When our children were very young we took them to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. One of the exhibits was home to a small number of rescued California Sea Lions. These sea lions at one time had been either injured or ill. The veterinarians at the aquarium carefully and skillfully nursed them back to health and then released them into a special pool.
A female trainer stood near the glass enclosure surrounding the pool. She wore a special fanny pack that had a plastic pouch with a lid. She blew on her whistle, which was barely audible to human ears. Soon the sea lions had all anxiously gathered in the water in front of where she was standing. She opened the pouch and commenced feeding them sardines. She was careful to be sure that each of the sea lions received several fish.
After a few minutes, when she was satisfied that all had eaten, she turned around and began answering questions about the rescue program. One child asked, “why don’t you release them back into the ocean once they are healthy again?"
She responded, "These sea lions are so accustomed to being hand fed that they would not be capable of finding their own food. In the wild they would either die from starvation or become an easy meal for their natural predators."
Teaching students and children can be viewed in much the same way. If we are not careful we can fall into the habit of handing out spiritual sardines, moral morsels and tidbits of truth to our clamoring pupils. In effect making it difficult, and perhaps even nearly impossible for them to find spiritual sustenance, exercise moral muscles or develop divine discernment on their own. Then when they are released into the wild (head off to school or move away for a job) they are at a greater risk of spiritual starvation, or they can become easy prey for those who would seek to lead them astray.
“Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.”
There are many facets to effective gospel instruction. Teaching someone to fish is an example of ACTIVE LEARNING. Active learning requires effort and preparation by both the teacher and the student. Nephi teaches us, "When a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth [the message] unto the hearts of the children of men" (2 Nephi 33:1). The power of the Spirit carries the message unto but not necessarily into the heart. We can explain, put lists on the chalk board, show pictures, watch wonderful videos and share our testimonies with great spiritual power and effectiveness, but in the end our message and the witness of the Holy Ghost only penetrate into the hearts of the learners with their consent. And this consent, is demonstrated by a desire to learn. It requires the exercise of agency and is the result of faith and personal effort (work).
In 1 Nephi 11 we have the perfect example of active learning. Nephi's father shared with his family a vision he'd received. Nephi believed the words of his father, but he desired to know for himself, pondered in his heart, and believing the Lord would answer, he prayed. The spirit of the Lord appeared to him, and knew what was on his mind and in his heart and yet still asked him several questions.
Asking relevant questions of our students can kindle within them a desire to know and invites them to use their agency, thus initiating the process of active learning. Questions can help you understand what's on your student's minds (their knowledge of a particular gospel principle), or in their hearts (their belief in a gospel principle). Some questions can prompt a response in the form of a personal testimony. In each case the questions should require active participation (a thoughtful answer) and not just the regurgitation of dates, commonly repeated phrases or lists of facts. If you have a minute, read the account of Nephi's vision, his heavenly tutorial, and see how many times the spirit of the Lord invites him to 'Look!' and 'Behold'. There is a valuable pattern here, and a key to helping those who rely on our help to come unto Christ.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
Invite those you teach to look and behold. Teach them how to ask questions, both temporal and spiritual. And show them by word and in deed how to study and to pray to find the answers to life's most perplexing questions. In short teach them to act and not to be acted upon.
“The spiritual understanding you and I have been blessed to receive, and which has been confirmed as true in our hearts, simply cannot be given to our children. The tuition of diligence and of learning by study and also by faith must be paid to obtain and personally “own” such knowledge. Only in this way can what is known in the mind also be felt in the heart. Only in this way can a child move beyond relying upon the spiritual knowledge and experiences of parents and adults and claim those blessings for himself or herself. Only in this way can our children be prepared spiritually for the challenges of mortality.”