The greatest responsibility for learning the gospel of Jesus Christ falls not entirely upon teachers in the Church but also upon individual members, all of whom should regard themselves as students of the gospel.
This concept is being emphasized by the five General Authorities who serve as executive directors of the Church Curriculum Department: Elder Rex D. Pinegar of the Presidency of the Seventy, and Elders William R. Bradford, Gene R. Cook, Jeffrey R. Holland and Francis M. Gibbons of the Quorums of the Seventy.To fully learn by the Spirit, according to these Brethren, students should take certain steps: prayerfully prepare to receive the Spirit, earnestly study the scriptures, have a sincere desire to receive the truth, make sincere efforts to understand the truth, be humble and willing to be taught by the Spirit, and carefully consider the teachings of the gospel.
Student must prepare to learn
Elder Rex D. Pinegar said that in the 50th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants are instructions about the teacher having the Spirit in order to teach and the learner having the Spirit in order to receive. (See D&C 50:17-22.)
"The expectation is that the student will come seeking," said Elder Pinegar. "That is the key. When we read about the Savior's success as a teacher, we find that the people sought Him out. They went up on the mountain, they traveled along the seashore to hear Him. They pursued Him; they sought Him out. We should have that kind of hungering and thirsting."
Elder Pinegar referred to Enos in the Book of Mormon, who said his "soul hungered." Enos went into the forest, "kneeled down . . . and cried" unto the Lord in mighty prayer. (See Enos 1:4.)
"In that attitude, Enos was able to call upon the Lord and receive answers," said Elder Pinegar. "When our concern to receive enlightenment from the Lord reaches that level of need, then we will be able to receive as Enos did. We wouldn't be praying in the forests, as did Enos, but we would go to Church and pray that the teacher's message would be from the Lord.
"Students of the gospel, particularly in a classroom setting, should have read the scriptures by the time they come to class," said Elder Pinegar. "President David O. McKay once spoke regarding what individuals can do to prepare to be worthy at the time of the Savior's second coming. He said there is no one big thing we can do, but there are many little things, and these are done every day. Seeking the Spirit of the Lord in all we do on a daily basis prepares us for those moments when we need inspiration on big decisions.
"Maybe it isn't every Sunday that we get a big revelation on truth, but every Sunday that we are seeking for inspiration as we go to our classes will prepare us to recognize the inspiration that comes on the big matters."
Elder Pinegar said both teachers and parents are the significant people through whom the Lord provides His messages. "This is even more significant in the home when children look to parents as their teachers. When a child desires to honor his or her parents in little things, then that child will be able to listen to and accept their counsel in bigger, more important matters."
Elder Pinegar said at the same time teachers are being told to rely on the Spirit in order to convey the gospel message, students are being told, "Be prepared when you come to class to receive the Spirit."
"If the teacher comes prepared to teach by the Spirit and the student arrives ready to listen by the Spirit, then the teacher and student may be united in seeking one thing, additional light and knowledge from the Lord to assist them on their journey toward eternal life."
Seek, study and reach for truth
Elder William R. Bradford said, "We often are prone to associate learning the gospel with going to Church. We sometimes fail to associate learning the gospel with the very purpose of our being here upon the earth, although there are other reasons for being here, such as the obtaining of a physical body.
"The Father had taught us much of His plan before we came here, yet, even knowing what we knew was not enough; we had to know it in terms of the experience of exercising our agency. Each thing we learn adds to our ability to exercise that agency and test our individual agency against a concept of truth. When we have this view, we begin to recognize the need for us as students to learn the gospel.
"In order to learn to become like He is, we must each find the truth, separately, independently and for ourselves. That kind of knowledge comes through individual efforts as we are aided by the Holy Ghost. Having sought for it, studied and reached for it, the truth becomes ours; it is embodied in our personalities, characters and nature, and helps us learn additional points of truth which drive our behavior.
Elder Bradford observed that from this standpoint, one sees that learning the gospel is not limited to the classroom. "It extends beyond the classroom and becomes a lifetime pursuit," he said.
Elder Bradford likened the pursuit of gospel knowledge to a treasure hunt. "We gather bits of knowledge," he said. "We study individually at home and decide what direction to go. We must be willing to be directed into various topics and to follow the prescribed procedure set up in the curriculum of the gospel study plan. All this requires the student to dig in. It isn't enough to just go to Church meetings and classes and expect somebody to attempt to pour truth and knowledge upon us. It is necessary for us to become a part of this search from the very beginning. We have to get right into it, so when we have an opportunity to come together in class we are actually reviewing what we have already learned instead of just having a place to go study."
