Dear Brother Cahoon,
Recently I have been caught up in a sticky situation. One of the brethren in my ward is insistent on talking about “deep doctrine” whenever we are together. He would expound his supposed great pearls of wisdom to me for hours at length. He is on my home teaching list, and now as a result of his insistent monologues on various aspects of doctrine I no longer want to visit with him as I feel his teachings are damaging to my own development. He insists that he is right and excuses his passion for doctrine delving with logic and pride. The teachings of the prophets are to stick to the basics, faith, repentance, good works etc. How can I get through to this person that it is not the obscure points of doctrine that matter the most, but the larger issues that the prophets have spoken of.
Sincerely,
Concerned Brother
When we started Shepherds and I started writing my Brother Cahoon column, I was an elder’s quorum president. Now I’m the Gospel Doctrine Teacher for our ward. As you can guess, I enjoy a good spiritual discussion myself, but there are limits, and this Gospel Doctrine calling has taught me some good guidelines concerning the “mysteries of the kingdom”.
Every week, as I prepare for my next lesson, I keep hearing over and over again these words “these articles are intended for personal use and study, teachers are to use the approved lesson manual and the scriptures”. Why is it so important to use just the lesson manual and scriptures? For one reason, that is what the lesson is all about, the scriptures. Rather than focus on commentary about the scriptures, focus on the scriptures themselves, read them out loud during class (or during a home teaching visit), discuss them amongst yourselves. “Search the scriptures” the Savior said, and with good reason. They do contain the knowledge that will allow us to live with Him again.
“If ye are prepared ye shall not fear” is a favorite scripture of mine. Prepare yourself by prayerfully deciding what this good brother needs to hear, and in the case of a home teaching visit, the message from the First Presidency is usually the best place to start. Read the scriptural verses that accompany the message, and be prepared to start your visit with this message, before he gets a chance to wander off on a tangent. Then, as he attempts to distract you, gently bring him back to the topic of the First Presidency message, or whatever message you choose to bring to him. This isn’t easy to do, but as you pray and prepare, you will be blessed with insight on how to accomplish this.
Posted by John in Home Teaching, Ask Brother Cahoon