Questions

It is intriguing to me how powerful questions are as a teaching tool. From Preach My Gospel, a manual used by missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to help them become better missionaries, we learn the following about questions: "Jesus Christ often asked questions to help people ponder and apply principles. His questions prompted thought, soul searching, and commitment." (pg. 183)

As I watched the general conference sessions that we had this month, I wrote down questions that would help me ponder and apply the things that the speakers were teaching. Some of these may only make sense to you if you are also a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but I feel that most of them apply to anyone who is trying to follow Jesus Christ and become a better person. Some of these questions are very directly related to what was being spoken about, while others just came to my mind as I listened.

• Do I use the time when I'm taking the sacrament as a time of self-inspection?
• Does my love for God give me strength to overcome any adversity or temptation?
• When I experience pain, do I turn away from God or do I turn to Him?
• Am I willing to suffer and sacrifice all things for the kingdom of God?
• How well do I appreciate and acknowledge the role and contribution of women?
• Do I turn my feelings of sympathy into actions to bless others?
• Do I invite others to give, in addition to giving of myself?
• In what areas of my life do I need to readjust my desires?
• How often do I ask "What can I give?" instead of "What will I get?"
• Are we as priesthood holders living far beneath our privileges?
• What can I do to live up to my potential?
• When I say I'm going to do something, how long do I wait to do it?
• Am I merely going through the motions, or am I experiencing the feeling of joy that God desires for me?
• The heavens are open - how often do I take advantage of that?
• Would I rather push a handcart across the plains than talk about faith and religion with those whom I interact with?
• Who can really measure the influence of a mother's love?
• How well do I really understand the Atonement?

I hope you can learn something from thinking deeply about these questions. I also hope that whenever each of us has an opportunity to teach (believe me, you have them all the time) that we try to ask effective questions that really get people thinking and wanting to act. It's incredible how powerful a well-worded, well-timed question can be.