Explaining The Gospel

When explaining the Gospel to a little child we must take great care not to go beyond the limits of their understanding. A little child can rarely see past the immediate cause and effect of their actions, and so we work within the limits of their understanding.

An older child can see cause and effect as it extends throughout the day, so we have a greater leeway in teaching Gospel principles and have them understood.

Teenagers who can see how their behavior in school at the beginning of the year, will give them certain grades at the end of the year, are more likely to make the decision to apply themselves early on.

Some young adults have even developed beyond high school, and can see what results their behavior will produce in, say, ten or twenty years time.

Many adults who have raised families can comprehend the span of a lifetime. With a few adults, their comprehension spans generations.

With each of these different categories we must teach the Gospel within their understanding. It is true that if we care for them, we will try to expand their understanding, but this must be done with love and kindness and patience, lest we confuse and discourage them, sending them into byways and their souls be lost.

Rarely can a person grasp the eternal aspect of their souls. To talk to them about what happened before they were born into mortality can send them into a rage. At best they just nod their heads, thinking you crazy.  :-)

Mostly, I have found, the discussion will just confuse them, and they will wonder why knowledge of their pre-mortal existence even matters, since they cannot remember it anyway. They just want to focus on the here and now, because that is the limit of their understanding. But it is important to know of the pre-existence in order to know of our next stage after this mortality. There is a connection.

Then to discuss what happened previous to the Gods coming here, or what will happen after judgment, or after this Eternal Round has finished...

Sometimes trying to show the eternal aspect of things is not the best idea. After all, if they didn't see it in vision, if they were not caught up, these things can be very difficult to understand.

We should follow the example of Christ and start line upon line, precept upon precept. That is why Christ spoke in parables.

It has been my experience that not only will the person not learn, they will not understand, and sometimes will do all they can to prove you wrong, and by so doing commit terrible sins in their attempt to prove you wrong.

So, we should be careful to only teach what they can handle, so that seeing, they don't see, and hearing they don't hear. So we don't teach something beyond their understanding, to the point that they feel the need to rebel and prove us wrong, and thereby eternally injure themselves by committing some great sin that may damn their eternal progression. The only time we do teach beyond their understanding is when the Spirit of God prompts us to, or when we are commanded.

After all, we are to gather the Lord's children, not scatter them.

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