Purpose is to worship the Lord
Learning by the Spirit is incorporated in the broader realm of personal worship. Elder Gene R. Cook, in an address to BYU's Department of Religious Instruction, said: "I have a feeling that in our meetings we have lost, to a degree, an understanding of a key doctrine of the kingdom. What we have lost, in part, is our personal worship of the Lord, which is the purpose of all meetings.
"One time a man asked President Spencer W. Kimball, `What do you do when you find yourself in a boring sacrament meeting?' There was silence for a moment and then President Kimball said, `I don't know. I've never been in one.' That's interesting, isn't it? That tells me that the real meeting was really between President Kimball and the Lord, in addition to what was happening in sacrament meeting. If you are just in [the meetingT, you are in the wrong meeting, and you will miss most of what is said. The same is true of other meetings. If you enter a meeting with your heart prepared to be written upon by the Lord, then that will happen."
Elder Cook related an example, telling of a young man, about 14, giving his first talk. "Someone in the congregation might be thinking, `What a lousy speaker. I wish the bishop would quit wasting sacrament meeting time on somebody like that. This is the worst talk I've ever heard. Look at that kid reading every single word.'
Elder Cook continued, "There isn't much spiritually happening with this man. Right next to him is someone saying in his heart, `Oh Father, bless that young man. This is the first talk he's ever given. He's struggling to do it, bless his heart. Bless the hearts of the saints that they may hear the message by the Spirit. Help him.'
`I've seen that process work many times as one man prays for another. What a difference in the hearts of two men seated side by side. Again, the purpose of all meetings is to worship the Lord."
Student has responsibilities
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said spiritual cohesiveness between student and teacher is what creates an environment where the Holy Ghost can teach with power.
"I make no attempt to say who has the greater responsibility _ the teacher or the student," said Elder Holland. "I just know there is significant responsibility on the shoulders of both. As a rule, teachers probably try harder than the students. They know they have responsibility. But so do the students. We must change the attitude of students _ older as well as younger _ who think, `I'm going to wander into class and sit on the back row. I haven't read the assignment. I haven't given any thought to anything. I haven't prayed for myself or for the teacher. I'll just sit here and challenge the teacher to get through to me.' "
He said when the entire burden is on the teacher, even when that teacher teaches by the Spirit, then learning cannot always take place. "We have scriptural records that tell of powerful teachers, prophets and apostles who could not get through to people," he observed.
From time to time, a student might complain that a teacher has given a boring lesson, that the class is dull and not very interesting.
"Before we place all the blame on the teacher," said Elder Holland, "we should ask ourselves some questions, such as, `How could I have contributed to the class? What could I have said when things dragged a little? Could I have helped answer a question? Was I exactly the same when I walked out as when I walked in? What did I do that made a difference in the spiritual quality, in the scriptural reading, in the atmosphere in the room? Did I open my scriptures to help out the teacher by finding a good source that changed the direction of the discussion and took the quality of the lesson up from there? Where was my faith? Where were my prayers this morning in class, or last night or last week as the teacher was preparing the lesson?"
"We have not thought urgently enough the responsibility a student bears in the learning process."
Read and use the scriptures
Elder Francis M. Gibbons said, "For a student in a class to gain full advantage from the lesson being taught, he or she must be vitally interested, attentive and prayerfully desirous of receiving the spiritual message that is being taught and of incorporating the principles into his or her own life."
He spoke of the scriptures, calling them "a great treasure house of knowledge and information given to us by a loving Heavenly Father who is interested in our eternal welfare."
"But this treasure house will not yield its riches to us unless we deliberately and consistently make an effort to study, read and ponder," Elder Gibbons continued. "To members of the Church today, it is even more important and critical that we study the scriptures because of the repeated admonitions of today's living prophet that we read the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon.
"All too often we take for granted the monumental efforts made by countless scribes and historians over the years in recording the sacred things now found in the standard works of the Church. Had it not been for the efforts of the fathers referred to the Book of Mormon to prepare and preserve the records of the Lord's doings with them, we would not have the Book of Mormon today. What a great legacy they have left us. It is a legacy that we really cannot claim until we delve into the scriptures and extract from them the spiritual nourishment that awaits us there.
"Think also of the prodigious efforts made by nameless, selfless people over the centuries to preserve, translate and copy the manuscripts which form the basis of the Holy Bible. As students of the gospel, we cannot ignore the important role that studying the scriptures has in our learning of Jesus Christ."