University Library University of California Berkeley TEACHER TRAINING PRINCIPLES of the GOSPEL AN OUTLINE STUDY '""""" ' """"""" (J r 1 11 h, ' PRINCIPLES of the GOSPEL Designed for Quorum Instructors and Auxiliary Class Teachers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Published by the GENERAL BOARDS OF THE AUXILIARY ORGANIZATIONS OF THE CHURCH 1922 DESERET BOOK CO., SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH a Copyright, 1922 By HEBER J. GRANT For the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Contents Subject Page Salvation and Exaltation the Great Objective 10 The Lord Jesus Christ, the Great Author of Salvation 14 The Plan of Redemption 20 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints the Lord's Established Agency for Securing the Salvation and Exaltation of Man 30 The First Great Principle of the Gospel Faith 36 The Second Great Principle of the Gospel Repentance 42 The Third Great Principle of the Gospel Baptism 48 Laying on of Hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost.. 54 The Doctrine of the Priesthood or Divine Authority 60 The Doctrine of Continued Revelation 68 Salvation for the Dead and Other Temple Ordinances 72 Other Significant Teachings Faith and Works 80 Observance of the Sabbath Day .. 82 Tithing and Fast Offerings 86 Word of Wisdom 92 A Single Standard of Morals 96 Preface The work in Teacher Training as now organized constitutes a three years' course, one of the following major aspects of the teaching process being emphasized in. each of the three years: 1. The Principles of Psychology 2. The Principles of Pedagogy 3. The Principles of the Gospel Attention has been given during the past two years to the first two of these courses. Psychology, or the Who in teaching; Pedagogy, or the How in teaching. For 1922 the work will cover the Principles of the Gospel, the What in teaching. As a result of the conventions held during 1921 it is evident that we may well give attention to emphasizing the fundamentals of our faith. In order to counteract the appeal of commercialized and other agencies upon the youth of the Church, there is great need for better teaching in our quorums and classes. No one who accepts the responsibility of teaching of influencing for good or ill the eternal development of human souls should be able in good conscience to teach without availing himself of every possible agency designed to help him in this high calling. Many pupils who attended the conventions were found to have but vague conceptions relative to some of the most import- ant principles of the gospel. Others confessed their difficulties in believing certain other doctrines which evidently had been but indifferently crystalized as vital matters in their religious lives. It is hoped that a good vigorous study of these funda- mentals on the part of the teachers in the various organizations will result through their teaching in a clearer understanding and greater appreciation of the gospel by the children of the church. It is hoped also that the teacher-training classes of 1922 will be valuable not only for the knowledge of the gospel imparted, but for the inspiration which the teachers will receive to give at all times their best to the boys and girls. The material for 1922 has been prepared in outline form, one outline containing ample material for at least two recita- tions. In a word, the outline suggests a survey of our gospel doctrine. It first raises the question, "What Is the Purpose of Life?" If the purpose is Exhaltation, then who is the Author of the plan whereby it may be achieved? What is the Plan? What Church provides such a plan? What are the Principles involved in such a plan? In short, what are the fundamental Principles of the Gospel? These outlines have been drawn up by some of the most capable teachers in the Church and while they follow the same general plan they are as different as outlines drawn by different individuals always ought to be. The variety has been pre- sented that no one should be led to believe that there is one best form of outline for all teachers. An outline at best is but a skeletonized statement of pro- cedure. Each man must say finally how he can best proceed. It is suggested, therefore, that in presenting these lessons each teacher prepare his own outline of the material covered. In . some cases, as in the material for February, it is clear that the teacher will have to select and emphasize what to him are the outstanding features; in the material for October it is equally clear that the teacher will need to expand and illustrate the general truths set down. In practically every outline an abun- dance of material has been provided, it being thought that it will be easier for teachers to select and eliminate than to provide what is not suggested. Extra material has been provided for December which may be used as occasion demands. Copious references have been listed so that it will be easy to make assignments of special topics. It is hoped that as many individual members as possible will be encouraged to bring in contributions to class discussions. It will be observed that the outline is so prepared that each alternate page is a blank provided for note taking. Often the most valuable parts of our texts are the notes which we have inserted. Surely that may well be the case in such a study of the gospel as is afforded in Teacher Training during the present year. It is suggested further that teachers be led to discuss the questions raised as they may affect the lives of the boys and girls whom they teach. In other words, it is hoped that the teacher training work will find an echo in all the teaching done during the year. "How can I vitalize each principle presented for my class members" is a good question for the various teachers to keep in mind. In good teaching it is impossible to separate subject matter and method. It is recommended, therefore, that throughout the year's work, attention be given regularly to the methods of teaching discussed during 1921. This year's work offers an excellent opportunity for applying the principles studied last year. Teachers should be concerned not only with the subject "Baptism," for instance, as a subject, but should be concerned to know just how best to present it so as to win the interest of a class in its importance as a step in the plan of salvation. Occasional reviews on chapters of last year's text will be helpful. One further general suggestion. While it is hoped that vital problems and questions will be raised regularly in the course of the year's work, it is earnestly recommended that teachers avoid quibbling about uncertain philosophical points of belief. There are many points with reference both to the here and the hereafter concerning which nothing definite has been revealed. There is little to be gained in discussing such vagaries. Rather should we center our effort on understanding fully the basic principles of the gospel concerning which the word of the Lord is clear. In this connection it is recommended that on points that may be raised, safety lies in adhering to the word of the Lord as contained in the Standard Works of the Church. The regular use of a good Ready Reference will be a most helpful practice. The year's work will enable every teacher in the Church to cultivate a practical acquaintance with these books and will enable him to build for himself an intelligent working faith which will prove an anchor in all his life. An Outline Study of the Principles of the Gospel SALVATION AND EXALTATION THE GREAT OBJECTIVE (Material for January) "For behold, this is My work and My glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." P. of G. P., Book of Moses, 1:39. GENERAL REFERENCES: Doctrine and Covenants Sections 76 and 88. SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS : *Note: All Reference books may be had through the Deseret Book Co. "The Gospel" Roberts, pp. 11-43. "Articles of Faith" Talmage. pp. 76-97. "Ecclesiastical History" Roberts, pp. 377-389. "Vitality of Mormonism" Talmage. p. 276. "Jesus the Christ" Talmage. pp. 17-31. "Gospel Doctrine" Joseph F. Smith, pp. 538-603. "Scientific Aspects of Mormonism" Nelson, pp. 216-231. I. Immortality, or an eternal union of spirit and body, secured to all through the Atonement of Christ. John 5:26, 28, 29. Alma 11:40-46. D. & C. 76:16, 17. Rev. 20:12, 13. Acts 24:14, 15. II. Eternal life, a spiritual union with God which shall last forever, is dependent upon the merits or demerits of the individual, in other words, upon obedience to the laws of spiritual life and growth. I John 3:14. John 17:3. Matt. 19:16-26. D. & C. 76: 51-58. 1. The same laws that govern here to govern hereafter. I Peter 4:6; D. & C. 76:73, 74; I Cor. 15:29. 2. Opportunities here and hereafter. Read "Vitality of Mormonism" Talmage. pp. 257-263. 12 3. Improvement, advancement, progression here and here- after are basal principles of the Divine plan with respect to the souls of men. Read "Vitality of Mor- monism" pp. 266-269. 4. Some degree of salvation shall be granted to every soul who has not committed the unpardonable sin. D. & C. 76:109-112. 5. Progression in eternity to be along well defined lines approaching a likeness with God. 6. Exaltation in either telestial, terrestrial or celestial kingdom dependent upon observance of laws obtaining there. Read D. & C. 88. "Ecclesiastical History "- Roberts, pp. 382-387. 7. Progress within and from different degrees of glory. Read "Ecclesiastical History" Roberts, pp. 386-387. QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 1. What is the difference between immortality and eternal life? 2. What is the difference between salvation and ex- altation? 3. Who are heirs to each of the three degrees of glory? 4. Upon what will an eternal increase depend? 5. Harmonize the eternal progression of those in the telestial kingdom with the statement that where God and Christ are they cannot come worlds without end. 6. Who are sons of perdition? 7. If Christ's work is to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man," what is our work? 14 THE LORD JESUS CHRIST THE GREAT AUTHOR OF SALVATION (Material for February) GENERAL REFERENCES: Old Testament Ex. 3:13, 14. New Testament Matt. 2:11-15; 28:1-10, 16-20; Luke 1:26-35; 2:29-33; 4:1-15; 6:13; 22:1-71; 24:13-34; John 1:1-14; 10:18; 20:1-29; 21:1-23; Acts 1:9-12; I Cor. 15:6, 7; Col. 2:9; I Peter 3:19, 20. Book of Mormon I Nephi 17:30-40; III Nephi 11:13-41; 16:1-3; 17:4; Helaman 14:12; Ether 3:14. Doctrine and Covenants 20:28; 46:31; 93:21; 130:20- 22; 136:22. Pearl of Great Price Abraham 3:22-24, 27; Moses 1:33; 4:28. SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS : Writings of Joseph Smith "Jesus the Christ" James E. Talmage. I. Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 1. An intelligence of the highest order. 2. The first born of the spirits in heaven. 3. A God before His birth on this earth; a Creator God before He came to earth. 4. A member of the Godhead, second in authority; a counselor of His Father and one with His Father. 5. The Jehovah of the Hebrews; the God of the Jaredites; the promised Messiah. 6. The promised babe at Bethlehem. His father, God the Eternal Father; His earthly mother, the Virgin Mary. II. Jesus Christ, the great Teacher; the Founder and Head of the Church. 1. Science and religion united in announcing His birth: the star for scholars and the angels' song for the shepherd. 16 2. The miraculously preserved child of Bethlehem. 3. The one baptised by John, the Godhead present. 4. A vanquisher of Satan in single spiritual combat. 5. A teacher without a peer; an unparalleled worker of miracles. 6. The founder of Christianity, through the calling of the Twelve and their ordination as Apostles. 7. The one who organized the Church, administered the sacrament, blessed and preached the Gospel to the Nephites on this continent. 8. The one who, with His Father, by whom He was intro- duced, opened the Gospel dispensation of the fullness of times. 9. The one who, either in person or by authorized messen- gers, revealed the principles and doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and is now directing the affairs of this Church, which bears His name. III. Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World. 1. The one who gave His life for mankind, when He had power to save it, courageously carrying the weight of all the pardonable sins of the world at Gethsemane. 2. The giver of unconditional redemption of man from the physical death and conditional redemption from spirit- ual death. 3. The one who opened a dispensation of the Gospel in the regions of the damned. 4. The only one through whom mankind can obtain salvation. IV. Jesus Christ, The First Fruits of the Resurrection. 1. He is the Resurrection and the Life. 2. The one who broke the bands of death at the first resurrection on this earth. 3. The medium through whom resurrected bodies come, hence* He is the Father of all. 18 QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 1. Prove that Jesus the Christ was a member of the Godhead. 2. Give scriptural evidence that Christ was the Jehovah of the Hebrews. 3. What does this expression mean to you, "I know that my Redeemer lives?" Who is the author of the quotation? 4. Read carefully hymn number 145, hymn book ; number 66, psalmody. 5. What will Christ do for every individual when He takes charge of the affairs of the earth as chief ruler? See Doctrine and Covenants 1:10. 6. Show that the Godhead of which Jesus Christ is a member has in it the good elements of the three great forms of government the love of the patriarchial, the strength of the monarchial, and the liberty of the democratic. 7. From the following three facts draw a conclusion. a. It is not consistent for the superior to worship the inferior. b. The organized is superior to the unorganized. c. Man is an organized intelligence. THEREFORE? 20 THE PLAN OF REDEMPTION (Material for March) GENERAL REFERENCES: Bible Gen. 1:1-27; Num. 27;16; Eccl. 12-7; Jer. 1:4-5; John 9:1-2; Eph. 1:3-6; Heb. 12:9; Rev. 12:7-12; 1 Tim. 2:5, 6, 14; 4:10; Rom. 3:23-25: 2 Tim. 1:8; John 6:50-54; 10:7-18; 11:25-26; Luke 22:19-20; Acts 5:29-32; Rom. 6:23. Book of Mormon II Nephi 2:16-27; 9:6-13: 2:11-16; Mosiah 3:16-19. Doctrine and Covenants 74:7; 76; 18:11; 35:2; 18:47; 29:5, 46-47; 88:15, 99; 58:28; 29:36-37; 93:4; 130:18. Pearl of Great Price Abr. 3:22-28; Moses 3:4-5, 8-9, 17; 2:1-2,26-27; 4:1-25. A. THE WAY To MAN'S EARTH-LIFE. "Adam fell that men might be" II Nephi 2:22-25. I. Our Premortal (pre-existent) Life. 1. Scriptural evidences: Job. 38rl-7; Eccl. 12-7; Heb. 12:9; John 1:1, 2, 14; 3:13; 6:38, 62; 17:3-5, I Pet. 1: 19-20; Num. 27:16; Jer. 1:4-5; Rev. 12:7-12; Ether 3. 2. Aspects of such premortal life. a. A spiritual creation or spirit birth we were "added upon" Heb. 12:9. (1) Earth-birth but typical of heaven-birth. See Heb. 9:23. b. Spirits unequal in their "first estate" (Jude 6), Abr. 3:22-24; II Pet. 2:4; Romans 8:29; 9:11-14. c. Certain spirits and foreordination. I Pet. 1:19-20; Jer. 1:4-5; Romans 11:2. II. The Creations. 1. Spiritual: plants, animals, man. Gen. 2:4-5; Moses 3:4-5, 8-9; Abr. 3:22-27; Jude 6. D. & C. 29: 30-32; 93:29. 2. Temporal: earth, plants, animals, man. Gen. 1:1-2, 26-27; 2:4-6, 8-9; Moses 2:1-2, 26-27; 1:31-32; 3:4-5, 8-9;. Abr. 3:24-25; D. & C. 88:15. 22 III. The Fall. See Era, February, 1921. 1. The new earth to be peopled. Abr. 3:24-25. 2. A prearranged plan Adam's "appointed mission." II Nephi 2:22-25. "Jesus the Christ," Talmage; Articles of Faith, Talmage. 3. The transgression, nature of. Gen. 2:17; 3:1-13; Moses 4:5-13. 4. The banishment spiritual and physical. Gen. 3:9-24; Moses 4:1-25. 5. Brought sin and death into the world spiritual and physical (temporal) death. 6. The first great commandment now possible of ful- fillment. II Nephi 2:22-25. 7. A savior (mediator) made necessary. I Cor. 15:21-22; II Nephi 9:6-13. IV. "Whom Shall I Send?" Abr. 3:27. 1. Free agency versus freedom. See Alma 42:1-10; II Nephi 2:16-27; Heleman 14:30-31. 2. Free agency a priceless heritage. a. The Lord so designs it. Moses 3:17; D. & C. 58:28. 3. The offers. a. Christ's (the Father's) one of free agency and unselfish love. b. Lucifer's one of force and selfish ambition. 4. Christ the chosen One. a. Lucifer's rebellion. Abr. 3:28; D. & C. 29:36-37; 76:25-27. b. War in heaven. Rev. 12:7. c. Lucifer's expulsion. d. Adam's (Michael's) part. B. THE WAY OF MAN'S RETURN To GOD. I. Christ's Atonement a Necessary Outgrowth of the Fall. 1. Where a law is broken a penalty is always attached. Christ chose to pay the penalty which the broken law imposed. Heb. 2:9; John 6:50-51; Luke 22:19-20; Rom. 6:23; 1 Tim. 2:5-6. 24 II. Christ and Unconditional Redemption the MUST element of the atonement or so-called general salvation. 1. Relative claims of justice and mercy. a. Before the Fall the scale perfectly balanced an agreement (conciliation). b. By the Fall the scale (balance) upset a dis- agreement ( estrangement ) . (1) Justice demanded the penalty of death. Gen. 2:17; Moses 3:17. c. Through the atonement the scale rebalanced (reconciliation) . 2. Christ the first fruits of the resurrection and through him it is made possible for all mankind to be resur- rected. John 11:25; 1 Cor. 15:12-58. III. Christ and Conditional Redemption the MAY element of the atonement, or so-called individual salvation. 1. Men may be saved from, not in, their individual sins. 3rd Article of Faith. 2. Obedience to Gospel law the only way. Heb. 5:7-8; I John 1:5-7; Mark 16:15-16. 3. Salvation conditional and elective. a. It costs individual effort. b. It imposes stipulations a something to be done. II John 1:9; Heb. 6:1-2. 4. Reward and punishment an outgrowth. I John 1:5-10. Mosiah 3:11-12; II Nephi 2:11-16. IV. Christ and Child Salvation He Makes them Free. 1. Effects of Adam's transgression taken away in Him. Mosiah 3:16-19. 2. Children redeemed from the foundation of the world. D. & C. 29:46-47. a. Satan not permitted to tempt them. b. They cannot sin. 3. They are clean in Christ the "whole need no physi- cian." Moroni 8:8-12; 19-22. 4. They are holy through the atonement. D. & C. 74:7. 26 V. Christ's a Free- Will Offering. He saved by loving service. .1. Self-imposed (chosen). John 10:17-18; Matt. 26:53- 54; Moses 4:1; Abr. 3:27. 2. Love inspired. a. On the part of the Father. John 3:16-17; I John 4:9. b. On the part of the Son. John 15:13; Luke 23:34. VI. The Gospel Plan an Eternal Progression. 1. Christ the author of salvation through obedience. Heb. 5:8-9. 2. Christ received not a fullness at first, but grace to grace. D. & C. 93:14. 3. Christ thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Phil. 2:5-6; John 5:17-19; Mormon Doctrine of Diety. pp. 226-228 also pp. 32-47. 4. Man a possible "joint heir" with Christ. Rom. 8:16-17. 5. Intelligence gained here will rise with us. D. & C. 130:18. QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 1. Distinguish between (a) an intelligence, (b) a spirit, (c) a soul. 2. Define (a) a spiritual death and physical death, (b) spiritual banishment and physical banishment. 3. When is a stumbling block a stepping stone? Apply to lesson content. 4. What would you think of a school which compelled all its students to graduate, irrespective of their individual effort and their personal desires in the matter? Apply to lesson content. 5. It has been said that "Adam fell upward through Christ." Explain. 6. In what sense are the Fall and the Atonement reciprocal? 7. What do we mean by the MUST element of Christ's mission? 28 8. What do we mean by the MAY element of Christ's mission. 9. Show wherein man, estranged from God, was helpless without a Rescuer (Mediator) . 10. Show wherein it is just and fair that all shall be resurrected. 11. Show wherein the Fall brought final blessings, not curses, to all concerned. 12. Explain "Men may be saved from, not in, their individual sins." 13. Explain "As a man is, God once was," etc. 30 THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS THE LORD'S ESTABLISHED AGENCY FOR SECURING THE SALVATION AND EXALTATION OF MAN (Material for April) GENERAL REFERENCES: New Testament Luke 6:13; 10:1-17; Acts 6:7; 13:1-3; 14:23; I Timothy 3:10; I Cor. 12:28. Doctrine and Covenants Sec. 13; 128:20. SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS : The Improvement Era May 1921. History of the Church Vol I, pp. 40,41. "The Vitality of Mormonism" Talmage. "The Gospel" Roberts. "The Articles of Faith" Talmage. A. THE NEED OF A CHURCH. I. Man, as :a social being, needs an organization for his religious welfare just as for his political welfare. II. Society needs an institution which will serve as a depository for the Revelations and Teachings of the Lord. III. The Savior of the world deemed it necessary to provide an organization to take care of the religious needs of people. His apostles perpetuated the organization. See I Cor. 12:28. IV. Man can accomplish more good in the world through an organized agency than he can acting merely as an individual. V. History declares that mankind generally have considered a church necessary to civilization. B. EVIDENCES THAT THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS is THE LORD'S ESTABLISHED AGENCY FOR SECURING THE SALVATION AND EXALTATION OF MAN. 32 I. The Evidence of Prophecy. 1. That there should be an apostasy. Isaiah 24:1-6; 29:9-10, 13; 60:2. Jeremiah 2:13; 16:10-21; 23:10-12. Amos 8:11,12. Hosea 4:1. Micah 3:5-11. Daniel 7:21-25. Matt. 24:10-13. Acts 20:29, 30. I Timothy 4:1, 2, 3. II. Thessalonians 2:3-12. 2. That there should be a restoration. Revelations 14:6, 7; 18:4, 5. Ezekiel 37:16-19. Amos 3:7. Acts 3:19-21. Micah 4:1, 2. James 1:5, 6, 7. Daniel 2:44, 45. Malachi 4:1-6. II. The Evidence of Its Origin. 1. It is not man-made but instituted of God in these latter days through the Prophet Joseph Smith. 2. Both God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ visited the earth to usher in this great latter-day work. 3. It is HIS Church. 4. It operates under the authority of His Holy Priesthood restored to earth by John the Baptist and by the apostles Peter, James and John. III. The Evidence of Attainment. "By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them." 1. What the Church as an institution has done. a. Its colonization. b. Its reclamation projects. c. Its industrial pioneering. d. Its social provisions through its organization in the realm of education, recreation, charities, missionary service, etc. e. Its moral status. f. Its ideals of home life. g. Its citizenship and loyalty to government. 34 2. What the individual members of the Church are ex- pected to be and to do. a. Examples of the achievement of such men as our present leaders. b. The activities regularly engaged in by members of every ward in the Church. IV. The Evidence of Its Publications. No such man as Joseph Smith unaided by the Spirit of the Lord could have produced The Book of Mormon. The Doctrine and Covenants. The Pearl of Great Price. V. The Evidence of Its Teachings as Providing the Com- pletest Scheme of Life Here and Hereafter. These teachings constitute the basis for our year's work in Teacher-Training. QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 1. Discuss the significance of the Lord's declaration relative'to the churches concerning which the Prophet Joseph Smith inquired: "You must join none of them. They are all wrong. Their creeds are an abomination in My sight. The pro- fessors thereof are all corrupt. They draw near me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They teach for doctrine the commandments of men. Having a form of Godliness, they deny the power thereof." 2. What are the real tests of a Church? 3. How would you meet the argument that an upright man needs no Church? 4. What entitles the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the consideration of the world as the Church of God? 5. How are the standard works of the Church an evidence of its divinity? 6. Discuss the relative importance of each of the other evidences. 36 THE FIRST GREAT PRINCIPLE OF THE GOSPEI^FAITH (Material for May) GENERAL REFERENCES: New Testament Hebrews 11:6; Romans 10:8-17; I Cor. 12:8, 9; Eph. 2:8; Matt. 17-20; 21:17-21; Mark 4:36- 41;; 11:23-24. Book of Mormon Alma 14:26-29; Helaman 5:20-52. Doctrine and Covenants Lecture on Faith 3:13-19. Doc. & Cov. 29:6. SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS: "Articles of Faith" Talmage. Lecture V. "The Gospel and Man's Relation to Diety" Roberts. Chap. IX, XII. I. Faith Denned. 1. "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." As used in the scriptures faith means "full confidence and trust in the being, purposes, and words of God." In the theological sense "Faith means a living, inspiring confidence in God and an acceptance of His will as our law, and of His words as our guide in life." II. How Faith is Obtained and Increased. 1. Every child born into the world has capacity for faith inherent within him. This may be developed and cultivated. 2. Faith must be sought after with sincerity and in humility. 3. Faith in God is increased by hearing or reading His word and by the testimony of His servants. 4. Faith in God's law is increased by living His law. 5. Great faith often comes as a direct gift of God. III. Upon What Faith Rests. 1. True faith rests on correct information correctly inter- preted. 38 2. Distorted faith comes from wrong information or from correct information wrongly interpreted. 3. Man's faith in God is established by coming to know Him. Man conies to know God by a. The evidence of history and tradition. b. The evidence furnished by the exercise of human reason. c. The conclusive evidence of direct revelation from God Himself. IV. Faith and Works. 1. Inter-relation of each to the other. 2. Passive faith ineffective. See James 2:17, 18. V. Faith a Principle of Power. 1. In every day life the moving power of all action. 2. In times of great need. a. In sickness. b. In doubt. c. In weakness. 3. The "carrying" power of prayer. 4. A measure of what one receives. 5. It makes all things possible. VI. Faith Necessary for Salvation. 1. Faith necessary to please God. 2. Faith in Godhead and in Gospel. 3. Faith leads to repentance and obedience to God's law. VII. Results of Faith. 1. In ancient Israel. 2. In ministry of Christ and His Apostles. 3. Among the Nephites. 4. In modern Israel. 40 QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 1. Explain the wise provision which ordains that man in this probation shall walk by faith and not by sight. 2. Show that faith is the impelling force that leads men to plan, struggle, and achieve all the worth while things of life. 3. In whom is faith necessary for salvation? 4. What is necessary that one may exercise faith in God? 5. On what evidence does faith in God rest? 6. How is faith developed? 7. How does faith become a principle of power? 8. Show that living faith is a greater saving power than unused knowledge. 42 THE SECOND GREAT PRINCIPLE OF THE GOSPEL- REPENTANCE (Material for June) GENERAL REFERENCES: Old Testament Pro. 11:21; 16:5; 28:13; Psalms 38:18; Isaiah 55:7; Ecc. 7:20. New Testament Matt. 3:7, 8; Luke 13:5; 15:7; 24:47; Rom. 3:10; II Peter 3:9. Book of Mormon II Nephi 2:21. Doctrine and Covenants 1:33; 18:13; 19:4; 43:20; 64:7, 9, 10. Pearl of Great Price Moses 5:8, 9; 6:51-53. I. What Repentance Is. 1. A sorrow for and turning away from sin. 2. A preparation for a new spiritual birth of water and of spirit. 3. A substitution of good for evil in character building. II. Repentance Essential to Salvation. 1. The only way to God's forgiveness. 2. More of a source of joy to God than man's self- righteousness. 3. Indispensable to light and eternal life. 4. The need of repentance universal. 5. Confession of sin to God and to others who should know, an essential part of repentance. 6. Group repentance as essential as individual repentance. III. Steps in the Process of Repentance. 7. The stairway of repentance by which we climb out of the pit of sin has five steps: a. The recognition of one's wrong doing. b. Regret for the wrong doing. c. Resolution to forsake the sin. d. Reformation or change in conduct. 44 e. Restitution or making recompense for our errors. (1) By our very best efforts. (2) By the help of the Lord, which help is a gift of God. Hence, repentance is a gift of God as well as a human climb. IV. Readiness to Forgive Others a Condition of Forgiveness by God. 1. Unwillingness to forgive a bar to God's forgiveness. 2. Unforgiveness of a pardonable sin worse than the sin. 3. Self-forgiveness after repentance, necessary to happi- ness. It is inconsistent to ask the Lord to do what we will not do, therefore, we have no right to ask him for forgiveness until we repent, and then He will forgive us and so should we forgive ourselves. Brooding over sin repented of is as inconsistent as holding a grudge against another person. "Arise if the past detain you, Her sunshine and sorrows forget; No chain so unworthy to hold you As those of a vain regret." QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 1. Who first taught repentance on this earth? 2. Show the relation between repentance and baptism. 3. How would it affect religion if the unrepentant could be forgiven by the Lord? 4. Show that repentance requires self-control plus self- correction and that it should have a double motive, self- betterment and the pleasure of others God and man. 5. Discuss the following quotation as it affects repent- ance: "Vice is a monster of such frightful mien, As to be hated needs but to be seen; But seen too oft, familiar with her face, We first endure, then pity, then embrace." 46 6. Who are exempt from repentance in the Plan of Salvation? 7. On what terms may we ask for God's forgiveness and expect our petitions to be granted? 8. Why would heaven where Jesus is be its opposite to an unforgiving person? 9. To whom should sins be confessed? 10. When does the brooding over sin become a sin? 11. Wherein is repentance a gift from God? 12. Give an illustration of group repentance. 48 THE THIRD GREAT PRINCIPLE OF THE GOSPEL- BAPTISM (Material for July) GENERAL REFERENCES: New Testament Matt, 3:5, 6, 13-17; John 3:1-8, 24; Acts 2:38; 8:12-17, 38-39; 19:2-6; Rom. 6:3-6. Book of Mormon III Nephi, Chap. 11. Doctrine and Covenants Sections 13 and 20. Pearl of Great Price Moses, Chap. 6. SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS: "The Gospel" Roberts. "Outlines of Ecc. Hist." Roberts, Part I, Chap. 3; Part II, Chap. 3. "Articles of Faith" Talmage, Lecture VI. "Gospel Doctrine" Joseph F. Smith, Chap. 6. I. A Concrete Test of Man's Submission to the Divine Will. 1. Obedience to the Divine Plan the paramount duty of life. 2. Obedience necessarily indicated by a physical ex- pression. 3. Christ's baptism an example of obedience. 4. Two parties to the contract of baptism; of necessity the person representing the First party must be divinely authorized. 5. Parallel illustrations in civil life. II. Divine Love Made Manifest Through this Ordinance. 1. The great purpose of God to bring to pass the ex- altation of His children; hence the institution of the Plan of Salvation, of which baptism is a part. 2. Two-fold purpose of the atonement : Redemption from death without effort on man's part; redemption from personal sin through obedience to the plan. Baptism is the specific ordinance through which comes remission of sins. 50 3. As one Party to the contract of baptism, God is able and willing to forgive sin on compliance with the requisite conditions faith, repentance, obedience. 4. His marvelous love manifested in forgiveness of sin. III. Remission of Sins Essential to Membership in the Kingdom of God. 1. No unclean thing can dwell in His presence. 2. Sin a bar to progress. IV. Condition of the Repentant Believer after Baptism. 1. Baptism makes possible a regeneration; an actual cleansing of body and spirit takes place. 2. Baptism enables one to become a child of God spirit- ually. 3. Baptism gives power to progress spiritually. V. The Symbolism. 1. Meaning of the term "baptism." 2. Immersion in water a most fitting method to express the full meaning and purpose of baptism. 3. The likeness to a birth. 4. The likeness to Christ's burial^ and resurrection. a. Descent below all things. b. The coming forth to a newness of life. 5. The submission of the individual to the one officiating comparable to his dependence on Divine mercy. Rom. 6:3, 4. VI Baptism for the Dead. 1. Baptism a requirement of every individual. 2. The efficacy of vicarious work. 3. The mercy and justice of God shown through this provision. 4. Conditions necessary. 5. This principle taught in the Primitive Church. I Peter 3:18-20; 4:6. I Cor. 15:29. 6. Restored in the new dispensation. 52 VII. Baptism Considered Historically. 1. Before Christ baptism of Adam. 2. Baptism in the primitive Church. 3. Baptism among the Nephites. 4. Baptism as restored in the present dispensation. His- tory of the Church, Vol. I, pp. 40, 41. Doc. & Cov. Sec. 13. "One Hundred Years of Mormonism," Evans, Chap. V. QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 1. Why is a moral life alone insufficient to ^ secure exaltation? 2. Apply to baptism the scripture: "To obey is better than sacrifice." Is this statement also true: "To be obedient is better than to gain great wordly knowledge?" 3. Harmonize the truth that the effects of broken law are inescapable with the promise: "Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow." (Isa. 1:18) . 4. Distinguish clearly between general and individual remission of sins. 5. Show how Love is the dominant thought in every feature of the baptismal ordinance. 6. To whom is baptism applicable? Point out the errors in infant baptism. Moroni, Chap. 8. 54 LAYING ON OF HANDS FOR THE GIFTT OF THE HOLY GHOST (Material for August) GENERAL REFERENCES: New Testament Mark 1:7-8; John 1:29-33; Acts 1:4, 5; 2:2-4; 2:38; John 3:5; Acts 8:14-17; 8:18-24; 19:1-6; John 14:16,17; Acts 5:32; I Cor. 6:19; 3:16, 17; II Tim. 1:6; Heb. 6:1, 2; John 15:26; 14:26; 16:13-15; I John 2:20, 27; II Peter 1:21; I Cor. 2:11, 12; John 15:26; I Cor. 12:3; 12:4-22; Gal. 6:22, 23. Book of Mormon II Nephi 31:8, 12-14, 17; III Nephi 11:36; 12:2, 6; Alma 13:12. Doctrine and Covenants Sec. 20:38, 41; 39:6, 23; 49:11- 14; 45:57; 84:45-47; 136:33; 121:43; 107:56; 18:18. SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS : "The Gospel"-^Roberts. Chapters 25, 26, 27, 28. "Articles of Faith" Talmage. Lecture VIII. "Rays of Living Light" Penrose. Found in Ben E. Rich's "Scrap Book of Mormon Literature," Vol. I. p. 217. I. Why a Baptism of the Spirit. 1. Man prone to relapse into sinful ways. 2. A higher spiritual force necessary to overcome man's sinful nature. 3. Without it it is impossible to enter the kingdom of heaven. 4. A parallel in nature growth of the plant dependent on light and warmth of the sun. II. Promises concerning Its Gift to Man. 1. By John the Baptist. 2. By Jesus Christ. 3. Fulfillment of the promises. 56 III. Who are Entitled to the baptism of the Holy Ghost? 1. "Those of the world" cannot receive it. 2. All men may receive it following the watery baptism. 3. The Holy Ghost does not dwell in unholy temples. IV. How and by Whom it is Conferred. 1. By the laying on of hands. a. Symbolism of the ordinance. b. The evidence of history. See Robert's "Gospel"- pp. 229-231. 2. By those holding the Higher Priesthood. V. How It Manifests Itself. 1. It guides unto all truth. 1. It brings things to one's remembrance. 3. It shows things to come. 4. It testifies of God and Christ. 5. Through it the Gifts of the Spirit are made possible. I Cor. 12:4-22. VI. Fruits of the Holy Ghost. 1. As manifested in the lives of the first apostles. 2. As manifested in our lives. Gal. 6:22, 23. QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 1. Why is the reception of the Holy Ghost rightly named "a higher baptism?" 2. How is its influence in man's spiritual growth compar- able to the influence of the sun in the growth of the plants? 3. Explain what Christ meant by John 16:7. 4. Justify the giving of the Holy Ghost to Cornelius before his baptism in water. 5. Why do you consider III Nephi 12:6 a superior render- ing of Christ's thought to Matt. 5:6? 58 6. Why was it necessary for Peter and John to go up to Samaria to bestow the Holy Ghost on Philip's converts? Cite a similar incident in the history of our Church. 7. Why is the Christian world inconsistent in that it denies the presence of spiritual gifts and still claims to have the gift of the Holy Ghost? 8. What is there in Paul's question to the converts of Ephesus, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost?" that should cause us sincerely to reflect? 60 THE DOCTRINE OF THE PRIESTHOOD OR DIVINE AUTHORITY (Material for September) GENERAL REFERENCES: Bible Genesis, 14:18-20; Exodus, 19:3-9; 28:1-2; 40:15. Numbers, 25:13; 16:9-23; 27:15-23. II Samuel, 6:6-7. I Chronicles, 13:9-10. II Chronicles 26:16-19. Isaiah 6:8-9. Acts, 6:5-6; 13:1-3. Romans, 10:14-15. I Peter 4:11. Hebrews 5:4-5; II Corinthians, 5:18-21. John 15:16: 20:21-23. Mark 3:14-15. Matthew 18:18. Book of Mormon Mosiah 11:20; 28:1-7. Alma 49:30; III Nephi 11:22-26; 18:36-37. Moroni 3:1-4; 2:1-3. Jacob, 1:17-18. Doctrine and Covenants Section 2:1; 13:1; 27:8; 67:10; 68:17-21; 84:6-42; 86:8-11; 94:6; 107:1-98; 112:30; 113:6-8; 119:2; 121:21-45; 122:9; 124:28-145; 127:8; 128:8-21; 132:7-64. SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS : "Articles of Faith," Talmage, pages 184-199. "Deseret News," May 28, 1921. I. Priesthood. What It Is. 1. The term is used in two senses : a. As applied to the body of men ordained to the Priesthood. b. Priesthood is the authority of God delegated to man whereby he may officiate in the name of the Lord. Through ordination to the Priesthood man becomes an agent of God and as such may officiate with authority in the ordinances, laws and rites of the gospel and may declare it to the world. The Lord acknowledges such acts as if He performed them Himself. 2. The conferring of the Priesthood authorizes man to act for the Lord just as conferring legal authority enables one man to act for another. 62 II. Need of Priesthood. 1. God's need of extending His power by selecting men to represent him in carrying forward His work in the earth. 2. Man's need of some medium of power to enable him to discharge his obligations as a copartner with God in bringing about the redemption of mankind. Without the Priesthood man cannot act officially for God. III. Divisions of the Priesthood. 1. The Melchizedek. This Priesthood is involved in the administration of both spiritual and temporal things. Its membership consists of: a. High Priests. b. Seventies. c. Elders. For the respective duties of each of these divisions, see Doctrine and Covenants, Sec. 20. 2. The Aaronic. This Priesthood is an appendage of and is presided over by the Melchizedek, and is involved in the administration of temporal affairs. Its member- ship consists of: a. Priests. b. Teachers. c. Deacons. For the respective duties of each of these divisions, see Doctrine and Covenants, Sec. 20. IV. How and On Whom Conferred. 1. By the laying on of hands. 2. On men only. V. Conditions under which Men may Receive the Priesthood. 1. When they have faith in its divinity. 2. When they are physically and spiritually clean. 3.~ When they have conformed to the laws of membership of the Church. 4. When voted upon and sustained to be taken into fellow- ship in the Priesthood. 64 VI. Powers and Glories under the Priesthood. 1. It attends and directs all church organization. 2. It makes men working partners Math God, men becom- ing His earthly agents. 3. It gives power to do all things the Lord commands. 4. It prepares men to go into the very presence of God; without it men cannot see His face and live. 5. It may make men prophets, priests, kings. - 6. It makes valid ordinances for the living and the dead. 7. It makes men minister in time and eternity to their fellowmen. VII. History of the Priesthood. 1. Conferred upon Adam and through him and his descendants and the prophets to Christ. 2. Taken from the earth after Christ. 3. Restored in these latter days through the prophet Joseph Smith. See Doctrine and Covenants, Sec. 13 and 128. QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 1. Why could Christ's Church not be set up or organized without Priesthood? 2. What is meant by the New and Everlasting Covenant? 3. When and by whom was the Aaronic Priesthood restored, and upon whom was it conferred? 4. When and by whom was the Melchizedek Priesthood restored, and upon whom was it conferred? 5. If woman holds no priesthood, explain how she receives and enjoys blessings under the priesthood. 6. If the sick may be healed through faith, why the need of priesthood? 7. If priesthood is without father or mother, without beginning or end, how did it originate? 8. Show how the unselfishness of God is manifest in making man His working partner and agent. 66 9. Why are the first four principles of the gospel essential before man may receive the priesthood? 10. Distinguish between the Priesthood and an appoint- ment under it. 11. Develop the thought that under the priesthood, the Church organization may become the greatest training school in the world. 68 THE DOCTRINE OF CONTINUED REVELATION (Material for October) GENERAL REFERENCES: Old Testament Psalm 85:8, 11; Isaiah 29:11-24; Jer. 3:14; 31:33; Ezek. 37:26; Dan. 2:44; 12:4, 10; Joel 2:28, 29; Amos 3:7; Mai. 4:5. SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS : "Articles of Faith" Talmage. Lecture 16. "Gospel Doctrine" Sermons by Joseph F. Smith. "The Vision" 1st and 3rd editions. I. Knowledge of the Plan of Salvation is Founded upon Revelation. 1. Concrete examples are: a. Bible Revelations to Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abra- ham, Moses and the prophets. To the apostles of Jesus Christ. b. Book of Mormon Revelations to Lehi, Nephi and numerous others. c. The Doctrine and Covenants^Revelations to Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. d. Revelations given to John Taylor and others, and published by the Church. II. The Absurdity of the Doctrine that Revelation Ceased with the Closing Words of the Book of Revelations of the New Testament. 1. The closing words of the Book of Revelations cannot apply to the Bible, but can apply only to the Book of Revelations; it forbids changing or adding to the Book of Revelations; it does not forbid other revela- tions, past, present, or future. (When the Book of Revelations was written the Bible had not been compiled.) 2. The doctrine that there could be no revelation other than that in the Bible doubtless arose out of the fact that Christian Churches had ceased to receive revel- ations. 70 III. Announcement of New Revelations by Joseph Smith. 1. These announcements were, at that time, in conflict with the teaching of all the Christian churches. On this account Joseph Smith was severely denounced and persecuted. 2. Current opinion has, however, come to regard modern revelation as equally credible with ancient revelation. IV. The Reasonableness of the Doctrine of Continued Revel- ation. 1. There is as great need for the will of God to be made known to man today as there ever has been. 2. Revelation is a foundational and fundamental doctrine of the great world religions Judaism, Christianity, Islam as is the idea of a personal God. 3. Given these doctrines there can be no rational basis for the notion that revelations have ceased or ever will cease. QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 1. Why is belief in revelation an essential part of religion? 2. Show the relation of revelation to the great historical religions. 3. Explain the meaning of the closing words of the Book of Revelations. 4. (a) Explain why new revelation was necessary in modern times. (b) What various purposes did such revelations serve? 5. What effect would complete discontinuance of revel- ation have upon religion and upon the conduct of the church? 6. Show how belief in a personal God is related to the doctrine of continued revelation. 72 SALVATION FOR THE DEAD AND OTHER TEMPLE ORDINANCES (Material for November) A. SALVATION FOR THE DEAD. GENERAL REFERENCES: Old Testament Isaiah 24:21, 22; 61:1; 42:7. Leviticus 16:20-22. Mai. 4:5-6. New Testament Luke 23:39-43. John 20:15-17. I Peter 3:18-20; 4:6. I Cor. 15:20-30. ' Doctrine and Covenants 110:13-16; 124:29-50; 128: 13-19. Pearl of Great Price Moses 7:36-39. SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS : "Salvation Universal" (pamphlet) by Jos. Fielding Smith.. "House of the Lord" by James E. Talmage. "Gospel Doctrine" 2nd and 3rd editions'. I. Essentials of Salvation are the same for the Dead as for the Living. 1. Faith in God the Father, in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. 2. Acceptance of Jesus Christ as the Redeemer of the World. 3. Repentance from Sin. 4. Baptism by immersion in water for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands by authority of the Holy Priesthood, for the gift of the Holy Ghost. 5. Willingness to serve the Lord and to keep His commandments. II. The Dead Have Opportunity to Accept the Plan of Salvation. 1. Preaching of the Gospel to the dead foretold. 74 2. Christ opened the door for the preaching of the gospel to the dead. 3. Organized teaching of the gospel carried on in the spirit world. 4. Baptism taught but necessarily not administered in the spirit world. III. The Principle of Vicarious Service in General. 1. Work performed in behalf of another. 2. Necessary in all walks of life. Example: a. A dies owing B $100. Justice requires not only that B should be paid but that A be given an opportunity to clear his name and record. Vicarious work for A is the only solution. 3. The atonement of Christ the greatest vicarious service. IV. Vicarious Work for the Dead. 1. Practiced by the early Christians. a. See I Cor. 15:29; also Cyclopedia of Biblical Lit- erature,, (Kitto) Vol. 1, pp. 288-290, in which is given an account of early practices bearing on sal- vation for the dead. 2. Restored in this dispensation by Elijah the Prophet. 3. To be performed in temples only. 4. Proxies must be worthy. 5. Genealogy of the Dead required. a. The Church Genealogical Society equipped to be of valuable service. b. A great work is being performed by non-members of the Church in gathering genealogical data. 6. To be continued throughout the Millennium. 7. Necessary to the salvation of the living as well as the dead. B. OTHER TEMPLE ORDINANCES I. Temple Ordinances in General. 1. Performed for the living and the dead. 2. Effective throughout eternity. a. Performed by the authority of God whose laws are eternal and never change. 76 3. Sacred rather than secret. 4. The only gateway to the Celestial Kingdom of God. II. Ordination to the Priesthood Endowments. 1. Priesthood necessary to complete service to the Lord. 2. Endowments necessary to complete understanding of the Gospel. III. Celestial Marriage. 1. Right to perform given to none but the President of the Church and those whom he may designate. 2. Necessary to a continuation of the marriage relation in the next world. a. Man-made laws cannot be substituted for the Laws of God in the next world. b. Mutual desire on the part of man and woman for continuance of marriage relation in the next world not sufficient. (1) All blessings are predicated upon obedience to certain laws ; the greater the law, the greater the blessing. The great blessing of eternal marriage relationship gained only through obedience to every law of the gospel. 3. Annulment of a celestial marriage cannot be obtained except by authority of the President of the Church. IV. Sealing of Parents and Children. 1. Necessary where children were not born under the seal of marriage for eternity. 2. Family relationship necessary to eternal happiness. 78 QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 1. Why is it necessary to have but one plan of salvation? 2. What scriptural and other evidences are there to estab- lish the doctrine that life in spirit form continues after death in the flesh and that such spirits are capable of understanding the principles of the gospel? 3. What effect, if any, will work for the dead have upon those of the dead who do not understand the Gospel? 4 Why is ordination to the Priesthood necessary to complete service to the Lord? 5. Show the reasonableness of the doctrine that marriages performed without the authority of the sealing power of the Priesthood cannot be in force after death. 6. Why cannot the living be saved without their dead? 80 OTHER SIGNIFICANT TEACHINGS (Material for December) A. FAITH AND WORKS. GENERAL REFERENCES: New Testament Heb. 11; James 2:14-26; Rev. 20:12; 22:14; John 14:12. Book of Mormon Ether 12:5-30. SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS : "Articles of Faith" Talmage. Pages 98 to 112. I. True Faith Finds Expression in Action. 1. As shown by the Master's statement in John 14:12. 2. Examples of works wrought through faith. a. The worlds created. b. Multitudes fed by Jesus. c. The tempest stilled. d. The raising of Lazarus from the dead. e. The great works of life that we are all familiar with. 3. The only proof of faith is the work or action that results. James 2:14; Rev. 20:12. II. So-called Bible Proof that the Lord Does Not Require Works as the Test of Faith. 1. Ephesians 2:8, 9. a. Meaning of Grace in this reference. b. In what way does grace enter into our salvation? c. Why cannot man gain salvation through his own works without grace? d. With the grace (or atonement of Christ) we may work out our salvation, but not without it. 2. Mark 16:16; John 16:31 and like references. a. Mark 16:17, 18 explains what will be the result of the right kind of belief. b. Jesus answers all such references in John 14:12 where He explains the results of the right kind of belief. 82 III. Set Side by Side which Plan Has the Greater Justice? Which Affords the Greater Opportunity? Which Is Most Like a Great Plan of Eternal Progress? QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 1. Faith is a principle of power. Show then that it must result in action. 2. Illustrate from your own experiences the result of true faith. 3. If "Faith is the moving cause of all action," how can there be faith without action ? B. OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH DAY. GENERAL REFERENCES: Doctrine and Covenants 59:10-24; 68:29. Old Testament Gen. 2:1-3; Exodus 20:8-12; Neh. 10:31; 13:15-22; Isa. 56:2; 58:13, 14; Jer. 17:21-27; Ezek. 20:12. New Testament Matt. 12:8-12. SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS : "Compendium" pages 224 to 227. "Gospel Doctrine" pages 303 to 311. "Basting's One Volume Bible Dictionary" pages 807,808, I. History of Sabbath Day Observance. 1. Origin of the Sabbath. Gen. 2:1-3. 2. Command to man to observe. Ex. 20:8-12. 3. Manner of observance among the Israelites. 4. Punishment for violating Sabbath Day observance. 5. Observance of the Sabbath Day in Christ's time. a. Laws concerning Sabbath Day observance among the Pharisees. b. Christ the Lord of the Sabbath. c. The Sabbath made for man. d. The Sabbath the first day of the week. 84 6. The general trend of Sabbath observance from Christ's time through the dark ages. 7. The so-called "Blue Laws." 8. Sabbath observance in the dispensation of the fullness of times. a. Command to observe. b. Promises resulting from obedience. c. Present day attitude toward observance. d. Laws concerning observance. II. General Purpose of Sabbath Observance. 1. To allow man and beast to rest from their usual labors. 2. To afford opportunity for spiritual thought and development. 3. Not a day of indolence, but 'a day of spiritual activity. 4. It affords an opportunity to get in close touch with our Maker and to express in action our gratitude. 5. It gives opportunity for social, educational, and spirit- ual development. 6. It affords an opportunity to renew our covenants with our God. 7. It affords an opportunity to confess our sins that we may turn from them. III. Results of Sabbath Day Observance to the Individual. 1. It keeps him in touch with the work of the Lord. 2. It affords spiritual exercise essential to life. 3. To meet in worshiping capacity with the saints gives him the surest way of obtaining a testimony of the Gospel, or of retaining the testimony he has. 4. It gives a feeling of joy and peace to comply with the Lord's requests. 5. Blessings not alone spiritual. If we keep the Sabbath with thanksgiving, and with cheerful hearts and coun- tenances the Lord has promised us the fullness of the earth, control of the beast, fowl, and plants of the earth. 86 IV. What is Required of Us on the Sabbath Day. 1. To meet together in the spirit of brotherly love to be instructed. 2. To renew our covenants by partaking of the sacrament. 3. To offer up our prayers in thanksgiving to the Lord. 4. To bear testimony of the Gospel and the goodness of the Lord, that we may retain the spirit of the Gospel. 5. To confess our sins before the Lord and turn from them. QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 1. What is taught, concerning the Sabbath, by the Lord in His works of Creation? 2. Show the value of the fourth commandment from a social and economic point of view. 3. What ideas common among the Pharisees did Jesus wish to correct when He said : "The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath?" 4. Make a written outline of what you think constitutes a. sacred Sabbath. 5. In a controversy over the day of the week on which the Sabbath should come, what points seem most vital to you? 6. Show the logic of Section 59:15, 16 of the Doctrine and Covenants. C. TITHING AND FAST OFFERINGS. Tithing: GENERAL REFERENCES: Doctrine and Covenants 64:21-24; 97:11; 119:1-7. Book of Mormon III Nephi 24:7-12. Old Testament Gen. 14:18-20; 28:22; Lev. 27:30-34; Deut. 14:22. II Chr. 31:5-10; Mai. 3:7-11. SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS : "Articles of Faith" pages 448, 449. "Gospel Doctrine" pages 282 to 289. 88 Fast Offerings: GENERAL REFERENCES: Doctrine and Covenants 42:30, 31. Old Testament Mai. 3:8. SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS : "Gospel Doctrine" pages 298, 299, 305, 360. I Tithing One of the Oldest Principles of the Church. 1. Practiced by Abraham. Gen. 14:20. 2. Practiced by Jacob. Gen. 28:22. 3. Practiced by the Israelites. Lev. 27:30-34; Num. 18:24. 4. Practiced by the people of Christ's time. Matt. 23:23. 5. Saints in the last dispensation commanded to observe the law of tithing. II. A Law with a Promise. 1. Of temporal blessing. 2. Of spiritual blessing. 3. Of protection and special favor. III. Object of the Law of Tithing. 1. To obtain revenue for the church. a. To build temples, churches, amusement halls, etc. b. To pay expenses of those who devote all their time to the church. c. To support our church school system. d. To help support the poor among the saints. e. To help in worthy causes in the nation and in the world. 2. As a School Master to bring us to a higher law, the United Order. IV. Benefits of Tithe Paying to the Individual. 1. He becomes an equal partner in Zion. 2. Joy comes to him when he knows that he is helping to do good and great things. 3. It develops generosity, one of the noblest traits of man. 4. The Lord is bound by His promises when we keep His commandments. See Doctrine and Covenants, 82:10. 90 V. Fast Offerings the Lord's Plan Systematically and Readily to Relieve the Sufferings of the Poor. 1. Voluntary contributions resulting from our own fasting. 2. Distributed to worthy poor and those in distress under the direction of the bishop through the Relief Society. VI. The Philosophy of the Practice. 1. By our own denial we appreciate the suffering of others. 2. By passing through their experiences and helping to relieve them, the barrier between classes is broken down so that really "there are no poor among us." 3. It affords a splendid opportunity to grow by "doing a little good each day at some cost to ourselves." QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 1. What do you consider the foremost reason for paying tithing? 2. What do you consider an honest tithing? 3. Enumerate a few of the big things we are able to do as a Church by each contributing a little through tithing. 4. What is the promise of the Lord to those who obey strictly the law of tithing? 5. Compare Fast Offerings with other methods of solving the poverty question. 6. Why would not giving without fasting serve the same purpose? 7. Justify the statement in Mai. 3:8. 8. In what way are we educating ourselves to fit into the perfected kingdom of the Saints by learning honestly and freely to pay tithing? 92 WORD OF WISDOM GENERAL REFERENCES: Doctrine and Covenants Sec. 89. SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS : "Gospel Doctrine" pp. 301, 305, 457. "Strength of Being Clean" Jordan, pp. 27-45. "The Efficient Life" Gulick, pp. 129-137. "Conference Report" October, 1917. "Improvement Era" March 1919. "Joseph Smith as a Scientist" Widtsoe, pp. 82-93. "Contributor" Vol. 4, p. 13. "Era" Vol. 4 pp. 943-9. "Good Health Magazine" May, 1918. "Tobacco and Human Efficiency" Pack. "Atlantic Monthly" October, 1920. Article "Is a Tobacco Crusade Coming?" "The Youth and the Nation" Moore. I. A Word of Wisdom. Sent greeting by revelation, showing forth the order and will of God for the temporal salvation of His children. 1. It saves us from: a. Sickness. b. Weakness and lack of endurance. c. Inability to find wisdom and to gain knowledge and understanding. II. The Word of Wisdom Becomes a Commandment or Law unto the Church. 1. President Young's declaration. 2. By common consent of the church members. III. Word of Wisdom a Principle (with promise) to Teach Man How to Live Safely, Righteously, and Effectively. 1. A protection for safe-living against certain evils. a. Strong drink (including wine and all drinks contain- ing alchohol) forbidden for internal use. b. Tobacco is not good for man. c. Hot drinks, tea, coffee. d. Excessive and untimely use of meats. 94 2. Instructions for righteous and effective living. All that is mentioned below is to be used with prudence and thanksgiving: a. All wholesome herbs and fruits ordained of God and nature for use of man. b. All grains ordained to be the staff of life for man. c. Designation of wheat especially for man and of certain grains for particular animals.' d. Meats ordained for use of man to be eaten sparingly and with thanksgiving. IV. The Promise to Those Who Observe the Word of Wisdom. 1. Bodily health and vigor. 2. Wisdom, understanding, great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures. QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 1. Just what is the word of wisdom? 2. What is the Lord's purpose in giving the revelation on the word of wisdom to the people? For whom is it intended? 3. Discuss fully the promises given in the word of wisdom for those who keep it. 4. Name and discuss the moral effects of keeping or failing to keep the word of wisdom? 5. Just what is the responsibility of one who sells liquor and tobacco? 6. What is the relation between keeping the word of wisdom and self-control? In what way does observance of the word of wisdom promote personal purity? 96 A SINGLE STANDARD OF MORALS GENERAL REFERENCES: Old Testament Exodus, 20. New Testament Matt. 5:8, 27-32. Book of Mormon III Nephi 12:27-32. SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS : "Gospel Doctrine" pp. 386-392; 687-689. "Articles of Faith" Talmage, pp. 455-460. "The Strength of Being Clean" Jordan, pp. 20-27 (especially good). "Gold Foil" Holland, the chapter "Vices of the Imagination." "Ethics of Jesus" King, pp. 210-211; 223-225. "The double standard of morals has developed in society, whereby woman has been condemned and made alone responsible, while the man has been free from blame or responsibility. This is perhaps the most grossly unjust and cowardly of all the customs in the world." I. Life the Greatest Gift of God to Man. 1. Man's dual nature. a. Mortal the body. b. Eternal the Spirit. 