spend more time teaching the points that really matter. Comparatively, it doesn't matter if someone remembers the names of the degrees of glory, than if they remember that the purpose of life is to progress. 

 

What do those look like to you, if the bottom line is a path?   

Stairs.

Yeah! We've all been saved from falling below the line, but God has shown us a way to climb - to progress! If God's up here (point to Celestial) we need something to climb to get there.

Anywho. Hope you've gotten something out of this! Teach like angels! Testify with power the things that God has taught you, that you know to be true, by the power of the Holy Ghost! 

Love you all! Cheers! :D  

– Elder William Kevin Black