In my Mission Preparation course, our instructor said that, “Teaching by the doctrine and history of the church is important; but, teaching by the Spirit is absolutely necessary and essential to the growth of the church.” “Rhetoric is the ability to get people on the same page as you…It is the ability to persuade or influence ideas, actions, and ideas.” (Writing and Rhetoric Pg. 4) Using this definition, I will mainly define how rhetoric is used in the mission field. But these ideas can also be carried over to every aspect of the LDS church.
Preach My Gospel is a manual given to missionaries that helps them develop rhetoric in their teaching. To explain, it helps teach them the skills they need to help an investigator better understand the gospel. The skills that are needed are outlined very specifically in the first chapter of Preach My Gospel. It doesn’t say that you need to know the entire history of the church or every scripture reference given (although these things could come in handy). It states you should teach by the Spirit at all times. The reason the manual doesn’t say you need to know all the specifics is because; “The Spirit (Holy Ghost) will teach you new truths and bring the doctrines you have studied to your remembrance, give you the words to speak in the moment you need them, carry the message to the hearts of the people, and help you discern the needs of the people you teach.” (PMG pg.3) If we pray for the Holy Ghost to be with us, keep the commandments, study diligently, and teach so they can understand the message, we will influence others. That is what rhetoric’s goal is. When we are teaching by the Holy Spirit, we are speaking rhetorically.
Unfortunately, we can’t (in most cases) teach without any previous knowledge of the gospel. The Lord said, “Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men” (D&C 11:21) Using rhetoric in a classroom setting is the same as using it in the mission field. We must first study and learn the material thoroughly before applying to various topics.
A testimony must be acquired through prayer. It is with prayer that the Spirit uses its rhetoric to teach us truths through our thoughts and feelings. Most LDS members have heard stories of missionaries bearing testimony to investigators. The influence of those testimonies have brought the Holy Spirit to some with such force that they read the Book of Mormon, asked if it is true, and the Spirit manifested it to them. I believe a personal testimony is the most powerful form of rhetoric. It is the reason so many people have joined the church, one of the reasons Joseph Smith organized it, and is why we continue to stay faithful to the teaching of the prophets.
I have concluded that there is rhetoric in the church. It’s everywhere! The Spirit uses it to help and direct us; Satan, to destroy us. Members use it to try and get people interested in the gospel, but it is the Lord and His Holy Spirit that influences people the most. If we are in tune with the Spirit, and have it with us all the time; we (with the Lord) can be the most influential people on Earth.
Showing posts with label missionary work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label missionary work. Show all posts
Monday, September 6, 2010
Rhetoric and Missionary Work
Rhetoric is the art of convincing an audience through communication. From the very beginning of the Book of Mormon - the title page - one very quickly sees that quite truly rhetoric has a very solid place as a principle in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to be more specific – missionary work generally and within the Book of Mormon.
To begin this exploration we will start with the title page of the Book of Mormon where Moroni writes, speaking of the Book of Mormon: “…to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever - And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God". If convincing an audience through communication is rhetoric, then the Lord uses the Book of Mormon as his style of rhetoric, or convincing, the world that “Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is his revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth”. (Introduction to the Book of Mormon, last paragraph.)
Another verse in the Book of Mormon illustrates the same idea – that rhetoric is prominent in missionary work, through the Book of Mormon:
“And now, it has hitherto been wisdom in God that these things [the Book of Mormon] should be preserved; for behold, they have…convinced many of the error of their ways, and brought them to the knowledge of their God unto the salvation of their souls.
“Yea, I say unto you, were it not for these things that these records do contain, which are on these plates, Ammon and his brethren could not have convinced so many thousands of the Lamanites of the incorrect traditions of their fathers; yeah, these records and their words brough them unto repentance; that is, they brought them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and to rejoice in Jesus Christ their Redeemer.” (Alma 37:8-9)
Rhetoric is used by the Lord every time the Book of Mormon is read, for the Book of Mormon was written for “the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God”, and the “[convincing] many of the error of their ways” so that they may find the truth: the restored gospel of Jesus Christ through the prophet Joseph Smith.
To begin this exploration we will start with the title page of the Book of Mormon where Moroni writes, speaking of the Book of Mormon: “…to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever - And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God". If convincing an audience through communication is rhetoric, then the Lord uses the Book of Mormon as his style of rhetoric, or convincing, the world that “Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is his revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth”. (Introduction to the Book of Mormon, last paragraph.)
Another verse in the Book of Mormon illustrates the same idea – that rhetoric is prominent in missionary work, through the Book of Mormon:
“And now, it has hitherto been wisdom in God that these things [the Book of Mormon] should be preserved; for behold, they have…convinced many of the error of their ways, and brought them to the knowledge of their God unto the salvation of their souls.
“Yea, I say unto you, were it not for these things that these records do contain, which are on these plates, Ammon and his brethren could not have convinced so many thousands of the Lamanites of the incorrect traditions of their fathers; yeah, these records and their words brough them unto repentance; that is, they brought them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and to rejoice in Jesus Christ their Redeemer.” (Alma 37:8-9)
Rhetoric is used by the Lord every time the Book of Mormon is read, for the Book of Mormon was written for “the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God”, and the “[convincing] many of the error of their ways” so that they may find the truth: the restored gospel of Jesus Christ through the prophet Joseph Smith.
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