2. Sacredness of the body the temple of the spirit. 3. As a son or daughter of God, man's basic obligation is to be true to and revere life to promote and beget life. II. Marriage, the Family Relations, and the Home Ordained of God. 1. As the safest and best means of living the earth life. 2. For the exaltation and eternal life of man. Through the relation and duties of the Celestial order of marriage man is ordained and commissioned to become a partner, sharing His privileges and responsibilities in helping God accomplish His purposes in the earth. 98 III. Just as the Sacred Family Relations are Essential for Exaltation In Eternal Life, so the Irresponsible or Unlaw- ful Sexual Relations of Man and Woman are the most Damning of all Things. "Love's arch foe is lust. To shirk the bonds of love for the irresponsible joys of lust is the Devil's choicest temptation." Jordan, in "The Strength of Being Clean." 1. The law of God forbids man as well as woman to com- mit adultery. Ex. 20:14. Doc. & Cov. 63:14, 15; 42:74- 77, 80-81; 42:24-26. 2. The Lord seems to single man out as the chief offender and as chiefly responsible. Matt. 5:27-28; 3rd Nephi 12:27-32; John 8:1-11; Gospel Doctrine, p. 387; Doc. & Cov. 42:22-23; 63:16-19. 3. Nature makes it easy for man to escape detection and responsibility, thus betraying woman for whom such escape is very difficult. "But in so far as man's in- justice inflicts upon her the consequence of his offence, he stands convicted of multiple guilt. And man is largely responsible for the sins against decency and virtue, the burden of which is too often fastened upon woman." Joseph F. Smith. a. The double standard is man's betrayal of woman. Is not such a man guilty of treason to his own mother? or daughter? b. The double standard is cowardly. The stronger betrays the weaker. The Christian should use his strength to protect and uplift the weak. IV. The Pure in Heart Only Can See God. Mat. 5:8 . Only the pure in heart can be reverent. Reverence is essential for the noblest character. V. The Penalty for the Adulterer and the Lustful. 1. Death under the law of Moses for adulterers. "It (sexual immorality) is on a par with murder itself, and God Almighty fixed the penalty of the murderer at death." Joseph F. Smith. 2. Excommunication from the church in our day for adulterers. And even the lustful deny the faith. Doc. & Cov. 42:23; 63:16. 100 3. The adulterous heart is barred by its own blindness from the vision of God and all godliness QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 1. In just what way is the double standard of morals cpwardly? In what sense is it a betrayal of God? of woman? of manhood? 2. Discuss the statement, "The single standard of morals is essential to manhood and manliness?" 3. "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." Just what does that mean? 4. How may a proper understanding of life and man's relation to it solve the question of a single standard of morals? 5. In what way is family life essential to- man's well- being here and his exaltation and glory hereafter? TEACHERS TRAINING OUTLINE FOR. 1Q23 HotolDe Learn Teacher-Training Outline 2923 How We Learn Published by the GENERAL CHURCH BOARD OF EDUCATION of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 47 East South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah Deseret Book Company, Distributors How We Learn LESSONS Page 1. What Psychology Is and Does 9 2. Heredity and Environment 12 3. Mind and Body Sensation 15 4. Instinctive and Native Tendencies 19 5. Habit and Habit-Formation 22 6. The Stream of Consciousness 26 7. Interest 30 8. Attention 33 9. Perception 36 10. Association of Ideas 40 11. Memory 44 12. Imagination 48 13. Thinking and Reasoning 51 14. Emotion 55 15. Will 59 16. Will (continued) 62 17. Individual Differences 66 18. Stage of Development Infancy 69 19. Childhood 76 20. Youth 81 21. Adolescence 86 22. Collection and Ownership 93 23. The Sex Instinct and Mating 98 24. Religious Tendencies and Training in Religion . . 103 Introductory Note We regret that this outline for the use of the teacher- training classes appears over a month after the begin- ning of the work of the year 1923. The delay is due to conditions incident to the transfer, early in January, 1923, of teacher-training supervision from the Correlation Committee to the Church Board of Education. For the same reason there has been no time to subject this out- line to careful editorial supervision, but there will appear in the Church magazines, from month to month, brief notes and comments that will clarify the outline, and furnish valuable aids to all who are connected with the teacher-training classes. At first sight this outline may seem somewhat difficult ; but in fact, it deals with prob- lems of general interest, commonly discussed among the people. The technical words used will soon be learned, and the monthly notes will clear up doubtful points. The subject of the outline is of deep interest to all, but espe- cially to those who teach. Questions or comments will be gladly received by the Commission of Education, 47 East South Temple St., Salt Lake City. THE CORRELATION COMMITTEE, THE COMMISSION OF EDUCATION. Foreword In the following lessons the first seventeen are based on James', Talks to Teachers, Pyle's Science of Human Nature and Woodworth's Psychology. References to chapters are placed at the beginning of each lesson, and for the further convenience of students, references to the pages follow the topics. Each student should have access to the first two books, and the teacher should have Wood- worth's in addition. Any other modern text book that happens to be available will be helpful, especially Strayer and Norseworthy's How to Teach. The last seven lessons are based on several books, those being chosen that had the clearest presentation of the topic. For successful study it would be well if each com- munity or class could own in common, or have access to, a limited number of these good books. Coe's Education in Religion and Morals and Pratt's, The Religious Con- sciousness, should be in the possession of all teachers. For the convenience of teachers the lessons are di- vided into five parts. The first offers a few questions in review of former lessons. The teacher can easily use additional ones. The second mentions a few of the ele- mentary but fundamental facts or principles of the sub- ject treated. If additional ones are desired the teacher can select them out of the texts. The third division makes a few suggestive applications. These are of- fered to help inexperienced teachers. So also the ques- tions and exercises in the fourth division. Experienced, resourceful teachers need not follow these. They can 8 HOW WE LEARN easily make their own applications and direct their own study. The exercises and questions in the fourth di- vision are not intended for use in the class, but to help in- experienced teachers in preparation. In the fifth division additional literature is named. This is in most cases limited to a few items and the best known for lay-readers. HOW WE LEARN - Golden Gate of the Opening Year EGBERT ELLIOTT BROWN. OD. Pastor of the First Congregational _ Farewell Old Year! Amid the sun and dun Of oak clad hills In memory thou shalt lie Among the heart's most treasured things That never die. Farewell, receding shores! Each island in the bays Bespeaks a month That makes us clutch And strive to hold its happy days But we must hurry on (Spite of the way the heart mchi Farewell the inner waters Plumbed by last year's Sounding lines Farewell familiar depths With buoys well sown. Farewell, the harbor of the Juiown That Time compels us clear Crowd sail! Port helm! And boldly steer Out through the Golden Gate Of the Opening Year! ?d ns ce :i- e- i- d e e Woodworth 10-13. 8 HOW WE LEARN easily make their own applications and direct their own study. The exercises and questions in the fourth di- vision are not intended for use in the class, but to help in- expeJI ! ' o,v J to p . ro fi;-- pro . 1 L/NCING HE OARY HOW WE LEARN LESSON I WHAT PSYCHOLOGY IS AND DOES' References: Pyle I, James I, Woodworth I. I. Some introductory thoughts. 1. Science is classified, organised, related knowledge. It exists and grows by means of the researches of scientists. No science is complete; "the facts are not all in." Sci- ence is progressive in proportion as men de- vote themselves to it. Pyle 1-3. Wood- worth, 5-7. 2. A scientific law is a uniformity discovered by scientists. In the universe the same causes produce the same effects. Nature has uniformities ; it is lawful. Pyle 3-4. 3. Psychology is a science. It studies men's actions, thoughts, and feelings and discovers uniformities or laws in them. Pyle 5-8. Woodworth 1-2, 7-10. 4. Psychology studies the mind and be- havior of man by three distinct processes or methods. 1. Introspection, which is observ- ing one's own mental action. 2. Observing the acts or behavior of others. 3. Experi- mentation which is a refined laboratory meth- od of observation. Pyle 13-16. James 7-14. Woodworth 10-13. 10 HOW WE LEARN II. Some applications of the above. 1. A person should undertake the study of psy- chology or any other science with an open, unprejudiced mind, desiring to know and en- joy its truths. Remember that all truth comes ultimately from the same source, God. 2. To study psychology successfully a person must make himself an introspectionist ; that is, he must form the habit of observing his own mental activity. When you study any phase of psychology from the suggested lit- erature, look within yourself at once and see whether it accords with your experience. 3. Likewise, to succeed well one must form the habit of observing the actions or behavior of others. 4. In preparing lessons to teach, one should con- stantly adapt them according to one's un- derstanding of psychological principles. III. Exercises and questions. 1. What is science? How is it made? 2. Name some scientific laws that you know and note that they work with unvarying cer- tainty. ^ 3. Why do you want to study psychology ? Have you a strong desire to know its truths? 4. yHave you ever reflected! on the miracles of mind and wondered how you could recall your own past ? 5. Do you bear in mind that you are your own recording angel, that you record indelibly your own acts and even your most secret thoughts ? HOW WE LEARN 11 IV. References to additional reading. 1. Some good scientific magazine such as the Scientific Monthly would be good reading to keep us in constant touch with the mar- vels of science. 2. The Journal of Psychology is good current reading on psychology. 3. Principles of Psychology by James or any other complete book will furnish additional reading on psychology. LESSON II HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT References : Pyle II, Woodworth V, and parts of XII, "How to Teach," Chapters 2 and 10 Strayer and Norsworthy. I. Brief Review of the last lesson. 1. What is science? How are the sciences made? 2. What are scientific laws? How do we get them? 3. What does the study of psychology deal with? 4. Describe the three methods or processes that are most used in studying psychology. II. Elementary facts of heredity and environment. 1. "Heredity means the likeness between par- ent and offspring." This likeness is of body and native traits of mind. Like structure of nervous system makes for likeness of thought and action. Pyle 18-25. 2. Heredity follows definite law that has been carefully worked out with respect to the body. "This law does not vary. It is im- mutable." Each of us is a bunch of com- bined characters. "Shape of head, of hands, and feet; length of arm, of leg, and back- bone; color of skin, of hair, of eyes; turn of nose and of jaw ; quality of brain-stuff; type of temperament all these are combined in different ways in each generation, and some of the characters may be clearly traced back through generation after generation of our HOW WE LEARN 13 ancestors." (Next Generation, Jewett, pp. 18 and 107.) Pyle 24-27. 3. The Mkndelian law is stated by Pyle for corn, p. 27. But it is of general application. It applies to feeblemindedness in man, p. 29. It applies to man's body and mind. See quo- tation above, also Pyle 28. Woodworth 290. 4. Eugenics; is the science of human heredity. It points the way by which the race may be bred up and perfected as we are doing with our domesticated animals. Pyle 30. 5. At the lime of conception heredity "sets a limitation for us, -fixes our possibilities." The upper limit and general plan of our physi- cal growth and mental development are thus determined. It depends upon environment as to whether we shall reach our possibilities. Heredity may have given a man the pos- sibility of becoming a "six-footer," but a bad environment may obstruct his growth, and make him a pigmy. So also with mental growth. Pyle 31-32. Woodworth 289-291. 6. Heredity and environment are thus the two broad factors upon which character depends. Heredity determines the plan and limits of possibility. Environment, if good, stimulates our heredity into growth and brings us up to our possibilities. If environment be bad it may dwarf our growth. Pyle 31-32. 7. Education organizes environment and makes it good so as to produce positive growth and to bring us up physically, mentally and spirit- ually to our best possibilities. Pyle 210. 14 HOW WE LEARN III. Application of facts and principles. 1. Heredity for the present generation is fixed, but eugenics should improve heredity for fu- ture generations by preventing the marriage of persons of a strain of hereditary feeble- mindedness. 2. Environment is subject to our immediate con- trol, within limits, and should be so improved as to bring the possibilities of our children to their best. 3. By stimulating man's heredity or original nature properly by means of well organized environment we can produce positive char- acter. By this means the human race must rid itself of delinquency and criminality. IV. Exercises and questions. 1. Brown as an eye-color is dominant. State the law of heredity for the color of eyes. 2. Feeblemindedness is recessive. State the elementary law with respect to this. 3. Heredity and environment are the two broad factors in producing character. State how. 4. Can these factors be controlled for human betterment? If so, how? V. Some additional good reading on heredity and environment. 1. The Next Generation, Jewett, Ginn & Co. The contents of this splendid little book should be known by all grown people. 2. The Development of the Child, Oppenhein, The Macmillan Co. The chapter on heredity and environment. 3. Feeble- Mindedness, Goddard, The Macmil- lan Co. LESSON III MIND AND BODY* SENSATION References: Pyle III, James II, Woodworth X. I. Review of previous lessons. 1. What part does heredity play in the produc- tion of character? 2. What part does environment? 3. How can humanity free itself from feeble- mindedness ? 4. What is the simple law of heredity? (See Next Generation, Chapters 1, 2, 3.) II. Relations of mind and body. 1. Psychology is the study of mind, but the mind that it studies is bound up closely with the body. It can not be studied apart from the reactions of the body. One chief func- tion of mind seems to be the preservation of the body. Mind and body react together as one. Pyle 34, 35. James 16, 25-26. 2. The intimate relation of mind with body is through the nervous system. "The nerve fibers are mere transmitters; the terminal organs are so many imperfect telephones in- to which the material world speaks; the brain-cells at the fibers' central end are as many others at which the mind listens to the far-off call." (James.) Pyle 35, 26. Read the chapter on the nervous system in some book on physiology. *Pyle 7, 36, 37; James 18, 26. 16 HOW WE LEARN 3. The "listening to the far-off call," or the awareness of some object that is stimulating the sense is sensation. Sensation is primary sensory experience. Through it we get our immediate direct knowledge of the objective world. Pyle 7, 36, 37. James 18, 26. 4. Sensations are of many special kinds. Pos- sibly first in importance is the sensation of seeing. The eye, the optic nerve, and the occipital lobe (back part of cerebrum) are the complicated organs that function in sight. Light waves stimulate the retina, a current runs| up the optic nerve to the brain center and stimulates activity there giving the sen- sation of sight. The interpretation is per- ceiving (to be considered in a later lesson). Pyle 37-41. Woodworth 62. Read the de- scription of the eye in some work on physi- ology. 5. Next in importance in furnishing immediate, direct knowledge, or sensation of the objec- tive world is hearing. The ear with its three divisions, the auditory nerve, and the center of hearing (in the upper part of the temporal convolution) are the organs of hearing. Waves of air set in motion the tympanum; this in turn sets in motion the three bones of the middle ear; these transmit vibrations to the inner ear, and the auditory nerve trans- mits the activity to the brain centers where it is felt as sensation of sound. Pyle 41-42. Woodworth, 59, 60. 6. Touch, with the skin as its end organ, is a HOW WE LEARN 17 very important sense. The blind "see" by means of very delicate touch. Taste, with the tongue as its end organ, and smell, with the nose as end organ, give other im- portant sensations to help us interpret and react to the objective world. Joints and mus- cles are still others. Pyle 42-46. Wood- worth 33, 63. 7. The activity felt in the respective brain centers is sensation. The interpretation of it is perception. Each sense organ, muscle, and sensitive point has a corresponding sensation- center in the brain, as each telephone has its "central" on the big central switch board. III. Some applications of the above facts. 1. Study health. Keep the body fit; it is the instrument through which mind expresses itself. 2. Take special care of eyes and ears. They are often defective through neglect, and function imperfectly. This furnishes the mind with faulty material for its growth. 3. In dealing with children let them satisfy their strong desire for sensations. This lays the foundation for clear perception and effective mental activity. 4. If children's organs of sensation are de- fective have them corrected at once, if that is possible. IV. Exercises, questions, and suggestions for aids in lesson preparation. 1. Study carefully the nervous system of man in some physiology. A school physiology will answer. 18 HOW WE LEARN 2. Work out more fully the figure of the tele- phone system of the body. 3. Why should there be careful medical ex- amination of children each year? 4. Could we more successfully accomplish this examination on the private or the public basis? Which would be more efficient and economical ? V. Some additional good reading on phases of the subject. 1. Alcohol as a Beverage, Chapter XX. 2. In the Next Generation. Jewett. 3. Why We Need a Nervous System, Chapter XIX. 4. The General Physiology of the nervous sys- tem, Chapter XX. 5. The Senses, Chapter XXI. 6. Alcohol and Other Narcotics, XXIII. These last four in Martin's Human Body or some other book on Physiology. LESSON IV INSTINCTIVE OR NATIVE TENDENCIES References: Pyle IV, James VI, Woodworth VI, "How to Teach," Chapter 2 Strayer and Norseworthy. I. Review. 1. .What are some of the things transmitted to us from the race by heredity ? 2. Why can the mind not be studied apart from the body? 3. What part of the body is most closely re- lated to mind and mental functioning? II. Elementary facts about native tendencies. 1. An instinct is an inborn tendency or ca- pacity to act in certain ways. A bird builds its nest without learning, or it migrates, when winter is near. A wild duckling will hide from you the first day after it is hatched. A squirrel will store food for winter, yet it knows no winter. These re- actions are born in the animals, inherited. Pyle 52-54, 225. James VII. Woodworth 109, 110. 2. Instinctive reactions usually function for the saving of life, for survival, as in the case of the hiding of the duckling, or the storing of food for winter. The individual that can perform them best has the best chances. Nature thus examines the individual. Wood- worth 114. Pyle 55-70. 20 HOW W E LEARN 3. Not only lower animals but human beings have instincts. They are very numerous in man, but not so apparent because they are hidden by our conscious life. James VII. Pyle 55. Woodworth 100. 4. Some instinctive tendencies are transitory. That is, they are not there from birth. They "ripen" with the growth of the body. The child wants to walk when his body is ready, and to mate when puberty comes on. They may disappear again after a time and cease to prompt to action. James 60. Pyle 54. 5. Instinctive tendencies are important in ed- ucation. They are the starting point, the root or seed out of which character grows by proper guidance. Some may be stimu- lated by bad environment into negative growth unless directed into positive growth. James 39-43. III. Application of these facts in education. 1. To be successful, education must be built on the child's instinctive nature. It must have regard for the child's original nature and equipment. 2. One can make more progress by cooperation with nature than by working against nature. 3. The little child is a very active creature. By actual measurement five-year-olds walk spon- taneously an average of ten miles per day. These same little children we send to school tq sit quietly at desks. This is wrong and contrary to nature. The school should pro- vide more activity. Nature craves it. HOW WE LEARN 21 4. Transitory instincts should be taken and trained into right responses, when they ripen. Not too soon, not too late. Neither forcing nor repressing. We should follow nature. IV. Exercises and questions. 1. Study the instinct of wild and domesticated animals, especially the young. They are in- teresting and instructive. 2. Have yott noticed the number and kinds of things children collect? 3. Try to have your children sit quiet for long periods in the home. Why can they not do so? 4. If they can not do so in the home, is it good for them to do so in school? 5. What is the function or place of instinctive tendencies in education? V. Some additional good reading on the subject. 1. Suggestions of Science Concerning Educa- tion. Jennings and others, Chapters I and II. The Macmillan Co. ' 2. Human Behavior, Colvin & Bagley, Chapters 3 and 8. The Macmillan Co. 3. The Meaning of Infancy. Fiske. Houghton Mifflin Co. LESSON V HABIT AND HABIT-FORMATION References: Pyle VI, James VIII, Woodword, p. 328, "How to Teach," Chapter 4 Strayer and Norseworthy. I. Review of former lessons. 1. Give examples of instincts you have observed in animals, in human beings. 2. We say an instinct is a native tendency. What do we mean by that? 3. How do instinctive tendencies function for the good of animal or man? 4. What is the relation of instinctive tendencies to education? II. Habit and the principles of habit- formation. 1. A habit is a uniform way of acting in like situations. It is a specific reaction to a spe- cific stimulus. Pyle 87-90, 94. 2. Habits are of various kinds physical, men- tal, moral and spiritual. They thus consti- tute the major part of character and should be an important part of training. James 64- 66. Pyle 89, 107. 3. Habits are due to modifications of brain sub- stance, "brain- paths." These paths, once made, cannot be obliterated. The longer or the more frequently the habit has functioned the deeper the "brain-path." Pyle 91-92. James 70. 4. Habits are useful, if of the right kind. James HOW WE LEARN 23 says habits "simplify our actions, make them accurate, and diminish fatigue;" and they diminish the amount of attention necessary so that attention may be devoted to other things. Pyle 94-98. 5. Habits are formed by conscious, successful repetitions. James gives some rules or max- ims thaA should be memorized by all. They are: (1) Make your nervous system your ally instead of your enemy by making automatic and habitual, as early as pos- sible, as many useful actions as you can. (2) Launch yourself with as strong and decided initiative as possible. (3) Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is securely rooted in your life. (4) Seize the very first opportunity to act on every resolution you make, and on every emotional prompting you may ex- perience in the direction of the habits you aspire to gain. (5) ; Don't preach too much to your pupils or abound in good talk in the abstract. Strokes of behavior are what count. (6) Keep the faculty of effort alive in you by a little gratuitous exercise every day. James 66-75. III. Some applications of the above facts and prin- ciples. 1. Habits are an important part of character. 24 HOW WE LEARN Their formation should be a large part of the teacher's work. 2. To train in habits the teacher should lead the pupils to see the value of and inspire them with the desire for the habits to be formed. 3. The teacher is responsible for the habits and ideas of pupils. 4. The successful way to form habits is pointed out by James in his Maxims and by Pyle 98-107. IV. Exercises and questions to help the teacher pre- pare the lesson. 1. People usually think of bad habits when the word is mentioned. There are more good % ones. Make a list of the good habits you know. 2. In what way are habits useful? 3. Did you ever overcome a bad habit? If so, was it easy? Why? 4. Have you ever consciously formed a habit? What stages did you pass through with respect to the amount of attention and ef- fort required? 5. You are a teacher in some church institution. Make a list of the habits you want to help your pupils form. 6. How would you proceed to help them form these habits? V. Some further good reading on habit. 1. How to Live, Fisher andj Fisk, Funk & Wag- nails Co. The book should be in every home, and be studied, but in this connection read sections IV, V and VI. HOW WE LEARN 25 2. Psychology in daily life, Chapter 4, entitled Mental Health, Seashore. Appletons. This includes "ten rules of living." 3. Suggestions of Modern Science Concerning Education, Jennigs and others. Macmillan. The second essay is entitled "Practical and Theoretical Problems in Instinct and Habit." Every teacher and parent should read this. 4. Mental Self Help, Ash, MacMillan, an ex- ceptionally good book. 5. The Teacher, Pearson, Scribners. Whole book very inspiring to teachers. 6. Principles of Psychology, James, Chapter on habit. LESSON VI THE STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS References: James II, Pyle p. 7, Woodworth pp. 7-9, 172, 265- 267, 383-384, "How to Teach," Chapter 3 Strayer and Norse- worthy. I. Review of former lessons. 1. Compare instructive and habitual action. How are they unlike? 2. What appears to you to be the purpose of habit? 3. Repeat James' maxims or rules of, habit formation. 4. What good habits do you want to form? 5. . What bad habits do you want to overcome? 6. In what ways can a teacher help his pupils form the right habits? II. Elementary facts about our stream of conscious- ness. 1. In each of us some kind of consciousness is always existing. Consciousness is a "stream" of states or waves that follow each other in rapid succession. These states, we may study by looking into our own minds, by introspection. James 15. 2. These conscious states accompany or parallel our brain states. James says : "The imme- diate condition of a state of consciousness is an activity of some sort in the cerebral hemisphere." (Psychology p. 7.) Thus, when HOW WE LEARN 27 we see, there is brain activity in the occipital lobe, the center of sight. When we hear, the activity is in the temporal lobe, the center of hearing, etc. James 15. Pyle 7. 3. These conscious states are always complex. They contain simultaneously sensations of our bodies, memories of past experiences and thoughts of distant things, feelings, desires, aversions, etc. James 17, Pyle 7. 4. There are degrees of consciousness. We are not equally conscious of all the various ele- ments in the complex states. When listen- ing to a speaker one is also conscious of the people around him, of sensation of the hardness of the seat, of the disturbance of someone whispering near. But the con- sciousneses of the speaker's words is "focal," the other things are "marginal." Woodworth 265. James 18. 5. Consciousness is always shifting and chang- ing, the marginal becoming focal and the focal, marginal, one thing going out of con- sciousness and another coming in. These changes are sometimes gradual and some- times abrupt. They compare somewhat with changes that take place in our field of vision. James 19. Pyle 7, 81. 6. The stream, though shifting, is sensibly contin- uous. It began in infancy and has continued since, constantly enlarging and enriching by accumulating experiences. If there have been time gaps, their duration has been brief and the same stream has been continued after the 28 HOW WE LEARN gaps. It represents one growing personality. James, Psychology, p. 157. III. Application of these elementary facts. 1. The above brief statement of the facts of consciousness has been given to aid the teacher in his own introspection. Familiar- ity with these facts will facilitate the study of one's own mind. 2. Conscious states while constantly changing can be controlled and concentrated. We call tjMs concentration attention. The telacher must direct the child's "stream" and hold his attention. 3. Knowledge by the teacher of the contents of a child's stream of consciousness the ex- periences that float there will enable the teacher the better to hold the child's atten- tion. The new should be associated with the old experiences. IV. Exercises and questions. 1. Can you "turn your eyes inward" and study your stream of consciousness? 2. Try to analyze states of consciousness. See what is focal and what is marginal. 3. What becomes of the stream when you are sleeping? 4. What becomjes of the stream when you are stunned by a blow on the head or anaes- thetized ? 5. Wherein do the contents of a child's "stream'' differ from that of the adult? 6. When you indulge in reverie how does your stream act? HOW WE LEARN 29 V. Additional reading on the subject. 1. Psychology, James, chapter entitled "the Stream of Consciousness." 2. Contents of Children's Minds, by Dr. G. Stanley Hall (an interesting booklet). 3. The story of a Sand Pile, G. Stanley Hall, (small interesting booklet). 4. A study in Dolls, Hall. 5. Aspects of Child Life and Education, Hall. (2, 3, 4 are also published separately in this book.) LESSON VII INTEREST References : James X, Pyle, p. 84, Woodworth 181-184, 248, 254- 259, "How to Teach," Chapter 3 Strayer and Norseworthy. I. Review of former lessons. 1. What do you understand by stream of con- sciousness ? 2. What do we mean by saying, conscious states and brain activity go together? 3. Define "focus of consciousness" and "mar- gin of consciousness." 4. Consciousness is constantly shifting and changing. Explain. 5. What do we mean by saying that conscious states are always complex? II. Elementary facts about interest. 1. "Interest is, and has long been recognized as the gravitation of education" and of mind. "Give a boy sufficient interest in anything and all the attendant drudgery is cheerfully faced." (Adams.) 2. "Interest is like bodily hunger, an expression of need, and the best expression nature or reason affords us of the child's require- ments." "An education that follows along the lines of inner development of the child's interests 4s the only one that trains the will properly." (Hall.) 3. The first principle of intellect-training is that the child must be allowed) to follow, in the main, his native interests. These interests "well up within the mind." (Hall.) HOW WE LEARN 31 4. "The key to all forms of learning is atten- tion. The key to attention is feeling," inter- est. Pyle 84. 5. Native interests. Some things are natively interesting. These vary in the child from age to age. In childhood they are usually sensory or objective and living, moving things. James 91-93. 6. "The most natively interesting object to a man is his own personal self and its fortunes." James 95. 7. Acquired interests. "Any object not interest- ing in itself may become interesting through becoming associated with an object in which an interest already exists. The two asso- ciated objects grow, as it were, together; the interesting portion sheds its quality over the whole ; and thus things not interesting in their own right borrow an interest which be- comes as real and as strong as that of any natively interesting thing." James 94. 8. "An adult man's interests are, almost every one of them, intensely artificial; they have slowly been built up." James 98. III. Some applications of these facts in education. 1. Simple program for the teacher. Begin with things natively interesting. Step by step associate the new with the old. James 96. 2. "To teach the young we must meet them on the ground of their own interests." (Hall.) 3. "The first work of the teacher is to discover interests, to put the child into situations in 32 H O W WE LEARN which interests will express themselves." (Hall.) 4. Class work should be interesting. To make it so is the teachers', not the child's responsibility. 5. The teacher must himself vibrate with interest if he is to get the child to vibrate. IV. Exercises and questions to help the teacher pre- pare the lesson. 1. Does your mind "gravitate" *to the subject you teach? 2. Do you feel in your own soul that soul hun- ger, interest, that you would like to inspire in your class? 3. Have you ever had a really interesting teacher? What characterized his teaching? 4. Have you ever acquired an interest in a sub- ject at first not interesting? How? 5. Keep a record, a sort of interest thermometer of your class recitations. After each class mark as carefully as you can the height to which interest arose. Study the cause. It will help you. V. Additional good reading. 1. Herbartain Psychology applied to Education, Adams, chapter X. 2. Genetic Philosophy of Education, Partridge (G. Stanley Hall's doctrine written up by Partridge) pp. 117-119, 192-193. 3. Educational Psychology, Starck, pp. 164-166. 4. Psychology of Childhood, Norseworthy and Whitley, p. 108. 5. Principles of Teaching, Thorndyke, chapter V. LESSON VIII ATTENTION. References : James XI, Pyle V, Woodworth XI, "How to Teach," Chapter 3 Strayer and Norseworthy. I. Review of former lessons. 1. What do you understand by "stream" of consciousness? Why call it a stream,'? 2. Is the "stream" more like a deep, slow-mov-- ing river or like a mountain rivulet? Why? 3. What do you understand by "native interest"? Name some native interests. 4. What do you understand by "acquired in- terests"? Give some examples. 5. What is the law by which a thing not inter- esting may acquire interest? 6. How do the interests of adults and of chil- dren differ? Illustrate by examples. II. Elementary facts about attention. 1. Attention is the focusing or concentrating of consciousness. Our senses are simultaneous- ly stimultaed. At any moment light is enter- ing the eye, sound the ear, our sense of touch is stimulated. So with temperature. Ideas, too, and feelings are knocking at the door of consciousness. Out of all this mass of possibilities attention selects one and con- centrates upon it. Pyle 80-81. Woodworth 244. 2. Attention is a native reaction^ or inherited tendency. One instinctively turns his head. 34 HOW WE LEARN focuses his vision and listens to the objects vital to his welfare or safety. Pyle 80. 3. Involuntary or passive attention is the kind given to things interesting, or things that ap- peal. It is effortless and spontaneously given. Pyle 84, James 100-101. Woodworth 250-259. 4. Voluntary or active attention is attention given with effort. This can not be long sus- tained. It is a mere pulsation or momentary affair to bring the mind to its task. If the interest develops in the task, attention changes to involuntary which holds the mind to the point. James 101-103, Woodworth 258-259. Pyle 82-83. 5. The attention of children is mostly of the passive sort. They have but little power of voluntary attention. The teacher must hold the child's attention with interest. The sub- ject matter must be made to change and be concrete, and appeal to the senses. James 103-104, Pyle 81. III. Application of these facts to study and teaching. 1. The student and the teacher should depend upon involuntary or passive attention for re- sults. The function of active attention is to start the mind. Passive attention "should carry on." 2. Running the mind on voluntary attention would be like running your car on the "self starter." 3. To hold the attention of pupils, especially HOW WE LEARN 35 children, the teacher must make the recita- tion interesting. 4. You cannot force the child to give attention. IV. Exercises and questions for the teacher. 1. Try to read a page of uninteresting subject matter in the presence of distractions. Your eyes may read on but your mind jumps the track. Can you find the word where your mind left the tack? 2. Can you remember what you read if your mind is not on it? 3. If you can not keep your mind on uninterest- ing matter, how about the child ? 4. To hold the child's attention, what sort of subject matter should children have? 5. Why is closeness of attention necessary? V. Additional reading. 1. Principles of Psychology, James, chapter on attention. 2. Interest, John Dewey. 3. Mental Growth and Control, Oppenheim, chap. 3. LESSON IX PERCEPTION. References: Woodworth XVII, James XIV, Pyle pp. 124-126. I. Review of former lessons. 1. What is the relationship between interest and attention ? 2. If you were teaching a class of small children and they were inattentive whom would you blame? Why? 3. Can a subject ordinarily dry be made inter- esting? How? 4. How does voluntary attention differ from in- voluntary attention? 5. What sort of attention should prevail in the preparation of lessons? Why? 6. What sort of attention should prevail in a class? Why? 7. What is the relationship between mind and body? See Lesson III. 8. Tell what sensations are, and the various kinds we have. 9. Why does the adult not easily have pure sen- sations ? II. Elementary facts of perception. 1. Sensation is primary sensory experience. It is the awareness of .some object stimulating the sense. (See Lesson III.) It is accom- panied by activity in the sensory centers of the brain. It is uninterpreted. Pyle 6-7, Woodworth p. 187. HOW WE LEARN 37 2. Pure sensation is rare and practically im- possible to an adult. What the adult has is perception. "In adult experience there are no pure sensations, but rather sensations interpreted; that is perceptions." (Colvin and Bagley) Woodworth 423. 3. "Sensation with meaning attached is percep- tion." Perception is interpretation of sen- sation by means of our past experience. When an infant's eye is turned upon its mother, it has sensations. When it has accumulated ex- perience it perceives, interprets the sensation, sees its mother. "The mere sensation has been given a meaning, and then it is a per- ception." Pyle 124-126. Woodworth 420. 4. In sensation there is brain activity in the sen- sory center concerned. Perception is also accompanied by brain activity. In sensation the brain is modified; The .sensation is regist- ered there, as it were. In perception the same brain-center is active, it vibrates in modified form. It has in it the accumulated "registra- tions" of the past sensations of similar kind. Pyle 125-126, Woodworth 423. 5. Perception is the .source of our mental images. They are the product of our past perceptual experience. The brain-center that was active in perceiving may become active and produce an image when the object is not present to the sense. This is imagination. Pyle 124. Wood- worth 425. 6. Sensation is due to activity in sensory centers. Perception is due to activity in connected, ad- 38 HOW WE LEARN jacent centers. James expresses it thus: "In perception the brain-center is stimulated into activity both from without and from within" (from other centers representing past exper- ience). Woodworth 424. 7. Individuals differ widely in perceptual power. Some are good at visual perception, some at auditory, some at tactual. Woodworth 370. 8. Our senses sometimes misinterpret. This is illusion. Your alarm-clock rings while you are expecting a phone call ; you misinterpret and run to answer. It is a case of illusion. You interpret an external object, but wrongly. Woodworth 424, 450-460. 9. Hallucination is another case of misinterpreta- tion. James says it is due to intra-cortical stimulation only. The centers are vividly active and the victim thinks he sees or hears. "Only a person who is the victim of the hal- lucination experiences it." In imagination there is no external reality, but the person knows it. In hallucination he thinks there is external reality when there is not. Wood- worth 375-376. III. Application of the facts to study and teaching. 1. As sensation and perception are the source of the material with which we think the teacher should aim at accuracy and thorough- ness. 2. Children's experiences should be as concrete as possible. 3. The appeal to the class .should be through as many senses as possible. HOW WE LEARN 39 IV. Exercises and questions, not for class use, but to aid the teacher in preparation. 1. What is the difference between sensation and perception ? 2. What is the difference between perception and imagination? 3. The teacher should try on himself the il- lusions in Woodworth's or some other good book on psychology and account for them. 4. Why should children be appealed to through, several senses in teaching? 5- Recall the illusions and hallucinations you may have had. 6. Describe the part played by the nervous sys- tem in perception. V. Additional reading references. 1. Psychology, James, chapter on perception. 2. The Story of My Life, Helen Keller. 3. The World I Live In, Helen Keller. 4. Aspects of Child Life and Education. Hall, chapter I (entitled, The Contents of a Child's Mind on Entering School). LESSON X ASSOCIATION OF IDEAS References: James IX, Woodworth XV and XVI, Pyle VIII. "How to Teach," Chap. 5 Strayer and Norseworthy. I. Review of former lessons. 1. Why do adult persons rarely experience pure sensations ? 2. What is the distinction between sensation and perception? 3. How is perception dependent upon brain con- dition and brain activity? 4. In teaching children, why should we appeal through as many senses as possible? 5. How do mental images of one person differ from those of another? II. Elementary principles of association. 1. Mental Habits. Consciousness is an ever- flowing stream of mental state or waves of ideas. These follow each other according to law or habit. James 79. 2. The law of contiguity. If two experiences, or thoughts, or ideas have been in our minds together, or in immediate succession, one of them, on recurring, tends to bring up the other, its associate. Thus an object recalls its name or a name recalls its object. One sees a person and thinks of his name. The two ideas have been together in the mind. James 80. Woodworth 396. HOW WE LEARN 41 3. The law of Similarity. Ideas tend to recall other ideas that resemble them. Tell a dream or an experience in an informal group of people and see how it calls forth like dreams or experiences in the minds of others. This is often seen in testimony meetings. Peo- ple comment, "How much Jones looks or talks like Jackson." These are the results of association by similarity. James 80. Wood- worth 395. 4. Individuals differ in Association. Some fol- low faithfully habitual lines. These are slow and prosaic. Some minds are quick to bring up unusual ideas, they are witty. James 81. 5. Minds differ in native power to associate, retain and recall. Some have "unusual ten- acity of brain substance." Others lack this native quality. James uses the terms "wax- like brain" and "jelly-like brain." James 120- 123. 6. Association is usually Spontaneous. Mental activity of association goes on ceaselessly "from its inner springs." This is seen at its best in reverie or undirected thought when the mind "runs at its own sweet will," in "zigzag" course. James 84, 86, 87, 118. Woodworth 376. 7. Association may be controlled. When the mind follows some deep interest or when a person "thinks toward a goal" the field of association is narrowed. Thoughts helping toward the goal tend to come up. They are 42 HOW WE LEARN selected and persist. Woodworth 381-384. Pyle 159-161. III. Application of the Principle. 1. "The teacher can formulate his function, therefore, in terms of association. It is mainly that of building up useful systems of asso- ciations in the pupils' minds." James 83. Building character in terms of association is this: Interest the child or the class in worthy ideas or ideals and thereby control his processes of association. Ideas and ideals find expression in behavior. 2. To do effective work in teaching, associate in the children's minds ideas you would have them retain with ideas natively inter- esting. 3. Successful teaching associates the new and uninteresting with the child's old and in- teresting experiences. IV. Exercises and Questions. 1. Catch a train of your thoughts and see how one brought up the other, and decide whether contiguity or similarity joins each together. 2. Pick three good examples from your think- ing of contiguity, and three of similarity. 3. Do you find in your thinking, examples also of vividness, recency, or emotional condition, mentioned by Pyle 154-157? 4. Is your own mind of the witty or the prosaic type? Why? 5. When your thoughts are most spontaneous, what is their quality? HOW WE LEARN 43 6. Remember that, "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he." Proverbs 23, 7. V. Other references. 1. Psychology, briefer course, James. Chapter on Association. 2. Chapter on association in some other course of psychology. LESSON XI MEMORY. References: James XII, Pyle VII, "How to Teach," Chap. 5 Strayer and Norseworthy. I. Review of last lesson. 1. What is the law of contiguity? 2. Give an example of association of ideas by similarity. 3. Explain the influence of recency. 4. From the above it is seen that the "wander- ing of our minds" is not altogether hap-haz- zard. It is habitual or controlled by law. II. Elementary principles of memory. 1. "Memory proper- is the knowledge of a former state of mind after it has already once dropped from consciousness ; it is the knowl- edge of an event, or fact, of which, meantime, we have not been thinking, with the addi- tional consciousness that we have thought or experienced it before." James 287. 2. "No memory is involved in the mere fact of recurrence, the condition is that the fact imagined be expressly referred to the past, thought as in the past, in my past." James 288. 3. Memory is based upon brain processes. "When two elementary brain processes have been active together or in immediate suc- cession, one of them, on recurring, tends to HOW W E LEARN 45 propagate its excitement into the other." 4. When a thing is experienced it is registered in a brain center ; when it passes out of con- sciousness the center is dormant or inactive. When that brain center again becomes active the experience is recalled. It is like a regis- tering phonograph or dictagraph. When you speak into the instrument it is active and records, when you lay the record aside it is dormant, it retains the impression. When you put it back and start the machine it repro- duces or recalls. So with brain cells and their records. 6. Memory thus, like association, depends upon the brain. The brain center in activity re- ceives its impression ; activity ceases and the center retains the impression. The center again becomes active and gives back the im- pression and it is recalled. Differences among individuals in the power of retentiveness is a difference in brain matter. One brain is "wax to receive and marble to retain." An- other "is like a fluid jelly." James 121, 122. There can be no improvement of this native retentiveness of the brain. James 123. 6. The power or probability of recall is in- creased by organization of facts or thinking them into systems. James 123-127. ". Carefulness of attention helps memory. The interesting things hold our attention and are therefore easily remembered. 3. Helps to memory. Remembering the num- ber of days in each month by a verse, or 46 HOW WE LEARN counting on the knuckles on the hand, or the colors of the rainbow by the initial let- ters (vbgyor) etc. are illustrations. James 127-129. III. Application of the Principles. 1. The teacher can help his class remember by the nature and number of associations he helps them form. Associate the new with the old and interesting. 2. By helping the class organize experiences and facts. 3. By holding attention so as to make clear first impressions. 4. By attentive repetitions or reviews. IV. Questions and Exercises. 1. Make your own definition of memory keep- ing in mind principles 1 and 2 above. 2. What are the relations of brain quality to retentiveness in memory? 3. Why is a teacher responsible, in a large measure, for the power of his class to retain and recall? 4. What use, if any, would you make of artificial helps to memory such as are mentioned in No. 8, above? 5. If a student complained to you of poor mem- ory, saying that he could not retain and re- call his lesson after many readings, what sug- gestions would you make on his processes of study? 6. Study a lesson carefully yourself till you understand and can recite it. Write an in- trospective account of the process. HOW WE LEARN 47 7. Which of two lessons do you retain and re- call most easily, an interesting or an unin- teresting one ? Why ? V. Some other good references. 1. Psychology, James, chapter XVIII. 2. The chapter on memory in any other avail- able work on psychology. LESSON XII IMAGINATION. References : Woodworth XV, XIX, "How to Teach," Chapter 6 Strayer and Norseworthy. I. Review of previous lessons. 1. How are memory and association related to each other? 2. What have brain processes to do with reten- tion and recall? 3. How would you help a student to improve his memory ? II. Imagination, its elementary principles. 1. Imagination is "seeing with the mind's eye." A person can picture to himself an object that is not actually present to his senses and that he knows is not there. This is imagin- ation. Woodworth 520. 2. People differ widely in the kind and power of imagination. Some have vivid images of sight, others not; some have strong images of hearing, others not, etc. Woodworth 369, 370. 3. Images are made of material experienced through the senses. A person blind from in- fancy can not have images of sight ; nor can a person deaf from infancy have images of hearing. In this connection the story of Helen Keller, blind from infancy, is inter- esting. 4. Imagination depends upon activity in the HOW WE LEARN 49 centers of the brain. When one sees a scene it is impressed upon the brain center. When one imagines the scene the brain center is again active, though not stimulated through the eye. Woodworth 367, 368. 5. Hallucination differs from imagination in this; in the former the object appears to be actually present stimulating the senses, while in imagination the object is known not to be there. Woodworth 375. 6. Imagination may be either (a) reproductive or (b) productive. Reproductive imagina- tion presents experiences much as they orig- inally occurred, while productive imagination selects out parts of different experiences and combines them into new images. Thus the architect plans a house he has never seen. 7. A great function of imagination is thus to construct the new out of the old, the whole out of the partial, the ideal out of the real. An inventor recombines some old principles into a new invention. A person sees parts of the earth and out of his limited experi- ence, imagines the whole earth, the limitless universe. A person perceives or experiences some noble traits or partial perfections of character and, combining these observations, he imagines ideals and rises to the divine and the perfect. TIL Application of the principles. 1 . As people differ widely in the kind of images, the teacher should make his presentation or appeal so as to reach all in the class. 50 HOW WE LEARN 2. As imagination depends upon sensory ma- terial the teacher should help the child to get vivid sensations. 3. The real teacher is a character builder. He helps his pupils discover ideal elements in great characters and inspires the recombin- ing of these into ideals of life. IV. Exercises and questions. 1. Examine your imagination and see whether images of sight, or sound, or touch etc., pre- dominate. 2. Imagine yourself blind and deaf from child- hood as Helen Keller. Describe the world you would live in as you would know it. 3. Why cannot those blind from infancy imag- ine landscapes, or those deaf imagine music? 4. How would you use the active imagination of childhood and youth in developing char- acter ? 5. What studies do you think richest in mate- rial with which properly to develop your pu- pils' imagination? V. Other references for additional reading on imag- ination. 1. The Story of my Life, Helen Keller. 2. The World I Live- In, Helen Keller. 3. The chapter on Imagination in any other psychology book. LESSON XIII. THINKING AND REASONING. References: Pyle VIII, Woodworth XVIII, "How to Teach," Chapter 7 Strayer and Norseworthy. I. Review of former lessons. 1. What are images? What is imagination? 2. How do individuals differ in the images they have? 3. Why does a blind person have no images of sight? 4. With what sort of ideas must Helen Kel- ler do her thinking ? 5. What difference do you see between repro- ductive and productive imagination? 6. How is imagination used in developing char- acter? II. Elementary facts about thinking and reasoning. 1. Ideas are the material with which we think. These ideas are the result of our sensation and perception. The power of retention and recall of experiences enables us to have and use ideas. See lessons III, IX and X, Pyle 152, Woodworth 462-464. 2. These ideas with which we think sometimes run through our minds in free or spontan- eous association. This is true of reverie and most of our ordinary thinking. Sometimes our stream of consciousness is more con- trolled. It "carries on" toward an end or con- 52 HOW WE LEARN elusion. This is reasoning. See lesson X. Pyle 159-163, Woodworth 465-468. 3. Laws or mental habits govern our thinking and reasoning. (See lesson X.) Contiguity and similarity are fundamental laws of asso- ciation of ideas. Other laws are those of the primary recency, frequency, or vividness of the experience. Pyle 154-159. Wood- worth 395-398, 379. 4. Thinking in childhood tends to be more con- crete or perceptual, in maturity more ab- stract or ideational. In childhood more spon- taneous, in maturity more controlled. Pyle 159. 5. Ideas with which we reason, may have many meanings. These meanings are groups of ideas closely associated. These meanings come from and increase with our experience. Pyle, 163-165. 6. Ideas are retained best and most easily sub- ject to control and use if organised. Organ- ization of ideas is thinking of them in their relations. Organization is selective and takes the ideas according to specific mean- ings and associates them. Pyle, 165-167. James 82-83. 7. Reasoning is thinking to an end or inference or conclusions. It is mental exploration, ransacks memory for the right experience or idea to "carry on" to the desired end. The end may be the solution of a problem, self-justification, explanation, application or verification. Woodworth, 469-473. Pyle 160. HOW WE LEARN 53 III. Application of these facts. 1. It is one of the main functions of the teacher to train pupils in reasoning. 2. The pupil should have opportunity for origi- nal, first-hand experience that his ideas, the material with which to reason, may be clear. Pyle 168. 3. Education has as one prominent function the creating of opportunity for right experience. 4. Teachers and parents can help children to organize their experience or the ideas they gain from it. Pyle 169. 5. "One of the most important habits in con- nection with reasoning is the habit of cau- tion. Pyle 169. 6. "Another habit is that of testing the conclu- sion." Pyle 169. 7. A common error is to be avoided, namely, the "foregone conclusion/' IV. Exercises and questions to help the teacher pre- pare the lesson not for class use. 1. Are the images with which you, as an indi- vidual, think predominantly visual, auditory, tactile or a mixture of these? 2. How does the thinking of children differ from that of adults? Why? 3. What do you understand by "foregone con- clusion" ? 4. Wherein does mere thinking and reasoning differ? 5. How can we help our pupils develop the ability to reason? 6. The Chicago river is a foul stream into which 54 HOW WE LEARN the sewers empty. A little boy who lives near it heard in a Sunday School class of a "river in heaven". He said "is there a river in heaven? Then I don't want to go there." What was his difficulty? V. Additional reading. 1. Principles of Psychology, James, chapter on Reasoning. 2. How We Think, John Dewey. LESSON XIV. EMOTION. References: Pyle V (first half), Woodworth VII, "How to Teach," Chapter 8 Strayer and Norseworthy. I. !Review of former lessons. 1. What is an instinct or native tendency to action ? See lesson IV. 2. Name and describe some of man's promi- nent instincts. 3. Review the nervous system and its functions (Lesson III) and note that it is an intricate telephone system connecting all parts of the body. 4. What is the nature of and where do you get the material you think with? 5. What distinction is made between thinking and reasoning ? 6. What is the ultimate purpose or end in rea- soning? II. Elementary facts about emotion. 1. "Pleasure and pain" or pleasantness and un- pleasantness are basic in reaction in all forms of life. The lowest forms of life as well as the higher forms respond toward one and away from the other. Pyle 73-74. Wood- worth 177-178. 2. "Pleasantness and unpleasantness are simple feelings". Most of the situations of life are either pleasant or unpleasant. Our physical constitution is such that the former seems to 56 HOW WE LEARN favor life the latter not. Woodworth 180- 184. Pyle 74. 3. Emotion is a complex feeling state. "Emo- tion is a stirred-up state of the individual." Woodworth 118-119. Pyle 74-75. 4. The complex feeling or "stirred up" state of mind is a complex sensation of vigorous ac- tivity in the organs of the body. James says : "Without the bodily states following on the perception the latter would be purely cogni- tive in form, pale, colorless, destitute of emotional warmth. We might see the bear and judge it best to run; receive the insult and deem it right to strike; but we should not actually feel afraid or angry." Pyle 75-76. Woodworth 128-130. 5. Anger, fear, love, hate and grief are emo- tions of the stronger type. They have strong bodily reactions. You see an object that gives sudden fright. Instantaneously the heart throbs, circulation is hastened, breath- ing is first interrupted then deep and la- bored, the muscles are tense and quiver, the nostrils are dilated, the eyes stare, the pu- pils are enlarged, the internal organs are deeply affected. The feeling of these ex- tensive bodily reactions is emotion. Pyle 75- 76. Woodworth 121-129. 