Teaching, No Greater Call Manual Helpful to Primary Teachers
Contributed By By Sister Rosemary M. Wixom, Sister Jean A. Stevens, and Sister Cheryl A. Esplin, Primary general presidency
Teaching, No Greater Call should be used as a reference book by Primary instructors to improve their teaching.
Article Highlights
- Use the Teaching, No Greater Call manual to help improve your teaching in Primary.
- Look in the table of contents for topics that address your interests and needs.
- Prayerfully study the chapter you have chosen and act on what you have learned.
“It is a sacred responsibility to teach children the gospel and help them learn to live it.” —Primary general presidency
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A young Primary leader called her mother one Monday morning, upset with two little boys in her Primary. She explained to her mother that she had prepared all week to teach the sharing time lesson, but because of the irreverent and disrespectful behavior of these little boys, her lesson had turned into a disaster.
She gave her mother some ideas of what she was going to do so it would never happen again. Her mother, who had been studying and preparing to teach a lesson titled “Love Those You Teach” from the Teaching, No Greater Call manual, was uneasy with some of her daughter’s ideas and worried that they could offend and result in hurt feelings.
After listening to her daughter, the mother asked her if she would find a quiet time where she could pray and then read the “Love Those You Teach” section in the manual. Her daughter agreed but without enthusiasm.
Several weeks later the mother asked her daughter if she had read the chapter. Her daughter responded enthusiastically that she had and had loved it. She told her mother that she had also continued to look through the manual and found more lessons dealing with her situation in the section titled “Create a Learning Atmosphere.”
As she read the chapters in that section carefully, she was prompted to know what she could do differently. Acting on these promptings and using the principles she learned in the chapters, this young Primary leader had a totally different experience the next Sunday. After describing to her mother what she had done and the difference it had made, she said, “And, Mom, I love those two little boys.”
It is a sacred responsibility to teach children the gospel and help them learn to live it. Teaching, No Greater Call is a valuable resource that gives guidelines and suggestions for understanding and teaching children.
The Primary general presidency: Sister Rosemary M. Wixom, president, and her counselors, Jean A. Stevens and Cheryl A. Esplin. Photo by Busath.com, ©IRI (Telescope: 797677)
For example, children respond well when we use a variety of teaching activities—usually between five and seven per lesson. The chapter “Teaching with Variety” helps us know how to do that and gives ideas of methods we can use.
There are chapters titled “Reverence” and “Helping Those Who Become Disruptive.” Some chapters are written specifically to help us know how to teach children, and others have sections with additional ideas on teaching children.
Following are some ideas to receive the greatest benefit from Teaching, No Greater Call:
• Use this guide as a reference book to improve your teaching.
• Look in the table of contents for topics that address your interests and needs.
• Prayerfully study the chapter you have chosen.
• Identify principles you could apply.
• Record insights and impressions.
• Act on what you have learned.
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve said, “Clearly, those of us who have been entrusted with precious children have been given a sacred, noble stewardship, for we are the ones God has appointed to encircle today’s children with love and the fire of faith and an understanding of who they are” (“Great Shall Be the Peace of Thy Children,” Ensign, Apr. 1994, 60).
As the Primary presidency, we see Teaching, No Greater Call as a wonderful tool to help parents and leaders in their efforts to teach children.
Teaching, No Greater Call can be downloaded in a variety of formats or ordered from the Church’s online store at store.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
