Communication and Persuasion in Seminary/Institute Teaching

Teaching of any kind requires effective communication.  Teaching the religious curriculum as established by the Church Board of Education of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to high school or college age young men and women is no different.   In addition to conveying scripture-based messages, leading gospel-centered discussions, and promoting testimony-building activities and habits in a classroom full of students, a religious educator must also be capable of communicating efficiently in meetings with fellow faculty members, in the office with secretaries, as well as in other interactions with local stake and ward leaders.

As a religious lecturer, a seminary or institute teacher needs to be well-versed in the written, standard works used by the Church (comprised of the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price) in order to powerfully and persuasively present the principles and doctrines of the gospel in understandable terms.  The typical audience a religious educator would be assigned to entertain is the youth, commonly referred to as the rising generation.  As such, it is all the advantage to the teacher to employ up-to-date methods of learning and implement lively games and activities into his or her lesson plan, such as the showing of videos or scripture mastery Jeopardy.

Rhetorically speaking, evidence of all branches of oratory can be clearly seen in religious educating.  For example, when teaching about the commandments, teachers commonly elaborate on the just nature of God's laws and the unjust interpretations of these laws by those that were in opposition to Christ.  Teachers endeavor to exhort their students to live up to high standards and seek to dissuade them from partaking of the evils the world has to offer.  Finally, religious educators often voice his or her admiration for a particular prophet or leader such as Joseph Smith or Captain Moroni.  All efforts are centered on inspiring young men and women to strengthen his or her own faith.

As a preacher of restored truth, a religious educator must strive to live the doctrines they endorse, lest they be deemed hypocrites, and their words counted as dross.  Stereotypes often associated with religious educators are that they are humorous, have a pleasant disposition, and very knowledgeable.  When students find shortcomings in one of these three areas, often the ethos of that teacher takes a significant hit. 

I am personally interested in this field because I grew up watching my dad teach at the high school level (where he taught for nearly a decade), and now at the college level (where he currently teaches at BYU-I).  I saw how he developed the art of persuasion and could move audiences, large or small, by means of bearing pure testimony and calling souls to repentance.  Most of what I know about this field is through observation and private conversations with various religious educators. 



 

Knowledge/Truth Properly Spoken is Persuasion

In an attempt to say something of meaning without repeating what has already been said I do feel that the rhetorical ideals of invention and logos are key in both Elder Bednar’s speech and Socrates’ banter with Gorgias and Callicles. Coming from a background in sales I have always backed and really believed more in the “how” you say things over the “what” you say. James McClatchy mentioned in his post more about how the rhetoricians Socrates argues against feel quite similarly, and that “skill” is more important than knowledge in persuasion. In contrasting Socrates arguments made in the Gorgias, I think Socrates would have been overjoyed to have had Elder Bednar as a partner.

Coming October 10th - Just curious, what does everyone think about this movie?

                Although Elder Bednar is good at both the “how” and “what” of speaking, his address was so direct and knowledgeable of the topic that the viewer, speaking for myself at least, is persuaded by the mere content of what is being presented. Elder Bednar doesn't have to sell us on anything, as the message or “what” is being said sells itself. The part of the presentation that really took me back was when he got everyone’s undivided attention by directly asking for it. The reason that stood out to me is that I haven’t really heard that kind of a statement from a general authority before. I would assume this is because we are usually drawn in anyway by the “how” of their talk or presentation. It was the cherry on top that said to me Elder Bednar has spent time on this, and he knows what he is talking about. He knows what he wants to say, and what he wants us to do and doesn't need any kind of sales pitch to get us motivated to do it.