6. The higher emotions, esthetic, social, and re- ligious are probably derived from the above named primary emotions. The cause may be of the same nature but modified and more refined. Woodworth 135. HOW WE LEARN 57 7. A mood is an extended emotional state last- ing for hours or days. The condition of physical organs is considered as the cause. Pyle 78. 8. Permanent emotional attitudes constitute temperament. Pyle 78. Woodworth 553- 554. III. Application of the above facts. 1. Though emotional reactions are native ten- dencies they are, nevertheless, capable of con- trol and training. 2. To control emotion is to control the physi- cal reaction, its basic cause. 3. Training the emotional nature is refining the primary emotions and developing the higher. 4. Responses to literature, art in all its forms, religion, and social service develop the high- er emotions. Interest in these reactions is contageous. (See lesson VII.) The inter- erest of the teacher goes over to the pupil. The interest of one idea sheds itself over to a related idea, etc. 5. The Great Teacher taught us how to de- velop the highest of all emotions love. Do good to others and our love for them de- velops. IV. Exercises and questions as helps to the teacher in preparing lessons. 1. Make out a list of the more important emo- tions. 2. What are their characteristic expressions? 3. If you take out of anger the feeling of the 58 HOW WE LEARN clenched fist, the set jaw, the violent beat- ing of the heart, the flushed face and other physical feelings, what, if anything, would be left? 4. Try the same method of abstraction on fear, grief, etc. 5. What do you thirik of the James-Lange theory of emotions? 6. What are the higher emotions, and how may they be developed? V. Additional reading. 1. Human Behavior, Colvin & Bagley, IV, V, VI. 3, Principles of Psychology, Jamesi, chapter on emotion. LESSON XV. WILL. References : James XV, Woodworth XX, Pyle p. 83, "How to Teach," Chapter 11 Strayer and Norse worthy. I. Review of former topics. 1. In the economy of life what seems to be the purpose of "pleasure and pain" or "pleas- antness and unpleasantness"-? 2. vWhat is the James-Lange theory of emo- tion? See Woodworth, pp. 128-130. 3. Analyze your feelings when in a state of fierce anger. What are the component ele- ments ? 4. Do the same with grief. Are the component elements again feelings of organic activity? 5. What educational activities are most effec- tive in properly training the emotions? II. Elementary facts about will. 1. Will shows itself in conduct or reaction. "Acts of will are such as cannot be inattentively performed." A mental picture of the desired act, and a deliberate fiat or command must precede. James 169. 2. Most acts of our lives are unconscious, or have a minimum of consciousness in them. They are therefore not acts of will. Reflex acts, instinctive acts, habitual acts, idea-mo- tor acts, are of this sort. Woodworth 524- 528. James 170-172. 60 HOW IV E LEARN 3. Acts of will involve a choice. Alternatives are before the mind. Alternative A blocks or inhibits action in the direction of alterna- tive B. One effectively blocks the other. The find must choose. "The most distinctly vol- untary acts occur when two alternatives are thought of, and one of them is chosen." James 172-179. Woodworth 528-535. 4. Impulsion and inhibition hold each other in check as do the extensor and flexor muscles in the control of a limb. Our actions are at all times results of the compounding' or in- teracting of these influences. James 178- 181. Woodworth 540. 5. There result two types of will. In one im- pulsions, in the other inhibitions predominate. These are sometimes spoken of as the pre- cipitate and the obstructed will, respectively. Races show these traits. James 178-179. Woodworth 540-541. III. Application of these facts. 1. The teacher's or parent's work is to "train the child's will," not to "break the child's will." 2. Regard the child's failure to act as a case of over-inhibition rather than stubbornness and do not attempt to force him. 3. By associating the child's ideas with proper actions his will is trained. 4. The teacher should endeavor to help the child in whom there is a tendency to pre- cipitate will, and the child of the obstructed will. HOW WE LEARN 61 IV. Exercises and questions to aid the teacher in pre- paring lessons. 1. From your day's activities name six acts that were acts of will. 2. Name six that were involuntary acts. 3. To which classes do those six non-voluntary acts belong? See No. 2 above. 4. What kind of situations call forth acts of will? 5. Has your mind ever been in a state of "dead- lock"? What caused it? How did you over- come it? 6. Why should a child's will "not be broken" ? How then will you train him in obedience? V. Additional reading. 1. Principles of Psychology, James, chapter on Will. 2. "Will" in any other good book on Psychology. LESSON XVI WILL (Continued) References : James XV, Woodworth XX, Pyle, p. 3, "How to Teach," Chapter II Strayer and Norseworthy. I. Review of former lesson. 1. Which acts predominate in life, those with will or those without? Explain. 2. What is an act of will? 3. Wherein does ideomotor differ from willed action ? 4. What do you understand by inhibition? By impulsion ? 5. What is an obstructed will? A precipitate will? 6. ;Do you know of a person who flies into ac- tion hastily without deliberation? Or one who cannot make decisions or get action? What sort of training does each need ? II. Facts about will. (Continued.) 1. The ideal condition of will is a proper re- lation between impulsions and inhibitions. This is seen in men like Lincoln and Glad- stone. They did not fly into action hastily, nor were they troubled with over inhibition. James 179-181. Woodworth 539. 2. Habits of Will depend upon two things: (1) The "stock of ideas" in the mind, and (2) the habitual coupling or association which the ideas make. James 184-188. Woodworth 541-543. HOW WE LEARN 63 3. In its final analysis power of will is power of voluntary attention. Hold one alternative or th& right idea in mind by voluntary effort of attention and it will issue in action. James says, "The essential achievement of the will in short, when it is most voluntary, is to at- tend to a difficult object and hold it fast be- fore the mind. The so-doing is the fiat" or command or act of will. And further : "Ef- fort of attention is thus the essential phe- nomenon of will/' James 188-189. Wood- worth 528. 4. The question of freedom of will turns on this same point. If we have power to hold one idea in the focus of consciousness to the exclusion of others we have freedom of will. James says: "The free will contro- versy is thus extremely simple. It relates solely to the amount of effort of attention which we can at any time put forth." James 191. 5. Character and destiny, the products of free will and responsibility, are thus based on vol- untary attention, the power to hold the right idea in consciousness till it issues in action. James 191. Woodworth 545-546. 6. In exercising our free will it is better to in- hibit the bad by substituting the good than by repressing the bad. Spinoza says "that anything that a man can avoid under the notion that it is bad, he may also avoid under the notion that something else ds good" James 192-194. 64 HOW WE LEARN III. Application of the facts of will. 1. The teacher should aim, in the training of children, at a proper balance between impul- sion and inhibition, the healthy will. 2. The teacher's function is to help the child acquire the right ideas and to couple the ideas with right action. 3. As will in its essential nature is voluntary attention, choosing the right idea and hold- ing it in mind, education should develop the power of voluntary attention. 4. To get action from pupils the teacher should hold definite goods before them and the goods should not be too remote. Wood- worth 542. 5. The practice curve is a good means by which to stimulate a student. It leads him to en- deavor to surpass his own past record. Woodworth 542, 321. IV. Exercises and questions. 1. In what way is will related to one's stock of ideas ? 2. How does the coupling of our ideas with right actions aid the processes of will? 3. What relation has voluntary attention to will? 4. Is your life determined, or can you exercise freedom of will? Why do you think so? What difference does it make? 5. Why is it better to inhibit by substitution than by repression or negation? 6. With respect to will, what is the teacher's great responsibility. HOW WE LEARN 65 V. Additional reading. 1. Principles of Psychology. James. Chapter on will. 2. The will to believe. James. LESSON XVII INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES References: Pyle IX, Woodworth XII and XXI. ''How to Teach," Chapter 10 Strayer and Norseworthy. I. Review of former lessons. 1. What distinguishes willed action from other forms of action ? 2. What is the difference between will and stub- borness ? 3. "Power of will is power of voluntary atten- tion." Explain. 4. What is the relation of ideas to will ? 5. If brain activity accompanies and conditions the "flow of ideas" and ideas condition our will, how can there be "freedom of will"? 6. What is the relation of freedom of will to character ? 7. Why is inhibition of the bad by "substitu- tion" better than by "repression" ? II. Elementary facts about individual differences. 1. People differ widely in their physical make- ups. They differ in color of hair, of eyes, of skin ; in shape of head, of trunk ; in shape of internal organs ; they differ in shape, size and quality of brain, etc. Pyle 176-177. Woodworth 552-553. 2. People differ in native tendencies and in- stincts. Some have a larger instinctive tend- ency to religion, to property ownership, to HOW WE LEARN 67 cooperation, to sociability, etc., than others. James VII. Pyle 53-70. Woodworth 137- 169. 3. People differ even more widely mentally than physically. They differ in native brightness, in memory, in imagination, in association, in will, etc. Pyle 178-180. Woodworth 271- 275. 4. People differ widely in traits of character: In temperament, in susceptibility to mood ; in energy; in ambition; in ideals, in willingness to serve and to cooperate; in honesty, truth- fulness, industry, reliability; in democratic attitude, etc. 5. These differences are due in large measure to heredity and variation. (See lesson II.) Pyle 24, 31-32, 181. Woodworth 100-101, 289-293. 6. Environment and training also wield an in- fluence, but not so great as heredity and vari- ation, in producing individual differences. Woodworth 289-293. Pyle 31. III. Application of these facts. 1. Education must take account of individual differences and not try to make alike that to which God has given individuality. 2. The teacher or parent must not expect all children to react alike to situation or sub- ject-matter. 3. The teacher though teaching a group should keep individuals in mind and adapt his meth- ods to them. 4. In choosing activity or subject-matter for a 68 HOW WE LEARN class the tastes or individual capacities of members should be kept in mind. IV. Questions to aid the teacher in preparing. 1. Compare height and weight of the children of like age in your group. Make a record of your results. 2. How do your children compare in color of eyes and of hair? 3. Find out if possible intellectual and spiritual likeness of the members of your class. Are there any differences? 4. In willingness to recite or freedom in par- ticipation in class activities, do you note a dif- ference in your pupils ? 5. What is the significance to you as teacher of these differences? V. Additional good reading. 1. Individuality, Thorndike. This is an excel- lent little monograph published by Houghton Mifflin Co. 2. The Intelligence of School Children, Terman. 3. Essentials of Psychology, Pillsbury. Chap- ter XVI. 4. Psychology and the school, Cameron. Chap- ter XIV. 5. Suggestions of modern Science Concerning Education, Jennings and others, chapters 1 and 2. LESSON XVIII STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT: INFANCY Note : The three books chosen for this series of lessons do not contain chapters that apply to this and the succeeding les- sons. References will therefore not be made by chapters at the beginning. Instead the lessons will be made slightly fuller. Quotations, where appropriate ones can be found, will be given and references to any books dealing with the subject will be given. (See "How to Teach," Chapter 9 on Play by Strayer and Norseworthy.") I. Review of former lessons. 1. Consider any group of people, adults or children of the same age. How do they dif- fer? (a) Physically? (b) In instinct and nature tendencies? (c) In different aspects of mental func- tioning ? (d) In mood, temperament, and other traits of character? 2. To what extent are those differences due (a) To heredity? (b) To general environment? (c) To specific training in school and other institutions ? 3. To what extent do you think people with fundamental differences (a) Should be trained alike? (b) Can be trained alike? 4. Knowing these differences, how will your future teaching be affected? 70 HOW WE LEARN II. Elementary facts about stages of growth and in- fancy. 1. Man is not an enlarged child, nor is a child a miniature man. They are different. En- large an infant's body in its proper propor- tions to the stature of manhood and it would be a monster all out of proportion. (See photograph of child enlarged and compared with that of man. Adolescence, Hall, Vol. I p. 60.) "Judged by size alone, the child might be looked upon as like the adult, only smaller. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The child is different from the adult in * * * the relative proportion of all his parts." Terman, Hygiene of the School Child, p.47. 2. In the development from the single fertilized cell with which life begins to the full stature of manhood the child passes through stages more or less distinct from each other. "For a period of twenty-five years the human be- ing is passing through a series of stages, each distinct in itself and transitory with char- acteristics of its own, yet all leading on by a lawful, though circuitous, process to a com- plete development in the adult form." Part- ridge, Genetic Philosophy of Education, p. 72. Shakespeare, As You Like It. Act II, Scene 7. Waddle, Child Psychology, 139- 141. 3. These stages, all interesting and worthy of thorough study, are given with slight varia- tion by various writers. G. S. Hall gives HOW WE LEARN 71 them as follows: (1) Pre-natal period. (2) infancy from birth up to the end of the second year. (3) Childhood from three to eight. (5) Youth from eight to twelve. (6) Adolescence from thirteen to twenty-three. Partridge in Genetic Philosophy gives Hall's classification, p. 73. To these might be added (7) the period of maturity or vigor- ous manhood and (8) the period of old age from Sixty-five or seventy and upwards. Shakespeare, As You Like It. Act II, Scene 7. 4. The period of infancy from birth to two years is characterized by very rapid physical growth, more rapid than in any other post- birth period. During the first year of this period the infant gains 200% in weight and during the second year 20%. In heighth the gain is about nine inches the first year and five the second. Jewett, Next Genera- tion, chapter XVI, "The Marvel of Growth;" Hall, Adolescence, Vol. I, pp. 1-5. 5. Intellectually the period of infancy is a pe- riod of sensation. The infant here gets its first sensations. The organs are mature for action. Neural currents pour into the cere- brum through the optic nerves and auditory nerves; the infant feels the activity aroused in the brain as sensation. From lack of ex- perience he does not yet perceive. James says: "The object which the numerous in- pouring currents of the baby bring to his consciousness is one big, blooming, buzzing 72 HOW WE LEARN confusion, potentially resolvable, and de- manding to be resolved, but not yet actually resolved into parts." Psychology, briefer course, p. 16. This whole period is one of great activity of the sense organs, and sensa- tion and perception, with accumulating ex- perience, grow rapidly. Woodworth 60, 62- 64, 187-188, 423-425. 6. The stream of consciousness may be said to begin in this period as a tiny rill. This can not be compared with the adult conscious- ness. In adult terms infant consciousness is hard to describe. Miss Shinn makes an at- tempt as follows: "She took in with a dull comfort the gentle light that fell on her eyes, seeing without any sort of attention or comprehension the moving blurs of darkness that varied it. She felt motions and changes ; she felt the actions of her own muscles and disagreeable shocks of sound now and then broke through the silence, or perhaps through an unnoticed jumble of faint noises. She felt touches on her body from time to time ; and steady slight sensations of touch from her clothes, from arms that held her, from cushions on which she lay, poured in on her. "From time to time sensations of hunger and thirst, and once or twice of pain, made themselves felt through all the others, and mounted till they became distressing; from time to time a feeling of heightened comfort flowed over her as hunger and thirst were HOW W E LEARN 73 satisfied; or release from clothes, and the effect of the bath and rubbing, on her cir- culation, increased the net sense of well- being. For the rest, she lay empty-minded, neither consciously comfortable nor uncom- fortable, yet on the whole pervaded with a dull sense of well-being. Of the people about her, of her mother's face, of her own ex- istence, of desire or fear, she knew nothing. Yet this dim dream was flecked all through with the beginnings of later comparison and choice." Waddle, Child Psychology 264. 7. Several instincts are "ripe" and function at birth: others "ripen" during the period. Typical of those that are ready to function at birth are taking nourishment and crying. These require complex movements, yet the infant does not have to learn them. Walk- ing and talking are typical of those instincts that ripen during the period. When the or- gans are ready the tendency to use them comes as an instinct. Language is an in- stinctive tendency to express, but the spe- cific language must be learned. Woodworth 94-97, 144. Jewett, The Next 'Generation, 115. III. Applications of these facts in education. 1. Development by periods is nature's way, and education should be based upon it. It is easier to cooperate with nature than to op- pose it. 2. Education takes the native tendency when it "ripens" and shapes it for proper function- 74 HOW WE LEARN ing. Thus talking. It is partly a native tendency, partly a learned reaction. A four months' infant could not be taught to talk. The twelve^month old child can not be kept from talking if it hears language. 3. The best teaching is that which takes notice of the maturing instinct and helps it come to functioning. Thus when the infant wants sensory experience it helps him get it. 4. This period is important in the home in forming some of the fundamental habits of life. IV. Exercises and questions. 1. What do you think of Shakespeare's Seven Ages of Man compared with the above stages? See, As You Like it. Act II, Scene 7. 2. How does the rate of growth during this pe- riod compare with the rate during the post- birth period? 3. Study a babe carefully and see the many things it has learned incidentally in its first two years. 4. What aspects of mental functioning are most active during this period? 5. Make a list of things the child does without learning (native tendencies) during this pe- riod. V. Additional Good Reading. 1. The Meaning of Infancy, Fiske. This is a small interesting booklet of 42 pages. Its contents should be known by all teachers. 2. The Next Generation, Jewett. This small HOW WE LEARN 75 book should be in every family and read by all concerned about a better next generation. 3. Suggestions of Modern Science Concerning Education, Jennings and others. The first half of this book is as good reading as can be found on the subject. Note: These books do not deal specifically and solely with in- fancy but they contain chapters or passages of importance, and are excellent throughout LESSON XIX CHILDHOOD I. Review of former lessons. 1. What do you think of Shakespeare's Seven Ages of Man as psychological? See, As You Like It. Act II, scene 7. 2. Give the age limits of Hall's Stages of Growth. What do you think of these stages ? 3. How does physical growth during the period of infancy compare with other periods ? 4. What aspects of mental activity predomin- ate during this period ? 5. Name instinctive tendencies that are ready at birth and some that "ripen" during this period. II. Facts about the period of childhood. 1. The physical growth of the child is rapid, but not so rapid as in the former stage. In height it takes him 56 months to grow 12 inches, which amount he formerly grew in 14 months. In weight growth has likewise slowed. Norseworthy and Whitley, Psy- chology of Childhood 265, 280. Partridge, Genetic Philosophy of Education 74, 206. Jewett, The Next Generation 115. 2. Childhood is a time of great physical activ- ity. It is the time of life when the child "can not sit still" : "Activity is a body hunger*'. The impulses of the body spur the child to activity. By actual measurement HOW WE LEARN 77 the child from four to six walks spontan- eously in his play ten miles per day. He is busy with objects that appeal to his senses, building up, tearing down, finding out what things he can do. James 6L "Curtis found that the very young child cannot sit mo- tionless more than thirty seconds, nor chil- dren from five to ten years more than one minute and a half." Norseworthy and Whit- ley, Psychology of Childhood 46. 3. This body-hunger for physical activity satis- fies itself with play, Jennings says that "sci- entific study has shown that play is in most respects the best, the ideal form of the ex- ercise of the powers. * * * The young child perhaps learns more and develops bet- ter through its play than through any other form of activity. Opportunity for varied play under healthful outward conditions is beyond doubt the chief need of children." Jennings, Suggestions of Modern Science 46- 47. "Without play the child would not de- velop, would not become a normal human being." Pyle 68-70, Partridge, Genetic Phil- osophy 75, Norseworthy and Whitley 206- 222. 4. "Mental action is much like physical action, rapid but uncontrolled. The mind is re- ceptive to a remarkable degree. The child is an eager seeker after all kinds of knowl- edge; the attention is active but flits readily from point to point. The memory is good. * * * Thought is active, but discon- 78 H.Q W WE LEARN nected and fanciful. * * * The period from four to five seems especially one of imaginative fertility." Partridge, Genetic Philosophy 75, 206-208; Norseworthy and Whitley, Psychology of Childhood 281-284. 5. Imagination is peculiarly active in these years of childhood. "It is fantastic, and the flights of fancy in which children of this age in- dulge are comparable only to the night- dreams of adults." Norseworthy and Whit- ley 155, 160. "This is seen in doll play, in imaginary companionship, in the imaginative lie, in interest in fairy stories, in the wealth of fabrication and make-believe which con- stitute so large a part of many children's plays and games." Waddle, Child Psychol- ogy 288, Woodworth 491-497. 6. Imitation also is very active in this stage of childhood. "Imitation, and dramatization play a large part in the activities connected with their toys as also in their other plays. They love to dress up and assume the char- acters they see daily, such as policeman, car- conducter, etc. or those they hear about in the stories." Norseworthy and Whitley, Psy- chology of Childhood 285. This plays a great part in education and character build- ing. James 48, Pyle 64-70. 7. Many instinctive tendencies function strongly during this period. Prominent among these are curiosity, emulation, ambition, pugnacity, collection and ownership, construe fineness, etc. James 45-60. HOW WE LEARN 79 III. Application of these facts to teaching. 1. As mind depends upon body the child's physi- cal welfare should have first consideration. Spontaneous exercises, wholesome food, and plenty of sleep are essentials. 2. Physical welfare is the teacher's first re- sponsibility. 3. The teacher should so adapt school activ- ities that the child can be active while getting his schooling. (See fact No. 2 above.) Read Jenning's Suggestions of Modern Science, p. 48. 4. Play time is not wasted. Greater education- al returns come to little children from prop- erly organised play than from any other ac- tivity. More of it should be provided. 5. The child, craves imaginative literature, myth and fairy tale. Nature shows this. We should supply the child with that which his nature craves. 6. The child should have proper models in liv- ing persons and literature to imitate. More stories of real heroes. 7. More notice should be taken of the instincts that are active during the period. James 61. IV. Some questions and exercises to aid the teacher in preparation. 1. If the child spontaneously walks ten miles per day at play, and if physical activity is his most charateristic trait, is it fair to have him sit in cast-iron desks at lessons several hours per day? 2. Did you note, from the reading referred to, HOW WE LEARN the effect upon the child from sitting still too much? 3. If God has created the child with a vivid fantastic imagination, is it fair for us to de- prive the child of the natural food for such imagination? The child will grow out of this need as the tadpole grows out of need of its tail. 4. Is money spent for play and play-grounds wasted ? 5. Is the purpose of play just to keep children out of mischief? 6. If the child is an imitator, what sort of per- son should the teacher or play leader be? 7. Would you economize on the child by hiring cheap teachers for him, or by furnishing him poor surroundings? V. Additional good reading. 1. Aspects of Child Life and Education, G. Stanley Hall. The whole book should be read. 2. Suggestions of Modern Science Concerning Education. Jennings and others. The first two chapters should be known to all teachers. 3. Genetic Philosophy of Education, Partridge. This has two chapters, "Development Stages," VII, and "Educational Periods," XIV, with which all teachers should be familiar. LESSON XX YOUTH I. Review of former lessons. 1. What years are covered by the period of childhood ? 2. How does physical growth compare with that of other stages? 3. Why should a child have opportunity for much free activity during this stage ? 4. Why is it impossible for the little child long to sit still? 5. "Without play a child would not develop, would not become a normal human being.'" What do you think of that statement? 6. If the child naturally has an active, fantastic imagination, what kind of literature should he have? Would you follow and cooper- ate with nature or go contrary to nature? 7. What are some of the instincts that func- tion during this stage? How would you use them? II. Facts about youth. 1. This stage of development is from eight to twelve. Hall, Youth; Its Education, Regi- men, and Hygiene, p. 1. 2. Physically "Health is almost at its best, ac- tivity is greater and more varied than it was before or ever will be again, and there is endurance, vitality and resistance to fatigue. * * * There is great immunity to ex- HOW WE LEARN posure. Hall, Youth 1-2, Partridge, Genetic Philosophy 78-79, 208. 3. Youth is a stage of great bodily energy and activity. It shows itself in "practicing cer- tain movements, acquiring skill, perfecting accomplishments, tree climbing, swinging on rings, skating, bicycle riding, and swimming," migrations, games, fighting. Norseworthy and Whitley, Psychology of Childhood 290- 308. 4. During this stage, "the senses are very acute. * * * The mind is keen and alert, reac- tions are immediate and vigorous. The mem- ory is quick, sure, and lasting. Never again will there be such susceptibility to drill and discipline. * * * Mental action begins to be better controlled, more connected, though imagination is still active," but much less fantastic. Partridge, Genetic Phil- osophy 78-79, 208. 5. The herd or gang instinct, gregariousness, ripens into activity during this period." Gre- gariousness is more marked in boys, and is shown chiefly in the formation of the gang. Although beginning at eight or so, this tend- ency seems to be stronger in the years eleven to fourteen." The gangs include "bands of robbers, clubs for hunting and fish- ing, play armies, organized fighting bands between separate districts, associations for building forts, etc. This form of association is the typical one for boys of twelve." Up- on this instinct ball teams and athletic clubs HOW WE LEARN 83 are based. Scouting turns the development in the right direction, which otherwise some- times goes wrong. Norseworthy and Whit- ley, Psychology of Childhood, 300-301. Hall, Youth, 131-134. Woodworth 146-147. 6. Collection and ownership is another instinct that functions strongly during the stage of youth. This is related to the deep property instincts of the race and is a universal and profound motive in the child." It functions during the succeeding stage but is at its strongest during the years eight 'to twelve. Youths "will collect anything convenient and attractive, such as marbles, cigar tags, paper- dolls, nature objects, pictures, and vie with each other to see who will have the larger collection." This instinct "is one of the strongest passions of child life." Norse- worthy and Whitley, Psychology of Child- hood, 299, Pyle 62-63, Partridge, Genetic Philosophy, 130-131. James 55-58. Hall, Aspects of Childhood and Education 205-286. 7. Team play comes in and becomes prominent during this period. Boys of one team coop- erate against and contest with those of an- other team. The spirit otf contest arises at the latter end of this stage. Waddle, Psychology of Childhood 297-298. III. Some application of these facts to education. 1. During this period of great bodily energy and activity the school arts should be thor- oughly mastered. This is the ideal time for that. Partridge, Genetic Philosophy 210. 84 HOW WE LEARN 2. This is the period for studies that call for memory work and drill. These powers are very active. 3. The gang or gregarious instinct indicates that this is the time for training in coopera- tion. In school and church organizations youths will respond well in carrying out co- operative projects. In an age of cooperation, such as ours, this is very important for the moral welfare of the child. 4. In the gang or team at this time is the op- portunity to develop "fair play" or the sense of justice. 5. Team play, therefore, is a very effective means in the hands of a skilful leader in de- veloping morality. 6. The instinct of collection and ownership should have more careful attention from childhood up. It is one of the best means of developing strength of citizenship. IV. Exercises and questions to aid the teacher in preparation. 1. Select from among acquaintances a number of youths of this age and study them. Note : (a) Physical plumpness and symmetry of body. (b) The great energy manifesting itself in the activities of many sorts. (c) Study the many sorts of activities in which youths spontaneously engage. 2. Have you ever seen the contents of a boy's pockets? What things were in it? 3. How would you use the instinct of collec- HOW W E LEARN 85 tion and ownership to train good citizens? 4. What do you think of the father who keeps his son working for the family till he mar- ries and then gives him a "marriage stake"? Is this training the instinct of ownership? 5. How would you use the gregarious instinct for the moral training of youths ? 6. What do you think of a man who condemns play as a "useless waste of time?" 7. How would you organize youths and use play in developing morality in your com- munity ? V. Additional good reading. 1. Suggestions of Modern Science, Jennings and others. The chapter on "Practical and Theoretical Problems in Instinct and Hab- its," and "Mental and Moral Health in a Constructive School Program." They are good. 2. Aspects of Child Life and Education, G. Stanley Hall, chapter on "The Contents of Children's Minds" and "Boy Life in a Country Town." 3. Genetic Philosophy, Partridge, chapter V, VII, VIII and XIV. LESSON XXI ADOLESCENCE References : "How to Teach," Chapter 9 on Play Strayer and Norseworthy." I. Review of former lessons. 1. What years are covered by the period of youth ? 2. What are the physical characteristics of this period ? 3. What changes have taken place mentally in transition from childhood? 4. What aspects of school work should be em phasized during youth? 5. Games and the instinct of group contest; come in during this period. How woulo you use them in moral training ? 6. Can the instinct of collection and ownership be a factor for moral training? If so, How? 7. Do you see any relation between ownership of property and stability of citizenship? II. Elementary facts about adolescence. 1. Early adolescence begins at puberty and reaches to about eighteen. Later adolescence from about eighteen, to maturity of body and especially of mind. Puberty usually comes on between twelve and fifteen. In special cases it may be delayed till later. Partridge Genetic Philosophy 81-87. 2. Beginning about the twelfth year in girls HOW WE LEARN 87 and the fourteenth in boys, "there is a pe- riod of rapid acceleration in growth, lasting about two years, and it is at the end of that time that the signs of physical maturity are established. This is one of the most clearly marked transitional periods of life. * * * In girls the figure becomes more round, the pelvic bones change in shape and position, and the gait is altered. In boys, muscular strength increases greatly, and the whole body begins to take on adult characters. The features change to their adult form. * * * The voice changes. * * * Everything, in fact, indicates profound changes and up- heaval within the organism." Partridge, Genetic Philosophy 81. Hall, Youth 6. 3. The phenomena of adolescence center about sexual development, "which, besides causing many secondary changes in the body, sends to the brain a great mass of new impressions, upsetting the old order and balance." Part- ridge, Genetic Philosophy 82. 4. Changes in mental life are great and nu- merous. "Perhaps the most significant is the excessive craving of all kinds of sense ex- perience. The impulse is to touch life at every point, and to expand in every faculty." Partridge, Genetic Philosophy 83. 5. Imagination becomes intensely active. It is less fanciful, and more productive than in the imaginative period of childhood. In this period it is productive and makes ideals of manhood and womanhood. This causes a HOW WE LEARN longing for the future and for maturity. "Personal and vocational ambitions and ideas, exploits, adventures, inventions, day- dreams and romancing are among the most prevalent forms for these years." Waddle, Child Psychology 288. Norseworthy and Whitley 155. Partridge, Genetic Philosophy 85-86. 6. Emotional activity is strong, sometimes ex- treme, during adolescence. It is spontaneous and unrestrained. "Love of nature is often remarkably deepened, and nature seems to become a new revelation. There is love of solitude, craving for wandering," etc. Ela- tion and despondency run to extremes. "The curve of despondency starts at eleven, rises steadily and rapidly till fifteen, culminates at seventeen, then falls steadily till twenty- three." Hall, Adolescence, Vol. II, p. 77. Partridge, Genetic Philosophy 84-86. Norse- worthy and Whitley, Psychology of Child- hood 155. Waddle, Child Psychology 108- 109. 7. Some instincts "ripen" or function with un- usual activity. Altruism appears, "Life is no longer egocentric but altrocentric." Youth and childhood must be served; adolescence must serve. "Sympathy, and especially love, wither the individual and self-subordination may become a passion. * * * He or she would; go on missions ; labor for the sick, ignorant, depraved, and defective classes; espouse great philantropic causes * * * HOW WE LEARN 89 as if now glimpsing from afar the universal law which makes all individual good merely auxiliary to the welfare of the species." Gen- erosity and magnanimity often struggle with selfishness and greediness for mastery. Hall. Adolescence, Vol. II., 83. Waddle, Child Psy- chology 195. Partridge, Genetic Philosophy 84-86. 8. The mating instinct functions strongly dur- ing this period. The curve rises from twelve to eighteen or twenty, and then falls. "Normally the sexual life comes to maturity at adolescence in a development of the struc- ture and function, and in the birth of de- sire. In its deepest significance this means that the individual now enters a new life, in which interest in the future generation must take precedence over interest in self." The instinct "begins with admiring attention to one of the opposite sex, followed by efforts to attract that one's attention, by display (strutting, decoration of person, demonstrat- ing one's powers, especially in opposition to rivals). Then the male takes an aggressive attitude, the female a coy attitude ; the male woos, the female hangs back, and something analogous to pursuit and capture takes place." Partridge, Genetic Philosophy 36-37. Wood- worth 147-148. 9. Property owner sJnp and religious tendencies also rise in adolescence. These will be treat- ed in separate lessons. 90 HOW WE LEARN III. Some applications to education. 1. During this "storm and stress" period of life when so many new instincts and tendencies come into functioning, the adolescent needs from his teachers, sympathy, real confidence, and an understanding heart. 2. During the adolescent period of accelerated physical growth health and hygiene should have greater care. We have much to learn from the ancient Greeks in this. Among them "at what is justly regarded as the most critical age, he was almost compelled to live a free, breezy, outdoor life, full of activity and stirring incidents, his thoughts and feel- ings directed outwards into acts of will, and not turned back upon himself on his own states." Davidson, Aristotle 87. "If you do these things * * * and give your mind to them, you will always have a well de- veloped chest, a clear complexion, broad shoulders, and a short tongue." Aristotle 61. 3. If there is "craving for all kinds of sense experience and desire to touch life at every point," our education, instead of being se- dentary and memorative, should satisfy these natural cravings. 4. Appeal should be made to enthusiasm and in- spiration. There should be free play of in- terest and other emotions developing from within. Genetic Philosophy 211. 5. Nature is a new revelation to adolescence. This being true the method of teaching nature should be by presenting large inspir- HOW WE LEARN 91 ing conceptions, rather than minute details: Life and instinct and} beauty of creation rather than dead, dissected, details and sta- tistics. Adolescence has a feeling for nature that is worshipful. The adolescent should see in the sublimity of creation, the hand of the Creator. Genetic Philosophy 112, 211- 216. 6. As adolescence is a period of new and in- tense emotional life, the emotions should have greater care in education. We have practically passed through a period of re- pression. We must train 'by free expression, not repress. 7. Adolescence is a period of great plasticity be- cause of rapid growth and maturing of nu- merous emotions and instincts. These emo- tions and instincts should be understood and trained. Note: Three of the most prominent instincts active during adolescence will be given separate lessons because of their importance. Every teacher of adolescents should read Genetic Philosophy 211-216. There is too much good even to epitomize here. IV. Some questions and exercises to aid the teacher in preparation. 1. What are the physical changes that take place with the coming of adolescence? 2. What are the important mental changes? 3. What instinctive tendencies are functioning strongly during the period? 4. Why is the stage so important educationally ? 5. Which adolescent instincts are most import- 92 HOW WE LEARN ; ant from the standpoint of character develop- ment? Why? V. Additional reading. 1. Adolescence, Hall. This set of two large volumes is a classic on this stage of develop- ment. 2. Youth, Hall. This is an abridged statement of the larger work just mentioned. 3. The High School Age, King. LESSON XXII COLLECTION AND OWNERSHIP I. Review of former lessons. 1. Approximately what years does the period of adolescence cover? 2. What physical changes take place in early adolescence ? 3. Explain why the voice of a boy changes quite suddenly at puberty. 4. What mental changes take place in early adolescence ? 5. What one fundamental development do all the changes, physical and mental, center around ? 6. What instincts function anew or with in- creased activity during early adolescence? 7. Why is the period sometimes spoken of as the storm and stress period? "The pin- feather" stage? 8. Why is this stage considered so important in education? II. Some facts about the tendencies of collection and ownership. 1. Collection and ownership are closely related tendencies and function throughout the plas- tic periods of life, infancy, childhood, youth* adolescence. The greatest number of collec- tions are made from nine to eleven. Norse- worthy and Whitley, Psychology of child- hood 52-53. James 55-56. Hall, Aspects of Child Life 208. 94 HOW WE LEARN 2. This instinct shows itself plainly in infancy. The following illustrates: "F, 4 months, never showed sense of special ownership un- til another 'baby was brought to visit her. The second child was given F's rattle, whereupon F began to cry and reach for it." Hall, As- pects of Child Life and Education 256. Like examples may be seen in any home where there \s a babe. 3. The tendency shows itself in children in the collections which they gather, hoard, and hide. The tendency is universal. The con- tents of a little boy's pockets, illustrate it. There are buckles, rare pebbles, flippers, bits of leather, string, marbles, nails, screws, keys, buttons, jewelry, fishhooks, chalk, pencils, spools, shells, tops, etc., in endless variety. Hall, Aspects of Child Life, presents a list of collections of boys and girls 210-214, 261, 255-259. Partridge, Genetic Philosophy 130- 131. Pyle 62. Norseworthy and Whitley, Psychology of Childhood 52-54, 299. 4. As an instinct this tendency to collect and own property is recapitulatory of what the race has done. It is also prophetic or anti- cipatory of what the coming generation will do. Hall, Aspects of Child Life 255, 274. Pyle 62. 5. This instinct is a strong passion in childhood and impels the child to "get" by any process. He begs, cheats, steals, to satisfy desire. Hall, Aspects 263-266. Pyle 62, "These passions of the child are but the pent-up iorces of the HOW WE LEARN 95 greed of thousands of years. They must find expression and exercise, if not in child- hood, later." Hall, Aspects 266. 6. The appeal or value of objects owned seems to be at first its power to stimulate the senses, to use for display. But this changes with age. Use plays a part in fixing value. Later the work required to produce it, the effort put into it fixes the worth. In the adolescent and adult stage, value is measured by stand- ards of money. Hall, Adolescence, Vol. II, 392. Hall, Aspects 265. James 56. 7. James says "the instinct of ownership is fundamental in education." p. 56. Hall, Aspects 264. III. Some educational applications. 1. "The desire to collect and own, is one of the strongest passions in child life." To this strong instinctive passion, then, should be "hitched" the abstract and uninteresting edu- cational activities of childhood. James 56-57. Pyle 62-64. 2. "Collecting may advantageously be connected with nature study, geography, art, etc., mak- ing what might be a laborious task coincide with a fundamental desire. The child who makes collection of insects,- bird eggs, leaves, or flowers translates the beauties of nature into terms of self. They become a part of him. Hall, Aspects 264. "By arousing an interest in collecting, almost every intellectual task of the child may be enlivened, and even the most purely cultural subjects may be 96 HOW WE LEARN made to assume some of the qualities of active, motor interests." Partridge, Genetic Philosophy 131. 3. Through this instinct the child should be trained in honest getting, thus correcting the tendency to cheat, lie, steal and trade un- fairly. 4. "Property is a great factor in developing the mind of the child. * * * All that prop- erty has done in evolving the mind of man is repeated to some extent in the history of childhood." Genetic Philosophy 274. 5. Ownership of property trains the child to respect the property right of others. Genetic Philosophy 271. 6. "It seems essential to mental health that the individual should have something more than the bare clothes on his back to which he can assert exclusive possession, and which he may defend adversely against the world." James 56. Question : If each citizen in the country had by his own effort and thrift some property and a home, would there be any I. W. W.'s or cheap agitating com-- munists, or radicals? 7. The home, the school and the church insti- tution can find the surest basis of loyalty and safety in the proper development of ownership from age to age in their children. IV. Some questions and exercises to help the teacher in preparing the lesson. 1. Is it right to give to a child a small pig, or calf, or colt, call it his, let him tend it and HOW W E LEARN 97 when, by his tending it has grown up, take it back without compensation? 2. How can the home, the school, or the church organization stimulate and develop owner- ship and thrift in the child ? 3. In your childhood, did you make collections ? What were they? Did you value them? 4. Can the home help the child find opportu- nity to earn, and save, and spend wisely? These are three aspects of thrift the child should develop. 5. By encouraging the child's collection, and by helping him classify, can foundation for and interest in science be developed ? V. Additional reading. 1. Aspects of Child Life and Education, Hall. The whole chapter on "The Collection In- stinct/' and "The Psychology of Ownership'* should be carefully studied. 2. Suggestions of Modern Science Concern- ing Education, Jennings and others. The chapters entitled "Practical and Theoretical Problems in Instinct and Habit" and "Mental and Moral Health in a Constructive School Program" should be read. LESSON XXIII THE SEX INSTINCT AND MATING I. Review of former lessons. 1. How early in life does ownership show itself? 2. Have you ever seen a yearling babe set in another yearling babe's high-chair or given his toy? What happened? 3. Is this instinct transitory; that is, does it function for a time and cease, or does it re- main active for life? 4. Have you seen the collections of boys and girls? What did they contain? 5. How can this tendency be made useful for the education of the children? 6. Did you ever see an I. W. W., or a Bol- shevist, or a "radical," who was a thrifty property owner? 7. Can property ownership be made useful in the development of loyality? 8. In what ways can parents foster thrift and ownership in boys and girls? 9. How can the schools and church organiza- tions train these tendencies? II. Some facts about sex and mating. 1. "The sex instinct is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, that man possesses. Norse- worthy and Whitley, Psychology of Child- hood 74. 2. The instinct may cause the deepest degra- dation or the greatest happiness and exalta- HOW WE LEARN 99 tion according as it is improperly or properly trained. Norseworthy and Whitley, Psychol- ogy of Childhood 74. Partridge, Genetic Philosophy 36. Woodworth 148. 3. The impulses are active in youth, but func- tion normally and strongly from puberty on- ward through adolescence and maturity. Woodworth 147. Norseworthy and Whitley. Psychology of Childhood 74-75. 4. The strong and real tendency toward mat- ing is post-pubertal. The curve of tend- ency rises through early adolescence, reaches its maximum about eighteen to twenty, and wanes in the latter part of later adolescence. Norseworthy and Whitley 75-77. 5. The curve of sex and mating parallels closely the curve of religion. Pratt, The Religious Consciousness 110-113. Partridge, Genetic Philosophy 36. 6. Various stages of sex attraction are dis- tinguishable. A very early stage in some cases shows itself as early as the eighth year or in rare cases earlier. Youths form strong attachments for others of the same age or adults, or even other objects of affection. Incompletely developed instinct may show itself in this form. At puberty a conscious- ness of sex arises that causes boys and girls to draw apart for a time. There is no con- fession of attraction, but confusion in each other's presence. The attractions formed before this period are mostly too weak to "cross the breakers that separate childhood 100 HOW WE LEARN from youth." The age of love, in the full and proper sense of the word, comes grad- ually on with the maturing of body and mind after puberty. Hall, Adolescence, Vol. II 100-109. Norseworthy and Whitley 300-301, Woodworth 147. 7. Nature has made the mating period a very plastic one. Mating and marriage require plasticity in order that diverse natures may adapt themselves to each other. Because of plasticity grave dangers confront adolescence. Wrong habits are as easily formed as right ones and impulses and bad environment often establish wrong ones. Wrong ideals, or at- titudes, or viewpoints of life, and especially of sex-relationships, result from the same causes. It is the "storm and stress" period when new tendencies and strong passions arise. At no time is it more highly necessary to have good, clean environment and right leadership of high minded people. The bent character taken during this period usually stays for the rest of life. III. Some application to education. 1. Sex instruction of the right kind should be provided for both sexes during youth and adolescence. This subject, for which there is the greatest need and which is fraught with greatest possibilities for the good of the individual and the race, has been neg- lected in the past. 2. It should be given with sacredness and rev- HOW WE LEARN 101 erence, preferably connected with its natur- al ally, religion. 3. "The home is the first and most natural en- environment in which sex knowledge may be given, if the parents are really awake to their responsibility." Norseworthy and Whit- ley 79. 4. "The biological process of sex in the vege- table and lower animal world" is a proper introduction with children in the upper grades. 5. From this as a beginning the subject may advance, as the child matures, to the pro- cess in the higher animals and man, but in the spirit of dignified frankness and rever- ence. 6. "Teachers of nature study, biology, literature and civics have opportunities not only of giving knowledge but of creating the right attitude to the facts." Norseworthy and Whit- ley 79. 7. The sacredness and functions of marriage and parenthood should be taught somewhere in right atmosphere during this period. IV. Some exercises and questions to help the teacher in preparation. 1. How early in life do sex tendencies begin? 2. At what time is the curve at its height? 3. What do you understand by "plasticity" and by "storm and stress" so often used in ref- erence to adolescence? 4. In what way and under what conditions should sex instruction be given? 102 HOW WE LEARN 5. Can such conditions be established in your community ? 6. Make a survey of your environment and judge the respective elements as to whether they favor cleanliness or uncleanliness. Can you help the community to remove the lat- ter? V. Additional reading. 1. Next Generation, Jewett. This little book re- ferred to before, should be familiar to all teachers and parents. 2. The Sexual Life of The Child, Moll. 3. Heredity and Environment, Conklin. The chapter entitled "The Individual and the Race" is good. The whole book can be strongly commended to thoughtful teachers. 4. Adolescence, Hall. This is an excellent writ- ing on all subjects relating to adolescence. LESSON XXIV RELIGIOUS TENDENCIES I. Review of former lessons. 1. What do we mean by saying that "collection" is an instinct? 2. What is the relation of human instincts to the educative process? 3. What other human instincts do you know? How are they used in education? 4. Is ownership a permanent or a transitory tendency? That is, does it function steadily through life or only at stated periods? 5. How would you use the tendency of collec- tion and ownership in the education of chil- dren? 6. What traits of character would you aim to develop through the functioning and train- ing of those tendencies? II. Some facts about religious tendencies and their training. 1. The religious nature of man. Pratt, The Re- ligious Consciousness 71-72; Coe, Education in Religion and Morals 23, 37-43. Partridge, Genetic Philosophy, 50. Norseworthy and Whitley 234. 2. The importance of man's religious nature. Coe 38-39. Butler, The Meaning of Edu- cation, 17. Pratt 92. 3. How the religious /nature grows. Pratt, 104 HOW WE LEARN The Religious Consciousness, 72. "To edu- cate is not to secure conformity to adult ideas a'nd practice, but to help the immature pow- ers of the child to unfold to grow." Coe 23. 4. The innate germ may lie dormant from want of stimulation, be perverted from stimulation of wrong kind, or grow normally and prop- erly from right stimulation, which is training. This is the basic thought in education. Norse- worthy and Whitley 235-236. 5. In religious growth or development a per- son passes through periods or stages. See lessons XVIII to XXI. These periods "are generally not sharply marked at their bound- aries in respect either to time or mental traits." Figures are mere averages. Mental or religious traits usually make their appear- ance gradually rather than suddenly, though there are numerous exceptions to the rule. Coe XIV and XV. Pratt V and VI. 6. The little child's religious nature is stimu- lated into activity and growth by his en- vironment. "A child who for any reason has never worshiped his mother will be so much less likely to worship a divinity. * * * If a boy sees in his parents and those about him no expression of reverence for a Power greater than themselves, no sign of worship or of religious feeling in their conduct or their conversation, his religion will probably be of a very superficial sort." The child's religious notions are fanciful, due to his uncontrolled fantastic imagination and HOW WE LEARN 105 limited experience. His attitude is one of implicit belief in the word of parent or teach- er. His religion is therefore based on au- thority and tradition. This period is import- ant, as during it the foundations of his re- ligion are laid. Pratt 94-103. Coe 229-238. Norseworthy and Whitley 244-247. 7. In youth imagination comes closer to real life, having been "tamed" by more exact perceptions and experiences. Childhood credulity is gradually replaced by more re- flective understanding. He does not accept so readily the word of others and traditional beliefs are sometimes questioned. The so- cial instinct is awakened and enables him to see relations to fellow men in new aspects, and team play and cooperation come in. Pratt 103-107. Coe 239-246. Norseworthy and Whitley 247-252. 8. Adolescence develops further most of the above powers of youth. Imagination once more becomes very active, less fanciful but now highly colored with intense emotions. Early adolescence is an emotional period. Curiosity takes new life, stimulated as it is by many new powers of body and mind. "Con- fusion and struggle manifest themselves, not chiefly at any point, but through a period of years." This is the "storm and stress" pe- riod, with its occasional despondency and its high elevation. Beginning at about fifteen in girls and a year later in boys there are "adolescent doubts." Now the mind looks 106 HOW WE LEARN to the future, it dreams and sees visions. This is an age of hero-worship and building of ideals. It is a religiously plastic and very important period, "the period of conversion" when the individual feels the inspiration of religion in his soul. Pratt 108-121. Coe 247- 267. Norseworthy and Whitley 252-256. 9. "In looking back over the life history of the individual's religion from birth to death one is struck by its amazing elasticity and adapta- bility. The child's religion, the youth's, the religion of maturity, the religion of age how widely they differ, yet how genuine, how intense and serviceable each in its own place is! There is hardly an aspect of our changing life with which religion does not come into touch and which it may not bless and concentrate." Pratt 121. III. Some applications and observations. 1. Religious development should be permitted to be spontaneous, instinctive, not repressed, not forced, but guided and fed. Coe 259. Hall, Youth 263-364. 2. "Religion is not so much theology as life : It is to be lived rather than reasoned about." Pratt 7. 3. Doubt as a phase of curiosity is as natural as growth, the outcome of growth. Under the teacher who 'is patient and wise enough not to "hush up" the doubts of his pupils they adjust themselves as the pupils develop. 5. Activity in religious work is an important aspect of religious training in adolescence. HOW WE LEARN 107 6. Subject-matter of religious teaching should be carefully adapted to the stage of growth of the child. For small children pageantry and dramatizations are to be commended. 7. Principles are most easily taught to children and youths in stories and biography, both of which make teaching concrete and interest- ing. 8. In religious training a prominent place should be given to the formation of right habits, proper attitudes, and spiritual ideals. Care should also be taken so to guide the child's reading of Scripture that he may acquire a liking for sacred writings, instead of dis- like. IV. Some exercises and questions. 1. How does the religion of a little child differ from that of an adult? 2. Why is it so important that the little child's religious impulses should be properly de- veloped ? 3. What religious habits and attitudes would you have a child acquire? A youth? An adolescent ? 4. Why is it so important that parents and teachers and other adults be exemplary around children? 5. How would you treat adolescent doubts? 6. How would you lead the child 'to loved sacred writings ? V. Additional reading. 1. Adolescence, Hall, chapters V, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV and XVII. 108 HOW WE LEARN 2. Psychology of Religious Belief, Pratt. 3. Psychology of Religion, Starbuck. 