9 And these are the words which he spake and caused to be written, saying: My brethren, all ye that have assembled yourselves together, you that can hear my words which I shall speak unto you this day; for I have not commanded you to come up hither to trifle with the words which I shall speak, but that you should hearken unto me, and open your ears that ye may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand, and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view.
(Mosiah 2:9)
When King Benjamin assembled his people for his final speech, he worked hard to prepare them to receive his message.
- He gathered them to the temple.
- He had them bring sacrifices to give thanks to the Lord.
- He had them sit together as families.
- He built a tower, so more people could hear his words.
- He had his words written and distributed for the people who couldn’t hear.
As David A. Bednar taught:
Learning by faith cannot be transferred from an instructor to a student through a lecture, a demonstration, or an experiential exercise; rather, a student must exercise faith and act in order to obtain the knowledge for himself or herself (“Seek Learning by Faith,” Ensign, Sept 2007).
Today, I will consider what my students need to do in order to learn effectively. I will think about how to encourage them to do their part, so that they can receive and internalize the message.