Brought before the priest of King Noah in bonds, Abinadi offers one of the clearest collections of feedback regarding the role of those entrusted to teach the gospel in holy writ. Because I do it for a living, he has my attention. Here are some highlights I found today:
- Teachers of the gospel must understand (and rely upon) the spirit of prophecy - Trying to trap him, Noah's priests ask him to explain a scripture in Isaiah describing peaceful comforting teachings - probably as a criticism to Abinadi's more cutting words. He had been preaching the need for repentance or imminent destruction would come upon these Nephites. Shouldn't gospel teachers preach pleasing things?? Abinadi answers with a question of his own, "Are you priests, and pretend to teach this people, and to understand the spirit of prophesying, and yet desire to know of me what these things mean?" John taught, "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Rev. 19:10). Nephi explained, "after ye have recieved the Holy Ghost ye [can] speak with the tongue of angels... [and] they speak the words of Christ" (2 Nephi 32:2-3). The Lord taught Joseph, "the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach" (D&C 42:14). Jesus' words were not always soothing platitudes. Messages from Him must be obtained from Him.
- Teachers of the gospel must teach students to understand the word of God - Abinadi tells Noah's priests, "if ye understood these things (passages in Isaiah) ye have not taught them; therefore ye have perverted the ways of the Lord." I think it's pretty likely, from this reading, that they were cherry picking the scriptures for teachings they believe validated their choices - no matter how far out of context. Are we teaching in such a way that all things come together in one in Christ, or are our teachings about a specific gospel doctrine imbalanced, distorted, or inflated in a way that students may have difficulty with other truths as they encounter them?
- Wise teachers of the gospel must be diligent students - He then adds, "[Y]e have not applied your hearts to understanding; therefore, ye have not been wise." The gospel of Jesus Christ offers us nearly unlimited learning possibilities, and there are teachers who teach from decades and decades of diligent study and discipleship. There are also teachers whose introduction to the gospel has been incredibly recent. Both are qualified by diligent study. Both hearts applied to understanding open themselves to the teaching of the Master.
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