4. Education in Religion and Morals, Coe. 5. The Religious Consciousness, Pratt. (The last two often referred to in the lesson, should be in the teacher's library.) /. PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING Teachers Training Lesson Book ^Problems in Gospel Problems in Gospel Teaching, TEACHER DRAINING LESSON ^B 1924-25 Written for the General Church Board of Education by GUY C. WILSON OLIVER C. DALBY ERNEST BRAMWELL ^Deseret Book Salt Lake City, Utah Printed in the United States of America Introduction The title "Problems in Gospel Teaching" indicates that the work for the ensuing year in Teacher Training aims to help teachers in their actual class-room problems in the various quorums and auxiliary organizations of the Church. One of the questions that naturally confronts a teacher is, "Why Do I Teach?" Part I attempts briefly to suggest an answer to that query and to stimulate further thinking on the major objectives in religious education. Lesson ma- terials and class-room procedure take on a wholly new sig- nificance when tested by consciously projected objectives. Part II makes clear that the attainment of such objectives is no simple matter that they cannot be realized by an hourly recitation once a week devoted to more or less abstract discussions. If the Church, or any other institution, is to succeed in working out the salvation of its members it must, be concerned in the successful operation of all the major institutions of society. Part II outlines some of the opportunities and corresponding obligations of these in- stitutions. Part III discusses the selection, the organization, and the presentation of material in the light of the objectives and their functions in society as set forth in Parts I and II. This third part leads the teacher directly into the process of teaching and significantly points the way to success in gospel lessons. All wards in the Church are expected to hold at least two meetings a month for the consideration of these lessons. Many wards prefer to hold regular weekly Teacher Training meetings. Ample material has been provided for either plan. It is suggested that those organizations which meet 4 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING only twice a month may well select out of the text those materials most helpful in meeting their particular needs. Such selection will, of course, involve adequate summar- izing on the part of the teacher or others appointed by him to guarantee a grasp of the contents of the text as a whole. Part I has been written by Elder Guy C. Wilson, Part II by Elder Oliver C. Dalby, and Part III by Elder Ernest Br am well. Table of Contents PART I MAJOR OBJECTIVES IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION By Guy C. Wilson Foreword to first six lessons 7 Lesson 1 Religious Objectives 11 Lesson 2 Religious Objectives (Continued) 15 Lesson 3 Civic Objectives 18 Lesson 4 Civic Objectives (Continued) 21 Lesson 5 Vocational Objectives - 24 Lesson 6 Vocational Objectives (Continued) 27 PART II HOW OBJECTIVES IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION ARE MADE TO FUNCTION THROUGH THE MAJOR INSTITUTIONS OF SOCIETY By Oliver C. Dolby Lesson 7 Spiritual Aims and Methods in Our Teaching 33 Lesson 8 Pertaining to Knowledge 37 Lesson 9 A Study of Habit 42 Lesson 10 A Study of Attitude , 50 Lesson 11 The Home 56 Lesson 12 The School 62 Lesson 13 The State 66 Lesson 14 The Church 71 Lesson 15 Our Social Behavior 77 Lesson 16 Recreation 81 Lesson 17 In the Service of the Master 86 PART III SELECTION, ORGANIZATION, AND PRESENTATION OF MATERIALS IN REUGOUS EDUCATION By Ernest Bramwell Lesson 18 Essentials in Gospel Teaching 93 Lesson 19 Mistakes of the Teacher 98 Lesson 20 The Teacher as a Personal Factor 105 Lesson 21 The Choice of Material Ill Lesson 22 The Gathering of Material 117 Lesson 23 The Organization of Material 123 Lesson 24 The Presentation of Material Lesson 25 The Reenforcement of Material Lesson 26 The Checking of Material 144 Lesson 27 The Socialized Gospel Lesson Lesson 28 The Art of Questioning Lesson 29 Class-Room and Class Atmosphere 165 FOREWORD TO THE FIRST SIX LESSONS It is an oft repeated statement that the purpose of Church education whether in Priesthood quorums, Church schools, seminaries, auxiliary associations, or homes is to produce Latter-day Saints. The qualities of character that would entitle one to be called a Latter-day Saint are more or less vaguely con- ceived. It is thought that the text book for Teacher Train- ing shall set forth the outstanding qualities that should mark the true follower of the Master and that these should be kept constantly in mind as the more immediate objectives in all educational endeavor in the Church. The futility of any attempt to cover the entire field of desirable characteristics must be apparent to all. While we may differ as to the exact wording of these objectives, no one will question the value of determining as specifically as possible the purposes of teaching. For our present purpose we have considered life's in- terests as they find expression in three fields: (1) the religious, (2) the -civic, and (3) the industrial or voca- tional. Since this part of our work is to be confined to the discussion of six major objectives (two in each of the fore- going fields), it seems fitting that the first of each should deal with what the Latter-day Saint should be and the sec- ond with the principles that should dominate the functional side of his life. Thus in the religious field the Latter-day Saint should be (1) sincere and (2) he must have an eye single to the glory of God through the Salvation and Exaltation of His Children. Love. In the field of civics the Latter-day Saint should be 8 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING (1) honest and (2) be dominated in his conduct by what we shall term and later define, a Socialized Conscience. From the standpoint of the industrial or vocational, the Latter-day Saint should be (I) trustworthy and (2) be determined to fill the place and to do the job that is his, as well as it can be done he must do and he must be efficient. With this brief outline of purpose the following six lecsons will be clearly understood. PART I Major Objectives in Religious Education BY GUY C WILSON Problems in Gospel Teaching LESSON 1 Religious Objectives SINCERITY Whatever else a Latter-day Saint may be or fail to be, no one should ever be able to question his sincerity. This mother virtue of all the virtues should characterize the follower of Christ everywhere but especially in matters religious. "He may be a Mormon but he is not a Latter-day Saint." This statement, sometimes made by one member of the Church of another, clearly implies that in the mind of the speaker there are certain qualities of character that mark the Latter-day Saint and that there are some who gain ad- mittance to the Church who are lacking in these character- istics. If we can discover what the basic principles are that should characterize the Latter-day Saint, then these should be the immediate objectives of all our teaching, in all the organizations of the Church. Time and space forbid the dis- cussion of all or many of the qualities that should be the possession of one who presumes to be a follower of the Master. There are many graces and accomplishments that adorn and beautify and are very desirable, whose absence leaves the character "jagged ard marred," and others that are plainly fundamental, the absence of which leaves the soul a "hollow shell." We shall all agree with Charles Edward Jefferson in his excellent work "The Character of Jesus" that "such a fundamental virtue is the virtue of sin- cerity." "It is the keystone in the arch without which the arch collapses." "It is the virtue which the human heart instinctively craves and looks for. It is a trait a parent's eyes seek for in his chil- dren. Anything like deceit or trickery or sham in a child causes the parental heart to bleed. 'Do you mean what you are saying?' 'Are you telling me what you really feel?' 'Are you concealing 12 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING from me things I ought to know?' There is nothing which a parent desires so much in his child as the unaffected simplicity of a sincere heart. "There is nothing which so takes the life out of us as the discovery that some one whom we have trusted has been other than what he seemed to be. The very suspicion that some one whose life is close to us is insincere renders us restless and makes the universe seem insecure. "And yet how common insincerity is. * * * Society is cursed with affectation, business is honeycombed with dishonesty, the political world abounds in duplicity and chicanery, there is sham and pretence and humbuggery everywhere. Some use big words they do not understand, and some lay claim to knowledge which they do not have, and some parade in dresses which they cannot pay for, the life of many a man and many a woman is one colossal lie. We say things which we do not mean, express emotions which we do not feel, we praise when we secretly condemn, we smile when there is a frown on the face of the heart, we give compliments when we are really thinking curses, striving a hundred times a week to make people think we are other than we are. * Yes, it is a sad, deceitful, demoralized world in the midst of which we find ourselves; but thank God there are hearts here and there upon which we can evermore depend. * * * Life would not be worth the living if there were no one on earth sincere. It is to the honest heart that we return again and again seeking rest and finding it. It is a fountain at which we drink and re- fresh ourselves for the toilsome journey. "It is a virtue within the reach of the humblest of us. There are some things we can not be, and many things which we can not do. But this one thing is within the reach of us all, we may pray God unceasingly to keep our heart sincere. If sincerity plays so vital a part in our human relation- ships what can we say of its importance in the relations be- tween man and his Maker in the field of religion? We cannot wonder that our Father Who sees the in- most workings of our minds and knows the heart's yearnings before they are expressed should look with fatherly con- tempt upon any form of insincerity on the part of His chil- dren. When Isaiah was predicting the restoration of the Gospel and the doing of "a marvelous work among this people," he gave utterance to these words, "Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, who seeth us? and who knoweth us?" RELIGIOUS OBJECTIVES 13 "Surely y'our turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay; for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?" Isa. 29; 15, 16. Whoever attempts to prosper by insincerity in the field of religion will quickly learn that "the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment." Job 20; 5. If we would see sincerity in its perfection we must turn to the New Testament and view the life of Jesus. At no time in His life was He other than sincere and genuine. Nothing seemed so abhorent to Him as the hypocrisy that so completely dominated the social life of His time. Again quoting Jefferson, "The most odious word upon His lips was the word 'hypocrite!'' Have you ever wondered why it is impossible to speak that word without it falling from the lips like a serpent? It is because His curse is resting upon it. It was not a harsh word before He spoke it, but He breathed the hot breath of His scorn into it and it has been ever since a word degraded and lost. The 23rd Chapter of Matthew is a good expression of His contempt for insincerity. Imagine the scorn upon His face when He said : "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in your- selves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: there- fore ye shall receive the greater damnation. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. "Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! "Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? * * * * "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. "Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 14 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. "Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all un- cleanness. "Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" And again: "When thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father which is in secret and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." Matt. 6:5. It is in the genuineness and sincerity of Jesus that the human heart finds the security for which it yearns. He is "as certain as the morning and as faithful as the stars." If sincerity is so vital a part of the true Latter-day Saint, we may be fully justified in making it an immediate objective in all the lessons taught from the kindergarten to the grave. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Are the denunciations of Jesus at all applicable to conditions and practices of today? How? 2. What forms of insincerity seem most persistent? 3. Which of these may be called hypocrisy? 4. What is the duty of the teacher with reference to them? 5. Show that sincerity is an essential characteristic of a Latter- day Saint. 6. How does belief in a personal God and in a literal resurrection affect sincerity? FOR FURTHER READING "Character of Jesus," by Jefferson, C, E. Thos. Y. Crowell & Co., Publishers, LESSON 2 Religious Objectives AN EYE SINGLE TO THE GLORY OF GOD LOVE In the previous chapter the importance of sincerity in religious affairs was strongly urged; but a person may be sincere and still be striving for objectives that are not the most worth while, or may be entirely wrong. Much of the value of a life may be determined by the purposes that motivate it. The Latter-day Saint, having taken upon himself the name of Christ, should be inspired by the same motives that moved the Master. The life and teachings of Jesus can be best understood only when considered in the light of the great purpose which dominated His life, namely, the bringing to pass of the immortality and eternal life of man. He said this is not only His work, but His glory. If this motive of Jesus can be clearly understood, there need be no doubt as to the purpose that should dominate one who takes upon him- self the name of Christ. As Jesus was constantly guided by His Father's will and gave 1 all glory to Him, so the Latter-day Saint must have an eye single to that same end. When He taught His disciples to pray, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven," He no doubt expected them to work as well as pray for that desirable condition. Many false conceptions existed among the Jewish people as to the nature of that kingdom, and the time and manner of its coming. "And when He was demanded of the Pharisees when the king- dom of God should come, He answered them and said, 'The king- dom of God cometh not with observation, neither shall they say, Lo here! or lo there! for behold, the kingdom of God is. within you.'" Luke 17:20-21. In a very literal ser.se, this should be true of every Latter- day Saint. Wherever God reigns and individuals or powers 16 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING are under His control, there is the Kingdom of God. So if an individual enthrones God in his life, and gives Him con- trol and direction of his ambitions, his desires, thoughts and all, so that all his decisions, plans and conduct are dom- inated by the thought, "What would Jesus do?" there lit- erally is the kingdom of God and he may be said to have an eye single to the glory of God. The manner of thus bringing about the kingdom was made clear by Jesus in answer to the question of a Pharisee lawyer, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment, and the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two com- mandments hang all the law and the prophets.' " Matt. 22:36-40. This love, then, is to be the dominating force in our lives and the condition the goal for which we strive. As a further explanation as to how we may acquire the fellow- ship and companionship of the Master and come to know Him, whom to know is eternal life, Jesus said, "If a man love me, he will keep my words! and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make 1 our abode with him." John 14:23. It will be noticed that the condition of this companion- ship is love. Through the marvelous power of love, we may bring across the stretches of time and space, whatever is beautiful or desirable and sweeten and beautify our lives "Oh the world is full of beauty when the heart is full of love." If we keep constantly in mind the fact that we come to know God in exactly the same ways that we come to know each other, by close association, and companionship in work and play and travel, and that we may enjoy that com- panionship through a love of Him; we shall conclude that no Latter-day Saint should begin a task, a journey or a pleasure until he has taken his Heavenly Father into part- nership with him. A beautiful incident portraying the power of love was RELIGIOUS OBJECTIVES 17 related by Dr. Hindley of a 13 year old girl in France who wrote a message expressive of the feeling of the French children for those of America. "It was a little stream, almost a brook. A bird could fly across it with one sweep of the wing. On either bank were tens of thousands of men locked in a great death struggle. They were so close together they could hear each other in common conversation, but the distance between them was as great as the stars. The distance between right and injustice. "The Atlantic ocean is three thousand miles wide. The strongest gull would not attempt a flight across it, yet across this great waste of water, the heart of America* and the heart of France are touching." To summarize, we may conclude that in the field of man's religious interests, more might be expected of a Latter-day Saint than of any other religionist because of the soul- gripping belief in a personal God; the belief that through diligent study and faithful performance of religious duties, we may be like Him; the belief in a literal resurrection, and the possibilities of eternal progress; the belief in the eternity of the marriage covenant and of the family relation- ships; the belief that the Glory of God is intelligence, and that we take with us into the future world, the results and values of our experiences here. Such beliefs ought to prompt one to the full discharge of his duties. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What was the great motive that dominated the life of Christ? 2. What is meant by "an eye single to the glory of God?" How may the kingdom of God be within an individual? 3. How may we come to know God? 4. How can this knowledge be said to be eternal life? What advantage has one who understands the gospel over those who do not? 5. Explain how the Father and the Son may come and make Their abode with us. FOR FURTHER READING "Problems of Religion," by Durant Drake. Houghton Mifflin Company. "Citizenship," Milton Reunion. World Book Company. LESSON 3 Civic Objectives HONESTY IN CIVIC AFFAIRS Turning from the religious to the civic field of activity the Latter-day Saint must be distinguished for his honesty. The stability of our great democracy is dependent upon the honesty of those entrusted with responsibility in civic affairs. That man is honest who in his conduct among his fel- lows is true to his highest ideals of truth and justice and right. It was Lincoln who said when asked by one of his constituents whether or not he could be depended upon to keep his political promises, "You have my promise, and as long as I am sure that the keeping of my promise will contribute to the cause of right and justice, you may de- pend upon my keeping it, but just as soon as I discover that the keeping of my promise will militate against the cause cf right and justice, you may depend upon my breaking it." In other words, Abraham Lincoln was controlled in his conduct political and otherwise by his conception of right and justice rather than by what he may have pre- viously promised or said. We must not conclude that promises are to be made lightly, or that it is a slight offense to break them, for truthfulness is one of the forms in which honesty most fre- quently expresses itself, and one's word should be as sacred as his bond, but the honest man, let us repeat, must be true to his highest standards of right. Emerson says, "Con- sistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by petty statesmen, philosophers and divines. With consistency, a great soul has positively nothing to do." But the civic world would go to wrack if each individual were always to be guided solely by his individual standards of right and justice. There are two phases of every act involving any moral situation: first, the psychological, and second, the social. In all our civic relationships, the standards that have evolved from the experiences of the past, that have been tried, tested and found to work for the greatest good of the greatest number must guide our conduct and temper our judgment. Civic OBJECTIVES 19 These are the social standards that must control our lives, and the great task of education is to bring about a unity of the psychological or personal standards with these so- cial and civic standards. The obligations of the present generation to those of the past can be met only by passing to the coming generation the principles of our great de- mocracy upon which the hope of the future rests. In a democracy, no man can be an honest man who retuses to play his part and to pay the debt which he honestly owes to the generations which have passed. As civic obligations are confined to those involved in government, no one can be said to be honest who is not willing to support a good government in all the social organizations of which he forms a part. Dr. Hadley in his "Standards of Public Morality," says: "When any nation looks upon law as a thing which the individual may use when it suits him and evade or defy when it does not suit him, that nation is losing the main bulwarks of social order. To any man, whatever his position in the state, it has become the paramount political duty to defend the sacredness of law, not only against the active assaults which threaten to overthrow it, but against the more subtle and dangerous attacks of a selfish philosophy which works to undermine it. He must regard, and persuade others to regard liberty and the privileges which go with it as trusts to be used only in the public interest, and in behalf of the nation as a whole." In the organizations of the church, every child should be trained properly to respect those who are entrusted with, and held responsible for the control of a social unit, and we are prepared to question the civic honesty of one who refuses to pay this honest debt he owes to society. It will be noticed that our country was safe when guided by Abraham Lincoln only in so far as he was unselfishly devoted to the maintaining of the standards of right and justice involved in the welfare of the people over whom he presided. The great need of the world today in all its civic relationships is honest men and women in all positions of leadership and an honest response to the call of duty in their support by those over whom they preside. The imme- diate aim, then, in all our classes in church education must be to awaken a keen appreciation of all our obligations to 20 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING the past and the present, and to develop a civic honesty that will not stop short of complete liquidation of those obliga- tions. This is the honesty that should characterize the Latter-day Saint in civic affairs. No teacher can be said to have done his full -duty who has failed to impress upon his students the civic right- eousness of obedience to proper authority, punctuality to one's appointments, and the faithful performance of the duties and privileges of the franchise. Quoting H. C. Hill in "Community Life and Civic Prob- lems," "The Good Citizen" says: "I am a citizen of America and an heir to all her greatness and renown. The health and happiness of my own body depend upon each muscle and nerve and drop of blood doing its work in its place. ' 4 So the health and happiness of my country depend upon each citizen doing his work in his place. "I will not fill any part or pursue any business where I Can live upon my fellow citizen without doing them useful service in return, for I plainly see that this must bring suffering and want to some of them. I will do nothing to desecrate the soil of America, or pollute her air or degrade her children my brothers and sisters. "I will try to make her cities beautiful and her citizens healthy and happy, so that she may be a desired home for myself now, and for her children in days to come." QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. To what sources may be traced the cause of the attitude indicated by the assertion, "The world owes me a living?" 2. If it be true that children sometimes feel that by attending Primary or Religion Class, they are putting someone under ob- ligations to them what is the cause? What is the cure? 3. What are the effects upon children of an uHer disregard for the teacher's authority, and the resultant disorder sometimes found in some classes? What is the remedy? Do the evils in such classes sometimes outweigh the advantages? 4. What is the best method of securing an honest response from children to the civic obligation of respect for authority? 5. How is the disregard of authority in Primary classes related to the outlaw spirit in civic affairs? FOR FURTHER READING "Problems of Conduct,** Durant Drake, Houghton and Mifflin Company. "Moral Principles of Education," John Dewey, Houghton Mifflin Company. LESSON 4 Civic Objectives THE SOCIALIZED CONSCIENCE We have said that in civic affairs, the Latter-day Saint should be controlled and guided by a socialized conscience. That this objective may be clearly understood, a definition of terms is necessary. There are many misconceptions of the nature of conscience and of its function. It is the endowment that most clearly distinguishes mankind from the lower animals. Coffin thinks "It would not be in- consistent to invest conscience with divine sanction; to see in it one of God's methods of revealing His will to man. Indeed it has been regarded by some thinkers as the direct voice of God an inner Divine Light making plain the way of righteousness. While modern psychology would refuse to accept this simple statement of it, neverthless, if it is not the voice of God in the mind of man, it at least speaks for those powers in human nature which raise him above the animals and link him to what is highest in reality." A careful study of conscience will reveal the fact that its function is not to determine what is right, but rather to impel us to do right, leaving to our judgment and experi- ence to distinguish between right and wrong. Conscience will approve our doing whatever we feel to be right though we may discover subsequently that we were wrong, after which, it will disapprove our doing the thing it had formerly approved. Conscience, as defined by most care- ful psychologists, is the better self upon the judgment seat. It functions only when there is a problem involving right and wrong. In other words, conscience is the term we apply to the whole of consciousness in its intellectual, emotional and volitional aspects, as it evaluates moral problems. - Conscience will be said to be socialized when sccial in- terest and welfare are evaluated and considered in the spirit of unselfishness and justice. In other words, when we love our neighbor as ourselves. 22 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING The study of individual differences, of widely varying experiences and environment leads us to the conclusion that what would be right in dealing with one individual might be wrong when the situation involved other individuals, so that the socialized conscience must be guided by careful study and sympathetic consideration to. avoid injustice. It is impossible to say what is right without a careful analysis and consideration of the social situation involving the prob- lem. Herice we say that a socialized conscience involves intelligence as to the elements concerned; purpose to de- termine and measure progress ; prudence to avoid rash and hasty judgments; justice to evaluate properly all the in- terests involved; and good will the basis of Christian judgment. The conduct of a Latter-day Saint in all social affairs, then, should be guided by intelligence, purpose, prudence, justice and good will. This socialized conscience can best be realized only when rooted in the knowledge of God as Friend and Father, and the consideration of mankind as a common brotherhood. In other words, we cannot hope to develop thoroughly a socialized conscience without the conception of the Father- hood of God and the brotherhood of man. Dr. Betts states three great requirements which life puts on the child and every individual: first, Fruitf ul_jCnowledge ; knowledge of religious truth that can be set at work Tn the daily life of the child now, and in the years that lie ahead. Second, Right Attitudes; the religious warmth, responsiveness, in- terests, ideas, loyalties, and enthusiasms which lead to ac- tion andto a true sense of what is most worth while. Third, hkill in Living; the power and will lo use the religious knowledge and enthusiasms supplied by education in shap- ing the acts and conduct of the daily life. To summarize: the immediate objectives of all our teach- ings as they relate to our civic interests as they mark the Latter-day Saint are: first, Honesty of response to the call of all civic obligations; second, That all actions involved in civic affairs should be animated by the socialized con- science. We may assume that the Latter-day Saint may be distinguished from other religionists in his civic behavior Civic OBJECTIVES 23 because of his belief in the God-inspired nature of the Con- stitution, because it is a part of his religion to be "subject to all political officers to whom he may owe allegiance, and to honor, obey and sustain the law; and because of the perfect organization in the Church in which he is constantly trained in team work and respect for leadership. He acquires the socialized conscience with greater facility becaus3 he feels more deeply the reality of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. He is taught that in very deed he is his brother's keeper. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What social relationships impose claims upon us? 2. What are these claims? 3. What general duties do we owe our fellows? 4. What is the function of conscience? 5. When can conscience be said to be socialized? 6. Does it sometimes disapprove what it formerly approved? 7. Under what conditions? 8. What is there in the Gospel that makes for the socialized con- science? 9. How can it best be developed in children? 10. Show that in order to be a Latter-day Saint one's conscience must be socialized. FOR FURTHER READING "The Socialized Conscience," Joseph H. Coffin. Warwick and York. LESSON 5 Vocational Objectives TRUSTWORTHINESS We now come to the consideration of objectives that should characterize the Latter-day Saint in the industrial or vocational field. Ours is a practical and every day religion. It should affect our behavior and our point of view in all of life's interests. The vocational world demands men and women who can be trusted, hence trustworthiness should be an objective for which every Latter-day Saint should strive. The trustworthiness of a man is dependent upon first, his self-control; second, his sense of values; third, his ideals which are made up of his tastes, attitudes and standards and fourth, by his habits. It is said and we think, truthfully that man's great- est problem, and his supreme test is his mastery of self. No man can be trusted who can be swayed from the right by external forces; who is a human sail boat, driven and drawn by every wind of passion or appetite, when .he should be a steam boat, driven by powers within to act in the right direction. Happy is the man who can truthfully say, "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Perhaps the greatest element in self-control has to do with moral purity. A tree that is rotten at the heart is likely to come down with a crash when the tempest arises, so a man who is rotten at heart, comes down in ruin when the tempests of passion assail him. The rot of society we call immorality, because it eats out the heart of life, which is morality. He is morally strong whose will is disciplined to act habitually in view of those motives which release the soul from bondage to low and selfish desires, and makes the conscience regal in the life. Temptation does not arise in outer objects, but in the VOCATIONAL OBJECTIVES 25 lust of the mind for those objects. It is the business of church education to elevate and purify the tastes, to en- lighten and temper the attitudes, and to establish standards of honesty that may be depended upon to stand the tests of economic and social life. Many of the failures of life have been due to a perverted sense of values, in which the temporary gratification of some desire outweighs the eternal values of truth and honor. The importance of trustworthiness in the industrial and vocational world cannot be fully understood except by a contemplation of what the world would be if no one were trustworthy. If sincerity is the fundamental virtue in the religious life, without which the whole structure comes tumbling down in ruin, then trustworthiness is the founda- tion principle upon which the industrial and vocational world rests. We are not far wrong when we say that nine tenths of the failures in the industrial world are due to the lack of it somewhere. The highly specialized industrial life of the factories and the shops in which men and women are merely cogs in great machines has brought the world into such a state of inter- dependence that the success of any institution is dependent upon the trustworthiness of all its members. Veracity, with the related virtues of honesty, trustworthiness, fidelity and the like, tends to take precedence in the modern business world over such virtues as humility so prized in the mid- dle ages or the militant virtues of courage and honor as expressed in the age of chivalry. The shift in the position of these virtues due to the demands of the industrial world, bring into great demand the man and woman who can be trusted. Thus modern life becomes a great school for the development of the virtues upon which its stability rests, and men and women, boys and girls are impelled to be trustworthy because it pays the world puts a premium on such conduct. From the house-maid in the home to the manager of a great railroad system, through all the thou- sands in intermediate activities, the virtue of dependability, or trustworthiness is being recognized and rewarded. But, if these people who make up the industrial world 26 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING are dependable only because it pays, then we have a con- dition where every man has his price, and when the tempta- tion of great financial gain outweighs the economic value of honesty and integrity, then we view the too frequent spectacle of moral wreckage. Not until the standards that hold men to the faithful performance of duty are more deeply rooted than in the social and economic interests and are sustained and re-inforced by a consciousness of the values of true religion, can society be spared the shock coming from the capitulation of people in positions of trust. Trustworthi- ness must be more than policy and a business asset; it must be a religion. All other things being equal, the Latter-day Saint who from his childhood has been influenced and in- spired by such songs as "Dearest children, God is near you, watching o'er you day and night, and delights to own and bless you, if you strive to do what's right," and, "Do what is right, let the consequence follow * * * God will protect you, do what is right," such a person will be better fitted for the responsibilities of industrial and economic life. This brings us forcibly to the conclusion that we are neglectful of our plain duty when we fail to see that in all the classes and organizations of the church, we hold in mind this one of the immediate objectives, and make for trustworthiness, a prominent place in all our teaching. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Show how trustworthiness is dependent upon self-control. Upon sense of values. Upon ideals. Upon habits. 2. What conditions in the modern world tend to make trust- worthiness more in demand than humility? 3. Justify the statement that immorality is the rot of society. 4. How is morality related to trustworthiness? 5. How does Mormonism lend itself to trustworthiness? 6. What opportunities arise in our classes for its development? 7. How is it best developed? FOR FURTHER READING "Problems of Boyhood," Franklin W. Johnson. The University of Chicago Press. "Standards of Public Morality," Arthur T. Hadley, The Mac- millan Company. LESSON 6 Vocational Objectives INDUSTRY AND EFFICIENCY It must be a part of the religion of a Latter-day Saint to fill his place and do his job in the industrial world as well as he can. Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians made clear to them that industry was a part of their religion in those words: "For > ourselves know how ye ought to follow us; for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; not because we had not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us. For even when we were with you, this we com- manded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat, For we hear that there are some among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busy bodies. Now, them that are such, we command and exhort that with quietness they work and eat their own bread, But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing." II Thessalonians 3: 7-13. And in our modern scripture: "Let every man be diligent in all things and the idler shall not have place in the church except he rep nt and mend his ways." Doc. and Cov. 75:29. And: "Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not -eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer." Doc. and Cov. 42; 42. "He only seems to me to live and to make wise use of life who sets himself some serious work to do and seeks the end of a task well and skillfully performed." Sallust. The success achieved by any man in the performance of any task in the industrial or vocational world depends upon, first, his clearly defined ideals; second, his industry; third, competent counsel; fourth, a square deal; fifth, possession of the technique required for the job. "If a man does not know to what port he is steering, no wind is favorable to him." Seneca. 28 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING The Latter-day Saint who takes his religion into his daily tasks, or in other words, who makes his work a part of his religion will find in Mormonism, a remarkable stimulus and support. He will go to his daily work, sup- ported and strengthened by such thoughts as: I shall ask no more than a fair start and an equal chance. I shall do the job that is mine as well as I can in the spirit of appreciation of what others have done and are do- ing for me. I shall profit by the achievements of the past and the specially trained workers of today, by seeking their counsel and co-operation, and shall try to reciprocate by making my contribution to the general welfare. I shall accord to others the square deal I shall expect for myself. I shall, by diligent practice and study, acquire the technique that will enable me to do the job as well as it can be done. If I can stand at the head of my class, I will, but only when I've earned the right through honest effort. I will respect and honor all worthy toil. I will thank God every day for the opportunity of work- ing with my fellows, and ask Him to help me to fill my place and do my job as well as I can do it. It is said that religion in the best sense of the word is the devotion of the heart and will to some great ideal of life. Carver has devoted an entire book to a discussion of Religion and work, entitled, "The Religion Worth Having" in which he says: "If we can add the motive of religious enthusiasm to the other motives which now impel us to useful effort, we shall, under the double stimulus of these combined motives, apply more energy to useful ends than we are now doing. That means progress!" And again: "That the practical spirit with the productive aim is to dominate the religion, the morality and the civilization of the future, we may safely predict. This will be the dominating spriit, because any religion, whatever its name, any system of morality, whatever its VOCATIONAL OBJECTIVES 29 origin, any civilization, wherever, or by whatever people it is de- veloped, which is dominated by such a spirit as this, will be able to hold dominion over all others, or to exterminate them altogether." The Latter-day Saint in possession of such a religion should in humility and gratitude, pray as did Benjamin Franklin : "Father! increase in me that wisdom which discovers my truest interest. Strengthen my resolution to perform what that wisdom dictates. Accept my kind offices to Thy other children as the only return in my power for Thy continual favors to me." QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What incentives has the Latter-day Saint to fill his place and do his job well? 2. What is the effect of idleness upon an individual? 3. What is the influence of idleness upon others? 4. Distinguish between an idler and a worthy object of charity. 5. How can a man make his work a part of his religion? 6. How can the desire to be industrious and efficient be awakened in children? 7. What do you understand by a square deal? 8. What is it that makes one religion better than another? 9. How does Mormonism meet the demand? FOR FURTHER READING "Twelve Principles of Efficiency," Harrington Emerson, The Engineering Magazine. "Education for Social Efficiency," King. D. Appleton and Com- pany. "How to Teach Religion," George H. Belts. The Abingdon Press. "The Religion Worth Having," by Carver. Houghton Mifflin Co. PART II How Objectives in Religious Education are Made to Function Through the Major Institutions of Society BY OLIVER C. DALBY LESSON 7 SPIRITUAL AIMS AND METHODS IN OUR TEACHING Need of Better Methods in Our Teaching At the very outset of our inquiry into the manner of functioning of the objectives discussed in Part I of this treatise, the inquiry arises whether the spiritual aims and methods employed in our teaching of morals and religion are, or should be, different in any respects from the aims and methods employed by other religious denominations, and if so, may we expect a different response from the sub- jects of our teaching? Before these questions can be answered intelligently, it is essential that we know what our aims are, what results are desired, and what elements we have to work with. Before addressing ourselves to aims let a word be said about methods. As time goes on we come to recognize more and more the need of pedagogical methods in our rtngious instructions. But there are those, even among our teachers, who are antagonistic to these methods. They seem to feel that to make teaching of religion conform to "scientific methods" is to discredit and minimize the spiritual element. Such a view is both narrow and unwise. There is no matter of such importance, none that so concerns Latter- day Saints, as getting their children grounded in the Faith. In our efforts to reach this end, we cannot afford to neg- lect anything that gives promise of success. The new movement we call "Teacher Training" is an attempt to apply some of the principles of modern education to teach- ing morals and religion, and incidentally to fit our host of untrained teachers better for their important calling. Aims in Teaching There are certain aims in our teaching that must never be lost sight of. Among them are, the development of faith, the building of character, and the fostering of spirit- uality. These are closely related and the training of one 34 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING tends toward the growth of the others. For instance, so to train our pupils that their faith in the gospel will ripen in- to knowledge, and that out of that knowledge will evolve a desire to "love God and our neighbor as ourselves," is but a development of character. It should be clear to our minds that faith, love, and character grow in an orderly fashion and not in any haphazard way. In order, then, to get a sound and right growth, our pupils must be fed the right spiritual food. Character Building It is said that "Character is the sum of all our choices." If this be true then so to train our pupils as to make right choices should be back of all of our teaching. A true Lat- ter-day Saint can be nothing more than one who in all his relations in life desires right things, who in the past has chosen rightly, and who in the future, because of his qual- ities of mind, and his enjoyment of God's spirit, is able and willing to continue such choices. It was said but a moment ago that in our effort to train the individual in this quest for right character we should know the elements with which we have to work. Of these there are two of chief importance: first, the inherited per- sonality, with all its original, God-given, developing qual- ities, tendencies, instincts and powers; and, second, the truths of God's laws as related to these. In order that he may be led to make right choices, it is important that the teacher keep in mind that the personality of the pupil is the vital thing, and that all truths and systems are to be adapted to the child, and not that the child is to be bent to fit the logic of the subject which is being taught. In our religious education teachers often fall into the error of letting their mature ideas of a subject, rather than the pupil, dominate their teaching. It must not be overlooked that the pupil's nature, just as his conception of the size of the earth, is a growing thing. The sacredness of the spiritual nature does not make it an exception to the principle that the pupil is the pivot around which all instruction centers. The material of instruction is SPIRITUAL AIMS AND METHODS 35 always less sacred than the object of instruction. The only value that the Bible, or any other book used as a text, has is that the material it contains may be used to teach pupils. But this material must be used solely with the child's needs in view and not in the way it has been organized and inter- peted by o.ur mature thinking. If the child is not interested, it is a sure sign that we have either selected the wrong ma- terial, or presented it in an incomprehensible or uninterest- ing manner. What is needed is enlightened common sense applied to the proper development of the child physical, mental, and spiritual. This is religious pedagogy. Our test must be so to apply truth as to develop that peculiar spiritual nature that makes Latter-day Saints who shall have both the power and the disposition to make right choices in life. Spiritual Development Training to make right choice's always contains a spirit- ual element. It is a sort of conscience builder. It is not according to the economy of God that men should be forced into His kingdom. He has given into our power to choose the path we would pursue. He invites us to His service. But He has said: "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: there- fore choose life and both you and your seed shall live: That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and. that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life and the length of thy days." Deut. 3; 19, 20. Spirituality, like faith, is a growth. It grows from within, but is fed from without. To get our pupils to re- spond in such a way as to develop spirituality; so to teach them that they will make right choices; to stimulate right action from the individual members comprising our classes, and to make sure that these actions may become permanent states, should be our aim. What we want is to get moral and religious results. Spirituality does not develop from the mere making of right choices, but from right choices acted upon. So that our purpose is not primarily to store the pupils' minds with moral or religious truths, but to induce those who know the truths to act upon that knowledge. We are the 36 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING directors of the will. We are the trainers of the conscious forces of life. We are the engineers of the mental and spiritual machinery of human minds. We are the con- ductors on the road of human destiny what a tremendous responsibility, fcut how great the reward if we succeed in keeping the machinery in such motion as will inspire, stimu- late, uplift, even though it be but one soul in his climb to- ward the better life. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What is the primary aim of our instruction in morals and religion? 2. What advantages does a teacher trained in pedagogy have over one not so trained? 3. What if any distinction do you make between the man's spiritual or moral nature and his bodily or mental characteristics? 4. Define character. 5. What is meant by making choices? Give illustrations. LESSON 8 PERTAINING TO KNOWLEDGE Know ledge Defined There is a word very much in use among psychologists called "Apperception." It is a very useful word, but it sometimes has an alarming effect on teachers who are un- familiar with its meaning. It really means nothing more than taking a thing into the mind and assimilating it with something that is already there. Every impression we get from without, no matter what it is, no sooner enters con- sciousness than it makes connection with something already in the mind and produces what we call a reaction. This taking in and commingling and resulting in the process of association of ideas is apperception. But it is something more. If our stock of ideas is large, if that which we have perceived in the past is arranged in an orderly fashion in our mind, if it is adequate to meet the needs of the incoming impressions, then we are educated, we are in possession of knowledge. The more adequate our stock of ideas the greater our knowledge. This is only another way of saying, the greater our experience, the greater our knowledge, and the more uniformly appropriate is our behavior likely to become. All this does not seem difficult to understand. Training for Knowledge But what you will want to know is how we are to train so as to increase our stock of ideas. That is a fair question, and is partially answered by saying: Such a training as will develop the whole man: body, mind, and spirit. The treatment of man as body, mind, and spirit is likely to be misleading. Man is not made up of separate entities, with different agencies for the training of each. While we some- times resort to the gymnasium for our physical develop- ment, and to the public schools for our mental training, and leave to the church our spiritual instruction, yet we 38 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING are by no means persons without unity. The three must go together in any intelligent plan for religious training. It has been said: "There is hardly a clearer lesson in modern phychology than the unity of man, mind and body. One may like it or one may nor like it; it makes no difference. We are not now disembodied spirits, whatever we may be hereafter; we are in the body; we have to get on with the bodyt; and we have to study the conditions of the body, if we expect to make such achievements as we ought to make in our moral and spiritual lives." It is well, then, that teachers of religion learn to recog- nize the relation between body, mind and spirit. Any at- tempt to develop one at the expense of the other is almost certain to prove disastrous. To educate the body of man alone tends to make him brutish, to educate his mind alone tends to scepticism, to educate his spirit alone tends to make him narrow and bigoted, but to educate the whole man, body, mind and spirit, is to enlarge the noblest work of God. It cannot be too strongly urged that as teachers with the divine message of the gospel, we be also charged with the Spirit of God. I have said elsewhere that our special mis- sion as church members, but with special application to us as teachers, is to live and to teach the gospel. That is the 'function of our church; as it is the function of each in- dividual member. That is our function as teachers. To train our pupils that their lives will so function is our special calling. "But there is still a higher and more fruitful stage in learning. It is found in the study of the uses and applications of knowledge. No lesson is learned to its full and rich ending till it is traced to its connections with the great working machinery of nature and life. Nature is not an idle show, nor is the Bible a mass of old wives' fables. Every fact has its uses, and every truth its ap- plication, and till these are found the lesson lies idle and useless as a wheel out of gear with its fellows in the busy machinery. The practical relations of truth, and the forces which lie hid behind all facts, are never really understood till we apply our knowledge to some of the practical purposes of life and thought. The boy who finds a use for his lesson becomes doubly interested and successful in his studies. What was idle knowledge, only half understood, becomes practical wisdom, full of zest and power, PERTAINING TO KNOWLEDGE 39 Especially is this true of Bible knowledge, whose superficial study is of slight effect, but whose profounder learning changes the whole man." Seven Laws of Teaching, Gregory. How Knowledge Finds Expression We have seen that the spiritual "knowledge" aimed at by Latter-day Saints should find expression, or should func- tion, in a manner different from that of members of other denominations. First, let us make sure that we are clear- as to the meaning- of "expression," or "function." Prof. Driggs in his little work, "The Art of Teaching," makes use of the following illustration. "The pioneers found our mountain streams going to waste when they first came to our western land. How did they turn those streams into service? Simply by making new channels through which the water might express itself. They dug canals to lead the streams out on the thirsty desert and make it blossom as the rose. "Following the pioneer came the electrical engineer. He saw the leaping streams wasting their power as they splashed down the canyon, and he turned that power to another kind of service. In what way? Simply by providing another channel of expression. He built great pipe lines along the mountain walls and led the wild waters through them to a point where they could make one big leap down through the turbines, and by turning them the energy of the stream was transformed into electricity. Today those streams are lighting our houses, driving our street cars, and doing hundreds of other things for our comfort." But if the art of irrigation .had not been known, or if the engineer with his skill and knowledge had not made his appearance, the mountain stream might still be foaming and splashing and singing its way to the sea of death with- out having expressed itself in any but its primitive way, and without blessing or benefit to humanity. In Our Conduct It will require no argument to convince the reader that "Knowledge is Power." It is beyond all question that one who has so applied himself as to obtain "knowledge'* is in his conduct different to one who is without knowledge. Socrates carried the point somewhat further and maintained that virtue is knowledge. This may be carrying it too 40 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING j far, but it is certainly true that without knowledge one can scarcely be moral, while ignorance is not infrequently the cause of vice. For example, if some social reform is sought, it is necessary that an intelligent majority of the members of society have knowledge about the facts in the case. If society is to do away with social disease, it is necessary that society be informed about the facts. If it is a ques- tion of child labor, society must be conversant with the facts if this great social sin is to be eradicated. If we are to give the world the light of the gospel, we must not be ignorant of its principles. In Our Teaching As a people we have laid great stress on the acquisition of knowledge. As proof of this it is but necessary to cite some of our oft repeated maxims : "The glory of God is intelligence." "Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom," "Whatever degree of intelligence we attain to in this life it will rise with us in the life to come." "As we now are, God once was. As God now is, so we may become." And so on through the whole list of wisdom injunctions. In giving expression to knowledge in our teaching there is always the element of interest to consider. Somehow it would seem our teaching of religious topics should be such as to arouse a keener interest than would be true in teaching other subjects. For in it all and through it all there should radiate the illumining power of the Holy Spirit. In Our Worship There should be no worship in our church but an intelli- gent worship. Did you ever take note how slovenly some people pray, administer in the ordinances of the church, or attend to their spiritual duties? With some there is no rev- erence for our houses of worship. Everything they do seems awkward, spiritless, mechanical and clumsy. Here as everywhere is the superiority of "knowledge" made mani- fest. What is more to be desired in our worship than a PERTAINING TO KNOWLEDGE 41 reverent attitude, a spiritual atmosphere, made possible through intelligent co-operation of church members. In seeking for this knowledge we are in keeping with Bible injunction. Learn this from the Proverbs: "Those who love me, (That is wisdom) I love, Those who seek me earnestly, find me, With me are riches and honor, Lordly wealth and prosperity. My fruit is better than gold, My revenue than the choicest silver. I walk in the way that is right, And keep in the pathway of justice, Endowing with wealth those who love me, And filling their treasures full." From translation by Kent, The Shorter Bible. >, QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What kind of training is necessary to develop all the capacities of man? 2. Give in your own words a definition to knowledge. 3. How would you explain the meaning of adaptation? 4. Why is it important that the teacher shoulJ speak in the language of the child? 5. Give an illustration of how spiritual knowledge may be expressed. 6. Explain what is meant by the saying: "Knowledge is Power." 