Teaching the gospel can be a stressful calling. There are times when we feel so good about a lesson… until the lesson actually happens. Hours of preparation, feeling great about what you prepared, and it flops. This post is not about those moments.
On the contrary, this post is about those sweet moments when everything goes perfect. By perfect I don’t mean without mistake, but that you actually see the light go on for someone in the class. I like to call this the big payoff.
It can look anywhere along the spectrum from staring blankly at the ground, to nodding their head enthusiastically at every comment made. On a side note, one thing I have learned is that a quiet class is either a good thing or a bad thing; either they are hearing the voice of the spirit, or they are super bored.
So, how can you know if you have achieved the big payoff? Alma gives us this tip: “And now my beloved brethren, do you believe these things? Behold, I say unto you, yea, I know that ye believe them; and the way that I know that ye believe them is by the manifestation of the Spirit which is in me. And now because your faith is strong concerning that, yea, concerning the things which I have spoken, great is my joy.” You’ll know when it clicks for someone because you’ll feel it. And boy does it feel good. Or, in Alma’s words, great is your joy!
One great thing about the big payoff is that it can happen regularly. As it happens, you will want it more, as will your class. This leads to an increased excitement as you prepare lessons, and a better prepared class. As you build your confidence and abilities, combined with a class that is primed for a spiritual experience, the “light will go on” with greater frequency and intensity. The Lord worded it this way, “Therefore, why is it that ye cannot understand and know, that he that receiveth the word by the Spirit of truth receiveth it as it is preached by the Spirit of truth? Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together. And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness. That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.”