Teaching is so rewarding

I was teaching about repentance the other day and wanted the missionaries to understand how unhappy will be the soul who faces his maker without repentance.  I shared the scripture in Alma 36:15 when Alma wants to cease to exist.  I felt impressed right then to ask the missionaries, “What would happen if the story ended here?”  We paused and let them ponder.  The Spirit manifested to us in a powerful way what a enormous blessing is the atonement.

Another great experience occurred when I was teaching the missionaries how to invite someone to be baptized.  They have been using 2 Ne 31:5 and inviting the people to be baptized to follow Christ’s example.  But they weren’t teaching what Christ was being an example of?  He wasn’t exemplifying being forgiven of your sins, as some thought, because he was sinless!  Of course when you read verses 7 and 8 you recognize he was exemplifying covenants.  He, himself, was making a covenant with God by promising to testify and obey (v.7) and he then received the Holy Ghost demonstrated by a dove (v.8).  The missionaries learned they need to teach that we follow Jesus Christ by making the covenant of baptism not just being baptized.

Then I spoke about the tremendous blessing of the Holy Ghost and I realized there is a huge connection I between our part of the covenant and God’s part.  We covenant to be obedient so we can have the Holy Ghost with us.  And when we have the Holy Ghost with us, it helps us be obedient.  Obedience leads to the Holy Ghost and the Holy ghost leads to obedience.