7. It is said that "The glory of God is intelligence." Is the glory of man intelligence? LESSON 9 A STUDY OF HABIT Habit Defined Everyone knows in a general way what habits are. For our purpose habit may be defined as an acquired tendency to do in the same or similar way a thing once done in a cer- tain way. "In the earliest stages of infancy a child begins to form habits and they continue to multiply throughout life." Much of our character is moulded during childhood through the formation of good or bad habits, and it is of importance that teachers should know how to deal with these habits. As distinguished from an instinct, a habit is an acquired tendency, while an instinct is an inherited or native tend- ency. There are many reasons why we should learn to con- trol our native tendencies. One reason for such control lies in the fact that since we live in communities it is nec- essary that we regulate our impulses and actions with refer- ence to one another. Compromise and adjustment must be brought about, whenever such is necessary, by modification both in action and desire. As human beings we are born with a wide variety of tendencies, which are plastic and modifiable, susceptible to training, and tend largely to be replaced by habits or acquired modes of behavior. The brain and nervous sys- tem at birth are extremely plastic and unformed, making the mind susceptible to outside influences to a very marked degree. So that there are few of the native tendencies that are not modified by acquired habits during the formative period of childhood. How Habits Are Formed Perhaps the simplest way to explain the formation of a habit is to say that we learn by experience, and that we tend to repeat actions we have once performed, if the per- formance has been attended by satisfaction. Where we are A STUDY OF HABIT 43 perfectly adjusted to environment, a given stimulus will usually produce a given response. By stimulus is meant anything that starts a nerve action. By response is meant the reaction that follows. To illustrate: if I wave my hand in front of your face, your eyelids automatically close. The waving of the hand is the stimulus. The closing of the eyes is the response. In all human action there is always a stimulus to start the nerve-impulse that causes the response. If we inquire how it is that a particular stimulus invariably produces a particular response, the answer is that we have acquired through instinct or habit that particular manner of response. A Case in Point Most teachers are familiar with the methods employed by our farmers in the irrigation of their crops. In addition to preparing the soil, planting the seed, and laying out the field in furrows, preparatory to bringing the water on the land, the farmer must be on hand, especially at the first watering, to see that the water is distributed equally in the furrows and that all obstructions are removed so that it may go through without hindrance. And all this that there may be no washouts, overflows, or improper channels made. In other words, the farmer aims so to control the water that he may obtain the desired results. After the field has been watered a number of times the danger of washouts is lessened. As time goes on and the crops begin fro take root in the soil the danger of over- flow becomes almost negligible. So with our habits, they become intensified each time a similar stimulus affects the field of consciousness, and we allow our thoughts, impulses, or emotions to run in the same channels. Thus by frequent repetition our thoughts and acts become fixed habits; the of tenet repeated with sat- isfaction the more fixed these habits become. Habit Breaking Just as habits are most easily formed in youth so are these habits the most difficult to break. There is a physi- ological explanation back of this. In youth the tissue of 44 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING the brain is more plastic than in old age, and therefore impressions are more easily and deeply made. The ner- vous system is not unlike the moulder's clay. At first the clay is soft and yields to the moulder's desire without dif- ficulty. As the work progresses the clay becomes harder and yields less readily. Finally it becomes so hard that it is impossible to mould it further. Thus are the lines so firmly fixed that they cannot be obliterated. The difficulty en- countered in giving the clay mould its final shape by rea- son of its hardening corresponds with the attempt at habit breaking in old age. "I took a piece of plastic clay, And idly fashioned it one day, And as my fingers pressed it, still It moved and yielded to my will. I came again when days were passed, That bit of clay was hard at last. The form I gave it still it bore, But I could change that form no more. "I took a piece of human clay, And gently formed it day by day, And moulded with my power and art, A young child's soft and yielding heart. I came again when years were gone, It was a man I looked upon. He still that early impress bore, But I could change it nevermore." Even with young people it requires a very strong effort of the will to break a habit once formed. Some people in- deed are without the strength of character to overcome their bad habits. Too much importance cannot, therefore, be placed upon the formation of good habits in youth. What Habits Do for Us That we may know the importance of habits, it is only necessary to consider for a moment how large a part they play in the affairs of our daily lives. James says: "Ninety-nine hundredths or, possibly, nine hundred ninety-nine thousandths of our activity is purely automatic and habitual, from our rising in the morning to our lying down each night. Our A STUDY OF HABIT 45 dressing and undressing, our eating and drinking, our greetings and partings, our hat-raisings and giving way for the ladies to precede, nay, even most of forms of our common speech, are things of type so fixed by repetition as almost to be classed as reflex actions. To each sort of impression, we have an automatic, ready-made response." When we consider at what pains a child learns to walk, then to talk, and later to read and write and spell, and to do all of the other things of life which he must learn if he would finally become a useful member of society, who can estimate the loss of time and energy that would be involved if each of these acts, instead of becoming a habit, had to be performed by a conscious effort of the will through- out life? The fact, that habits can be acquired most easily in early life, and that those early acquired, as we have seen, become so fixed that they are almost inescapable, is therefore of the utmost importance. If it were not for these, our experience would be very much restricted. If we had to give attention all our lives to such acts as dressing and undressing, to finding our way out and in the house in which we live, to spell or pronounce correctly, it is easily seen how very little we should be able to accomplish. Kinds of Habit There are three kinds of habits, physical, mental and moral. Walking rapidly is a physical habit; a studious attitude is a mental habit; telling the truth is a moral habit. Let us take a concrete example in each case. The rules of society have established the custom for men to remove their hats when riding in elevators if ladies are present. A young boy does not remove his hat until he has been taught to do so. After a time, however, he learns this act of courtesy and does it quite automatically. If we were to require him to give a reason for his act, he would, in all probability, be unable to supply one, but the response has nevertheless become automatic, immediate, and certain. As a type of mental habit, that of voting at election time may be cited as an example. It is interesting to hear peo- ple discuss with a show of much learning the merits and demerits of the respective political parties, and yet if put to the test the great majority of them could not tell why they 46 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING belonged to the one or the other of these parties. As boys we probably heard our fathers speak favorably of one or the other of the great national parties. If father carried a torch and waved a flag in the Republican parade, or if he now votes the Republican ticket, we in all probability will follow his example, especially if we have come to regard him as our model. Thus in time we either form the Demo- cratic or the Republican habit, and the longer we practice the habit the harder it is to change. In like manner but with greater import do we form moral and religious habits or leave them out of life's account. We either become the Good Samaritan or the priest who "passed by on the other side." We either learn to "tell the truth at all hazards," or like the drunken Rip Van Winkle, in Jefferson's play, excuse ourselves for every fresh derelic- tion by saying, "I won't count this time." How Habits Should Function Having discussed habits in some of their general aspects, let us turn to their more restricted field and inquire how they can be made to contribute to the social well being of the individual in the home, at work, at play, in the com- munity. In the Home In all human intercourse the home should furnish the highest standards of love, devotion, faith, and ideals, and in all of these habit should be made to function properly. There should be no lack of sympathy between parent anci child. It is obvious that where love is not found there the home can exett no influence in the making of character and personality of the children. In order that there may be a proper influence emanating from the home it is neces- sary that the parent take an intelligent and sympathetic interest in those things which interest the child. If this is done, there can be little doubt but the child will grow in love and devotion for the home that shall neither fade nor grow dim with time. It is impossible that the child shall take the point of view held by the parent; hence the need of co-operation and A STUDY OF HABIT 47 sympathy between parents and children, a getting together, so to speak, in the solution of the problems which arise in the home life. This may mean but little, in some instances, to the parents, but it will often mean much in the habits that the child shall assume toward the home. Home habits, habits of love, habits of devotion, habits of faith, habits in the choice of ideals, these all grow out of training, the aid rendered by the teacher, and the attitude taken by the parent. It all depends on the way we respond to our opportunity. At Work When it comes to the application of habit to our work we are in such a broad field with so limited a space that it is a question where we ought to begin our exploration. Since so large a part of life is taken up in the pursuit of those things which are required for our physical existence, most of us early learn what physical work means. Here, too, the term "want" finds a place in our vocabulary. It includes not merely the necessities of life in the way of food, clothing, shelter, and the like, but also comforts, lux- uries, and many things that minister to the intellectual and aesthetic phases of life. A moment's reflection will disclose that we cannot obtain all of these by our own labors, but that we are dependent upon others to supply whichever of them we cannot our- selves produce. It is important, therefore, that in consid- ering habit as applied to our work that we analyze as care- fully as possible the moral situation that lies behind the problem and make the necessary connections. By the re- peated performance of a special kind of work one becomes highly skilled in his specialty, and is thus able to turn to better account his efforts. It would seem therefore of the utmost importance that every person should follow some regular line of work that he may become more proficient. At Play I can devote but a line or two to this topic, nor is there need to say more. Everyone knows that all normal healthy persons have need of some form of recreation. .It is the 48 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING teacher's duty to see that children are not deprived of this need. Your success or failure as teachers will often de- pend upon the attitude you assume toward the proper play of your pupils. There is little danger that they will fail to follow your lead in matters of recreation. But there are grave dangers if they are left to choose for themselves. Here then is a great opportunity for you to direct the pupil in his habit choice of play. In the Community Every Latter-day Saint should be a servant in the ser- vice of the community. I shall have occasion to discuss in a later chapter the matter of service. Here it may be said however that too few of us have the community habit. We are not trained to civic service. We are too willing to "Let George do it." In this regard we need an entire change of attitude. We need to get the service habit. There is little need of saying more. It is not talk that is needed, it is action, habit tKat shall function in community upbuilding. The Teacher's Work Now, let us see what is the teacher's responsibility in aiding the pupil in his habit formation. In the first place the teacher should have a very clear conception of the habits he desires the pupil to form; and, secondly, he should have such a general knowledge of habit traits as will enable him to explain the process and watch the progress of habit- forming of the members of his class. Then, too, it is his duty, like that of the farmer in the illustration given, to be on the lookout to see that there are no washouts or overflows anywhere in the watering process. Inspired by Divine guid- ance and with a true heart's desire for the welfare of the members of his class, the teacher, like a magnet, can draw with a spirit of divinity the souls of all who come in con- tact with his teachings. He must strive to help the child to gain initiative. Habits always look forward. They are for future use. Teachers, too, must have a forward look in the interest of their pupils. They must look forward to see what the children should learn to do, and having discovered the need, then see that they do it. A STUDY OF HABIT 49 i Let me close this very important topic of, "The Work of the Teacher" by a quotation from Pyle's most excellent work, "The Science of Human Nature." "Teachers should rise to the importance of their calling. Their work is that of the gods. They are creators. They, do not make the child. They do not give it memory or attention or imagina- tion. But they are the creators of tendencies, prejudices, re- ligions, politics, and other habits unnumbered. So that in a very real sense, the school, with all other educational influences, make the man. We do not give the child the capacity to learn, but we can determine what he shall learn. We do not give him memory, but we can select what he shall remember. We do not make the child as he is at the beginning, but we can, in a large measure, determine the world of influences which complete the task of making. "In the early part of life every day and every hour of the day establishes and strengthens tendencies. Every year these tendencies become stronger. Every year after maturity, we resist change. By twenty-five or thirty, "character has set like plaster." The general attitude and view of the world which we have at maturity, we are to hold throughout life. Very few men fundamentally change after this. It takes a tremendous influence and an unusual situation to break one up and make him an essentially different man after maturity. Every year a "crank" becomes "crankier." QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Give in your own words a definition of habit. 2. Explain how habits are formed. Give illustrations. 3. From your personal experience tell how a habit may be broken. 4. Why is it more difficult to break a habit when we grow older? 5. What do habits do for us? 6. Name three kinds of habits and give illustrations of each. 7. Explain how teachers can aid pupils in forming right habits. LESSON 10 A STUDY OF ATTITUDE Attitude Defined Attitude is the bearing a person assumes, expressive of his feelings or state of mind, toward another person, social group, object, or institution. The attitude that we assume in our social relations results from our thinking. In other words, as our thoughts are, so will our attitude ex- press itself toward the object of our thoughts. The Biblical expression: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he," is analogous in sentiment to the attitude one may assume in his outlook on life. We are literally what we think. Just as plants spring from seeds so do our acts spring from our thoughts. Acts are the fruition of thoughts. Thus does man reap the fruitage of his own sowing, be it bitter or sweet. Man is not a development by chance, but a growth according to law; a form after the manner of his thinking; a shape conforming to his attitude. By assuming the right attitude, we grow toward the light. By the assumption of wrong attitudes, we tend toward darkness. Influence of Environment on Our Attitude Not least interesting or distinctive among the things of life is our capacity to rouse ourselves to respond -to our environment. In every such response we are changed; changed in such manner as better to fit or to unfit our organism to its surroundings. This is true of all life. Every act of life is in some way related to and reflected by environment, and environment in turn affects and influ- ences our attitude in our outlook on life. So that all edu- cation, from the most material to the most spiritual, is affected by the law of environment. It will be seen, there- fore, that adaptation to God and to truth is quite as neces- sary in 'influencing our lives as is our adaptation to our material surroundings. Of course our environment may A STUDY OF ATTITUDE 51 change from time to time, thus making it necessary for us to make new adjustments. The fact that we are able to do this, that our minds are plastic so to speak, is the import- ant thing in our assumption of right "attitudes." It is the organism that adjusts itself to environment, and not the reverse, whenever a change of attitude takes place. The shorn lamb adjusts itself to the wind, and not the wind to the changed condition of the lamb. It is because of this power of adjustment that education is possible. Our teach- ing should be adjusted to the conditions of life. "You will be what you will to be; Let failure find its false content In that poor word, 'environment,' But spirit scorns it, and is free. "It masters time, it conquers space; It cows that boastful trickster, Chance, And bids the tyrant Circumstance Uncrown, and fill a servant's place. "The human Will, that force unseen, The offspring of a dauntless Soul, Can hew a way to any goal, Though walls of granite intervene. "Be not impatient in delay, But wait as one who understands; When spirit rises and commands, The gods are ready to obey." In his most excellent little work, "As a Man Thinketh," James Allen has said: "Of all the beautiful truths pertaining to the soul which have been restored and brought to light in this age, none is more gladdening or fruitful of divine promise and confidence than this that man is master of his own thought, the moulder of his own character, and the maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny." Attitude Affected by Education In the process of human growth by education it is per- sonality that is being influenced and becoming adjusted to the things of environment, and the growth of personality in- variably results in a change of attitude. Environment, good 52 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING or bad, serves as a stimulus, but it is personality that re- sponds, and is modified in accordance with the nature of the response. The individual cannot again be the same after having been stimulated and having responded, nor is he likely again to assume the same attitude toward his fellows or toward society. Some thing has been left in personality by experience. It is by this means that personality is built. This is development. Keeping in mind that the fundamental purpose in relig- ious education is to acquire the ability and disposition to make right choices, our part as teachers in this is to furnish the stimuli that will produce these effects. We are the generals who, looking over the field, want so to place our troops that they will become adapted to the whole of their environment in order that they will give the very best re- sponse. We want them to function correctly; to assume the right attitude. Training to Assume Right Attitudes But how are we to train so that we may assume right "attitudes?" If we are not getting the right responses, the chances are we need to change the stimuli, or it may be we need to improve the stimuli. To illustrate. Suppose you are a dairyman, and you are supplying butter to the market. Your continued patronage will depend upon the quality of your product. Before you set your churn in motion, you make sure that it has been thoroughly renovated and aired. Then you pour in your cream. Here, too, caution is neces- sary. The cream must not be too sour. Neither must it be too warm or too cold. In other words the temperature must be right. Perhaps other precautions must be taken, n a these details are attended to, the results will be right. The butter, the response, will be satisfactory. The teacher will experience little or no difficulty in applying this analogy. Just as the nature of the stimulus affects things physical, so does the nature of the stimulus affect things spiritual. Attitudes in Our Classes Often in our teaching of religious subjects we have A STUDY OF ATTITUDE 53 sought to impart information by means of appeals and examples. If we have ever given any consideration to the matter, or sought a cause for our doing so, the answer might be that we have done so in order that the original desires and instincts might be modified by developing new desires, acquiring additional knowledge, setting up new standards, establishing higher ideals, and enlarging the power of reasoning. "By giving prematurely these ideas from the stock of human experience we can change the nature of the total appeal to personality and modify choices. In this way can we make the lives of present day heroes in- fluence the lives we would make the heroes of the future." This is the impressionistic method. "It is the method of literature, of poetry, of biography, of appeal, of exhorta- tion, of instruction." It is of course essential that this be done, and done pedagogically, sensibly, and methodically. In our religious teaching we have for the most part stopped here. We have striven to reach the emotions of our pupils, to get some sort of expression. We have used the most suitable stimuli possible. If we have been observant however we have found that we have not held to permanent moral and religious choices more than fifty per cent of those who have entered our classes. The Moral Attitude What is needed further is to get some kind of moral ex- pression, the right choice plus "Mormon" expression, li was Joshua, you remember, who in delivering his final in- structions to the Children of Israel made use of this state- ment: "And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve lehovah." It is only in recent years, even in our secular education, that we have seen a revolt against the practice of pouring in, so to speak, without ever letting the mind refresh itself by emptying some of its contents instead of permitting it 54 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING to dry and shrivel to a nothingness. Thomas Walton Galloway, in his book, "The Use of Motives in Teaching Morals and Religion," says: "Perfect teaching involves giving the best possible stimulus in the way of appeals, instruction, impression, and then finding ways to see that these new elements of income, if accepted by personality, are consciously caused to express themselves until the power of choice is strengthened by the satisfaction of right behavior. In right teaching there is thus a complete personal reaction: (1) im- pression; (2) self -active choice; and (3) the expression of this choice in action. It is in this way that actual adjustment of the internal nature is made to external conditions. Personality is kept appreciative of its income, able to make right choices, and responsive to the conditions of life." The Religious Attitude Quite in keeping with the foregoing, but of even more importance is, or should be, our religious attitude. "Who is on the Lord's Side?" This is a personal question, and can best be answered by each individual for himself. The true test of the answer, however, is whether or not we are willing to follow in the footsteps of the Master. It may be that we are neglecting many things we ought to do, and doing things we ought not to do, but if we are sincere, and earnest, and honest, in our endeavors in our moral and re- ligious teaching, especially on the expressive side, our ef- forts shall not fail to yield a rich harvest. It makes a world of difference how we look on life; whether tinctured by a religious and prayerful attitude or whether we write a question mark instead of uttering a prayer before entering upon our work. "Two men toiled side by side from sun to sun, And both were poor; Both sat with children, when the day was done, About their door. One saw the beautiful in crimson cloud And shining moon; The other, with his head in sadness bowed, Made night of noon. One loved each tree and flower and singing bird, On mount or plain; No music in the soul of one was stirred By leaf or rain. A STUDY OF ATTITUDE 55 One saw the good in every fellow-man And hoped the best; The other marveled at the Master's plan, And doubt confessed. One having heaven above and heaven below, Was satisfied; The other discontented, lived in woe, And helpless died." Sarah Knowles Bolton. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Repeat with book closed the definition given to attitude in the first paragraph of the lesson. 2. What is meant by environment as spoken of in this chapter? 3. Discuss the statement: "In all the process of human growth it is the human personality that is being influenced and is becom- ing adjusted to the things of environment." 4. What two effects upon personality does the application of a stimulus have? 5. Discuss the advantages of getting an expression from the members of a class after the impartation of information. 6. Is it more difficult to get expression in religious instruction than in secular education? Why? LESSON 11 THE HOME Just as teachers need to appreciate the objectives which control education and the three channels which lead to the realization of those objectives, viz., knowledge, ideals, and habits, so teachers need to appreciate the fact that a child becomes what he becomes not merely because of his con- tact with a religious organization once a week, but because of the sum total of his various contacts in all of the ex- periences of his life. Some of these contacts are major ones and call for elaboration. The home, the school, the state, the Church, recreation, and missionary service will therefore each be considered in succeeding lessons in the hope that a more intelligent grasp of our whole social prob- lem may be guaranteed. The Family as a Community Group The father who feels that God has delegated to him the authority to punish his son for any infraction of the fam- ily code may find some difficulty in maintaining his po- sition when the boy, grown older, sees the father yield to his own impulses. As a matter of fact, that parent whose conception of home life conforms to the idea that the father commands and the child obeys, belongs to the "dark ages." If such a conception is carried into effect in the home all educational opportunity is forfeited. The opportunity of the home is to share life. The child is affected in at least three ways by the home as an educational institution: first, by the length of time he remains in the home; second, by his intimacy with his parents in their home life; and third, by the "attitude" the family assumes toward morals and religion. Not through mere conformity, but through participation as a member of the family community, does the character of the child grow. This sharing process of family life implies in part that children share in the work of parents; that parents should share in the doings of the children; that hopes and THE HOME 57 aspirations, joys and sorrows, successes or failures of each member of the family group is the concern of all. Obedience in the Home In our day there is much talk of more effective teach- ing of obedience and respect for law. It is an obvious truth that there seems to be a growing disrespect for law as such. If we were to go out in search of the cause for this dangerous tendency we should without doubt find it in the discipline of the home. Few parents, of course, have the heart to go back to the rigidity of family government of former days. The pity of it is that few parents understand government sufficiently to realize that obedience in the family is the rock upon which obedience to law is founded. The starting point in solving the whole problem of obedience to law is for the collective individuals of the family community to start a joyous obe- dience to the family code. Community life, mutual giving and receiving, helping and being helped, by every mem- ber are the necessary conditions. Law is involved when the family is regarded as a community group. Parents take their place in the family, not as the source of law, but as subjects of the law. In sharing with their children a life of obedience, they teach most effectively the lesson of respect for the law. The essential require- ment is that they shall feel themselves to be members of the family group whose duty it is to obey the law. When punishment becomes necessary, as it sometimes does, it should be made to appear as an expression of law. If the parent should himself transgress, his duty is to acknowledge his fault at once, and if his transgression is of such a nature as to require reparation, he should not hesitate to meet the demand. Loyalty in the Home The word loyalty always has a pleasing sound. But did you ever stop to inquire into its meaning? In the days of the war when the call came, men left their places at home, in the workshop, in the field, at the bench, behind the counter, everywhere, to answer the call of their country. 58 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING That was loyalty to their country and their flag, "A willing and practical and thorough-going devotion of a person to a cause." Loyalty is a human virtue. Children's affection for others; their desire to help in the home; their instinct to protect its inmates, including domestic animals; their ideal- izing imagination; their obedience; their interest in home activities all these bespeak their loyalty to parents and home. Much of such loyalty depends on the training the child has had. It is our business as teachers to lay the basis for loyalty, to cultivate such habits and ideals as will enter helpfully into the development of the loyalty that is to be. "The story of a little Boer boy who refused to betray his friends even on the threat of death, is told by Major Seely, M. P., as an illustration of deeply rooted love of freedom and of country. It happened during the Boer War. "I was asked," said Major Seely, "to get some volunteers and try to capture a commandant at a place some twenty miles away. I got the men readily, and we set out. It was rather a desperate enter- prise, but we got there all right. The Boer general had got away, but where had he gone? It was even a question of the general catching us, and not of us catching the general. We rode down to the farmhouse, and there we saw a good-looking Boer boy and some yoemen. I asked the boy if the commandant had been there, and he said in Dutch, taken by surprise, 'Yes.' 'Where has he gone?' I said, and the boy became suspicious. He answered, 'I will not say.* "I decided to do a thing for which I hope to be forgiven, be- cause my men's lives were in danger. I threatened the boy with death if he would not disclose the whereabouts of the general. He still refused, and I put him against the wall, and said I would have him shot. At the same time I whispered to my men, 'For heaven's sake, don't shoot.' The boy still refused although I could see he believed I was going to have him shot. I ordered the men to aim. Everey rifle was aimed at the boy. "'Now,' I said, 'before I give the word, which way has the general gone?' I remember the look on the boy's face a look such as I have never seen but once. He was transformed before me. Something greater almost than anything human shone from his eyes. He threw his head, and said in Dutch, 'I will not say.' There was nothing for it but to shake hands with the boy and go away.' " Singapore Straits Budget. THE HOME 59 Religion in the Home Anything that threatens the sanctity or stability of the home also threatens the morality of society. It is there- fore of the utmost importance that the home should be guarded against disruption by any of the many complex things that affect society today. That the home is being threatened as never before is evidenced by the increase of the number of divorces that are entered each year. A con- servative estimate shows that there is from one-fifth to one- fourth as many divorce proceedings as there are marriages in our country in a given period of time. Mute evidence that there is a force at work whose tendency is to disrupt the home. It would be both interesting and profitable to follow a discussion of this so-called "divorce evil," but space forbids. Suffice it to say that a possible remedy may be found in a return to "Religion in the home." In the idea of the family as a community we have a key to a proper organization for family devotion. One of the outstanding features of every Mormon home should be its spiritual "attitude." A spiritual "attitude" is not confined to long prayers or long faces. It means a participation by parents and children alike in the work and play, the joys and sorrows, the reverence and worship of the home. "Our religion should be carried into everything. It should go with us to the farm and the factory; to the countinghouse and the courthouse; into the sick chamber, not only, but into the senate chamber; with the mariner it should ride the stormy sea, and with the miner it should decend into the bowels of the earth; it should sit with the artist in his studio, with the teacher in his school- room, with the lawyer in his office; it should go with the physician to his patients and the artisan to his. shop; it should stand with salesman behind the counter and the clerk at his desk; it should be carried into our pleasures, and by no means be absent from our politics." W. D. Howard. It was said that home life should be a community affair in which all members of the family should participate. Now, if the children are taught and required from infancy to "ask the blessing on the food," to listen to instruction, "to say their prayers," to accompany their parents to 60 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING Church, not by force but in a spirit of love, they will in time become so grounded in the "Faith" that they will be able to carry the full weight of responsibility as members of the Church. The Teacher's Part Lest the teacher might feel that the home has the whole responsibility of training the Latter-day Saint boy or girl for the "attitude" he or she shall assume at home and in society, let me call attention to some of the dangers that lurk in the pathway of our young people even though they come from the best of homes, and again remind our teachers that they "are their brother's keeper." The late teens and the early twenties has been termed, "Life's moving time." A great army of young people at this period of life leave home, some to attend schools or colleges, others to "Go to work." They pass out from the familiar environment of childhood into new surroundings, from parental authority into the greater world where they are required to make their own choices. If (and here is the test) we as teachers have done our part, and parents have not failed, and they have been rightly trained in their "atti- tude" toward their home and their outlook on life, they will transfer to the new situation the habits, principles, and ideals they have gained in the old. If we have neglected our opportunity or failed in our duty, it may be that there will be "wanderings in a far country" and a "wasting of substance in riotous living." What then? Where do we stand? Will the seeds that we have sown have sufficient fertility, when the youth "comes to himself," to cause him to remember the truths he was taught in his childhood? The break with the home is abrupt, the danger is great for the youth who goes to the city to make his way among strangers. He encounters many new temptations. They meet him without his seek- ing. They offer themselves to him on every path he treads. Cheap picture shows, low theatres, cabarets and social clubs, public dances, billiard and pool rooms, amusement parks, "white ways," and all the rest, offer themselves without THE HOME 61 stint to anyone who has the price, but especially to every unsophisticated youth whose "hap it is to pass that way." Teachers, what then? What is your -duty? "To watch and pray" that these, your children, "enter not into temptation." Remember our great objective, "To make Latter-day Saints." "Father, I do not ask for wealth or fame, Though once they would have joyed my carnal sense; I shudder not to bear a hated name, Wanting all wealth, myself my sole defense. But give me, Lord, eves to behold the truth; And seeing sense that knows eternal right; A heart with pity filled, and gentle truth; A manly faith that makes all darkness light; Give me the power to labor for mankind; Make me the mouth of such as cannot speak; Eyes let me be to groping men and blind; A conscience to the base; and to the weak Let me be hands and feet ; and to the foolish, mind ; And lead still further on such as Thy kingdom seek." Theodore Parker. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Discuss the topic: "The Family as a Community Group." 2. What is the value and true meaning of "Obedience in the Home?" 3. Distinguish between loyalty and attitude. 4. In what ways may children show their loyalty in the home? 5. What should be the attitude of Mormon parents in their religious devotion in the home? How does religion manifest itself in the home? 6. What do you understand the "divorce evil" to mean? 7. What is the Teacher's part in helping to train the boy or girl to assume the right attitude in the home? LESSON 12 THE SCHOOL The Mormon Attitude Toward Education The Mormon "attitude" toward education is unique. It is a tenet of the Mormon faith that "whatever degree of intelligence a man attains to in this life it will rise with him in the life to come." Such a view, so far as known to the writer, is held by no other religious organization. It is not strange that such preachment should bring unusual results. The truth is that wherever the Mormon people have gone to make new homes or pioneer new lands, one of their first concerns has been to provide schools for their children. They, have ever exhibited a willingness to pro- vide means for educational purposes, sometimes taxing themselves to the very limit of their ability to pay in order that their children might have every advantage of obtaining an education. It is doubtful whether there can anywhere be found finer or better school houses, or a better system of school management, than are found in Mormon com- munities. All this by reason of the Mormon attitude to- ward education. But this is not all. So deep rooted has been this idea of education in the minds of the Mormon people that the Church in the very beginning of its settlement in the desert valleys established what has been called "Church schools." Back of this movement is the thought that true education is the development of the whole man, including his spiritual nature. A newer movement still and one that is meeting with much success, is the establishment of "Church Sem- inaries," where religious subjects are being taught, par- ticularly a study of the Bible, for which there is much need, notwithstanding our efforts as teachers in the various Church Auxiliary Associations. As already intimated, moral character is too often re- garded as a by-product of the educational process. From the Mormon point of view, right habits, right attitudes, high THE SCHOOL 63 ideals are essential factors in education. It is easy to men- tion a long list of desirable moral qualities, ideals and habits; for example: cleanliness, in mind and body, sys- tem, self-control, obedience, honesty, accuracy, patience, stick-to-it-ive-ness, kindness, mercy, loyalty, courage and justice. But the difficulty is to secure the establishment of these as habits, or their choice as ideals; not because there is any opposition to their choice or adoption, but because of the difficulty of eliciting a sufficient number of repetitions to insure their permanence. Moral habits will hardly de- velop unless actual moral situations are repeatedly met and rightly acted upon. Socializing the School If the curriculum could be somewhat more vocational - ized, and the artificial teacher somewhat more humanized, and the schoolroom made more like a shop or store, the moral situations on the inside of the school would become more like those that arise in the larger world on the outside. I cannot resist the temptation to say to the teacher, at this point, that what you teach your pupils, they may be able to retain and recall as long as life endures, and if the doc- trine heretofore set forth be true, even after the spirit is freed from the body, they shall know the things that have been implanted by you as the gardeners of their souls. Thus doth God dignify the work of the teacher. What we plant in the human soul hath God made to bloom and bear fruit. But we "Do not gather grapes from thorns nor figs from thistles." If the seed of our planting has been selected carelessly, we may expect a yield of inferior fruit. What teacher is there who dare to trifle with human souls? Up on the heights! Look out upon the prospect God has set for you, then pray that you neglect not to "feed my lambs." There seems ever to have been a tendency to criticise our public schools. Many of the faults that parents should bear are laid at the doors of our schools. Many of the economic, social, and political conditions about which the public com- plain are charged to our system of education. Our schools 64 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING are not to blame. The burden rests very largely upon the home and our poor methods of moral and religious in- structions, or perhaps better, the lack of such instructions altogether. A Case in Point A woman was involved in a criminal case before the Supreme Court of our State. She was not a party to the action, but was familiar with all the details of the offense. There were some matters not made clear from the record that seemed of importance to me and ought to be included in the argument. Some days before the hearing of the case, I sent for this woman to see if I could secure from her the information desired. She was a woman of more than or- dinary intelligence, and did not hesitate to give me the information I wanted. In addition, and upon my request, she gave a detailed history of her life from her childhood. When she had finished, I said to her, "I cannot understand why a woman of your seeming intelligence has drifted into the sort of life that you have confessed to me that you are leading." "I will tell you," she answered promptly, "In the home where I was born and brought up, no one ever heard the church bells ring on the Sabbath day; profaning God's name was the substitute for prayers; quarreling took the place of devotion, and hate replaced the spirit of love. Even in my school days I never heard of Him Who taught the new commandment, 'That ye love one another.' And so I drifted; drifted into bad company.'" Union Between the Home and the School There should be a closer acquaintance between the home and the school. There ought to be a re-birth of inter- est in both the home and the school. As the matter now stands neither the teacher nor the parents seem to feel any keen co-operative heart-beats for the future welfare of the child. In so far as any unity of effort is concerned it seems to be a matter of indifference to both. If parents and teachers could become better acquainted and the home life of the children be made to function in the school, or to put THE SCHOOL 65 it in the reverse order, if the school could become a direct- ing force that would function in the home, there would emerge a sense of unity in moral and spiritual purpose that would solve many of the troublesome problems in both the home and the school, and there would be little danger of drifting. "I'm glad I'm home!" a tired little lad said as he came in from school. "I wonder why," said his aunt, "this boy always comes here when there are many other homes as nice as this, and quite as near?" With the love-light in his eye, he pointed where his mother sat, and said, "She lives here that is why!" The mother's heart was glad. ' 'Tis home, for mother's living here." Teachers, can not the school absorb something from such a home? i QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. If you have an opportunity, pay a visit to a church school or seminary and bring back an estimate of the work being done. Mention some particular feature that impressed you. 2. What advantages do you see in religious teachings? 3. What should be the attitude of church members toward the public schools? What has been the attitude of the church toward these institutions? 4. What is meant by socializing our schools? 5. How in your opinion can a closer union be established be- tween the home and the school? Who ought to make the first move, the parent or the teacher? Why? LESSON 13 THE STATE Greater Love Than This "In a great battle, a young officer, hard hit, was lying on his back in a ditch, where he begged his foes to let him remain. Shortly after, he died. Then it was found that, even with his life ebbing fast, his body had served to protect the "bit of rag" which on the morning of that day had been the standard of his regiment. He had carefully folded it up, and laid down upon it to die. 'One thing' was in the soldier's heart to save his country's colors from capture and disgrace.' " Now, what is the moral significance of an "attitude" such as this? Shall I answer for you? A deeply ingrained love of country. But how came this devotion to flag and state? Through the planting of a seed; the seed of patriot- ism. Somewhere along the line, in the home, in the school, in the church, perhaps in all three, was the seed sown and nourished until it blossomed and yielded its fruit. But it is not always so. Much as we may desire the education of our boys and girls to include a knowledge of their relation- ship to the state, it often happens that they get but a vague notion of their duties as citizens. Law and Morals There is a close relationship between obedience to law and duty to state. All civilized men are members of some governed community. As such they owe certain duties to the community in which they live, and to their fellow mem- bers of society. First of all, it is their duty to obey the laws of their state. No man is a good member of society who refuses to comply with the mandates imposed by the state upon its citizens. A distinction needs to be made between ethics and law; that is, between what is called "moral laws" and "statutory laws." The former is enforced by individual conscience, or by the disapproval of public THE STATE 67 opinion; the latter by the authority of the state. Moral laws have to do with the whole of man, including his thoughts and emotions. Statutory laws are concerned only with his outward conduct. Both statutory and moral laws are designed to govern the actions of men. The former are mainly negative while the latter are positive. Statutory law says: "thou shalt not;" while the moral law says: "go thou and do likewise." It is quite possible that an act, not regarded as legally wrong, may nevertheless be forbidden by the moral code. This is because the moral law is always saying: "Man. you are your brother's keeper." After paying our debt to the state, the state owes us some- thing in return. It is the duty of the state to provide a suitable social environment within which its members can grow; can become socialized personalities. The state must define in clear terms those acts which it forbids and declares anti-social. It must provide punishment for their violation. It must become the mediator between the individual and organized society. It must safeguard the rights and lib- erties of the individual. It is the protector of the home, the school, and every legally organized social group. The state functions in many other ways in its relations with the individual and with society, but this is not the place to enter into a discussion of these. Our Individual Duties to the State Every member of the community, that is, every citizen of the state, is charged with certain obligations to the state, the performance of which is imperative if he is to be recog- nized as a good member of society. A brief mention of some of these obligations will readily suggest others to the mind of the teacher who may desire to extend the list. It may be said, in general, that it is the duty of every citizen to help correct whatever evils are to be found in governmental management. But too often do we find our- selves so engrossed with our own affairs that we allow our government, both local and state, to drift into the hands of professional politicians. Putting it in another way, we 68 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING take so little interest in the "affairs of state" that it has become possible for "machine politics" to take possession of our inheritance and under its rule flagrant abuses have grown up. Often the "professional politician," all the way down from the national "boss" to the local "ward heeler" is, be- cause of our indifference, able to use his political power with the officers whom he has helped to elect, to further some financial enterprise, or worse still, to form a league with certain kinds of organized vice, so as to derive revenue therefrom. Such acquisition of power through public of- fice is one of the chief sources of "graft." Positive Side of Our Duty The pcsitive side of our duty to the state consists in oui taking an interest in the enactment, the repeal, the simpli- fication or the enforcement of our laws, whenever found necessary, so as to make them more effective. . There are always some problems that require attention. Take, for instance, the subject of crime, which is one of the diseases of our country. What is its solution? Crime is said to be on 'he increase. It would be of interest to both teachers and pupils to try to find a reason for this. What can we do to help reduce crime to a minimum? It is claimed by many that there should be a surer and swifter punishment for criminals. It is said that such action would deter the commission of crime. Would it? An investigation, a possible determination of this question ought to arouse considerable interest in your class. If prop- erly and skillfully handled, it ought to develop in your pupils a respect for law, and this is the big objective here. Then there is the matter of the treatment of criminals. This is an important question. We are fast getting away from the idea that punishment is a matter of revenge. The state, if it performs its function, inflicts punishment as a corrective measure. This at least is the more modern theory. Whether the state is provided with equipment to accomplish this result is another matter of interest for the potential citizens of your class. The whole problem ot THE STATE 69 > crimes and criminals and their punishment and treatment has become a social concern. Society must not only devise a correct methcd of handling criminals but it must re- errange its social standards so as to reduce to a minimum the manufacture of criminals. OUT Loyalty to Our State The thing we call "patriotism" is not as a rule taught as a separate subject in our schools. Rather it is absorbed "through the skin," so to speak. We do not gain a respect for law, a love of country, or doff our hat to the flag, be- cause we have read in books that these are acts of loyalty. They have come to us as things unconscious. They are the teachings of the attitudes of others, our teachers, our par- ents, our associates. We absorb them much in the same way that a sponge absorbs water. Loyalty begets loyalty. Would that in our dealings with our fellows and our loyalty to our state we might carry out the sentiments of this prayer: "Father, when I lie down to take my rest at night, may I feel the presence of an approving conscience, unhaunted by the faces of any that I have defrauded, defamed, or deceived. "Grant me that in my dealing with my fellow men, I may deal with them on the square, uncontrolled, and uninfluenced by avarice or greed, but with a true desire that as I would be done by, so will I do by my neighbor. "May riches not be my aim nor pleasure my soul's delight, but rather may I find joy in helpfulness, happiness in doing good, and pleasure in sacrifice. "When death raps at my door and the hour of life's parting shall come to me, may I not shrink by reason of fear, but step boldly forward with a firm, 'Here am I.' "And when the clods of earth shall have covered my resting place, may my epitaph be indelibly written in the hearts of those who knew me best, 'His was a life of service.'** QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. As a test of your ability to tell a story, enlarge upon the anecdote related in the first paragraph of the chapter and tell it to the class in its revised form. 2. In what essentials do our duty to our state and obedience to law correspond? How do they differ? 3. Distinguish between moral and statutory law. 70 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING 4. What is the debt of the state to society?.. 5. Name some of the obligations that you feel you owe as Ian individual to the state. 6. Why should every citizen take an interest in seeing that good men are elected to office? 7. Discuss the subject of crimes and criminals. 8. Would it be advisable in your opinion to teach loyalty and patriotism as separate subjects in our schools? Give reasons for your answer. LESSON 14 THE CHURCH Function of the Church Just as the sun each morning bathes the earth in a flood of light so the all-pervading light of religion illumines that soul in whose heart the word God has found lodgment. It is perhaps true that no man has reached the highest level to which personality is capable of reaching. It is also true that the deepest meaning of life has only been ap- proached by men who have given their thought and atten- tion to religion. If this statement is accepted, it is of the utmost importance that we should give some attention to the functions of the church in its relation to its members. It is the function of the church to foster and promote religion. But before we go further let us stop to formu- late a definition of religion as we desire to use it in this discussion. Religion is, for our purpose, a belief in, a de- pendence upon, and a love for a personal God, with a result- ant love for our fellows, a willingness to serve and a charily toward erring humanity. "All work is religion, be it selling goods over the counter, writing an essay, making a fire, putting up a fence, building a house, sweeping the floor, collecting a bill, experimenting in a laboratory, lecturing on science, preparing a meal, or holding a conversation with another; God is not only the witness to all of these transactions, but himself is a part of them, and out of them come lessons in patience, honesty, fidelity, perseverance, humility, long-suffering, self-control, and holiness. These are the qualities that make me like the ideal model, and all places are altars for my worship to God." Peter Ainslie. The Church and Society Religion is not something apart from feelings, emotions, or actions. Religion is feeling, emotion and action. Relig- ion is a way of living. Most men feel that they somehow are subject to the will of God. In our religion, there should be no fear, only a feeling of dependence expressing itself 72 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING in love and reverence for God, thought of as a Father. This is the very core of our relation with God. But this love, like all emotions, must find expression in some way. The natural way is through worship and willing service. The church is the agent through which these emotions ot the individual find expression. It is one of the functions of the church to foster these virtues and promote the king- dom of heaven in the hearts of men and society. Religion is not something that can be divorced from one's system on week days and wedded again on Sunday. It is something "if or every day in the week, a living, pulsating, thriving, growing reality. It is the function of the church to keep it growing and enlarging. There is reason to believe that we have in the past laid too much stress on the thought that one of the chief functions of the church is to prepare men for death. What is needed is a preparation for life. "God is not merely the God of the dead but of the living." Only by being identified with the living can the church grip and hold men. If it will but do this the "dead" will look after themselves. Doctrinal Conflicts The church of course functions through individuals or through groups. It often functions through its missionaries or its teachers. Its hold upon society is- largely through its teachings. For this reason teachers should be extremely careful about their teaching. One sometimes listens to petty wranglings between teachers and class members about non-essential points of doctrine, carried to such extremes that the whole discussion became a sickening babble of words. In all of our discussion, in all of our preaching, in all of our teaching, the point should never be lost sight of that our message, both at home and abroad, is to spread the gospel of Christ. There are lines of demarcation be- tween the message we bear to the world, and that of the other religious denominations. These are clearly defined. They should not be overlooked in our teaching; neither should they occupy our attention to the extent of wasting our energies in the discussion of matters of no consequence. THE CHURCH 73 / The Church as an Agent of Right Living It is the function of the church to promote the religious life of its members. In carrying this function into effect there are certain evils of every community against which the church ought to make war. We pray, "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven," and then we sit down and wait for the heavens to move. Jesus, on the other hand, Who taught that prayer, made a scourge and drove the money changers out of the temple, thus assisting God in the accomplishments of His will on earth. The church ought to be society's organized agent to help rid society of those forces which serve as temptations to sin. It ought to be a divine institution through which to wage a warfare against all kinds of iniquity. It is already highly organized along these lines. But it is our duty as teachers to see that it functions. Neither must we over- look the fact that all of the social evils are perpetuated and enabled to grow through organizations of men who have capitalized the appetites, passions, and cupidity of hu- manity. The Wonders of Our Church Organization Our Church is a wonderful organization, so wonderful indeed that it has drawn the attention of the world. But it could be made much more effective if every officer and member would do his or her full duty, would live in conformity with the teachings of the Church. The writer had occasion at one time to explain the organization of the Church to a Methodist minister. The request for this ex- planation came from the minister himself. He said in sub- stance: "I would like you to give me detailed explanation of the organization of your Church about which I have heard so much, but understand so little. I don't care anything about your doctrines or your religious teachings, I have made something of a study of these." I proceeded to outline for him, as ably as I could, our system of Church government, beginning with the Presi- dency of the Church and the Twelve Apostles, and continu- ing down through the various quorums of Priesthood, ex- 74 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHINC plaining as I proceeded, the functions and duties of each. This I followed with an explanation of the stake and ward organizations, and ended finally with a detailed account of purposes and operations of our various auxiliary asso- ciations. When I was through, his astonishment knew no bounds. He seemed perfectly dazed. For some moments he said nothing. Then, raising both his hands, he exclaimed : "Mor- monism will never die. I had hoped, and believed, and prayed, that with the growing enlightenment of your peo- ple, Mormonism would perish, but with such an organiza- tion it cannot die." Stranger, perhaps, than his astonishment was my own. Until that day I had never really "taken thought" of our marvelous Church organization. Now, for the first time it dawned on me that here was an organization that required more than a human power to organize wonderful beyond explanation. Then it was that this thought came to me: "What if every man and woman in our Church would, according to the light God had given them, live up to their duties and responsibilities?" Our Individual Duties Suppose the Bishop should come to you and say : "Here, brother, we need you as a ward teacher," and you should respond, like Abraham, with a "Here am I." Or suppose the Bishop should say to the sister: "A call awaits you in the Primary Association," and she, like the sons of Zebedee, was willing to leave all and follow the call of the Master, and so on throughout the entire range of Church duties and activities. What then? Our attitude toward it would be the attitude that God intended we should take, and our lives would shine forth with a Christ-like luster an example to the world. "An angel met a soul crying in the wilderness. It was such a little, fragile soul that the angel drew it to him tenderly as he asked : " 'What is your sorrow?' " 'I am not content,' the soul replied. 