Talking is not Teaching – Interview with Taylor Halverson – Episode 6

This week is part 2 where Taylor offers an approach he calls, “Talking is not Teaching.” It is a complete re-framing of the approach to teaching the gospel that mirrors much of what is being rolled out in Sunday schools and in Priesthood and Relief society with the Come, Follow Me style of gospel learning. Links to content from this episode: 5 Ways to Be a Learning Designer, Not Just a Teacher, Deseret News, December 26, 2018. Do We Go to Church to Be Taught or to Learn?, Deseret News, December 19, 2017. Learning, No Greater Responsibility, Deseret News, December 12, 2017. Rules for Learning, Deseret News, January 15, 2015. Learning is Becoming More Like God, Deseret News, March 29, 2015. The music for this week is also our second week of featuring music by April Meservy. She recently won an award for her music video at the LDS Film Festival in Orem, Utah. She has such an amazing voice and is such a talent. So, please visit April Meservy’s website. In last week’s episode, Taylor talked about having an online database of metaphors and analogies that people can draw from, as well as a space where we can have a discussion about the pro’s and con’s of each the metaphors. I thought it was such a good idea that I went out and created an online discussion group just for that. So, if you go now to ldsmissioncast.com/metaphors you will see that we have a discussion forum set up to do that very thing. The discussions are arranged by gospel principle, so faith, baptism, apostasy, priesthood authority, basic gospel principles that are taught most often. Each gospel principle can have a “topic” which is where we would have the metaphor that can be discussed. I have started a couple, like the Ice Cream Man handing out a speeding ticket example for why proper priesthood authority matters when it comes to baptism and other gospel ordinances. Many missionaries have used that example, and sometimes it works with the right audience. Other times it might not. Having these sorts of discussions can be a great resource to those that participate in the discussion, but also for those that are looking for help in their own efforts to teach and share the gospel with others. So, that address again is  ldsmissioncast.com/metaphors It’s free to participate, you just need to open an account, pick a principle or topic, and either add a metaphor of your own, or one you have heard, and then tell your friends to join up. There is nothing quite like it on line, but it won’t be much help without people participating in the discussion. So, please check it out and join up.