TAKE THE SHOT
I love playing and watching basketball. My participation in the game in high school included
daily play while being coached with team competition in the State Athletic
Association program. I then played for 41
years after high school in church leagues, city leagues, year round early
morning workouts, summer games, other tournaments and pick-up games. Competition was always tough and the exercise
to exhaustion was invigorating.
To me, basketball is more than a game, it is an art form. Game strategy is always intriguing and I enjoy
seeing individual but especially team performance under various game
situations. I have always been impressed
with the hours of practice and work my teams and all teams put into running the
offense. We always had a number of plays
with predetermined ball and player movement.
The purpose was always simple and the same; to score the ball by taking
our best shot on each possession. Our
best shot increased our chances of scoring.
A well executed offense produced open shots and won games. To run the offense and get the shot on the
basketball floor requires work, time, effort, team organization, money, game
trips, personal sacrifice, practice time, drills and training. All are done to score the ball and win the
game.
Similarly, it is interesting to me how much work, time and
effort is put into missionary work. On
your mission you saved money and people pay money for you to be here. You gave up 2 years of your life. We have apartments and a mission organization
to support you. The church operates the
Area Office, MSF funding program, the missionary department, travel office and
missionary health programs. The church
has many employees, volunteers, capital investments and the list goes on and on;
all to support full time missionaries to be out with the people to bring them
to Christ.
PMG p. 156 states, “Nothing happens in missionary work until
you find someone to teach.” I visualize
all these investments by the church, parents and missionaries are focused on
the missionary teaching. In addition, you
spend hours of finding just for the opportunity to teach or, to use the
basketball analogy, to take the shot. Teaching is central to everything we
do. The moment you teach someone, all
the effort and expense that you and others have expended are on the line and as
you teach you take your shot. If you
teach with power, conviction, persuasion and the spirit, you will likely make
the shot and be invited back for more lessons.
We cannot afford to muff the shot in this mission. We do not get enough shots as we average only
about 5.0 lessons per week per companionship.
It is the spirit that converts, so why is it then important
to work at or even care how well we teach?
Just how bad can your teaching of doctrine and teaching style be before
it hinders the spirit? The Lord answers
this very simply as a commandment with a promise:
“Seek not to declare my word, but
first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if
you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto
the convincing of men” (D&C 11:21).
“Neither take ye thought beforehand
what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life,
and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted
unto every man” (D&C 84:85).
I am convinced that “treasuring up in your minds” the words
of life is more than reading through the lessons. Treasuring means careful study and a probably
doing the extra work of memorizing. Investigators
need gospel concepts contained in the lessons to be presented in a simple, clear
and understandable way. PMG does
that. You must work at it to become an
effective teacher. You obtain his word
by learning and memorizing the lessons and I guarantee if you do, your tongue
will be loosed and the spirit will dictate what to say and you will have a
wealth of lesson concepts to draw from.
If you want to learn Dutch, “Memorize simple statements from the lessons
or brochures that convey key gospel principles.” (PMG p. 130)
What and how we teach is interesting. Elder Holland told the Europe Area mission
presidents last winter in Frankfurt that it is essential for the missionaries
to know the lessons frontwards and backwards.
Elder Maynes stated in a mission presidents training last September that
we ask missionaries not to teach by rote presentation (PMG p. 175) of memorized
scripts but to use their own words as directed by the Spirit. Their own words sometimes wander off the
lesson material with frequent examples that only the missionary could think
up. They give their own version so often
they are teaching a memorized lesson anyway but it is not as outlined in the
lessons in PMG. Elder Ballard pointed
out that the number of times faith, repentance, baptism and the Holy Ghost are
mentioned in the 1st lesson is for a purpose, not by accident, and
it is important to teach as it is outlined.
For almost a year now I have asked each missionary to
memorize the lessons in PMG, not to teach memorized recitations but memorize to
really know concepts of doctrine in the order presented. This way you will know the lessons frontwards
and backwards. So when teaching with
your own thoughts you are empowered to remember required doctrine concepts and
can fluently and smoothly shift from one to the other in your own words.
Remember
the Mission Vision states:
“Each missionary will be an effective and highly
skilled missionary, who has repeatedly practiced, studied, exercised and
re-trained to have internalized his or her skills. Each will excel from his or her thorough
knowledge and use of Preach My Gospel. Each will understand and master the basic
techniques to effectively work with people.
Each will be personable, diligent, obedient, hard working and humble
servants who are in tune with the spirit.
Each will teach clearly and testify convincingly to motivate all with
whom they come in contact”
.
Memorizing the lessons takes more work, but will give you
more capability to make each lesson count.
Each lesson is your shot and will be taught with power, conviction,
persuasion and the spirit if you are prepared.
As you consider your ability to teach and the importance to making each
shot count, consider the following statement by President Hinckley as it
relates to your teaching:
“I speak of the need for a little
more effort, a little more self-discipline, a little more consecrated effort in
the direction of excellence in our lives.
This is the great day of decision for each of us. For many it is the time of beginning
something that will go on for as long as you live. I plead with you, don’t be a scrub! Rise to the high ground of spiritual, mental,
and physical excellence. You can do it.
You may not be a genius. You may
be lacking in some skills. But so many
of us can do better than we are now doing.
We are members of this great Church whose influence is now felt over the
world. We are people with a present and
with a future. Don’t muff your
opportunities. Be excellent.” (President Gordon B. Hinckley)
President Robinson
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