'In the world there is so much to be done, and I am impatient to begin. Yet I am tied by THE CHURCH 75 these threads that I cannot sever to a tiny unknown corner of the world.' "'What is it that you would do in the great world?' " 'I do not know. There is so much to be done, and there are so many ways. Perhaps I would make a way of my own.' "The angel put out his hand and snapped the silken cords, and the soul flew away. "By and by the angel came upon the soul again, and asked: "'What have you accomplished?' " 'I have accomplished nothing,' complained the soul. 'The cords that bound me were cords .of duty, and, though I had put them behind me yet still they pursued me. Day and night they call to me.' " 'I will satisfy their claims,' said the angel. 'Go find your way in peace.' "And the soul flew away. Yet again the angel and the soul met. " 'What have you accomplished?' the angel asked. "And the soul replied: 'I have accomplished nothing. The great world is too big for me. I am not strong enough to stand against it. Only the giants can conquer the world. I am lost, bewildered, derelict. I long for the little corner where at least I had an abiding-place, where the influence I exercised was help- ful, where the performance of duties that I scorned brought not only satisfaction to myself but happiness to others. In my little corner I was of use to mankind, fulfilling the part that destiny had assigned me. In leaving it I forfeited all hope of happiness and usefulness.' " 'You have learned your lesson,' said the angel. 'Take back your chains, and go and teach others this great truth that you have found.' " Our Personal Moral Obligation Finally, there is the moral obligation that each member owes to his church that he so conduct himself that his acts will contribute to the growth of the church; in other words, that he teach by example. The church has a supreme claim upon the lives and service of all of its members. The fact that we wield a greater influence by our conduct than we do by our preachments is a sufficient license for such claim. Contrariwise, whenever we find persons, as we sometimes do, who use their membership to hide their hypocrisy it has a baneful effect on the church. Do you recall the story of Joshua's battle with the five Amortie kings when they attacked with their armies the Gibeonites, with whom the Israelites were in league, and Joshua prayed? 76 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING "Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, And thou, moon, in the valley of Aijalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, Until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies." Many others since, Joshua's day have fought battles for the Lord. They have won victories and their names are written on the hearts of men. Their "sun" will never set. As to their earthly pilgrimage, it may be but a short winter's day, but God has stayed their "sun" in its course that they might gain a victory. Their "sun" has not set, nor can it. Or, it may be that their physical bodies have been laid to rest, to crumble and decay, but their "sun" still shines upon the lives of those whom they served and helped and guided and influenced on God's great battlefield of life. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. How does religion affect the individual? 2. Formulate a definition to religion. 3. Discuss the statement, "The church is the agent through which the emotions of the individual find expression." 4. Show the uselessness of discussing non-essential points of doctrine. 5. Name some of the functions of the church. 6. Give a brief outline of our church organization. 7. What obligations do members of the church owe to the church as an institution? 8. Has the church any right to prescribe the conduct of its members? Give reasons for your answer. LESSON 15 OUR SOCIAL BEHAVIOR Agreeableness I at one time attended a funeral of a man who had come to the part cf the country where I lived, as a pioneer some thirty years before. I had been asked by some of his rela- tives to deliver the funeral sermon. The man was seventy- six years of age at the time of his death. He must have been known to everybody in the vicinity. When I arrived at the church where the services were to be held the place was almost empty. Only the immediate relatives and a few others were present. I had not been personally acquainted with the man, but I knew that he was a pioneer in the country and had lived there a great many years. I said to myself: "There is something wrong here. This man must not be thought much of in this community." I found out afterward that he had been regarded as the township "grouch." He had failed in the game of life because he had formed wrong habits. Some weeks later I attended another funeral, also that of a pioneer. There were fifteen hundred people present, more than the tabernacle in which the services were held could seat. The casket was buried in a profusion of flowers. During the thirty years of this man's residence in the community he had succeeded in making himself agreeable to so many people that they came from miles around to mourn at his bier. I was told that during the early settlement of the coun- try he had helped to provide for the hungry and look after the wants of the poor. He had worked incessantly to serve his fellows. Not a very remarkable man in some respects; just a good, kind, fatherly old man whose life had been so tinctured with love that other men esteemed it an honor to be called his friend. Of all the qualities that go to make up our social be- havior there are probably few that play so important a 78 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING part as that of agreeableness. Carlyle says: "Success in life, in anything, depends upon the number of persons that one can make himself agreeable to." Success, to be sure, is a variable term, but it is something that we are all seek- ing, whatever may be our definition of it. What we are to consider here is how to succeed in our social relations wilh one another. As time goes on our social intercourse be- comes more and more complex, and so more and more of a problem. The Individual People differ both in intelligence and efficiency. They differ also in that intangible something we call "person- ality." If someone with whom you are well acquainted comes to you for a letter of recommendation, the first thought that likely presents itself to your mind is the matter of his "personality." How are you to tell what you know of your friend's "personality?" You may say that he is skilled in the line of work which he seeks, that his character and habits are good, that he gets on well with other people, and that he has a pleasing "personality," and his prospective employer will pay more attention to the last statement of your recommendation, without knowing why, than he does to all the rest of them. But however we may define, or leave undefined, our per- sonality, it is something we must take with us in our social intercourse with our neighbors. Perhaps the whole sub- ject of personality could be treated under the title of "temperaments," but that word seems somewhat obscure. We sometimes speak of temperaments as being excitable, or sunny, or sour, and so on. Or, we sometimes use the word "disposition" instead of the word temperament to convey our meaning. It is not, however, so much a matter of definition as it is a matter of training, of habit formation, of attitude build- ing. The thought being that the ultimate reliance in social reform or reconstruction, whenever such is needed, must rest upon the education of the individual. The term edu- cation, as here used, is meant to include those moral and personal qualities to which reference has been made in this OUR SOCIAL BEHAVIOR 79 and the preceding chapters. Society is always limited in its advancement by the degree of the character and intelli- gence of its members. Social Progress The objective aimed at in our social relations is social progress. How to bring this about is our problem. By way of illustration, let us reconsider for a moment the subject of crime. Sociologists tell us there are just three ways in which crime may be eliminated, namely: first, through changes in individual human nature that is, through a sys- tem of selective breeding, eliminating all who show crim- inal tendencies. Whether any results would follow the adoption of such a method is largely problematical. The second means of attacking crime, so it is asserted, is to improve social and economic conditions through the instrumentality of the state. Legislation and administration directed toward social ends, it is claimed, would reduce the temptations and opportunities for crime. This with cer- tain correction of evils in social and industrial organiza- tions would, it is held, greatly lessen crime. The third means of eliminating crime, and all manner of social vice, is through a careful training of the person as he comes on to the stage of life, so that he will be moral and law-abiding, respecting the rights of others and all social institutions. Again, let me emphasize that herein lies the work of the teacher. "Say not ye, 'There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest?' behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white already unto harvest.' " Social life, just as the individual, has its ideals. No train- ing of the individual is complete without an understanding of his place in the social order. Having found his place, he must discharge his obligation, to harmonize his life in conformity with the community life of which he is a part. Thus only can he be of service to society. You, as teachers, are to point out to your pupils the difference be- tween the true and the false living, the artificial and the 80 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING sincere. Try to show that no man can live to himself alone, but that every man is his brother's keeper. Social Service All that has been said thus far means only, when re- duced to its last analysis, that we are training for service, following in the footsteps of the Master, preparing for the work of the ministry, fitting ourselves to live in harmony with the will of God, reaching out to aid those of the Father's children who are tender, or weak, or unfortunate, who need our help, or care, or direction. We are in His employ Who said : "Feed my lambs." Service spells success. He who is willing to dedicate his life to the service of his fellows shall not fail in his reward. Service brings the richest earthly satisfaction and the great- est heavenly blessing. Service is the sacrifice of self in the interest of others. Service is doing, not dreaming; helping, not hoping. Service expresses itself in action, not repose. Service is helpfulness. He serves best who sacrifices most. Service is lifting, not leaning ; leading, not following. By service we build character and lay the foundation for honor and greatness, and make our record for salvation and king- ship. It is not the thing we do once or twice that counts, it is the things we do every day. The service we render to- day fits us for service tomorrow. The gospel of the future is a gospel of service. For the service we render our fel- lows, earth yields her joys and heaven her plaudits: "well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joys of thy Lord." QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Why is agreeableness an important factor in our social be- havior? 2. Give your own definition of success. 3. Name some of the qualities that go to make "personality." 4. How is social progress brought about? 5. How may crime be eliminated according to sociologists? Can you think of any other ways than those mentioned? 6. What is meant by the expression, "Man is his brother's keeper?" 7. If you are in accord with the statement that, "The gospel of the future is the gospel of service," show how this is true. LESSON 16 RECREATION Our Need of Recreation Recreation, corsidered from the standpoint of the influ- ence of the mind upon bodily action, and vice versa, would in itself setem sufficient justification for play. So much depends upon having a body fit for the tasks imposed upon it by the mind that we ought to know what mental attitude to assume to keep up the mark of physical efficiency, as well as to know the value of physical fitness in order that we may get the clearest mental vision. Speaking to this point, Henry A. Atkinson, in his book, "The Church and the People's Play," says: "A disposition to please and be pleased is one of the greatest possible assets for character as well as success. Play enables one 'to make a life,' without play it is conceivable that one might make a living. "The new psychology teaches us that man is a unit. Body and mind are interdependent. Instead of body and mind both being of questionable value, and the soul the only thing worth while, we have learned that man's character is determined largely by the quality of his mental and physical powers. Just as play develops physical and mental strength and gives the right turn to disposition, so it stimu- lates moral growth." Recreation is essential in developing disposition, and a cheerful disposition is essential to success in life. It would be an interesting pastime to trace the history of the persors of your acquaintance who are of a morose, sour, or too serious turn of mind. You would most likely find that such persons were robbed of play-time in their childhood. Quoting again from Atkinson: "Play brings a sparkle into the eyes, color into the cheeks, and joy into the disposition. It is intended that the impulse in children to play shall so quicken pleasurable emotions as to make all of life glad and fill the days with joy. Spontaneity and enthusiasm are essential to the highest intellectual development. Without these qualities a person may be good, but he can hardly attain the highest 82 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING reaches of character. A cheerful spirit and a sympathetic interest in men and affairs will carry a person far. Play cultivates these 'happy qualities. It tends to drive out a petty fault-finding spirit and creates a disposition to be companionable and easily pleased." Commercialized Recreations Through proper recreation children build their bodily frame and strengthen their mental fibre. It is a psychologi- cal as well as a physical law that some form of recreation is necessary not only for children, but for men and women as well, to enable them to maintain a healthy equilibrium of mind and body. The desire for play, and the need of play, continue with us. We cannot do without play and remain normal. This desire for recreation is sometimes the cause of disaster. Unscrupulous persons knowing this demand have used the instinct to extract and extort money from their fellows. Commercial results have been their only consideration, and the public dance hall, gambling dens, the cheap theater, have all flourished because they offered a means to pleas- ure seekers for self satisfaction. Commercialized recreation is not necessarily bad in itself. Most people prefer to pay their way. Neither is there any complaint because some one has made a good business venture. The point is that public amusements should be in the hands of the people just as the public schools. Under present conditions dancing, for instance, is a social prob- lem, and so with other forms of recreation. Our com- munities have been stupid in that they have organized in- dustry and not organized amusements. As soon as we recognize that our first concern should be in men, women and children, then shall we see a great and needed change. If communities are content to leave the matter of the people's play in the hands of private enterprise, they should at least see that the forms of recreation offered by these enterprises are clean and safe. Approved Recreations It is quite out of the question to cover under this topic anything like a complete list of recreations that may engage RECREATION 83 the attention of play seekers. But there are some that re- quire special mention, first, because they are the ones that are most frequently indulged in, and, secondly, because they have been taboosd by some of our churches and public wel- fare societies. The Dance First among these may be mentioned that of dancing. "Call sins sins," said a prominent minister, "but do not call them pleasures, and learn that the pleasures of sin, which are but for a season, are but Satan's bait by which he takes souls upon his hook to their destruction. You will lose no pleasure but that which is unhealthy, unfit for your soul, unsatisfactory in itself and unworthy of your nature." This is good advice, but the question is what constitutes sinful pleasures? Many devout Christians will at once answer, dancing, card playing, theater going, etc. So far as our Church is concerned, we have taken a very definite stand on these things. As for dancing, it is the one art that everyone can learn and practice with some degree of success. The love of dancing is natural to almost every- one. Here is what G. Stanley Hall says of it. "I would have dancing taught in every school, even if the school had to be opened evenings for that purpose. The dances chosen should be simple rhythmic, allowing great freedom, such as Morris dances now being revived; and sometimes songs and dancing. We should also teach the old folk and national dances after a very careful selection from a wide repertoire. The object aimed at should be the cultivation, primarily, of the sense of rhythm; next the case and economy of motion, grace is only the natural term of ease. Dancing originated in religious instincts, and was a form of religious service; and it is still capable of teaching awe, rever- ence, worship. The love of God is just as capable of motor ex- pression as is romantic love." This expresses very nearly the Mormon point of view. It needs only to be added that dancing is one of the most healthful and recreative of all forms of exercise. The mod- ern dance especially is valuable in this regard as it brings into action every muscle of the body. Dancing expresses feeling by means of muscular motion. It has been the one universal recreation among the Mormon people from their 84 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING settlement in the valleys, and the attitude of the church toward dancing has been one of sympathetic interest. It has spoken plainly and boldly respecting the evils that might result from this and other forms of amusement, but it has ever encouraged its members to engage in dancing as well as in other forms of healthful recreation. The Theater At the very beginning of our settlement here. President Brigham Young caused to be erected the Salt Lake Theater as a place of amusement and recreation for the people, and he encouraged the organization of a dramatic company to present wholesome plays for the amusement and profit of the public. Because of its tremendous power over the peo- ple and its possible educational value the Church has taken a constructive attitude toward the "dramatic art" from the beginning. Of course the theater, like the dance, may and often does become demoralized. We have dramatic pro- ductions of all descriptions, and we should be careful about our choice, On the whole, however, when a good play is offered to the public at a reasonable price it becomes more popular and has a better patronage than an immoral pro- duction. The whole theater problem is one of discrimina- tion, and here again is the work of the teacher seen in the attitude assumed by the choice of his pupils. Motion picture shows have done much to redeem the theater. They have presented the best in drama and liter- ature at prices that have been within the reach of all the people. There are now perhaps in the neighborhood of thirty thousand motion picture houses in the United States, and fully twenty million of the population of the country visit these show places more or less frequently. What a powerful educational value these shows might become if properly censored, and at the same time furnish recreation for the thousands who cannot afford to attend .the higher priced theaters. Card Playing It is impossible to devote the space to the topic of card playing that it deserves. But it will perhaps suffice to say RECREATION 85 that our Church has taken a definite stand against this form of recreation. Cards lend themselves readily to gambling, and members of the Church are advised against their use as a pastime. There can be no question as to the effect of card playing for money, whether in public or in private places, including in its scope playing for prizes of any kind. Such playing is a positive evil. For this reason card parties are tabooed, and should not be indulged in by members of the Church. Among other forms of recreation may be mentioned: hiking, swimming, camping, skating, story telling, singing, concerts, musicals, pageants, reading, various forms of en- tertainments, such as house parties, debating, the activities of the Boy Scouts and Camp Fire girls and the like. All of these have their place and should receive encouragement and direction by our teachers. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Give reasons why older people should continue their recrea- tions. What benefits accrue to them by so doing? 2. Of what advantage is play to children? 3. Discuss the evils and benefits of commercialized recreation. 4. What should be the community's attitude toward supplying places of recreation? 5. What is your attitude toward dancing, the theatre, card play ing? Give reasons for the position you take. LESSON 17 IN THE SERVICE OF THE MASTER The Missionary Spirit It has already been noted that we are a teaching people. This is only another way of saying that we are missionary folk. True, we do not always live up to our opportunity in this regard for we are sometimes poorly prepared, but this is our special calling, and surely God could vouchsafe no higher purpose to the membership of His Church. It is frequently asserted that Jesus was the ideal Teacher, and that if we would train toward perfection we must fol- low in some degree His example. He declared that the aim of life is to fit the human soul to live in harmony with the will of God. This, then, must be the burden of our teaching. You recall His parable of the "Good Samari- tan." A lawyer, upon one occasion, asked the Savior, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Then at the Savior's bidding, he answered his own question: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind ; and thy neighbor as thyself." But the lawyer was not quite satisfied, and thinking to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Instead of answering the question direct, the Savior brought forward the parable of the Good Samaritan. "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and de- parting, leaving him half dead. And by chance a certain priest was going down that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And in like manner a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, he passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion and he came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on them oil and wine; and he set him upon his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow he took out two pence, and gave it to the host, and said, Take care of him : and whatsoever thou spendest more, I, when I come back again, will repay thee. Which of these three IN THE SERVICE OF THE MASTER 87 thickest thou proved neighbor to him that fell among the robbers? And he said, He that showed merc^ on him. And Jesus said, Go, and do thou likewise." Aside from the impressionistic lesson of who is our neighbor, there is back of this parable a lesson for the mis- sionary. It must never be forgotten that we teach by deed quite as much as by word. It is said that "Good teaching is generous giving." May it not be said with equal truth that good missionary work is "willing service?" An Illustration Upon one occasion as Jesus was pressing forward in the thick of a multitude to whom He had been preaching, a woman pushed her way through the throng to where the Master was. She had been a sufferer for years. She had heard of Jesus. She believed in Him, had faith in His heal- ing power, had seen His deeds of mercy. So she said to herself, "If I can but touch the hem of His garment, I shall be healed of my infirmity." When she found herself within reaching distance she did touch the hem of His garment, and lo, her faith made her whole. But the Master turned and said, "Who touched me?" And the curious multitude asked in surprise, "How do you know anyone touched you?" The Master knew because He perceived that "virtue" had gone out of Him. "What "virtue?" A "virtue' that had passed from Him to another. Here is a missionary test. Are you willing to give of the "virtue" you possess to him that hath no "virtue," to play the Good Samaritan? The hungry heart and the thirsty spirit receive comfort, healing and light only when the "virtue" of the teacher overflows with these endowments. Feeding the Missionary Spirit How best can the missionary spirit be assumed and maintained? This is an important question, one that has often been discussed in religious circles with various rea- sonings and answers. The answer does not seem difficult. It is found in a close adherence to the fundamentals of our faith. The difficulty, however, is to keep the fires of faith 88 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING burning. Young men and women of sterling quality, reared in the best of Mormon homes, taught to respect the Bible as God's word, not infrequently go away to colleges and come back with blunted faith and warped ideas about the authority of the Bible. How is this undermined confidence in the faith of their parents and the teaching of their childhood to be prevented? Here is an opportunity for the missionary who has caught a clear vision of the meaning of the gospel. Never before did men need the gospel so much as they need it today. No matter what your line of work may be there is always the missionary "opportunity" if you are possessed of tire "fire of faith." But you must be a student, you must be a man of prayer, a man of faith, a man of God, if you would be an efficient missionary. You must "tarry in Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." And when that power comes you are to preach the "Word" as did the apostles of old. Preach it from the heart to the heart. "This is the Gospel of labor, Ring it out, ye bells of kirk,' The Lord of Love came down from above To live with men that work." A Case in Point It is invariably true that in helping others we help our- selves most. This applies with special force to our mis- sionary work. To be successful missionaries we must read, think, study, sympathize, love, grow in faith. All of which mears a broadening of view, becoming more Christ-like. The story is related of a traveler who was crossing a mountain in the snow. He was told that if he slept it would mean certain death. For a time all went well. But with the coming of the night winds a weight fell upon his brain and eyes which seemed irresistible. He tried every possible means to overcome the awful drowsiness. He strained his utmost to shake off the fatal heaviness. At this crisis of his fate his foot struck against an object that lay in his path. He stooped to touch it, and found a human body half buried beneath a fresh drift of snow. The next mo- IN THE SERVICE OF THE MASTER 89 ment he had lifted the man in his arms, and was chafing and rubbing his limbs and chest, breathing on the stiff; cold lips, and pressing the slowly beating heart to his bosom. His effort to save another had brought back to himself life, warmth, and vigor. By saving a brother, he saved himself. In our effort to save others we bring spirit- ual life and power and energy to ourselves. Our Field of Operation Our Church keeps about two thousand missionaries con- stantly in the various mission fields. These pay their own way, and are placed largely upon their own honor as to use of time and methods of operation. We need not here concern ourselves about their labors. On the whole they develop a true missionary spirit and often return with a zeal that is inspiring. The test comes after their return to keep them in the harness. Another need is to develop the missionary spirit at home. If somehow all of our Church members could come to real- ize that religion is a paying investment, a part of our every- day concern, whether at home or in the mission field, that it needs to be looked after just as we lock after our busi- ness interests, that its machinery must be kept in motion the same as the wheels of commerce are kept in motion, then we should find a much richer harvest than is found under present conditions. Lack of Interest in the Output We sometimes boast of our knowledge of the scriptures and religious subjects. The truth is, we have nothing to boast about. We are not Bible students. Many of us do not so much as read the Good B'ook. We know little of i*s contents from our own reading. We hear quotations read, or repeated, occasionally, and we sometimes look up refer- ences in a haphazard way for ourselves, but few of us are Bible students. Dr. Slaten, in his book, "What Jesus Taught," has this to say about Bible study in general: "With impulse, habit, or custom as an incentive, it has long been a common thing for people to study, or to think they were studying. 90 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING the Bible. Obviously, however, much of their effort was not real study. Study has been defined as 'mental effort to master a prob- lem.' Study of this type always strengthens the mind, provokes original thought, arouses discussion, affects conduct, and builds character. Much of the so-called Bible-study has not done that, be- cause it was not mental effort to master a problem. It involved only the passive assimilation of a mass of predigested instruction. It was thus easy, superficial, and developed only believeres, not thinkers. It did not call for the tense strain of will, that merciless uncovering of one's weakness and ignorance which real study involves. It failed, therefore, to incite eager, robust, independent, fearless search for fact, with that search's consequent bracing effect upon character. Much so-called Bible-study' fails because of its superficiality." Remember that "though you labor all your days and bring but one soul to Christ, great is your reward." Answer the call. Do not wait for fairer weather or brighter skies. Answer the call. "Do it now." The Master can help you and keep you in the most trying circumstances, however bleak the winds that blow, however biting the frosts that ccme. Answer the call. "It stretched before him wondrous fair, A shining land And oft he dreamed of sailing there, But there came tales Of storm-swept seas and heavy gales, Of how this ship or that To reach the shore had failed, And, so, he never sailed! But sought to find a safer mode To reach that blest abode. Ah, foolish man, dost not thou know If thou wouldst reach that land, 'Side which all others pale, Thou, first, must sail?" QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. If, as suggested, we are a teaching people, how may we guard against indifference in that regard? 2. What was the power or "virtue" that passed from Jesus to the woman who touched the hem of his garment? 3. How can we develop the missionary spirit? 4. In your opinion where is the greatest field of mission-op- portunity, at home or abroad? 5. Are we a reading people? Do we know the Bible? Discuss these questions. PART III Selection, Organization, and Presentation of Materials in Religious Education BY ERNEST BRAMWELL LESSON 18 ESSENTIALS IN GOSPEL TEACHING Text: "O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth #nd speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people." Alma 29:1. 1. A few opening thoughts. A certain granite tombstone in Charlestown, South Carolina, bears but one word "Calhoun." To the student of American history that one word speaks volumes. And so might a single word express the life and the works of such men as John R. Park or Karl G. Maeser, and many others whom we might mention the one word "Teacher." That word, too, speaks volumes. To man no greater tribute can be paid than that of the ideal gospel teacher. But what constitutes ideal gospel teaching? Let us an- swer in the words of a Utah educator, as quoted in Ben- nion's "Fundamental Problems in Teaching Religion," page 7. "Teaching is the process of training an individual through the formation of habits, the acquisition of knowledge, the inculcation of ideals, and the fixing of permanent interests so that he shall be- come a clean, intelligent, self-supporting member of society, who has the power to govern himself and has the desire and the cour- age to revere God and serve his fellows." Again : "It is the teacher's task to make changes for the better in the abilities, habits, and attitudes of boys and girls." Journal of Edu- cational Research, May, 1920. Mormon theology makes gospel teaching a divine art (See Doc. & Cov. 88:78). It must, as such, equip the child to become the Latter-day Saint of tomorrow, that he, him- self a potential God (See Romans 8:16-17) may serve his Master, even as Christ served His Father (See John 17:1-5). 94 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING What the Ideal Gospel Teacher Must Know 1. He must know Self: the Columbus -work in teaching. Ideal is that gospel teacher who, Columbus-like, discovers his continent of undiscovered Capacity. Enoch did so (See Moses 6). Moses did so (See Exodus). Brigham Young did so. And so can we. 2. He must know the Pupil: the whom of teaching. Ideal is that gospel teacher who so knows the pupil as an individual, that he teaches the pupil, not subject matter only. So knowing the pupil, the ideal gospel teacher will treat all pupils alike by treating them differently. 3. He must know his Subject: the what of teaching. Ideal is that gospel teacher who, as a result of content mastered, enjoys a certain "at home" comfort in class-work. 4. He must know Method: the how of teaching. Ideal is that gospel teacher who knows the best way to "put over," at any given time, his work in a way that it makes a direct personal appeal, answering some present need of the pupil. 5. He must know his Calling: the why of teaching. Ideal is that gospel teacher who fully senses his mission as teacher of gospel law the individual responsibility, if you please, for the happiness and the eternal life of man (See I Cor. 9:16). "This is a day of warning, and not of many words." (See Doc. and Cov. 63:58.) Gospel teaching must be intelligent. It is not enough that the ideal gospel teacher be merely intellectual a mental conviction, but he must be intelligent a soul con- version. That is, he must have a broad fact background to know Truth; he must enjoy an emotional thrill to feel Truth; he must cultivate daily expression to live Truth; he must experience desire to serve to teach Truth; he must be inspired to aspire to idealize Truth. These, and these only, will win for the gospel teacher the "glory of God" which is "Intelligence" (See Doc. and Cov. 93:36). As God's work and glory is "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (See Moses 1:39), so must the gospel teacher's work and glory be to help Divinity in His work. Man must travel the way of the Father, as also of ESSENTIALS IN GOSPEL TEACHING 95 the Son, if so be that he would become perfect (Matt. 5:48). There is no so-called "royal road" unto eternal life. Mere abstract learning has little or no saving values it must be an intelligent learning. Anent this thought, Senator W. H. King (Utah) recently said that "Mere intellectuality has never saved a nation." So, also, it will never save an in- dividual. Paul, before his conversion, was intellectual; that same Paul, after his conversion, was intelligent that was the essential difference between Saul of Tarsus and Paul the apostle. It follows, then, that all gospel teaching must be intelli- gent, not intellectual. Gospel teaching must be a progressive art. The ideal gospel teacher must grow in his work. Too often a teacher has his millennium in the musty past he lives on vain regrets; too frequently he has it in the uncertain future he lives on contingencies; not frequently enough he has it in the glorious present the most certain way to life eter- nal. So, likewise, must the teacher's class grow: the pupil as an individual, the class as a group unit. The poet Longfellow was once asked how he kept so "perennially young." He answered by pointing to two apple trees then in blossom, a young tree and an old tree. "That old tree," said he, "manages to grow enough wood each year to make its blossoms; its flowers come, you know, in the new wood." That is the secret of "perennial youth" in teaching the teacher must produce new wood. "I want my students to drink from a running stream, and not from a stagnant pool," said that famous teacher, Thomas Huxley. The ideal gospel teacher, then, must grow. He must be of that youthful, growing type, with his millennium in the glorious present. Christ as Master Teacher. Christ was the Father's ideal Teacher. He possessed every essential in ideal gospel teaching. Let us see. 1. Christ knew Himself. This Master Teacher sensed fully His matchless personal charm, and His Master power TO DO. "Follow me," said He, "and I will make you fish- ers (teachers) of men" (See Matt. 4,). To the devil's pro- 96 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING test He answered, "Hold thy peace, and come out of him" (See Mark 1). To the faithful centurion He gave the com- fort of "Go thy way" (See Matt. 8). To the palsy He said, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee" (See Mark 2). And finally, to the hypocritical Jew He answered, "I and my Father are one" (See John 10:30). And so can the gospel teacher learn self. 2. Christ knew Men. This Master Teacher had the marvelous power to penetrate the inner souls of men, and to read them. Upon this power rested His ability to fore- tell what men would do His foreknowledge, if you please. Jesus "knew all men," so John tells us (See 2:23-25). To His disciples He said (See John 6:70), "Have I not chosen you, and one is a devil?" Also, the inner life of the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees He understood perfectly (See Matt. 23). And finally, He administered a somewhat stinging rebuke to Peter's over-confidence in self, when He foretold the denial (See Luke 22:31-62). And so can the gospel teacher learn men. 3. Christ knew Subject. This Master Teacher had per- fect mastery of content, as such content affects human con- duct. He never hesitated, He never paused to question His message, He never questioned His points of doctrine, but He taught them "as one having authority, and not as the scribes" (See Matt. 7:29). As a masterpiece in content and in gospel message vitalized, the gospel teacher ought to study, seriously study, Christ's incomparable sermon (See Matt. 5-7). Then we have the parable (See Matt. 13) and the concrete illustration (See Matt. 18, Luke 15), these but serving as clinching proof that this Master Teacher knew men, and the concrete application of content to their individual lives. And so can the gospel teacher learn subject as it applies to the lives of men. 4. Christ knew Method. This Master Teacher had learned, and learned well, the art of gospel teaching. He knew method perfectly, so much so that He could "put over" gospel truths in a way to thrill the human soul. He always fitted content and method into the needs of the ESSENTIALS IN GOSPEL TEACHING 97 occasion (See Matt. 22:16-22), His power so to do growing out of His psychology of human life. So thrilled as He thrilled, men lived spiritually, and they gladly answered their Master's call "Follow me!" (See III Nephi 17:1-5). Christ's knowledge of method was perfect, infinite in power and scope, the result of ages of "grace for grace" (See Doc. and Cov. 93:12). And so can the gospel teacher learn method. 5. Christ knew Calling. This Master Teacher fully sensed His earthly mission "to bring to pass the immortal- ity and eternal life of man" (See Moses 1:39). "Wist ye not (See Luke 2:43-52) that I must be about my Father's business?" Also, "I am the good shepherd" (See John 10). Also, "I am the resurrection and the life" (See John 11: 25). "And this is life eternal" (See John 17). QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What is the real purpose back of all gospel teaching? Give evidence for your answer. 2. Name and discuss each essential in ideal gospel teaching. 3. Why do we speak of gospel teaching as a divine art? 4. Why should all gospel teaching be intelligent, not merely in- tellectual? Explain the difference. 5. Why do we speak of gospel teaching as a progressive art? 6. Why should the gospel teacher know self? And how may he study self? 7. In what respect will the gospel teacher improve his teaching power by a study of life? 8. Why do we all admire the master in his line? And how may we apply this to the gospel teacher? 9. What reason have we for believing that the Master Teacher learned the art of teaching? 10. Do you aspire to become an ideal gospel teacher? If so, why? LESSON 19 MISTAKES OF THE TEACHER Text: "And again, he that receiveth the word of truth, doth he receive it by the Spirit of truth or some other way? If it be some other way, it be not of God. Therefore, why is it that ye cannot under- stand and know that he that receiveth the word by the Spirit of truth, receiveth it as it is preached by the Spirit of truth? Where- fore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understandeth 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." Doc. and Cov. 50;19-24. 1. An introducing paragraph. Lesson 19 deals with "Essentials in Gospel Teaching." The appeal, following a general rule of pedagogy, is wholly positive. It does not follow, however, that the gospel teacher cannot, whenever occasion calls for it, make a negative appeal. Oftentimes, we prevent and we correct, only as we have our attention called to possible or existing evils, as the case may be. And this simple truth, self-evident and life-wide, seems to justify a lesson on the "Mistakes of the Teacher." This lesson, so drafted, will serve in a dual capacity. It will, in the first place, call for several hours of intensive study. It may be used, in the second place, as a something to which the gospel teacher should frequently refer to get his bear- ings, or to check or evaluate or score his own teaching points. And to such uses we commend it. 2. A jew concrete lesson thoughts. "There was a crooked man. He walked a crooked mile; He couldn't straighten up at all, He was crooked all the while. Now the reason he was crooked, Was because when he was small, He didn't try to stand up straight, Or sit up straight at all." MISTAKES OF THE TEACHER 99 There is in the learning process a simple teaching truth known as the Law of Primacy. The law simply means that all first impressions, either for good or for evil, sink more deeply, last much longer, and remain more vivid, than do impressions made in later life. How easily we recall, and how well we remember, and how vividly we feel, the little things we said, and the little acts we did, as a child. "They seem to he as of yesterday!" we hear the elderly ones say. And so do these early impressions seem, all due to the Law of Primacy. Let us cite a few cases, taken from nature and from the lives of men. The child's life may be likened unto the cement mud, not unto the cement walk, as to his susceptibility to receive and to retain impressions. We often leave our footprints on the "cement of time." Again, the child's life may be lik- ened unto the newly plowed soil, soft and mellow, not unto the soils more or less baked with the sun and the rains of time. Again, the child's life may be likened unto the tender sapling, easily bent and set, not unto the limbs of later life, hard and rigid. Twigs, once grown crooked, cannot easily be made straight; and twigs, once grown straight, cannot easily be made crooked. Again, the child's life may be likened unto a young pup, easily taught new tricks, not un- to the older dog, of which it has been said that it is "hard to teach old dogs new tricks." Again, the little first-grade girl was taught to say cant (kaunt). The father, amused, twitted her. The little tot, turning good-naturedly, answer- ed, "Daddy, you may talk to me all day, but you can't con- vince me it isn't can't (kaunt)." There we have it the Law of Primacy in a nutshell. But why all these comparisons? The answer is simple and conclusive. Why, we ask, did not the crooked man stand up straight? And why did he walk a "crooked mile?" And why did he not "straighten up at all?" The man was, as a child, set crooked. This crookedness became, as time passed, more fixed and rigid, until such time that he found it next to impossible to change. This crookedness refers, of course, to a physical crook- edness. But is that all? Will not the rule hold, as well, in 100 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING cases of mental crookedness, in cases of moral crookedness, in cases of spiritual crookedness, in cases of religious crook- edness, in cases of civic crookedness, in cases of class-room crookedness? It follows, then, that the gospel teacher must set these human twigs straight, not crooked. The gospel teacher must give true impressions, not false ones. The gospel teacher must direct the pupil to form straight habits, not crooked ones. The gospel teacher must guide the pupil to acquire right attitudes, not wrong ones. The gospel teacher must remember that a crooked thought, let go, will grow into a crooked word, and a crooked word into a crooked act, and a crooked act into a crooked habit, and a crooked habit into a crooked character; and a crooked character, un- less checked at a tremendous cost, will reap a crooked destiny. Nephi of old understood this law (See I Nephi 15). ' Rescue work, of course, has marvelous value. However, it is easier, infinitely so, to prevent than to cure. True, we may, as gospel teacher, set wrong these human twigs inno- cently enough, but the train of consequences will follow, all the same. "An ounce of prevention" is worth more than tons of cure. May we not, then, point out certain every-day blunders of the lay gospel teacher? Will not such list be helpful? It may be well to know the bars as well as the navigable current, to know the quagmires as well as the solid foot- ing, to know the jostling thoroughfares as well as the safety zones all these as we may apply them to gospel teaching. The gospel teacher can, if he only knows how, and works well at it, avoid some of the rapids and the falls of the class- room. Let us list, under suitable headings, some of the simple, every-day mistakes of the lay gospel teacher. Others may be added. Mistakes of the teacher classified. 1. The Purely Personal: the Voice. a. Is your voice an asset or a liability? b. Is your voice pitched too high? c. Is your voice pitched too low? MISTAKES OF THE TEACHER 101 d. Is your voice a dull, metallic monotone? e. Is your voice charmingly modulated? Remember "Tis not enough the voice be sound and clear, Tis modulation that must charm the ear." 2. The Purely Personal: the Mannerisms. a. Are you given to "funny isms" (idiosyncracies) ? b. Do you sit down and get up too often? c. Are you glued to the teacher's chair? d. Do you "all promenade" about the room? e. Do you twitch any limb of the body? f. Do you habitually wrinkle the brow? g. Do you "pull faces?" h. Do you shift your hands about nervously? i. Do you "storm" or "explode?" 3. The Teacher. a. Do you look upon lesson preparation as wholly the pupil's "job?" b. Do you ever use the lesson as a line, upon which to air your pet notions? c. Do you ever make your version final., from which there is no class-room appeal? d. Do you ever appear pedantic, uttering platitudes to inspire a feeling of fearful awe? e. Do you ever become dogmatic, intolerantly so? f. Do you ever use interest and attention exclusively as an end in teaching? g. Do you ever whip the pupils present, because cer- tain ones are absent? h. Do you everlastingly' bewail the "fallen state" of young Zion? i. Are you a mere human graphophone, which registers and reproduces? 4. The Learner. a. Do you look upon the pupil as your inferior? b. Do you ever think of the pupil as a something static, and teach accordingly? 102 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING c. Do you look upon the pupil as a mere receptacle, or as a thinking, discovering Columbus? d. Do you insist that the pupil blindly accept what you say? e. Do you ever try to make the pupil, first a convert, later a friend? f. Do you ever consider the tastes, the likes, and the dislikes of the pupil? g. Do you first get the pupil, then teach him? If not, why not begin before he arrives? h. Do you bore the pupil after "fatigue poison" has set in? If so, why not finish after he leaves? i. Do you ever think that the pupil has within him the '"spark of divinity," pr do you look upon him as a mere "human machine?" 5. The Lesson. a. Is the lesson so short, that you run out of material? b. Is the lesson so long, that you must "hop, step and jump" through it? c. Is the lesson so simple, that it contains little or no food value? d. Is the lesson so hard, that it can find no mental opening? e. Is the lesson so padded, that teacher and pupil lose sight of the aim? f. Is the lesson truth made to fit the teacher's vision and ideal? g. Is the lesson safely "hooked up" with past lesson truth? h. Is the lesson a sufficient "forerunner" of what is to follow? i. Are old facts so many goods "tucked away" in our mental attic, or tools to pry open new thoughts? j. Do you teach opinion as fact, or guess as gospel? 6. The Teacher's Method. a. Do you everlastingly hammer on the lesson aim? b. Do you teach with book in hand? If so. what do you think the pupil thinks? MISTAKES OF THE TEACHER 103 c. Do you make haste hastily or slowly? d. Do you push the recitation, the lesson truths becom- ing choppy and fragmentary? e. Do you repress, or does the pupil express? f. Do you crush out, or do you merely lead out? g. Do you try to stamp out, or do you direct the gang instinct? h. Do you everlastingly moralize, rubbing in abstract conceptions of right and wrong? i. Do you teach with the attitude, "Well, the pupil will get some good out of it, anyway?" j. Do you ever permit the recitation to drift? 7. The Learning Process. a. Do you insist that the pupil recite the words of the book? b. Do you insist that the pupil believe "what the book says, because the book says so?" c. Do you ever look upon the author's words as all- important? If so, what about the "between the lines" thought? d. Do you "take it for granted" that the pupil ought to say and to do, more than he can say and do? e. Do you "take it for granted" that the pupil ought not to be able to say and to do, as much as he can say and do? f. Do you ever reason, "Well, the lesson truth is so simple (to me), that surely the pupil 'has sense enough' to see it?' ' g. Do you ever leave the pupil in a twilight vision of the lesson truth? 8. The Language. a. Do you ever forget that your language is the vehicle for the pupil's new vision? b. Is your language so "babyish," that the pupil looks upon you as silly? c. Is your language ever so pompous, that the pupil sits in idea-less awe? d. Do you ever break the "thought line" by the use of word or expression alien to the mental grasp of the pupil? 104 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING e. Do you ever articulate so indistinctly, that "Up, up in the sky" sounds like "A pup in the sky?" f. Do you ever over-work pet words and expressions? There are other words which mean the same as "absolutely." g. Do you ever find yourself in a "language rut?" If so, will you not dig yourself out? h. Is your language yours? i. Is your language such as you would have your pupils use? LESSON 20 THE TEACHER AS A PERSONAL FACTOR Text: "That, whereas they speak against you as evil doers, they may by }*jur good works which they behold, glorify God in the day of visitation." I Peter 2:12. 1. A few illustrative thoughts. The Mormon Church needs, most of all, the ideal gospel teacher (we use this in a broad sense), that it may feel sure that it will have an ideal membership. We cannot over-estimate the personal influence of the gospel teacher, or the gospel truth he teaches, or the life he leads, or the example he sets. Of him and his works we can truly say, as Chalmers says of man: "Every man is a missionary for good or for evil. * He may be a blot, radiating his dark influence outward to the very circumference of society, or he may be a blessing, spreading benediction throughout the lengths and the breadths of the land; but a blank he cannot be. There are no moral blanks, there are no neutral characters. He is either the sower that sows and corrupts, or the salt that silently operates, or the light that splendidly illuminates; but, being dead or alive, every man speaks." Also, ot example and its far-reaching influence Emerson asks, "How can I hear what you say, when what you are thunders so loudly in my ears?" It follows, then, that the gospel teacher, as a person, is the very first gospel lesson a class- room asset or a class-room liability, as the case may be. This very thought runs throughout our entire church lit- erature. Ezekiel had it in mind, when he said, "0 son of man, I Jiave set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel" (See 33:1-16). Christ had it in mind, when of His fol- lowers He said, " You are the salt of the earth" (name sever- al uses of salt), and " Ye are the light of the world" (See Matt. 5), and when He spoke of His gospel teachings as the "leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened" (See Matt. 13:33). All 106 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING these privileges, all these blessings, all these responsibil- ities the gospel teacher may share and enjoy the most blessed calling in all the earth. "Shall we shrink, or shun the fight? No!" 2. Gospel teachers classified. George Herbert Belts, in "How to Teach Religion," classifies teachers, based on the net results of their work. Let us quote. "Two types of teachers are remembered : One to be forgiven after years have softened the antagonism and resentments; the other to be thought ,of with honor and gratitude as long as memory lasts. Between these two is a third and larger group: those who are for- gotten because they failed to stamp a lasting impression on their pupils" the mediocrity of the class-room, if you please, "not bad enough to be actively forgiven, not good enough to claim a place in gratitude and remembrance." In which class shall we list you? It's all up to you. 3. The gospel teacher as class-room pattern. It is hu- man nature to idealize some person we speak of it as hero- worship. Somewhere or other, the boy will find his hero, the girl will find her heroine. But it dees not stop here. This very boy and this very girl will first image their lives in the terms of their ideal (idol), then will begin, as a rule, the moulding and the fashioning work. Man has al- ways done so, man will continue to do so. Where, then, ought boys and girls to go for their ideal? To the home first, of course; to the gospel class-room next, of course. And why not? It is but natural, to be sure, that every gospel teacher should make a strong personal appeal to the pupils. What, then, shall this appeal be, for good or for bad, for weal or for woe? The teacher's very presence preaches a silent, none the less forceful sermon. This is, as we have said, the teacher's first message the teacher himself. His life, then, must be his teaching asset, not his liability. His pre- cept, then, must be the clear, soul-thrilling message of the Master. His example, then, must inspire boys and girls to works of perfect living. His appeal, then, must impress boys and girls, as the Master's appeal impressed His dis- ciples: "Come, follow me!" The gospel teacher, then, THE TEACHER AS A PERSONAL FACTOR 107 must fashion his life after the Master's, just as he would have boys and girls pattern their lives after him. Are you just what you would have your pupils become? Fundamentals in the gospel teacher's make-up. Good, better, best! The best, in the light of what has gone before, is none too good in all gospel teaching. It is the right, the privilege, the blessing, the duty of every gospel teacher to become this best., be that teacher male or female (See Doc. and Cov. 93:20). But how? Will the following suggestions be helpful to the gospel teacher in reaching that best? Let us call them the "Fourteen Points," an expression so significant in recent world history. They will bear close, careful study. 1. A spirituality vitalized. That is, it is not enough that gospel teaching be intellectual and pedagogical, but it must be impregnated with a wholesome spiritual inspira- tion. "The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life" (See II Cor. 3:1-6). Sherem was almost wholly intellectual, while Jacob was essentially intelligent (See Jacob 7:1-23). 2. A genuine, thorough conversion. That is, the gospel teacher must not only have a mental conviction, but he must be moved under the pressure of soul conversion. "Feed my lambs" (See John 21), and "When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren" (See Luke 22) these are the real and only tests of conversion. 3. A keen sense of personal responsibility. That is, the gospel teacher must feel the weight of a direct responsi- bility, both as an individual and #s a church member a human cog, so to speak, in the great gospel wheel. The My and the Our, not the Your spirit must actualize gospel teaching. Paul so sensed this element of responsibility (See II Tim. 4:1-8). 4. An impelling confidence. That is, the gospel teacher must have an enduring confidence: in self / can; in work / ought; in determination / will. "What I can do, I ought to do; What I ought to do, I can do; What I can and ought to do, By the grace of God I will do." 108 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING 5. An appreciation of relative values. That is, the gos- pel teacher must acquire the power to know gospel wheat from wind-blown chaff. Christ fed wheat, while the scribes and Pharisees offered chaff (See Matt. 23:23). 