Principles of Teaching | Page 2

the
individual members of the Church.
b--To pass on the wonderful heritage handed down by our pioneer
forefathers.
c--To make more easily possible the conversion of the world.
"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;
"For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh;
wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and

come unto him.
"And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men
unto him, on conditions of repentance;
"And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth.
"Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people;
"And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance
unto his people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall
be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father?
"And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought
unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if
you should bring many souls unto me?" (Doc. & Cov., Sec. 18:10-16.)
"For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the
immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39.)
If this is the work and glory of the Lord, how great must be the
responsibility of the teachers of Zion, His copartners in the business of
saving humankind! Next to parenthood, teaching involves us in the
most sacred relationship known to man. The teacher akin to the parent
is the steward of human souls--his purpose to bless and to elevate.
The first great question that should concern the Latter-day Saint teacher
is, "Why do I teach?" To appreciate fully the real purposes behind
teaching is the first great guarantee of success. For teaching is "no mere
job"--it is a sacred calling--a trust of the Lord Himself under the divine
injunction, "Feed my sheep" (John 21:15). For the teacher who has
caught a glimpse of his real responsibility there is no indifference, no
eleventh-hour preparation, no feeling of unconcern about the welfare of
his pupils between lessons--for him there is constant inspiration in the
thought, "To me is given the privilege of being the cupbearer between
the Master and His children who would drink at His fountain of truth."
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been variously

designated by those not of us: "The Great Industrial Church," "The
Church of Pioneers," "The Church of Wonderful Organization." It
might well be called "The Teaching Church." There is scarcely a man
or woman in it that has not at some time been asked to respond to the
call of teacher. Our people have been a remarkable people because they
have been remarkably taught--taught of the Lord and His prophets. Our
future can be secure only as it is guaranteed this same good teaching.
Every teacher must come to realize that "Mormonism" is at stake when
he teaches. "Why do I teach?" goes to the very heart of teaching.
The answer to this question is to be found, in part at least, in the
three-fold objectives of our Church. First, the salvation and exaltation
of the individual soul. As already pointed out, this is the very "work
and glory" of the Father. Man is born into the world a child of
divinity--born for the purpose of development and perfection. Life is
the great laboratory in which he works out his experiment of eternity.
In potentiality, a God--in actuality, a creature of heredity, environment,
and teaching. "Why do I teach?" To help someone else realize his
divinity--to assist him to become all that he might become--to make of
him what he might not be but for my teaching.
Someone has jocularly said: "The child is born into the world half angel,
half imp. The imp develops naturally, the angel has to be cultivated."
The teacher is the great cultivator of souls. Whether we say the child is
half angel and half imp, we know that he is capable of doing both good
and evil and that he develops character as he practices virtue and avoids
vice. We know, too, that he mentally develops. Born with the capacity
to do, he behaves to his own blessing or condemnation. There is no
such thing as static life. To the teacher is given the privilege of pointing
to the higher life. He is the gardener in the garden of life. His task is to
plant and to cultivate the flowers of noble thoughts and deeds rather
than to let the human soul grow up to weeds. This purpose becomes all
the more significant when we realize that the effects of our teaching are
not only to modify a life here of three-score and