6. The subtle charm of personality. That is, the gos- pel teacher must cultivate a magnetic personal charm. This charm includes seven things, all acquirable: a physical charm, a mental charm, a moral charm, a spiritual charm, a religious charm, a temperamental charm, an inspirational charm. 7. Dependability. That is, the gospel teacher must be trustworthy, always a lifter, the King Leonidas, so to speak, guarding the Lord's Thermopylae, not of necessity dying but living for man's eternal life. 8. Trustfulness. That is, the gospel teacher must have a trustful attitude, a something which promotes a whole- some comradeship between teacher and pupil, so essential to ideal gospel teaching. 9. A well-balanced church activity. That is, the gospel teacher must not be a Sunday School Mormon, or an M. I. A. Mormon, so to speak, but he must extend sympathetic fellowship to all church work and all church workers. He must not merely ride "hobbies." 10. A "carrying over" power. That is, the gospel teacher must teach so that pupils will "carry over" into their lives, into their every-day behavior, the truths of the lesson. Ed- mund Burke held his listeners spell-bound; Patrick Henry moved his listeners to follow him. "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" (See Acts 26:28). Which are you? 11. Continual growth. That is, the gospel teacher must be conscious of a teaching power ever expanding. Apples grow on new wood. New conceptions warm and inspire. Where is your teaching millennium in the musty part, in the uncertain future, in the glorious present? 12. Power to re-live child life. That is, the gospel teacher must think and feel and live in the terms of his pupil's life. He must be of him, as well as one with him (SeeMosiah3:19). 13. Power to live with, not for the pupil. That is, the THE TEACHER AS A PERSONAL FACTOR 109 gospel teacher must see that class work gives lair opportu- nity for socialized self-expression. The church will be better off, when we have fewer hill-leveling teachers, and more hill-climbing pupils. The gospel teacher must help the pupil to help himself (See Philippians 2:12; Doc. and Cov. 29:29). 14. Power to live what we teach. That is, the gospel teacher must live a blameless life, and must, in addition, answer the Master's call: "Follow me!" Secret (source) of teaching power. Is the gospel teacher born, or is he made that is the question? Much depends upon the answer: repression on the one hand, inspiration on the other hand. Shall we not look upon teaching as an acquirable art, as well as a native endowment? True, nature gives capacity, the power to receive and to contain; but nurture improves this natural endowment (See Matt. 25:14-30), and we speak of it as ability., the power we acquire in self-culture. This native endowment, improved and enlarged by use, consti- tutes what we call the teacher's assets his power to say and to do and to teach. We must not forget, in this con- nection, that the Spirit acts as our Teacher (See Doc. and Cov. 52:9-10). If gospel teaching is not an acquirable art, we shall find it extremely difficult to explain: (a) the whence of Enoch's matchless powers (See Moses 6) ; the secret of Moses' mar- velous powers to lead (See Exodus) ; (c) the source of Joseph Smith's power to teach the world; (d) the fountain of Brigham Young's power to colonize and to build; (e) the explanation of the almost incredible transformation appar- ent in the returned Elder's life. The teaching art can be mastered. Will not the Lord help us to help ourselves to become ideal gospel teachers? (See Alma 32:40-43. Also Doc. and Cov. 4:1-7.) Christ as Master Teacher. This Master Teacher acquired the art of teaching. Paul tells us that He "learned obedi- ence," and thereby became the "Author of eternal salvation" (See Hebrews 5:8-9). Again, we learn that this Master Teacher did not receive 110 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING a "fulness at the first, but received grace for grace" (See Doc. and Cov. 93:12-14). QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. "Am I my brother's keeper? (See Gen. 4). Discuss this question in the light of the opening thought of the lesson. 2. Give the chief thought of Chalmers. Of Emerson. 3. In what respect is the gospel teacher a watchman in modern Israel? 4. What do you think of Belts' classification of teachers? Is he right or wrong? 5. Name several ways in which the gospel teacher makes an ap- peal to the pupil. 6. .Name the so-called "Fourteen Points." 7. Select several of these points which appeal most to you. Give reasons for your selection. 8. Do you believe that the gospel teacher is born or made, or both? Why? 9. What do we understand by capacity and by ability? Explain the parable of the talents. 10. Do you look upon gospel teaching as a blessing and a privilege, or as a duty? Why? LESSON 21 THE CHOICE OF MATERIAL Text: "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God: and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." Hebrews 5:12-14. 1. A few helpful suggestiojis. What constitutes real suc- cess in farm life? To farm and to farm well, the farmer must, first of all, study his soils. Then, before the plant- ing season opens, he must choose a certain soil as best suited to wheat, another soil as best suited to corn, another soil as best suited to potatoes; and so on. The wise choice of soils, all things equal, will mean an increased yield. Again, the farmer must select his seeds, seeds tested, if you please, as to their reproducing averages. And now what of his livestock, so often a chief asset in the yearly balance? The farmer must, of course, select the line a most import- ant thing to do. The line chosen, he must next select cer- tain foods for his cows, the foods rich in milk and in fat- producing values. Then comes the poultry. The farmer must select, first of all, the breed or breeds, and then lie must choose foods which run high in egg-producing values. It follows, then, that farm life succeeds or it fails, just as the farmer does or does not make wise selections. He must plan out his work, and then he must work out his plan. Again, the selection of material, with its accompanying good or evil effects, enters into the every-day affairs of mechanical and professional life. Let us cite cases in point. The builder selects his material best suited for the specific work he has in mind, does he not? The lawyer chooses cer- 112 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING tain cases best suited to answer the needs of his particular brief, does he not? The doctor chooses certain medicines and certain treatment best fitted to answer the needs of a particular patient, does he not? And so we might multiply cases almost without number. Again, the Lord has set a worthy example in the selection of material. For man He has selected food and drink best suited to man's well-being. He calls it the Word of Wisdom (See Daniel I. Also Doc. and Cov. 89). What, then, shall we say of the gospel teacher? Does such gospel teacher not succeed or fail, just as he does or does not select his material wisely and well? 2. Material and gospel teaching: the objectives. "Be- hold, this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (See Moses 1:39). The ultimate objective in all gospel teaching, then, is to make Latter-day Saints. This final objective we must reach through certain immediate objectives. Hence, all gospel teaching must stress these immediate objectives: the relig- ious, the civic, the vocational. Man is religious hence gospel teaching must inspire a dynamic faith (See John 14:12). Man is civic hence gospel teaching must incul- cate a sense of civic honor (See Doc. and Cov. 58:21-24). Christ stamped dual loyalty as divine (See Matt. 22:15-22). Man is vocational hence gospel teaching must impel a vocational attitude, the desire and the power to work and to work well. The Pilgrim Fathers and the Utah Pioneers learned well these three essential points. May we not ac- cept them and their works as patterns? (See Doc. and Cov. 107:99-100.) Also, these immediate objectives, lived., will equip the boys and the girls to fight the battles of life, and to fight them well. But how, we ask, and in what respects? Let us see. Gospel teaching must, in the first place, have a specific course of study as the fact-getting function of teaching: the pupil must know. Again, gospel teaching must touch the inner life of the pupil: the pupil must feel. Again., gospel teaching must build asset habits, and these, in turn, THE CHOICE OF MATERIAL 113 will make living easier: the pupil must live. Again, gospel teaching must inspire the pupil to impart lesson- truths: the pupil must teach. Again, gospel teaching must inculcate correct attitudes, or points of view, or apperceptive basss: the pupil must sense right and wrong. Again, gospel teaching must cultivate ideal-building, and this, in turn, will drive the pupil in an onward, upward, forward-look- irg life of personal achievement: the pupil must aspire. An important question now confronts us. Will not a careful selection of lesson material help teacher and pupil to reach these objectives, just as the wise selection of soil and seed will help the farmer to win success? We think so. Is it not then worth while? 3. Lesson material: the essential elements. All gospel teaching must always make the pupil primary the very first consideration. Too often the gospel teacher teaches sub- ject-matter, not children the what instead of the whom of teaching. It follows, then, that the gospel teacher must sslect material to fit into the pupils, and not try to fit the pupil into the material. What should we think of a tailor who cut his patron's back to fit the cloth, not the cloth to fit the patron's back? The pupil must, therefore, be the gospel teacher's first consideration, and all material and all method must be made to fit into and become a part of his life and his life's interests. Again, the gospel teacher must select material to fit each pupil as an individual, not to fit the class as a whole. Would the wise mother feed meat to her infant, or much sop to her grown-up son? (See I Cor. 3:2.) In this respect, as in all others, the gospel teacher must, as far as prac- ticable, treat all his pupils alike by treating them differ- ently. Continuing the analogy of the tailor, what should we think of the tailor who cut all suits from a common pattern? How would the wearer feel, and what might he say? Anent this thought, the writer remembers to have read that a certain Austrian general, whether in fact or in fic- tion it matters not, decided to build up an army of soldiers, all of whom were to be of exactly the same height. So, 114 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING whenever the general found a man of good fighting timber, but too long, he had a piece of the man chopped off. And, likewise, whenever he found a man of good fighting timber, but too short, he had the man put on a stretcher, and stretched. And so this Austrian general, so the story goes, built up his army, as he had planned. But what of its fighting efficiency? Another thought as to the selection of material. The youthful mind moves most readily and most effectively along lines which lead from the familiar to the less fa- miliar, from the old to the related new, from the easy to the less easy. The gospel teacher must, in material and in method, keep clearly in mind this simple law of learning. It will pay so to do, both as to teacher and as to pupil. Let us give a simple case in point. The lesson truth, say, deals with conversion. How may the gospel teacher best "put over" the thought? Why not study it in comparison with conviction their points of likeness and their points of dif- ference? Christ as Master Teacher fully understood and used this simple law of "How We Learn." The Parable of the Tares may be profitably studied as an example of this law applied (See Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43. Also "Jesus the Christ," pages 286-288) . Just one more point as to essential elements in the selec- tion of material. The gospel teacher must keep clearly in mind the age of each pupil, the needs of each pupil, the previous experience of each pupil, the home life of each pupil. These personal facts well in mind, the teacher can cut his "gospel cloth" accordingly. Let us continue the figure of the "gospel cloth" in more concrete form. Unwise would be the gospel teacher to give "sop" when the pupil can digest "meat," to give a "spoon" when the pupil calls for a "knife," to study "addition," when the pupil has mastered "fractions." Or, what about continually harping on prayer, when the pupil comes from a home in which prayers, secret and family, have become a "household neces- sity?" The Lord gave manna to a hungry people (See Exodus 16). So, also, does an earthly parent give shoes to his bare-footed boy, not an extra suit of clothes. The gospel THE CHOICE OF MATERIAL 115 teacher, then, must be consistent, just as he would have his Heavenly Father consistent, just as he would have his earthly father consistent (See Matt. 7). And just what does all this mean? Very much, in every way. It exacts of the gospel teacher an intimate knowledge of, and an association with, and a personal interest in, each pupil, as an individual. It exacts of the gospel teacher that he enjoy the teaching spirit for seven days in a week, for four weeks in a month, for twelve months in a year. Christ was such a teacher. "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" (See Luke 2:49). 4. Lesson material: the content value. The gospel teacher must keep clearly in mind that all materials, good or bad, will produce "after their kind" (See Genesis 1; Moses 2). "As a man soweth" that is a life- wide teaching- reaping law (See Gal. 6:7-8). Christ had in mind this law when He asked, "Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" (See Matt. 7:16.) If the gospel teacher sows froth, froth will be the harvest. If he sows tares, tares will be the harvest. If he sows plump wheat, plump wheat will be the harvest. "What shall the harvest be?" 5. Lesson material: the "catching" power. The gospel teacher must select material which will, in its very nature, "expose" the pupil. It must be simple. It must be con- crete. It must be rich in illustrative material. It must not aim too high. It must not aim too low. It must be per- sonal. It must answer some present need of the pupil. These simple rules followed, the pupil, so "exposed," will "take," and the teaching will be thoroughly effective. Let the gospel teacher keep his eye fixed on the mark, then the gospel bullet will go straight to the "bull's eye" of the pupil's life (See Relief Society Magazine, March, 1918, page 164). 6. Lesson material: the pupil intelligent. The gospel teacher must select material which will, in its very nature, make the pupil intelligent, not merely intellectual. And what do we mean by intelligent? Simply this, that the ma- terial, so selected, must enter into the pupil's life, so that he will know Truth, so that he will feel Truth, so that he 116 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING will live Truth, so that he will teach Truth, so that he will aspire to eternal life. These five things constitute true in- telligence the "glory of God" and of man (See Doc. and Cov. 93:36). If the gospel teacher fails to "put over" these five essentials, he has missed the ultimate objective in all gospel teaching. "He that believeth on me, the works that I do," etc. (See John 14:12). 7. Christ and the material chosen. Christ as Master Teacher possessed marvelous power in the selection of ma- terial. Let us cite a few concrete examples. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt," given to a people familiar with "moth and rust" (See Matt. 6:19-21). Again, "I am the shepherd," where the sheep was a household necessity (See John 10: 11-15). Again, "I will liken him unto a house," where the people lived in a land of rocks near the seashore (See Matt. 7:24-27). QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What lesson may the gospel teacher learn by a study of the farmer and his methods? 2. Show that selection of material is a life-wide necessity. 3. Classify and discuss the objectives in all gospel teaching. 4. Show wherein the pupil's interests and needs must be all im- portant. 5. Show wherein the gospel teacher must know the pupil, before he can select material wisely and well. 6. Why is it important that lesson values be kept well in mind? 7. "As a man soweth" that is the law. Cite cases to prove it. 8. The pupil must be "exposed." What does this mean? What is its teaching value? 9. Name and discuss the things which make up true intelligence. 10. Cite instances to prove that the Master Teacher selected material to fit the occasion. LESSON 22 THE GATHERING OF MATERIAL I Text: "And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one an- other words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning even by study, and also by faith." Doc. and Cov. 88:118. 1. A few simple comparisons. Brigham Young tells us that "If we happened to slip into this world from nothing, we shall soon slip out of it to nothing ; hence nothing will remain." The gospel teacher cannot give that which he does not possess. And, moreover, the gospel teacher cannot possess that which he does not gather. Nothing added to nothing, and we have nothing as an answer; and if, on the other hand, we try to take nothing from nothing, we shall have nothing as a remainder. This is a law life-wide coexistent with man himself. The car cannot go on an empty gaso- line tank; and the car, running, will stop on a gasoline tank pumped dry. Again, the banker honors or dishonors a check, just as the drawer does or does not have money on deposit subject to call. Again, we often visit a so-called "bargain counter." Do empty shelves constitute a ''bargain counter?" Must not the shelves be filled with wares, the so-called bargains? Again, we have the case of the grass- hopper and the honey bee. How does each live, and what public service does each render? The grasshopper lives on the rule, so to speak, that "sufficient unto the day" is good enough (See Matt. 6:36) ; the honey bee, on the other hand, stores away, the fruits to be brought forth "in the sea- son thereof" (See Jacob 5). Again what better reason can we assign for adequate lesson material gathering, than the words of the Master Teacher Himself, "Freely ye have re- ceived, freely give" (See Matt. 10:8). 2. The gathering of material: the why of it. We hear 118 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING much made of Christ's injunction "take no thought," etc. (See Matt. 6:25-34) . Just what did the Christ mean? And just what thought did He wish to convey? Certainly not that of non-preparation. And how do we know? Simply this, that this same Christ, in speaking to the Prophet Jo- seph Smith (See Doc. and Cov. 109:14), admonishes us to seek "wisdom out of the best books" (Also, see Doc. and Cov. 84:85). Let us consider further concrete illustrations. How long, we ask, would the lawyer retain the confidence of his client, were he to "take no thought" as to the massing and the marshalling of his proofs? Also, how could the business man hope to succeed, were he to "take no thought" as to the work of the day? Also, how could the athletic team hope to win, were the coach to "take no thought" as to team plays and team signals in advance of the game? The writer, as a boy, lived where he had to travel some- thing like two miles in order to catch the geese in their "peep of day" flight. One morning, well remembered, a something unusual happened. The writer, in his haste, for- got his gun. That morning, as usual, the geese made their early-morning flight. Need we add that, in so far as the writer was concerned, the geese flew over in perfect safety? We have tried, thus far, to establish but one point: the imperative necessity for preparedness. We have seen that, in all common-place things, we must prepare, and prepare well, if we hope to succeed. What, then, shall we say of the gospel teacher? Shall he, too, not prepare, and prepare well, if he hopes to succeed, or is he an exception to life's rule? He is no exception to the rule. Besides, his work transcends in importance, infinitely so, the every-day affairs of life, in that he has as an objective the training of boys and girls to become the Latter-day Saint men and women of tomorrow, than whom there ought to be no better on earth. "The worth of souls is great in the sight of God" (See Doc. and Cov. 18:10-16). 3. The gathering of material: the what of it. The gos- pel teacher, himself a salesman, has his line. This line, too, is the best on earth that of the Master's gospel. The THE GATHERING OF MATERIAL 119 class-room may be likened unto the teacher's "bargain counter." Yet, the teacher can sell, and the pupil can buy, only such wares as the teacher carries in stock at times much to the disappointment and the chagrin of the pupil. Too often, the pupil has little or no choice, just as "Mother Hubbard" had little or no choice, when she went to the cupboard. The gospel teacher, then, must keep his "bargain counter" well stocked, both as to quantity and as to quality. If he does not, he cannot supply the ever-broadening demands of the pupil. In that way, and in that way only, will the gos- pel teacher be able to send from his "bargain counter" sat- isfied customers. "Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you" (See Doc. and Cov. 88:77-82). 4. The gathering of material', the scope of it. The banker classifies his capital as the active and the reserve. The active capital is that, of course, which works we may speak of it as the revenue-producing capital. The reserve capital, on the other hand, is that which rests (the Canadian- banker's term), to be used only in case of emergency, or in case of an unexpected draft upon the bank, or in case of a so-called run. The bank may be said to be strong or to be weak, just as the active capital does or does not its work well, and just as the reserve capital is safely kept or used. From this simple case of the banker, let us draw an analogy. The gospel teacher's capital his 'stock in trade," if you please may likewise be classified as the active capital and the reserve capital. The active capital is that, of course, which works the material usually called for in the normal recitation. Back of this active capital, however, the gospel teacher must have a reserve, a store of useful information, properly classified, upon which he can readily draw in case of emergency, or in case of an unexpected class-room draft, or in case of a so-called run. That is, the gospel teacher must know more, much more, than he expects to give to the class. And continuing the analogy, the gospel teacher may be said to be strong (successful) or to be weak (unsuccessful), just as his active capital does or does not 120 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING do its work well, and as his reserve capital may or may not be requisitioned, whenever occasion calls for it. So well equipped with capital, well placed, the gospel teacher can- not well fail. Then, too, pupils will, all things equal, ex- press preference for a teacher so equipped. To the ques- tion, "What do you like or dislike in teachers?" a class of youths answered substantially as follows (See Bennion's "Fundamental Problems in Religious Teaching," page 21) : We like a fellow that's full of pep. We like a fellow that doesn't preach all the time. We like a fellow that makes us be good. We like a fellow that tells us new things. Will not the gospel teacher, thoroughly prepared, be best able to measure up to these standards? 5. The gathering of material : the how of it. a. The "tools." The mechanic can make little or no headway without suitable tools. Then what of the gospel teacher? Must not he, too, have "tools?" He cannot gather Material without them. It follows, then, that the gospel teacher must provide himself with "tools." But what do we mean by "tools?" He must have ready access to all these: paper, pencil, Bible and other standard works, ap- proved church commentaries, a concordance or ready refer- ence, a dictionary, maps, charts, and a quiet place for study. These provided, he must get the right attitude toward his work that of a fixed purpose, and a ready, willing mind. "The Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind" (See Doc. and Cov. 64:33-34). b. The teacher at work. The gospel teacher must, first of all, do somewhat extensive general readings. Such read- ings, carefully done, will open up the necessary perspective, "a birds' eye" view, so to speak, of the entire field. Then follows a second reading, with pencil in hand, the teacher to make copious notes set down more or less at random. These notes, so taken, must now be studied, the thoughts in them dug out mere rote work will not do. But this is not all. The lesson truths, 50 dug out, must now be translated into the teacher's own language. Then, and not till then, do such lesson thoughts become the usable property of the THE GATHERING OF MATERIAL 121 teacher. But how shall this translation be made? It may be in the nature of the lesson written out, or it may be in the nature of discussions of the main points of the lesson with self, or it may be in the nature of the lesson truths dis- cussed with some well informed person. Such exercises will give the teacher practice a something so essential to ideal gospel teaching. "And all this!" may be the wailing cry of the gospel teacher. Yes, all this. And yet it will pay big dividends. There is no other road to perfect success in teaching. Be- sides, "My yoke is easy" (See Matt. 11:29-30). Three simple teaching truths will prove our point. The gospel teacher cannot, in the first place, give that which he himself does not possess. Hie gospel teacher cannot, in the second place, make clear that which is not clear to him. The gospel teacher cannot, in the third place, "put over" to the pupil that which he cannot "put over" to himself. "Study my word" that is the Lord's mandate (See Doc. and Cov. 11:18-23). It will pay. Out of such mastery of content there will come a perfect joy in teaching. Besides, meth'od in teaching more easily grows out of lesson content, than does lesson content grow out of method. The lesson truths mastered, the method will come. 6. The gathering of material: the when of it. "Time is the essence of contracts," so runs the old English Common Law. So, also, is "time the essence" in the preparation of a gospel lesson. It requires time to assimilate a thing we call it the "soaking in" process. The subconscious self, that inner life of man about which we know so little, works slowly, but it works well it takes plenty of time to digest our mental accumulations. Hence, the slogan in the prepar- ation of gospel lesson: "Do it now!" "The night cometh, when no man can work," so says the Master (See John 9:4). "Now is the appointed time" there is none other. When shall the gospel teacher, then, begin the prepara- tion of his lesson? The Sunday School lesson, "read over" on the Saturday night, or the Sunday morning imme- diately preceding the class recitation, will not "carry over." It must be done much earlier, if so be that we expect our 122 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING subconscious self, the teacher's most powerful ally, to help us. Hence the necessity for a much earlier preparation,; to begin, say, on the Sunday afternoon or the Monday morning following the current lesson. And why not? "Where there's a will, there's a way." Of Calvin Coolidge the man, Henry Ford recently said, "Coolidge wants to do right, and when a man wants to do right, he can generally find a way to do right." lean! I OUGHT! ! I WILL! ! ! 7. The Christ Teacher believed in thorough prepara- tion. How long might this Master Teacher have spent in the preparation of His incomparable sermon, the world's masterpiece in lesson values? Again, "Therefore, if you will ask of me, you shall receive; if you will knock, it shall be opened unto you. Now, as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion. Seek not for riches, but for wisdom, and, behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, then shall you be made rich; behold, he that hath eternal life is rich" (See Doc. and Cov. 11:5-7). QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What important teaching truth do we get out of the "simple comparisons?" 2. Explain the meaning of Christ's "Take no thought." 3. Show by several concrete proofs that we win in life only as we gather lesson truths. 4. Why is it important that the gospel teacher have satisfied customers? 5. Name and discuss the funds the gospel teacher must have on deposit. 6. Give in detail just what the teacher must do in the gathering of his lesson material. 7. What further suggestions can you make as to the gathering of lesson materials? 8. Why should the lesson material be gathered several days before it is given out? 9. Give concrete proof that Christ gathered His lesson mateiial. 10. Discuss these; I can. I ought. I will. LESSON 23 THE ORGANIZATION OF MATERIAL Text: "And see that all things are done in wisdom and in order, for it is not requisite that a man shall run faster than he has strength. And again: It is expedient that he should be diligent, that there- by he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order." Mosiah 4:27. 1. A few self-evident truths. Some one has remarked that "It isn't what's said in life that counts, but who says it." Also, it is not what a teacher knows that counts, but how he knows it. Also, it is better, infinitely so, to teach Everything of Something, than to teach something of every- thing. And the gospel teacher cannot teach that everything of something, unless he first gathers and then organizes it. A lens, cut in a cettain way, will diffuse the sun's rays, scattering the light and the warmth. A lens, cut in a cer- tain way, will focus the sun's rays, even to a sizzling heat. The "scatter brain" cannot organize a lesson, and organize it well. Clear thinking and clear organization go hand in hand the teacher's twin virtues, so to speak. Some one has most happily suggested that we, as teachers, must first "Plan our work, then work our plan." Some time ago, the writer served as President of the Manchester (England) Conference. Among his thirty or more Elders, he had a young man especially bright, alert, studious. When not on actual missionary duty this young man had his "nose in a book," as we frequently express it, reading and memorizing the scriptures. His fund of infor- mation grew more and more massive, almost approaching the marvelous in gospel content. Yet, in spite of all his study, in spite of all his learning, he made little or no head- way as a public speaker the one controlling ambition of his worthy life. Time and again, he shed tears in the pres- ence of the writer, tears "scalding and hot," bewailing what he looked upon as his utter failure. One day, this young 124 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING Elder said to the writer, "President , why can't I make a decent talk?" The writer, in the course of the conversation, answered, "Elder , you can't talk because you know too much." This answer called for an explanation. The young Elder in question had bulk., but he had not reduced it to order. He had mass, but he had not organized it. He had points, but he had not classified them. He had material, but he had little or no method. When he wanted a specific fact, he could not find it, even as we cannot find the pro- verbial "needle in the strawstack" it was hidden away in the mass. This young Elder discovered, later on, that it was not what he knew, but how he knew it, that contributed so largely to his failure. The master mind is the one which marshals and disciplines his powers, so that they will readily obey him and his orders. Do you, as a gospel teacher, so marshal and discipline your powers? 2. Some helpful com-parisons.. The architect always draws his plans, first in his head, later on paper. Again, the carpenter has a well-planned order in building: foun- dation, walls, roof, plastering, finishing, approval. Again, the real student always plans a course of study, best fitted, as he believes, to his needs in life. Again, the astute political leader carefully maps out a plan of campaign; he plans his work, he works his plan. Again, the thoughtful housewife always plans her work for the day, then she works her plan. Did you ever see a housewife always in a hurry, always bustling about, yet she made little or no headway with her work? And why? She did not plan her work, she did not work a plan. Again, the captain always charts his proposed route. An old sailor, for thirty years on the Mississippi river, answered the question, "I suppose you know every bar on the Mississippi?" in these words: "No, but I know every foot of navigable water." That may be all right. Is it not a good thing, however, for the gospel teacher to know something of the bars in teaching? What shall we say, then, of the gospel lesson? Shall we plan our work, and then work our plan? Or, shall we go on in the same slip-shod, half-hazard, chaotic way, ship- THE ORGANIZATION OF MATERIAL 125 wrecking our hopes on the bars of the class-room? Shall we not, as did the young Elder, shape the bulk, organize the mass, classify the points? It will pay so to do. Driggs, in "The Art of Teaching," page 75, compares the Gospel les- son to a wheel. "A well-planned lesson," says he, "may be likened to a wheel. It has a hub thought, each point of the lesson is fitted into this hub like a spoke and all the points are connected together into a well-rounded whole." Christ as Master Teacher furnishes us some striking examples of the necessity of plans, first carefully laid, and later carried out (See Luke 14:28-35). 3. Lesson organization: the plan. The gospel teacher may well be likened unto the captain of an ocean liner. He must have, as such -captain, ship, crew, compass, sail- ing point, landing point, route carefully charted, coal, and provisions. He succeeds or he fails as such captain, just as these equipments, so vitally essential, do or do not an- swer the needs of the trip. Let us suppose a case. What should we think of a captain who, without compass, without charted route, without a proposed landing point, without fuel, and without provisions, should attempt his journey? How far would he get? With what success would his efforts be rewarded? Such a captain would be safer else- where. Let us suppose another case. We have decided upon a vacation. Is that all the preparation we need the mere decision to go? Shall we not plan when to go? Shall we not plan where to go? Shall we not plan how to go? Shall we not plan the route to go? Shall we not plan what to do when we get there? Shall we not plan the benefits we hope to derive on the vacation? What shall we say, then, of the gospel teacher? Does he not succeed or fail, just as he does or does not "plan his work, and work his plan?" Besides, the Holy Word admonishes us to "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ." (See 11 Nephi 31:19-20). 4. Lesson organization : the teacher at work. The gospel teacher must now begin the actual work of lesson-building. The somewhat copious notes, previously set down more or 126 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING less at random, must be carefully studied, must be whipped into usable shape. Then follows the selection of the so- called Aim of the lesson, or the core thought, or, as Driggs puts it, the hub of the lesson wheel. The lesson aim not wisely chosen means a lesson not well built. The gospel teacher cannot, of course, build a good lesson on an aim not well selected, just as the carpenter cannot build a good house on a foundation not well laid. Christ as Master Teacher understood perfectly this simple law of the builder (See Matt. 7:21-27). The gospel teacher, then, must dis- cover, let the cost be what it may,, the one big outstanding thought of the lesson, around which all other lesson mate- rial must be built. The aim well chosen, the gospel teacher must next de- cide upon two or more sub-thoughts the spokes of the lesson wheel, if you please. These sub-thoughts the gospel teacher must use to establish the aim so chosen. Then comes the selection of that material which reinforces, which en- riches, which simplifies, which makes concrete, which clinches. That is, the gospel teacher must have a stock of examples, of comparisons, of illustrations, and of stories, with which to reinforce and enrich the lesson material the rim of the lesson wheel, so to speak. And lastly, as a fitting culmination to his work as lesson-builder, the gospel teacher must discard such notes and material, which may be rightly designated as "chaff" and "stuffing." A wheel is strong or weak, just as the hub, the spokes, and the rim, themselves w T ell timbered, do or do not fit into each other and make up a perfect, well-balanced whole. The hub cannot do the work of the spokes, neither the spokes the work of the rim, but each part of the wheel must function in its own particular place, and in its own par- ticular way. Then, and then only, shall we have a wheel which does its work, and does its work well. Likewise, a gospel lesson is strong or weak, just as the aim of the lesson is or is not well chosen, just as the sub- thoughts do or do not fit into and become a part of a perfect, well-balanced whole, just as the illustrative material does or does not reinforce and enrich the lesson. Moreover, THE ORGANIZATION OF MATERIAL 127 the aim cannot do the work of the sub-thoughts, neither can the sub-thoughts do the work of the illustrative material ; but each part of the lesson must function in its own particular place, and in its own particular way. Then, and not till then, shall we have a lesson which does its work, and does it well. Paul, in his epistle to the Corinthians (See I Cor. 12), likens the Church of Christ, both in form and in func- tion, unto a perfect natural body. This perfect natural body has its several parts, and each part has its specific work to do. May not Paul's likeness apply also to the gospel lesson? It may be well, at this point, to sound a word of warning. The writer well remembers that a certain fellow, left a small sum of money, built a $1500 porch, which almost hid his $800 home. The incident is richly illustrative. The gospel teacher must not, in his work as lesson builder, make his "porch larger than his house." That is, he must keep in mind that the hub must be and remain the hub; that the spokes must be and remain the spokes ; that the rim must be and remain the rim; each in its place, and each in its functional relations. Do you, as a gospel teacher, ever permit your sub-thoughts to hide the aim, or your illustrative material to swallow up, so to speak, both aim and sub-thoughts? That is, is your lesson ever top-heavy, some hobby thought emphasized at the expense of all else, even of lesson efficiency itself? This may be done by the too prolific use of example, of illustra- tion, of story, or of material irrelevant. 5. Lesson organization : the mutual values. a. The Teacher. The gospel teacher always reaps in the terms of his own sowing (See Doc. and Cov. 6:33). It follows, therefore, that as he sows lesson values, so will he reap a sense of security, a consciousness of his own powers, a comfort in self -growth, a feeling of compensation, a jby unspeakable (See Alma 29:9). Such a teacher goes before his pupil, armed, and the pupil admires him for it we always admire the master. b. The Pupil. As with the gospel teacher, so with the gospel pupil! Let them produce "after their kind" this 128 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING law reaches over into the world of teaching. The efficient teacher means the efficient pupil, and the efficient pupil means, in turn, the efficient man or woman of tomorrow (See Enos 1:1). c. The Church. The Church can be litile or no stronger than its adult members. The adult members can be little or no stronger than their boys and girls. The boys ard the girls can be little or no stronger than the gospel teachers (the home included). Trie gospel teachers can -be little or no stronger than their power to teach and to teach well. So, after all, we get right back to the gospel lesson and its values the very nucleus of church power (See Jacob 6:2-3). d. The World. The Latter-day Saints must be a leaven to the world. "I give unto you to be the salt of the earth," and " I give unto you to be the light of the world" (See III Nephi 12:13-14). The Latter-day Saint, as watchman of modern Israel (See Ezekiel 33:1-16), must warn the world. "It becometh every man that hath been warned, to warn his neighbor" (See Doc. and Cov. 88:81). The Latter-day Saint can warn only as he knows, as he feels, as he lives, as he teaches, as he aspires; and these powers, in turn, grow out of gospel teaching. Again our line of argument takes us right back to the gospel lesson and its values. In the matter of Latter-day Saint duty to warn, we suggest that the gospel teacher read carefully Doc. and Cov. 1:17-24 6. The Master Teacher and organization. Christ or- ganized His material. In proof, we have but to cite His incomparable sermon as given, first to the Jews (See Matt. 5-7), and later to the Nephites (See III Nephi 12-14). Again, we may cite certain gospel ordinances, such as bap- tism and the Sacrament, as given, first to the Nephites (See Moroni 3-6), and later to the Latter-day Saints (See Doc. and Cov. 20:72-79) . All these prove that Christ becomes at once our pattern not only as Master Teacher, but as Master Organizer. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Do teachers and preachers tell, as a rule, everything of some- thing, or something of everything? THE PRESENTATION OF MATERIAL 129 2. Was or was not the advice to the young Elder based upon a teaching truth? Why? 3. Give concrete examples to show that organization enters into the lessons of life, everywhere. 4. Show wherein the well-balanced lesson may be likened urito a wheel. 5. Tell the steps in lesson organization, as they relate to the teacher at work. 6. Show wherein each part of the lesson must do its specific work, just as each part of the wheel does its work. 7. What additional suggestions can you offer to help the teacher to organize lesson material? 8. Name mutual values in lesson organization. 9. Cite concrete proofs that Christ organized His lessons. 10. Let each gospel teacher organize a lesson, to " be submitted to the teacher. LESSON 24 THE PRESENTATION OF MATERIAL Text: "Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and al- together such as I am, except these bonds." Acts 26:28-29. 1. A few helpful comparisons. Did you ever hold a so-called conversation, in which the other fellow did all the talking, and you tried to do all the "listening in?" How did you like it? Was it mutually profitable? Again, have you ever seen a housewife do all the work, rather than "bother" with her children, who, apparently, did not know how? What is there wrong in such policy? Again, have you ever seen a teacher who tried to level all the lesson mountains for his pupils? What impression did you get? Will such teaching, so-called, ever inspire boys and girls to become self^ reliant, aggressive mountain climbers? Besides, is 'it not the blessed right of every boy and girl to learn to climb class- room mountains? Anent this point, some one has trench- antly remarked that we have too many "clucking" teachers, and not enough "scratching" pupils? We often speak of the lazy teacher. And what do we mean by the lazy teacher? We have in mind, most likely, the fellow who will not work. True, we have the teacher who will not work, but he is the exception, and by no means the rule. So rare is he, in fact, that he does not become a real class-room menace. We have, however, another type of lazy teacher, a class altogether too common. This lazy teacher is the one who, if you please, "clucks" all the time, and in so "clucking" he robs the pupil of the right to express himself. This teacher has become a real class- room menace. That is, this laziest of all lazy teachers is the fellow who does all the work, because he is too lazy to get the pupil to do his share of the work. Teachers often do THE PRESENTATION OF MATERIAL 131 this, because it is the easiest of easy ways. Such a teacher has no place in gospel teaching. Thus far, under lessons in content and method, we have selected our lesson material, we have gathered our lesson material, we have organized our lesson material. It re- mains now for the gospel teacher to "put over" this lesson material. This part of the teacher's work we call the recita- tion, or the presentation of material. In this connection, the gospel teacher must keep clearly in mind one vital point, namely, that he is primarily a teacher of boys and of girls, not of lesson material only. He must not, as such teacher, deal wholly with the letter that "killeth" (See II Cor. 3). but he must deal with boys and girls who thrill, who accept or reject, who like and dislike, who, in their very natures, "hunger and thirst" after the truths and the inspiration of Mormonism. 2. Lesson presentation: the teacher. We have discussed the teacher's preparation, thus far, solely in the light of content and content values. Let us see him now from a somewhat different angle. a. The gospel teacher must be thoroughly fit in terms of the physical self. That is, he must conserve his health, so that he will have a robust body---a something which always lends personal charm. A powerful spirit and a powerful mind in a powerful body that constitutes a teaching asset. To enjoy such asset, the gospel teacher must appear before his class with a well-refreshed body, following a good night's rest. Hence, the evils of the late Saturday night party, and the so-called "midnight supper" (See Gospel Doctrine, 303- 304) . "Early to bed" that must be the rule of the teacher who would be thoroughly successful. Besides, this is the word of the Lord to Latter-day Saints (See Doc. and Cov. 88:124). Did you ever try to teach when you suffered from what we call a "murky head?" b. The gospel teacher must be thoroughly fit in terms of the professional self. That is, he must cultivate a pro- fessional attitude a feeling, if you please, that gospel teaching is not an "idle pastime," but that it is the greatest art of arts. To do this means, of course, that lesson ma- 132 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING terial must be wisely chosen, that lesson material must be carefully gathered, that lesson material must be judiciously organized. These points we have discussed at some length in former lessors. c. The gosped teacher must be thoroughly fit in terms of his spiritual self. That is, he must know, in addition to content and method, that the "Spirit giveth life" (See II Cor. 3), his whole soul must thrill with spiritual glow and inspiration. Then, and then only, will he be able to touch the spiritual life of the pupil. And the pupil, so spiritually touched, will cry out in his soul, "I know, I feel, I will live, I will teach, I will aspire!" But how may the gospel teacher win this spiritual glow and inspiration? It calls for earnest prayer (See IV Nephi 37:9). It calls for a life consistently lived (See Romans 2:17-24). It calls for a comradeship of the Spirit (See Doc. and Cov. 121:45-46). It calls for an overwhelming desire to save (See Doc. and Cov. 7:1-6). It calls for a consciousness that the teacher's mission is to teach, not to be taught (See Doc. and Cov. 43:15). 3. Lesson presentation : the steps. We have seen that in all things temporal we must have end clearly in mind. This rule holds, likewise, in all things spiritual, including class-room activities (See I Nephi 9:6). Let us see, then, in perspective, just what the recitation must include. The current lesson must reach back, linking up the present with the immediate past: we call it REVIEW. The current lesson must be seen in its completeness: we call it VIEW. The current lesson must reach into the future, linking up the past and the present with the lesson to follow : we call it PREVIEW. Dr. Karl G. Maeser expressed this important lesson truth in the following way: Every lesson must be complete in itself. Every lesson must grow out of the 1 preceding lesson. Every lesson must prepare for the succeeding lesson. 4. Lesson presentation: the objective. "Behold, this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality THE PRESENTATION OF MATERIAL 133 / ^ and eternal life of man" (See Moses 1:39). We have said, in a former lesson, that the ultimate objective in all gospel teaching is to make Latter-day Saints to help the Lord, if you please, to bring to pass this "immortality and eternal life." This can best be done, we have further said, by means of three immediate objectives the religious, the civic, the vocational. All other class-room objectives, such as interest and attention, merely serve as means in the devel- opment of the great ultimate objective. The gospel teacher's part, then, in this "marvelous work and a wonder" (See Doc. and Cov. 4:1), is to "plant choice seed, to nurture this human soil, to make clear the way for the Lord to give His "increase" (See I Cor. 3:4-6). 5. Lesson presentation : the methods. It may be well, in passing, to warn the gospel teacher of two possible evils. Do you esteem yourself a so-called born teacher? If so, it may be that you rely almost wholly upon your native pow- ers to "put over" the lesson truths. If so, it may be that you give little or no thought to outside rule or method. If so, it may be that you feel that outside rule or method might make your class-work strained and spiritless. Do you esteem yourself a so-called made teacher? If so, it may be that you have become almost a slave to outside rule or method. If so, it may be that you give little or no thought to individual initiative and spiritual inspiration. Both are right, and both are wrong. The best method, if best there be, is that which requisitions the best inherent powers of the teacher, these to be guided by safe and sane rules of teaching. These points accepted, let us consider briefly some of the most common methods used in class-room instruction. a. Reading method. The old system of "turn about" reading, when a single Bible or other book was passed from pupil to pupil, has become obsolete, never more to be revived. Teachers, even now, too often get the class-room "reading habit." However, reading exercises should not be wholly eliminated. Choice readings, taken from the Holy Word, strike home. There is nothing that can take the 134 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING place of the word of the Lord, read, when occasion calls for it (SeeIINephi4:15). b. The lecture method. The lecture method presupposes a most careful preparation on the part of the teacher. The teacher, himself a master in content, often uses "short cut" language far too difficult for the immature mind. The students take notes. This method has no place in the lower grades, but it may have value in university work. The lay teacher often confuses the so-called "pouring in" method and the lecture method. The gospel teacher must not use the lecture method. c. The "pouring in" method. This form of class-room instruction, so extensively used, cannot be said to be method at all. Method implies system, the what and the how of teaching more or less guided by safe and sane rule. But what of the so-called "pouring in" method?^ It tells some- thing of everything. It gives "any old thing in any old way." It may be likened unto a dumping process. The teacher talks on, and on, and on, his clatter often approach- ing the point of the garrulous. The pupil is bored. The entire lesson moves along lines of least resistence. And why is this so-called method so extensively used? The teacher sometimes drifts unconsciously into it. He often resorts to it as an expedient, because he has nothing better to give. He often uses it, because he is too lazy to make the pupils work. He often uses it to gratify an "ungovernable lust for talking." "Preaching is not teaching" (Driggs). The so- called "pouring in" method may be said to be the lecture method "gone to seed." It has no place in gospel teaching. Do you, as a gospel teacher, ever use it? d. The "entertainment" method. This form of teaching cannot be called method. It merely entertains, the teacher often becoming dramatic and personal. It is unusually easy hence attractive to the teacher not well prepared. It often deals with self hence it gratifies the teacher's sense of pride. Have you ever observed a teacher who loves to tell anecdotes, to excite laughter, to display his wit, to relate his personal experiences, to entertain to do anything, in fact, but stay with his lesson material? This is what we THE PRESENTATION OF MATTER 135 mean by the so-called "entertainment" method. Do you, as a gospel teacher, ever feel disposed to put on such class^ room entertainment? e. The topical method. The topical method makes as- signed talks a specialty. It has both virtue and lurking clangers. If carried to excess, the topical method develops the few at the expense of the many, and the unused many, chafing under class-room tediousness, grow restless. This means, of course, that discipline becomes extremely diffi- cult. The youthful mind attends to those things in which it is most interested. The topical method must not be used as a prevailing method. f. The story method. The story is as old as the race, co-existent with man himself. The story, together with its class-room uses and abuses, will be considered in the lesson which deals with the reinforcement of material. g. The Socratic method. This method derives its name from Socrates, the illustrious Greek teacher. And what are its essential features? The teacher, by means of carefully prepared questions, inspires the pupil to discover the les- son truths for himself. That is, he helps the pupil to help himself by means of the question answered and the question asked, and in so doing he fosters a democratic class-room spirit. The teacher, in a word, merely directs, and the pupil does the work. The Socratic method, generally speaking, is the one best method, if one best method there be, but it can be easily abused. The recitation, so based on the question- and-answer method, must not be permitted to "run wild," neither must the teacher degenerate into a "rapid fire" ques- tioner. 6. Christ and method. Christ, the greatest of all gospel teachers, always used method. He did not, however, "pour in" or merely "entertain." His method always drove home some vital lesson truth. And, moreover, he did not use one best method, to the exclusion of all others, but He always varied His method, as well as His material, to answer the needs of the occasion. Let us cite concrete cases in which this Master Teacher used various methods of lesson presen- tation. 136 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING a. The reading. Luke 4:16-20. b. The lecture. Ill Nephi 12-13. c. The story. Matt. 22:1-14. d. The conversational. Luke 20:1-8. e. The injunctional. Dec. and Cov. 38:42. f. The instructional. Doc. and Cov. 88:123-126. ,. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. In what sense do we use the term "lazy teacher?" 2. Discuss the three essentials in the gospel teacher's personal fitness to teach. 3. What should the recitation involve, and what are the several steps? 4. Discuss the great objective in all gospel teaching, together with the means of reaching it. 5. Name the several methods of lesson presentation. 6. What is the essential difference between the "pouring in" and the "entertainment" method? 7. Discuss the uses' and the abuses of the topical method. 8. Does the average gospel teacher use or abuse the story method? Why? 9. Name several values in the Socratic method. 10. Show that the Master Teacher used a variety of methods, and at times a composite of methods. LESSON 25 THE REENFORCEMENT OF MATERIAL Text: "So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, .lovest thou me? He saith to him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep." John 21:15-17. 1. A few helpful suggestions. We remember or we do not remember, just as the lesson truths do or do not become of personal interest to us. We obey or we .do not obey, just as the lesson truths do or do not affect us. The youthful mind thinks in the terms of concrete details. It follows, therefore, that all gospel teaching, both in the what of it and the how of it, must make a concrete appeal. If such appeal be not made, the pupil will not be seriously "exposed." Let us cite a few simple rules, which, followed, will make lesson truths concrete. The appeal must be personal, not impersonal. That is, we affect (touch or move) the normal pupil more vividly when we talk about "OLD BOSS," than when we talk about just cow. The appeal must be in the terms of the concrete particu- lar, not in the terms of the abstract general. That is, the normal pupil finds more personal interest in just how "Tommy" plays ball, than he finds in the rules of how to play ball. Christ used this law of appeal (See Luke 10:25-37). The appeal must be in words which suggest mental pic tures, not in words which attempt to convey abstract ideas. That is> the normal child is more vividly interested in and 138 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING i affected by a detailed recital of Christ's baptism the where of it, the what of it, the how of it than he is interested in and affected by an abstract lecture on the necessity and the mode of baptism. As proof of this simple law of ap- peal, we have but to compare the account of Christ's bap- tism with the abstract doctrinal reasoning of Paul (See Matt. 3:13-17. Acts 19:1-7. Romans 6:1-6). These simple rules of memory and appeal followed, the gospel teacher will experience little or no difficulty in "putting over" the thrill and the grip and the effectiveness of class-room work. And so we now pass naturally to a consideration of our present problem that of the rein- forcement of lesson material. This we shall consider under three headings: the why of it, the what of it, and the how of it. a. The why of it. The big lesson truth, this hub of our lesson wheel, must be driven home. The lesson truth itself will nail, but the reinforcing material must clinch. This reinforcing material, wisely chosen, will 5mA; the lesson truth, so that it will become "warp and woof," so to speak, of the pupil's inner life. The nude lesson thought, apart from an illustrative covering, has little power of appeal. May we compare such nude lesson thought, unadorned, to dough without leaven, or to the bare soil without the life- quickening power of the sun? b. The what of it. The gospel lesson must be simple. The gospel lesson must be concrete. The gospel lesson must be rich in illustrative material. The gospel lesson must be reinforced with material taken from the lives of the boys and the girls, or from the concrete every-day life with which they are more or less familiar. This type of teaching the Christ followed, both as to lesson thought and the use of illustra- tive material. Let us cite a case in point. When this Master Teacher said, "Ye are the salt of the earth," how aptly He chose His material for a people who lived near the Dead Sea, and how effectively He drove home the point He wanted to convey! Again, when this Master Teacher said, "A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid," how admirable His THE REENFORCEMENT OF MATERIAL 139 appeal to His disciples who lived in Jerusalem, a city set high above any other city in that neighborhood! And in such manner must the gospel teacher teach. He must gather and use illustrative material which will, by rea- son of its very nature, reinforce the lesson truth. Let us cite a possible case in point. The lesson has to do with Esau and the sale of the birthright (See Gen. 27). Can we not drive home the lesson truth by making each boy and each girl present AN Esau, with a birthright? Shall we sell that birthright, as did Esau? Shall we barter away our right to the blessing for a "mess of pottage" that of pleasure, that of gain, that of lust, that of fashion? If we do, what will be the penalty? If we do, shall we not cut ourselves off from the blessirgs of the Lord, just as the sale cut off Esau? This is what we mean by a lesson vitalized. Such a les- son is simple. Such a lesson is concrete. Such a lesson grips the attention. Such a 'lesson arouses a personal in- terest. Such a lesson fits into the life of the pupil. Such a lesson answers some present need of the pupil. Such a lesson enables the pupil to see new light. Such a lesson thrills the pupil to feel this new light, Such a lesson impels the pupil to live this new light. Such a lesson fills the pupil with a burning desire to teach this new light. Such a lesson inspires the pupil to aspire to better and to nobler ideals. What more, we ask, can be expected of any gospel lesson? It pays. c. The how of it. The lesson truth may be reinforced in several ways, all used by the Christ. We may use ex- ample (See Mark 9:33-37). We may use illustration (See Luke 15:1-10). We may use personal experience (See John 10). We may use comparison (See Matt. 13:44-46). We may use observation taken from current life (See Matt. 16:1-3). We may use the story (See Luke 16:19-31). Or, we may use a composite of one or more of these. Let us now consider the various types of lesson reinforcement some- what in detail. 1. Lesson reinforcement: the Example. The example consists of some concrete case, which, in all essential de^ 140 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING tails, tends to establish the lesson truth. Let us cite two cases with which the pupil is more or less familiar. The lesson deals, say, with the glory and crown of motherhood. Hannah of old furnishes a striking example. Barren and lonely, she covenanted with the Lord that, if He would give her a son, she would, in turn, consecrate that son unto the Lord, and unto the Lord's work. And this she freely did (See I Sam. 1), and Samuel became a child of promise in a dual sense. Again, the lesson deals, say, with a life of unselfish service, following conversion. Paul of Tarsus may serve as our example (See Acts 7-9, and on). 2. Lesson reinforcement: the Illustration. The gospel teacher cannot overestimate the power and the value of the illustration as a teaching asset. It makes the lesson real and life-like: the appeal is simple, concrete, and personal. The Old Testament has its symbol, and the New Testament fairly bristles with crystal-clear parable and life-giving figure. Let us cite a choice few. Joseph's future was made known in youthful dreams, ex- pressed in beautiful figures (See Gen. 37). Again, Ezek- iel's "valley of dry bones" and his "sticks," later to be "joined" (See 37), fairly grip the reader with their life- like character. Christ's parables always carry their own lesson. He draws from nature the parables of "the sower" and "the wheat and the tares" (See Matt. 13). "The prodi- gal son" (See Luke 15) teaches the lesson, "as a man sow- eth." In the matter of final justice, this Master Teacher makes His point clear with the parable of the virgins (See Matt. 25). 3. Lesson reinforcement: the personal Experience. The personal experience, wisely used, has class-room value. The experience may be the teacher's own, or it may be taken from the life of some person, with whom the pupil is more or less familiar. The personal experience may easily be "over-worked," even to a point that teaching ceases to be teaching. 4. Lesson reinforcement: the Comparison. Comparison has basic value in the learning process. Everything in life is like unto, or it is different from, everything else. The THE REENFORCEMENT OF MATERIAL 141 youthful mind passes readily from the known to the un- known, when such known and unknown appear side by side in their likeness (comparison), or in their unlikeness (contrast). The Prophet tells us that "all things have their likeness" (See Doc. and Cov. 128:13). Again, the Christ loved to use His "likening" figure. "The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven," or "like unto treasure hid in a field," or "like unto a net," etc. (See Matt. 13). Again, He "likened the kingdom of heaven unto a certain king" (See Matt. 18:23-35). Again, in His first Great Command- ment, the Christ says that "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart" (See Matt. 22). And what does He mean by "heart?" Simply another comparison that is all. The heart! constant, consistent, unfaltering, never- lagging such is the function and the work of the human heart, this blood-pumping organ so essential to the life processes. It follows, then, that just as the heart serves man, so must man serve his God. The comparison becomes, as we study it, more and more beautiful. And so taught the Christ by comparison. So, likewise, must the gospel teacher teach by comparison, such compari- son taken, as far as practicable, from the common-place life of the pupil. 5. Lesson reinforcement: the Story. The story is as old as the race, coexistent with man himself. The story will never die. The story has always been, and will doubtless continue to be, a favorite means of reinforcing the lesson truths. a. The story as an asset. Asset implies a possible lia- bility, and so the story may prove a class-room asset or a class-room liability it all depends. Depends upon what, we may ask? Two things chiefly, namely, the story itself, and the teacher's art or no-art in telling it. The gospel teacher must always deal in assets, and so the story must be made an asset. The story, to be an asset, must be carefully selected. The story, to be an asset, must be charmingly told. The story, to be an asset, must have "carry over" values. The story, to be an asset, must make a personal appeal. The 142 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL ' TEACHING story, to be an asset, must be simple, concrete, richly sug- gestive. b. The story and its uses. The story possesses specific class-room values, priceless to teacher and pupil alike. These values the gospel teacher must keep clearly in mind. The story clarifies the lesson thought. The story amplifies the lesson thought. The story enriches the lesson thought. The story aids the memory. The story makes discipline rela- tively easy (See below). The story breathes into the les- son the "breath of life," and the lesson becomes, as it were, a "living soul" (See Moses 3:7). c. The story and its abuses. As asset implies possible liability, so does use imply possible abuse. The story has abuses, grievous to teacher and pupil alike. These abuses the gospel teacher must keep clearly in mind. The story may be abused by using it merely to entertain. The story may be abused by using at merely to hold order. The story may be abused by using it as an end, not as a means to an end. The story may be abused by using it as a device to "get over the time." The story may be abused by making it supercede the lesson truth, not to supplement it. The story may be abused by selecting one of the "wishy washy" order, not one of worth-while value. 6. Lesson reinforcement: the personal Appeal. The wise 1 gospel teacher will make the most of personal appeal. The pupil likes that teacher who appeals to the pupil's sense of honor, to his sense of right and wrong, to his ideals of what should or should not be done. Let us give a few simple suggestive appeals. Shall we, as Esau of old, sell cur birthright? Shall we, as the New Testament fig tree (See Matt. 21. Also, Jesus the Christ., page 524|), incur divine displeasure by appearing to be what we are not? Shall we look to Abraham Lincoln as our ideal in civic honor? Shall we look to Karl G. Maeser as our ideal in true gospel teaching? Shall we do something, as a class, to "carry over" the lesson truth? "Shall the youth of Zion falter?" THE REENFORCEMENT OF MATERIAL 143 QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Discuss the values in the lesson text. 2. Discuss the several things essential to make the lesson appeal concrete and simple. 3. Give several reasons why the gospel lesson should be reinforced. 4. What do we mean by a gospel lesson vitalized? 5. What is the essential difference between example and illustra- tion? 6. Bring to the class one example and one illustration, to show their value in lesson reinforcement. 7. Show the value of comparison in the learning process. 8. Discuss the story: its values, its uses, and its abuses. 9. Show wherein personal appeal may foster the spirit of mutual helpfulness. 10. Select two instances to show wherein the Christ reinforced His lesson truth. LESSON 26 THE CHECKING OF MATERIAL Text: "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in* the law of the Lord ; and in his law cloth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Psalm 1:1-3. 1. A few examples of the checking system. "Behold these: and he beheld the first that it had brought forth much fruit; and he beheld also, that it was good" (See Jacob 5:20). That tells the whole story the "much" and the "good" fruit. Let us cite checking tests in the world of men. a. The banker strikes his daily balance. The debit and the credit side of the ledger must agree to the penny. This must be, no matter how long and how tediously the bank accountant has to work overtime to discover the wrong or the missing entry. What would you think of the banker who failed or neglected or refused to get out his daily bal- ance sheet? Would you care to do your banking with him? It follows, then, that the banker must "check up." b. The merchant has what he pleases to call his "annual stock-taking." By this we mean that once a year the merch- ant makes an inventory of his assets and his liabilities, prop- erly classified that is, he "checks up." Then he strikes a balance. This balance sheet, with its credit and its debit entries, reveals at a glance the financial standing of the merchant whether he has succeeded, or whether he has failed. If you were a wholesaler, would you care to extend credit to the merchant who 'failed or neglected or refused to "take stock?" If he has no annual stock taking, how would you be able to ascertain the net results of -his business venture, or how could you give him an accurate business rating, or how could you feel safe in extending credit to THE CHECKING OF MATERIAL 145 him? It follows, then, that the merchant must "check up." c. The manager of a baseball team must record the daily playing averages of each player such as the batting average, the fielding average, the base-running average, etc. The manager makes much of these playing averages, so much so that he has them appear once a week on the sport page of the daily paper. And why? Shall he retain an individual player, or shall he let an individual player go? That question the manager answers after he has carefully studied his chart, which shows the net daily average of such indi- vidual player. This seems to be the only fair and safe rule to guide the manager in his final decision. It follows, then, that the manager of the baseball team must "check up." And so we might multiply the list, almost without limit. We know that a man succeeds or he fails } just as he does or does not carry out a thorough check on his work, and then govern himself accordingly. What, then, shall we say of the gospel teacher? Shall we make him and his work subject to the rule, or an exception to the rule? Much of the teacher's success or failure, hence much of the church's success or failure, depends upon our answer. There can be but one answer. 2. Checking values : the lesson itself. a. The gospel teacher muot make a thorough check on the lesson, before he enters the class-room. He must be able to say of his work what the Lord said of His work, "It is good" (See Genesis 1). Of what, then, must this final check consist? . The gospel teacher must check the lesson material itself and its values hub, spokes, rim so that he can say, "It is good." He must check the lesson material as to orderly arrangement (organization), so that he can say, "It is good." He must check the lesson as to the reinforcing material, so that he can say, "It is good." He must check the lesson as to some general method of presentation of material, so that he can say, "It is good." b. Checking values: the review. Repetition has been called the "mother of education." Can we not say, also, that review is the "father of memory?" The Christ, to be crucified, certainly found strength in His prayer repeated 146 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING (See Matt. 26:36-45). The review occupies a tremendously important place in the gospel lesson. Let us point out some of its values. The review links up the familiar old (last lesson) with the less familiar new (current lesson), and the pupil sees the points of likeness or difference. Again, the review enlarges the pupil's vision, so that he sees the old truth at a somewhat different angle he is "born again" (See John 3:1-3). Again, the review gives new and better inspiration, with its life-giving powers. Again, the review makes a careful check on the pupil's conception of old lesson truths, and thereby enables the teacher to correct false impressions a something important to do. Again, the review reimpres- ses the old truth, and in so doing helps the teacher to help the pupil to build religious habits. And we must remark, in passing, that great writers and teachers, almost without exception, begin to sense more and more keenly the fundamental values in the building of religious habits. Again, the review helps the teacher to help the pupil to acquire more perfect attitudes to see himself, if you please, as he affects the life and the conduct of his fellow-man. The world has gone wrong so we are told. And why? Man as an individual, and men as a group unit, have nur- tured perverted attitudes. The world has one hope, and one only that of the converted attitude: the religious at- titude, the civic attitude, the vccational attitude. And this thought brings us right back to our immediate objectives, and these, in turn, back to our ultimate objective. The review, then, serves as a check on lesson values. Shall we not, as gospel teachers, make the review an impor- tant part of lesson work? It will pay. c. Checking values: the preview. "The preparation of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord" (See Proverbs 16:1). Let us sum up asset values in the preview a something most fundamental in the gospel lesson. The preview fertilizes the human soil for the new seed to be planted. The preview serves as an "opening wedge" to the new lesson truth. The preview arouses an interest in THE CHECKING OF MATERIAL 147 the new lesson thought. The preview whets the pupil's appetite for the new lesson truth. The preview inspires the pupil's confidence to attack the new lesson truth. The pre- view challenges the pupil's power to do, and to do well. The preview must include enough to open up new vision. The preview must not include enough to dull the pupil's sense of curiosity. The preview usually comes last, but it may come earlier in the lesson. Do you, as a gospel teacher, make preview on integral part of your lesson work? If not, why not? 3. Checking values: the class-room tests. The gospel teacher has taken his final pre-recitation check, and he has said of his work, "It is good." But is all the work good? That remains to be seen, in part at least. The real test is now on the test of the recitation. Will the lesson ma- terial "carry over?" Will the method work? Let us ask a few questions, which may help the teacher to "check up" on his class-room values. The teacher must find his own answer. a. Have I established a point of contact? That is, do the pupils get me, and do I get the pupils? b. Have I aroused a wholesome interest? That is, do the pupils look upon the lesson as MY lesson and OUR lesson, and not as the YOUR lesson? Christ so aroused interest (See John 8:31-58). c. Have I secured an attending attention? That is, do the pupils really attend, or is the attention apparent only? (See Luke 8:18). A writer has defined inattention as attention to something else, in which the pupil has a more direct, personal, lively interest. d. Am I getting a cheerful response, and is that response of the worth-while order? That is, does the pupil's better life, touched., respond in the terms of the useful? "Lord, what will thou have me to do?" (See Acts 9). e. Do my pupils get the lesson truth, or is it so much "Pig Latin" to them? That is, do content and method fit, always kept within the mental range and the spiritual vision of my pupils? Christ's pupils followed Him (See Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43). 148 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING f. Do my pupils feel what I am teaching? That is, do content and method touch the inner selves of my pupils^ so that they thrill and vibrate in their new-found joy? (See III Nephi 11:3.) g. Am I hitting the "bull's eye?" That is, do content and method strike home, or do my lesson shots go afoul? h. Am I entirely satisfied with my lesson work? If so, why? If not, why not? i. Could I possibly do better? If so, how? 4. Checking values: the living t&sts. Why do Latter- day Saints look upon Karl G. Maeser as a master teacher? Why do we classify gospel teachers as excellent, as good, as fairly good, as mediccre? What is the real test of such teacher's value? The answer is simple, self-evident, con- clusive. The bank's strength we measure in the terms of the assets and the liabilities. The strong bank has assets, of course, greatly in excess of liabilities. Why not, then, measure the gospel teacher's strength in the terms of his ass3ts? And what do we mean by his assets? Why his followers, of course: boys and girls in the class-room, and men and wom- en, once his pupils, now battling with the problems of life. Has the gospel teacher followers? Has he converts? How many disciples follow him? Are these disciples boys and girls, men and women, of whom the world can be justly proud? Number and quality of converts, then that i*s the real living test. Ammon's Lamanite converts furnish a strik- ing example (See Alma 27). Let us list a few of the things which go to make up the worthy disciple. a. Conversion. That is, has the pupil been "pricked" in his heart? (Sea Acts 2:27-29). That is the real test of conversion. b. A well-balanced faith. That is, does the pupil believe all the gospel all the time, or does he believe part of the gospel some of the time? (See Doc. and Cov. 136: 41-42.) c. Civic veneration. That is, has the pupil a belief in, a love for. a devotion to law and order, to a point that he THE CHECKING OF MATERIAL 149 Avill himself obey law, and sea that others obey it? (See Doc. and Cov. 134:1-5.) d. Vocational leanings. That is, does the pupil do his share of the world's work, and do it well, so that he not only supports self, but he also makes a real contribution to human wants? (See Doc. and Cov. 68:30-31.) e. Habit-building powers. That is, has the pupil so far mastered self, that he can direct his habits, not his habits direct him? (See Doc. and Cov. 93:12-30.) f. Correct attitudes. That is, has the pupil acquired a right attitude toward life, toward man, toward God? (See Mosiah 5:1-5.) g. Example set. That is, does the pupil set an example, or is he learning to set an example, after which other pupils may profitably fashion their lives? (See Romans 14: 13-23.) h. Service rendered. That is, is the pupil a "good Samaritan" in the making? (See Luke 10.) i. Divinity obeyed. That is, has the pupil learned to say, or is he learning to say, "Lord, here am I, send me?" (See Abraham 3:27.) 5. Checking values : the self test. Man, know thyself." May not the gospel teacher "check up" on self? May he not evaluate his own teaching success? May he not know, in part at least, how his teachings affect others, if he can but find out how his teachings affect self? This self-check is fundamental. It will help the teacher to know self, to know his power to teach, to know why he teaches. Let the gospel teacher, then, quiz self, answering the questions directed to self in a sincere, courageous way. a. Do 'I believe in my work? b. Do I love boys and girls? c. Do I feel, deeply so, the truths of Mormonism? d. Does the work of soul-saving thrill me with a joy divine? (See Enos 1:9.) e. Is my church work cheerfully and willingly done? (See Doc. and Cov. 64:33-34.) f. Have I done my level best? (See II Timothy 4.1-8.) 150 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING g. Do I sense my calling as a watchman in modern Israel? (See Ezekiel 33:1-16. ) h. Do I feel, as the Christ admonished Peter to feel, that man's first duty is to "Feed my lambs?" (See John 21.) i. Do I know, feel, live, teach, and aspire, even as I would have my pupils to know, to feel, to live, to teach, and to aspire? (See Jacob 1:18-19.) j. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (See John 15). If I am not called upon to die for my friends, may I not live for them? QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What is the real check on all gospel teaching? 2. What lessons may we learn from the case of the banker? Of the merchant? Of the athletic team? 3. Show wherein the gospel teacher must make a final pre- recitation check. 4. Give several values growing out of the review. 5. What should be the nature and the make-up of the preview? 6. Name several class-room checks. 7. What do we mean by the living tests? Name several points in connection with them. 8. What is the self test? And what is the value of it? 9. What does "my level best", really involve? 10. We shall not likely be called upon to die for Mormonism, What then is the most valuable thing we can do? And what does it involve? LESSON 27 THE SOCIALIZED GOSPEL LESSON Text: "Appoint among yourselves a teacher and let not all be spokesmen at once; but let one speak at a time, and let all listen unto his sayings, that when all have spoken, that all may be edified of all, and that every 1 man may have an equal privilege." Doc. and Cov. 88:122. 1. A few helpful suggestions. Did you ever hold a so-called conversation, in which the other fellow did all the talking, and you tried to do all the "listening in?" How did you like it? Was it mutually profitable?" Again, some years ago, Japan and the United States engaged in a somewhat heated diplomatic controversy. By treaty agreement then in force, Japanese children, living in the United States, were entitled "to equal privileges in the public schools." The State of California did not then, as it does not now, believe in racial equality as between the two nations, including the unrestricted commingling of school children. Accordingly, in the districts occupied alike by the whites and the browns, two separate school units were established, having in purpose the segregation of the white children and the brown children. The two school units, in all essential points, were equally equipped that is, in buildings, playgrounds, teachers, and such like. The white children and the brown children, thus segregated, had little or no social contact. Japan objected, and an appeal was made to our Federal Government at Washington, D. C. Japan held that, in spite of all physical provisions, all equal to those of the white children, Japanese children did not enjoy, and could not enjoy, equal rights under a system of segregation. That is, the children, so segregated, did not and could not grow equally without the social life of the whites, without the socialized gospel lesson, without the socializing influence of direct contact, without the benefits of a mutual give-and-take social intercourse so 152 PPOBIEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING helpful in school life. Apart from all considerations of racial prejudices and racial differences, was or was not Japan right? Did or did not Japan have a real grievance? Be that as it may, we must all agree with Japan that, next in importance to and perhaps equal with the lesson itself, the social influence of the class-room, including the social- ized gospel lesson, has far-reaching effects upon the child's life. And that is the point now under consideration. Again, about two years ago, Prof. W. H. Boyle, of the Brigham Young University, visited the writer's classes in theology. He remained an interested listener until toward the close of the forenoon period, when the writer invited him to speak to the boys and the girls. And this he did; and the writer has never forgotten his few words, so ex- pressive of class-room values. He said: "Brother , I've certainly enjoyed my visit here, and the class-room activities. However, I haven't taken as much notice of the questions you've asked the class as I've taken of the questions the boys and the girls have asked you." That is the thought exactly. That simple teaching law so simply stated gives the essence of class-room values in a nutshell the socialized gospel lesson. Lesson values consist, then, not alone in what the gospel teacher gives to his pupils, but in what the pupils give to the teacher, and also to one another the work of mutual exchange, if you please. Again, Solomon, wise under a special dispensation from God (See I Kings 3:1-15), admonished us to "Train up a child in the way he should go," etc. (See Proverbs 6:22). "Train!" Just what did Solomon mean by it? Certainly not instruction-giving alone that is not sufficient. To train, as Solomon meant it, and as we now interpret it, means to teach the child, to have the child say, to have the child do, to have the child react in a given way to a given situation, to have the child build asset habits, to have the child acquire correct attitudes all these, we say, fall within the scope of Solomon's training injunction. It follows, then, that Solomon understood the necessity for a socialized gospel life. Again, "Man cannot grow to his highest perfection alone" THE SOCIALIZED GOSPEL LESSON 153 Let us give, in abbreviated form, a striking illustration of this simple teaching truth, taken from Driggs, The Art of Teaching, page 25. It was suggested to an old lumber- man, in Oregon, that a certain sturdy pine tree growing alone on the hill-side would make fine lumber. The old lumber- man shook his head. And why not? The old man answered that the "tree grows out all by itself. It has all the chance it wants to grow big limbs. * * And every big limb means a big knot. It would be a tough old stick to handle and the lumber wouldn't be worth much when we got it. It's the tree that grows in the grove that makes straight-grained lumber." The tree, growing in the forest, cannot produce strong, shaggy limbs, but the growth must be skyward, the tree's limbs and br arches seeking life and light above them. It must, as such, "give and take, but in sharing space with the fellow-trees it gains much, provided always it has room enough to grow into a healthy tree." And may we not say, with Driggs,, that "what the grove is to the tree, the school should be to the pupil?" What, then, shall we say of the gospel class-room? It must be a magnetic center for the socialized life of boys and girls. It must be a place where teacher and pupil alike take an active part. It must have a "give ard take" spiritual atmosphere. It must havs common interests. It must be impregnated with a feeling of mutual helpfulness. It must thrill with questions asked and answered, bolh on the part of the teacher and the individual pupil. 2. Class-rootn agencies: the appeals. The teacher him- self makes an appeal the first of all class-room assets. Again, the lesson content makes an appeal the second of all class-room assets. Again, the reinforcement of lesson content makes an appeal the third of all class-room as- sets. Again, the method of presenting lesson content makes an appeal the fourth of all class-room assets. The pupil, of course, receives much help and much in- spiration from all these, including all that the teacher says and does. That, however, is not enough. The pupil grows, as we have already observed, by all that which he himself says, or that which he himself does. He learns to say by 154 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING saying, ard he learns to do by doing. "Practice makes perfect" that is a simple learning truth, as old as the race. The pupil grows, also, by reason of that which his fellow- pupil says, and that which his fellow-pupil does. There must be in every socialized gospel lesson, a mutual exchange of conceptions and of ideals the very things out of which the gospel teacher manufactures his pupils into the men and the women of tomorrow. It follows, therefore, that the gospel teacher who preaches, or the gospel teacher who entertains, or the gospel teacher who otherwise monopolizes that class-room time which rightfully belongs to pupils, "filches" from them "that which not enriches him," but makes them "poor indeed." (See Othello, Act III, Scene 3.) That is, such gospel teacher commits two evils. He denies the pupil, in the first place, the inherent right to say and to do; and, in the second place, he curtails the pupil's growth by not letting him benefit by what other pupils say and do. Are you or are you not, as a gospel teacher, guilty of these two grievous class-room evils? 3. Benefits in socialized gospel lesson: the teacher. a. The gospel teacher does not preach. b. The gospel teacher does not entertain. c. The gcspel teacher does not cultivate an ungovernable lust to hear himself talk. d. The gospel teacher learns to sense mutual rights and obligations: those of the teacher to the pupil, those of the pupil to the teacher, those of the pupil to his fellow- pupil. e. The gospel teacher gets the pupil's point of view. f. The gospel teacher learns to see and to appreciate, even as the pupil sees and appreciates. g. The gospel teacher learns to live with, as well as to live for his pupils. h. The gospel teacher steers, but he is willing to let the pupil share in the pleasures and the benefits of rowing. i. The gospel teacher serves as the class-room general. But what successful general was ever known to do all the fighting? THE SOCIALIZED GOSPEL LESSON 155 j. The gospel teacher will win. 4. Beriefits in socialized gospel lesson: the pupil. a. The pupil learns to tell gospel truths by telling them, and to do gospel deeds by "doing them (See James 2). b. The pupil gains a confidence in self, and in self's power over self. c. The pupil learns to feel himself a real factor in the class-room unit. d. The pupil often gets flash-light inspirations new visions of content and of ideal, while he is expressing himself. e. The pupil acquires the matchless art of answering and of asking questions. f. The pupil often wins a testimony. Latter-day Saints have, almost without number, won a testimony as to this great latter-day work, while they have been en their feet, trying to express themselves. g. The pupil grows. Anent this thought, we can say, with Driggs, that "spirit- ual development can come only through spiritualized self- expression." That is, the pupil can win perfect religion only by saying religious truths, and by doing religious acts; there is no other perfect way. No religious thought has ever been fully impressed, "until it has been adequately expressed." This law is primal in all the learning process a something to be kept clearly in mind in all gospel teach- ing (See I John 1:5-7). "A fact never to be forgotten," says Dr. Bryan, "is that the life to be expressed is affected by the expression, just as truly as the expression is affected by the life to be expressed." And we may say, in passing, that this primal law of learning squares perfectly with Lehi's "men are, that they might have joy" (See II Nephi 2:25), and Christ's "spirit and element, inseparably connected, receiveth a fulness of joy" (See Doc. and Cov. 93:33). There can be, then, no perfect gospel teaching, and no perfect gospel joy, which does not embody both impression (the receiving) and expression (the giving) . 5. The socialized gospel lesson: the dangers. Life is 156 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING made up of opposites, everywhere present (See II Nephi 2:11-13). Man learns the one only as he sees it in its relation to the opposite. This ^law, life-wide, holds sway in the gospel class-room. Methcd is good or bad, bene- ficial or baneful, as the case may be. So, in keeping with this law, the socialized gospel lesson has its values, and it has its lurking dangers. Let us point out a few of these dangers. a. The class-room law may degenerate into group li- cense. b. The rabble spirit may supercede the sense of reason. c. The class unit may become unmanageable, like unto the run-a-way team, or the range herd stampeded. d. The class "ring leaders" may insist upon leading, the teacher becoming more or less of a helpless follower. e. The class-room discussion may be used as a "time killing" expedient, or it may offer opportunity for certain pupils to "show off." f. The teacher, in the midst of a fruitless, back-and- forth clatter, may lose sight of the lesson aim. 6. Christ and socialized teaching. The Christ loved the socialized gospel lesson, or the conversational method. Let us cite a few concrete examples. We have, in the first place, the case of the centurian, who besought this Master Teacher to save his servant (See Malt. 8:5-13). Again, we have the case of the woman taken in adultery, and the conversation which followed (See John 8:1-11. Read the entire chapter). Again, we have His sermon to the rich young man. on how to win eternal life (See Matt. 19: 16-30). Again, we have the "key to John's revelations," given entirely in the question-and-answer method (See Doc. and Cov. 77). QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. In what sense did Japan feel that Japanese children in Cali- fornia did not enjoy full treaty privileges? 2. Just what h involved in Solomon's injunction to "Train up a child?" 3. What great teaching truth do we find in the old lumberman's answer? THE SOCIALIZED GOSPEL LESSON 157 4. Discuss class-room agencies, and their several appeals. 5. In what ways will the teacher be benefited by the use of the socialized gospel lesson? 6. In what ways will the pupil be benefited by the use of the socialized gospel lesson? 7. What great teaching truth do the words of Dr. Bryan convey? 8. Show wherein the socialized gospel lesson squares with Mormon teachings. 9. Name possible dangers growing out of the socialized gospel lesson. 10. What proof have we that the Master Teacher used the social- ized gospel lesson? LESSON 23 THE ART OF QUESTIONING Text: "But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, * * and that they may recover themselves out of the snares of the devil." II Timothy 2:23-26. 1. Power in question illustrated. The question occu- pies a place indispensable in all spoken and written dis- course. Just as Article X of the League of Nations, elimi- nated, was said to have cut the heart out of the Treaty, so would the question, eliminated, cut the heart out of our language. We could not, seemingly, get along without it. Let us cite a few questions more or less familiar to all of us, the sole purpose of which citation is to show the power and the efficacy of the question. a. "Who's on the Lord's side, who?" What a wealth of thought it suggests! Let us see. The question, in the first place, commands our undivided attention it grips us in the very spot-light of interest. Then it recalls the his- tory of Ancient Israel at and near Mount Sinai (See Ex- odus) . And lastly, it challenges us to take sides the Lord's side, of course. No mere statement of fact, however, vivid, could quite take the place of this question. Try it and see. b. "Shall the youth of Zion falter?" "No!" Of course not that is the answer which thrills our very souls. More- over, the question inspires us to make the "chorus swell" in answer; not in faltering tones, but in the swell and the power of an "Anvil's Chorus." We will push on the Lord's w T ork. c. "Did you think to pray?" This is our question, my question. If we have neglected prayer in the past, we feel a vibrating impulse not to do so again. We will do better that is our answer. d. "0 say, what is truth?" This question appeals to THE ART OF QUESTIONING 159 the divinity within man. It makes him feel, moreover, that perhaps, after all, he has not done enough to find out God and His truths. And so there is born within him a resolve to know more of God and of His ways. 2. Class-room questions: the lessson test. The question is one of the most valuable class-room tests. As such, the skillful teacher may use it as a most powerful instrument for good. That same tool in the hands of the novice, may prove a most dangerous weapon. Now, all gospel teachers must use the question; and, as we are all gospel teachers, we must all use the question. It follows, therefore, that the gospel teacher must learn (acquire) the art of questioning. Let us give a few simple points on the question as a class- room tool. a. "The question skillfully used is at once the starter and the steering gear of the lesson" (Driggs). "The starter" that which ignites the class-room "gas," and off the recitation goes. "The stearing gear" that which keeps us clear, so to speak, of poles, of embankments, of colli- sions, of "miry clay" (See Daniel 2). What a wealth of suggestion! Is not the question, then, worth while? Shall we not master it? b. The question, skillfully used, calls for method. This type of teaching is known, in fact, as the Socratic Method, so named in honor of Socrates, the great Greek teacher. Socrates emphasized the question as a teaching tool and by means of it he led his pupils into the world of observation and research. That is, Socrates, by means of this class- room tool, spurred pupils on to self-effort, leading them to find out truths for themselves. In so doing, Socrates helped pupils to help themselves the ideal method in teaching. c. The normal pupil may be led, but not driven. It follows, then, that teaching, as the art of arts, must lead as a leading art. The gospel teacher may use the question, as did Socrates, in leading the pupil to help himself. d. The question calls for the best there is in the teacher. If he is an artist in the class-room question, he will easily "pass muster." His mind, his content values, his lesson 160 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING objectives, his power to command respectful interest, his class-room control all these we measure in the terms of his class-room questions. The question, in other words, brands him as master or as novice. e. The pupil, also, we know by means of the class-room question. His vision, his intellect, his ideals, his power to think, his content values, his control of self all these we measure in the terms of his power to answer and to ask questions. 3. Class-room question: its uses. The class-room ques- tion has certain specific uses (values). These uses the gospel teacher must know. Let us name some of them. a. It challenges. That is, the skillful question puts the pupil on the defensive, and he marshals his best powers to answer the challenge. Christ so used it (See Matt. 22: 15-22). b. It arouses. That is, the skillful question stirs the pupil, so that he will not be caught "napping." Christ so used it (See Luke 20:2-8). c. It grips the attention. That is, the skillful question calls for an attention which really attends it reacts. Christ so used it (See Matt. 12:47-50). d. It sustains interest. That is, the skillful question calls for continual alertness, an ever-ready readiness to cope with the unexpected. Christ so used it (See Matt. 25 :34-46) . e. It makes discipline relatively easy. That is, the skillful question will not permit attention to a something else. The youthful mind always attends (reacts), and that which we often call class-room disorder, is simply the pupil's attention gripped on a something more interesting. The normal pupil cannot be disorderly, when under the influence of an interesting question interestingly put. Christ so used the question (See Matt. 12:3-5). f. It inspires the pupil to aspire. That is, the skillful question will open up new vision and new ideal, and such new vision and new ideal once conceived, the pupil will be impelled by an absorbing desire to be "born again" (See John 3) into a higher and a better life. Christ so used the question (See Mark 8:14-21). THE ART OF QUESTIONING 161 4. Class-room question: the abuse. The question- and- answer method may be over-worked, and then it becomes a real class-room menace. Let us name some of its evils. The teacher becomes a sort of rapid-fire gattling gun. It puts the class-room on a nervous tension. It impedes easy, free, complete expression, the answers being of necessity choppy and jerky. It allows little or no time for mature thought. It throws the burden of class-work upon the teacher. See Bennion's Fundamental Problems in Teach- ing Religion, pages 144-145. 5. Class-room question: the classification. Not all questions have the same functions (uses), or the same rela- tive values; far from it. They differ as much in function and in value, as men differ in the number and the kind of talents (See Matt. 25. Also, I Cor. 15:39-41). The gospel teacher must, if he would cultivate the art of questioning, become familiar with the several types of question, together with the use and the value of each. It will help him to check self. Let us list the chief types. a. The review question. That is, this question must function to call up the main point or points of the last lesson. It must not serve as a mere test of memory. It must, on the contrary, stimulate the pupil to ponder, to weigh, to turn over in the mind, to think it out, to give finding and not fact. Christ's "Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am?" is a good example (See Matt. 16: 13-19). b. The fact-getting question. That is, this question merely serves as a test of knowledge. It exalts nude fact at the expense of the thought process. It often degenerates into the rapid-firing question, or into the "pumping" ques- tion. It has class-room value, but it must not be used as an exclusive method. Examples: How many sons had Jacob? Which of the boys did Jacob love best? Why were the older brothers jealous of Joseph? What did they do with Joseph? c. The "pumping" question. That is, this question "pumps" the pupil, just as the farm pump pumps the well. It is usually short and jerky, calling for a short and jerky 162 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING answer. It merely represents the fact-question "gone to seed." It has no place in the class-room. Examples: Who was Joseph Smith? When was he born? Where was he born? What was his father's name? Did he belong to any church? Was he a good boy? d. The "time 1 killing" question. That is, this question serves merely as a means to "get over the time." It comes from the teacher "sparring for time." It usually grows out of inadequate preparation. It has no "charted route." It happens in a sort of "hit and miss" way usually the miss. It has no place in the gospel class-room . e. The self-answering question. That is, this question is so put, that it suggests its own answer. The other day, "Jeff" formulated a list of questions as entrance require- ments to the "Lion Tamers' Club." They run as follows: "When was the war of 1812? In what season of the year do we have summer? What is the name of the state in which Ohio is located?" Extreme and silly, did you say? Perhaps so. But how often do we hear class-room ques- tions just as extreme, just as silly! Watch, and see. f. The best question. That is, this question must be the right question at the right time, put in the right way. And therein lies the real art of questioning to know what and when and how. The best question does not confine itself exclusively to any one type of question, but it may take the form of any one of several types, or it may be a composite of several types. Let us name some of its essential points. It must be well thought out. It must be well directed. It must have "kick" and "punch." It must strike home. It must fit the needs of the occasion. It must arouse a wholesome interest. It must secure an attending attention. It must be answerable. It must call for a well-rounded answer. 6. It may be well, at this point, to quote once more from Bennion's Fundamental Problems in Teaching Religion, THE ART OF QUESTIONING 163 page 149. It has, as its title, "Questions on Questioning." These questions will help the gospel teacher in his check of self. They follow: Do I call on my pupils to recite in a fixed order, ac- cording to alphabet or seating, so that they are warned not to attend till their turn comes? Do I name the pupil who is to answer before I put the question? Do I ask direct questions or alternative questions which can be answered without knowledge or thought? Do I ask chiefly fact questions? Do I ask leading or suggestive questions? Do I repeat my questions? Do I answer my own questions? Do I ask confusing, changed questions? Do I ask foolish questions that no one can answer? Do my questions make my pupils think? Do my questions follow up the answer and lead to new organization of knowledge? Do I repeat the pupil's answer? Do my questions reach all the members of the class? Do I make the recitation an inquisition, or do I pursue the slow pupil, and listen while pupils express themselves freely and naturally? 7. Christ and His question. Christ was a Master Ques- tioner. His questions always struck home. Let us cite a few in point. a. "Do men gather grapes of thorns?" (See Matt. 7:16) . b. "For what is a man profited?" (See Matt. 16:26). c. "If a man have a hundred sheep?" (See Matt. 18:12). d. "What think ye of Christ?" (See Matt. 22:41-46). QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. In what respects is the question so vital in all spoken and written discourse? 2. Bring to the class two questions richly suggestive. 3. Show wherein the question is an important class-room tool. 4. Name several ways in which the question is a real class-room test. 5. Name important uses of the class-room question. 164 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING 6. In what ways may the class-room question be abused? 7. Name and discuss the several types of class-room questions. 8. What do we mean by the best question? V/hat are its es- sential points? 9. Name several points which appeal most to you in "questions on questioning." 10. Cite concrete proofs that Christ was a Master Questioner. LESSON 29 CLASS-ROOM AND CLASS ATMOSPHERE Text: "Behold, verily, I say unto you, this is a sample unto you for a salutation to one another in the house of God, in the school of the prophets, and ye are called to do this by prayer and thanksgiving as the Spirit shall give utterance, in all your doings in the house of the Lord, in the school of the prophets, that it may become a sanc- tuary), a tabernacle of the Holy Spirit to your edification." Doc. and Cov. 88:136-137. 1. A few simple lessons. a. Taft's smile won. Once honored as President of the United States, discredited by his party in 1912, a "fallen hero," so to speak, for a number of years! Yet Taft kept on smiling. Friend and foe alike spoke of it as the smile that "wouldn't wear off;" and it did not. And with what results? Today, the United States, the world in fact, has no more honored citizen and friend than William Howard Taft, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. b. William M. Stewart, so long a teacher in the Uni- versity of Utah, still lives, though temporally dead. And, moreover, he will never die as far as the hearts and the lives of his students go. And why? Was it his technically trained intellect, or was it his wealth, or was it his line of high-sounding degrees? His students, almost chorus-like, answer, "No!" It was Stewart the man, Stewart the teacher, his personal charm, the "perfectly at home" atmosphere of his class-room. Always and everywhere, this man radiated some subtle, "sinking in" power, a something which thrilled, a something which made his students feel that, in the presence of William M. Stewart, they could do no serious wrong. His personal charm distilled itself into the lives of young men and women, just as the dews of heaven distil themselves into the tender plant life. The writer, on learn- ing of the death of William M. Stewart, remarked that he 166 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING would like to write the epitaph just the cne word, TEACHER. Shall we not, as gospel teachers, win even as Taft won? Shall we not. as gospel teachers, radiate a power for good even as did William M. Stewart? We can do so. It will pay so to do. 2. Class-room appearance: the physical. Man gets impressions. He cannot help it. He always "sizes up" appearance : in the home, in the office, in the workshop it matters not where he goes. Also, he cannot but measure, more or less, the virtues of the housewife in the terms of the physical home. This measurement man also takes as to the physician's professional skill he finds it in the physical make-up of the office, including the medicine stand and the chest. So, also, does man measure the tradesman's technical skill largely in the terms of the order or the disorder of his workshop. Shall we not in like manner measure the teacher's teaching efficiency and his personal charm largely in the physical appeal of his workshop the class-room? Somehow or other, class-room appearance and class-room spirit go hand in hand, and we cannot think of the one without and apart from the other. Let us consider, than, a few of the essentials which make up a favorable class- room appeal. a. Cleanliness. Cleanliness, we are told, is "next to godliness." That is not enough. Why not say that clean- liness plays an important part in all godliness? The class-room, then, must appear clean and tidy, but not fastidious. It must be "spic and span," but not squeamish to be used, as certain parlors we hear about, on "state oc- casions" only. b. Hygiene. The class-room must be hygienic. That is, it must be comfortably seated, with proper attention given to light and heat and ventilation. The comfort and the health of the pupil must be made fundamental as an end. And then, and then only, will these function readily as a means to promote class-room efficiency. Next to the home itself, the gospel class-room should be made the best and the CLASS-ROOM AND CLASS ATMOSPHERE 167 most inviting place in the world; and the pupil should be made so to feel and so to honor. c. The aesthetic. The pupil must not only win concep- tions, but he must build and cherish ideals. Do not the beautiful and the aesthetic reinforce the good and the true? Is it not more easy to be good and clean in the presence of the aesthetic and the modest, than in the presence of the ugly and vulgar (nude) ? Can we think sin in the home, when from the walls the father's eyes or the mother's eyes look down upon us in tender reproof? Can the pupil think serious evils in the class-room, on the walls of which hang pictures of the Christ, of the Prophet Joseph Smith, of the bishop of the ward, of the superintendent of Sunday School? The beautiful, the aesthetic, the good help us to restrain our carnal impulses, and, in addition, they inspire ennobling virtues. The gospel class-room, then, must be made aesthetic, just as much so as the teacher's mind can conceive, as his hand can work, as his purse can buy. It will pay. "Where there's a will, there's a way." d. The educational. The gospel class-room should be provided with a blackboard to be used. The gospel teacher must also have class-room tools. And what tools, may we ask? The class-room, in addition to the blackboard, must be provided with maps, charts, suitable pictures, 'a diction- ary, a small reference library, and other teaching tools, such as the gospel teacher may need in making the lesson thought simple, concrete, rich in illustrative material. The gardener must have tools the implements of his work. The gospel teacher must have tools the implements of his work. He cannot do good work without them. e. The reverent. The pupil cannot worship, when and where he does not revere. The pupil cannot be seriously lawless, when and where he does revere. It follows, then, that the gospel teacher must cultivate a reverent class-room atmosphere: for building, for authority, for Priesthood, for the word of the Lord. It follows, also, that the physical make-up of the gospel class-room has much to do with the reverent or the irreverent attitude en the part of the pupil. 168 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING The pupil cannot feel seriously reverent in a building or in a class-room used for "any and all purposes." 3. Class-room spirit: the teacher. a. His leadership. The gospel teacher must be a leader, so recognized by the class. Scott tells us that "As the leader is, so the followers will be." It could not be other- wise. Just as man looks to Christ as his pattern, so does the youthful mind, in a very substantial sense, look to the gospel teacher as his pattern the class-room "pull," so to speak. The pupil must have his ideal, the mould of his life, and where better can he look, or where better ought he to look, for this ideal or this mould, than to his gospel teacher? Out of what qualities does the pupil love most to build his ideals? Let us list a few points which the nor- mal pupil admires most in his gospel teacher: He must have "pep." He must not preach. He must make the pupils behave themselves. He must teach new truths. He must know his lesson. He must feel his lesson. He must live his lesson. He must be what his pupil would be. He must aspire to a higher and better life. b. His' "home like" mien. The gospel teacher must take into the class-room an easy, home-like spirit. He must feel perfectly at ease, moving among the boys and the girls in the spirit of leader and friend (Christ so moved among His disciples. See John 16). Then it must be that the feeling of ease and of comfort will "carry over" into the class-room behavior of the pupil. Then it must be that the pupil will feel, as the disciples of old said, "Lord, it is good for us to be here" (See Matt. 17) . c. His comradeship. Apart from the home itself, the pupil must find his choicest comradeship in his associa- tion with the gospel teacher. The teacher must, in addition, live not alone for his pupils but with them. But that is not enough. He must, moreover, be one of them, to the extent that he shares with them their joys and their sorrows, their CLASS-ROOM AND CLASS ATMOSPHERE 169 triumphs and their failures, their work and their play (recreations). Around and about such a gospel teacher the pupils will rally, and then, and then only, will the big problems of attendance and interest and class-discipline be happily solved. Christ cultivated a spirit of comradeship in His association with His disciples (See Mark 6:29-32). d. His spiritual glow. The gospel teacher must be fair- ly aglow with spiritual warmth and spiritual inspiration. "Did not our hearts burn within us?" (See Luke 25:32.) Again, "We know that thou art a teacher come from God" (^ee John 3:2). Again, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" (See Acts 26:28). So felt the disciples in the presence of the Christ, and so felt King Agrippa under the spiritual glow of Paul. Such spiritual glow the gospel teacher must enjoy. If he does, the pupil will feel, even if he does not say, "Teacher, it is good for us to be here." "The Spirit giveth life" (See II Cor. 3). 4. Class-room spirit: the pupil. The pupil has a class- room right, but he has also a class-room obligation the two go together. He must, as such pupil, cultivate a whole- some class-room attitude: toward self, toward his fellow- pupil, toward his teacher, toward the house of the Lord. Let us list a few points important to the pupil as a check on this right and this obligation. a. His sense of loyalty. b. His contribution to class-room success. c. His privilege and blessing to share. d. His sense of personal responsibility I can, I ought, I will. 5. Class-room spirit: the group. The normal class is made up of the leading few and the following many. The gcspel teacher must get these leaders. If he does, they will cooperate with him in securing proper class-room attitudes. Let us list a few such attitudes. a. Our class must lead. b. Our class must be loyal. c. Our class must be reverent. d. Our class must be clean. e. Our class must set an example. 170 PROBLEMS IN GOSPEL TEACHING 6. Class spirit: the outside activities. Class spirit must not begin and end in the class-room. Class-room work must have "carry over" values. The gospel teacher, we have said, must teach seven days in the week. So, also, must the gospel pupil live his lesson truths seven days in the week. There is no "getting off" place. Christ as Master Teacher worked all the time, and He took no "hot weather" or "cold weather" vacations. 7. Christ and teaching conditions. This Master Teacher loved best to teach under physical and spiritual conditions most favorable. "He went up into the mountain" to de- liver His Sermon (See Matt. 5). He "sat by the sea side" to utter His parables (See Matt. 13). He chose a "high mountain apart" for the Transfiguration (See Matt. 17). He taught the resurrection in an hour of bereavement (See John 11). He proved man's weakness, unaided, at a time when Peter felt himself the strongest (See Matt. 26). He appeared to the Nephites, as they were gathered "about the temple which was in the land Bountiful" (See III Nephi 11:1). And finally, He doubtless inspired the boy Joseph to go to what is now known as the "sacred grove" for the marvelous First Vision. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What teaching values may we learn from the lives of great men named ? 2. In what ways does the physical class-room affect the gospel lesson? 3. Show wherein the aesthetic environment influences the thought and the behavior of the class-room. 4. Discuss class-room conditions which promote a reverent class- room feeling. 5. Name several qualities which the pupil admires in the gospel teacher. 6. Discuss values growing out of the teacher's proper class-room spirit. 7. Why must the gospel teacher be aglow with spiritual inspira- tion? 8. Discuss the class-room attitude of the pupil, as an individual. 9. Discuss the class-room attitude of the pupils, as a group unit. 10. Show wherein Christ chose favorable conditions under which to teach. CLASS-ROOM AND CLASS ATMOSPHERE 171 'Finis : ''Through the deep caves of thought I hear a. voice that sings: Build thee more stately mansions, my soul, As the swift seasons roll! Leave the low-vaulted past! Let each new temple, nobler than the last, Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, Till thou at length art free, Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea!" Oliver Wendall Holmes. 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Smith 2.00 Postpaid Joseph Smith as Scientist Widtsoe 1.00 Postpaid The names of other good books will be sent upon application. Deseret Book Company 44 East on South Temple SALT LAKE CITY