Teach people what they are willing to receive
Teaching truth is not a process of “one and done.” It consists in patient, layer-by-layer, careful, intentional exposure to more and more light. An illustrative example of this process is given in how God created the heavens and earth.
In the beginning, the earth was without form and void, and there was only darkness. Our location was unseen and unorganized, an undifferentiated amalgam of matter.
“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3) When something is dark, there is material there, it is just unseen. The light was not there before. He called it forth. When matter heeds God it emits light. “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” (Psalm 119:130) Where before there was no sign of light, there were now materials that possessed light. What changed? God spoke into the darkness. What was once undistinguishable matter now became distinguishable: that which is enlightened, and that which is not.
“And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.” (Genesis 1:4) God watched the result of his injecting light into the system. He saw that some of the materials had responded to his influence. Then he divided the material that had responded from the material that had not. Until there is light, darkness cannot be divided. Not all matter heeds God equally. It all has agency.
“And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.” (Genesis 1:5) Before the creation of the sun, there were concepts called day and night. After distinguishing between the matter that responded to his influence and the matter that did not, he divided these and further specified the groups by naming them.
He took further action to define and subdivide the previously undefined materials: “And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” (Genesis 1:6)
God's spirit moved upon the darkness, and some of the matter responded to his light. The initial step of creation was to separate the matter that responded to his light and the matter that did not—two groups he called “day” and “night” long before the sun was created. Successive steps further separated matter according to their response to his influence. God continued with this process until his creation was finished: speaking into the darkness, seeing what reflected light, and filtering based on differences.
This process is how any being brings order forth from chaos. You have to discern the next step of the matter—what it would look like with more light—and then provide the best possible opportunity for it to accept it.
This is a custom process. “Good” means that which improves. But what is an improvement to one is not necessarily an improvement to all. If it leads to denial of God, it is not good. Truth that is too far beyond what someone is willing to consider is not good. This is why God does not throw us into the deep end of the truth pool, but patiently unravels truth line upon line.
Recall that good and evil are contextual to the situation of the individual. Whenever you attempt to project your disillusionment on others, you must first discern their current perspective. A person’s willingness to consider new truth lies on a continuum, and most people are willing to consider only the smallest deviations from what they currently consider to be right and wrong.
You have to be wise and patient in how you teach. Here is a question to contemplate: How did you come to the knowledge you are about to share? Chances are, you acquired it at a great price, with much time and effort. It takes an immense amount of skill, or at least deliberation, to package what required a great deal of time and effort to acquire into a bitesized package that will be instantly digestible to someone else. Consider an analogy: Suppose it took you 15 years of education to get to the point where you learned the ins and outs of integral calculus. Suppose you come across a young teenager who has a problem calculus can solve. Can you get him to the point where he understands enough about calculus to get the job done in, say, 15 minutes? Of all those who know calculus, what percentage could simplify it to practicality instantaneously? This is the meaning of the verse: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” (2 Timothy 4:2)
You don't just dump what you know on someone. You learned these things slowly, over time. God gave these things to you not so that you could vomit them onto someone else, but so that you can exercise your faculties to construct a suitably controlled experience crafted to ensure the highest likelihood of acceptance in the person you are teaching.
Do not dispense more truth to someone than they are able to handle. You have to preach just what is needed for the next proximate improvement. It isn’t about teaching what you know. It is about teaching the next thing that is needed.
Consider this analogy: The mission of the army special forces is to train the local rabble into functional soldiers. Each member of the unit is capable of training and leading a platoon of indigenous pseudo-soldiers. The level of skill they impart is not overly sophisticated, and yet the Green Berets are recognized as the most highly trained soldiers of all. It takes a great deal more knowledge to masterfully impart a well-constructed invitation to advance than it does to actually make that advancement. This is a case of the tip of the iceberg vs. its underwater mass.
Anyone familiar with Boy Scouts knows that the first thing boys want to do when building a fire is throw large logs onto the small pile of lit kindling. The extinguishing of the fire after the log is thrown on does not indicate malfunction of the kindling. A large log can smother even the most perfect pile of lit kindling. The point is not that the kindling is bad, but that it is not ready for the log. Building a fire is a science. Until the fire is hot enough and large enough, a log will only hurt and not help it. However, once the fire reaches a certain temperature and size, the only thing that will permit it to continue growing and heating is a large log.
New truth to one’s beliefs is like a big log is to a fire. Provided too early, new truth can smother any fledgling belief, no matter how strong it is. However, once a critical mass of truth is learned, it is the lack of new truth—fuel to the fire—and not the presence of it that will cause the belief to wither away.
One part of the challenge of teaching is in paring down what you know to what they need and what they are ready for. Another part of the challenge is framing the next proximate thing they need in the best possible way.
Consider everything you know as a 4,000-page novel. Your job is to think through the whole novel, pick out one situation that would be helpful, then pick out all the framing materials to best present it. It is immensely more challenging than merely reading the book! This is what Jesus did all the time.
You never reveal all you know. If you want God to reveal things to you, you have to learn how to keep your mouth shut. God will reveal things to you that have never been revealed from the foundation of the world, as he does to all the faithful (see Mark 4:22, Jeremiah 33:3, Moroni 10:5, etc.). If you don’t learn to keep these things to yourself, he won’t tell you about them:
And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him. (Alma 12:9)
You have to learn to take in all truth, but then only carefully dispense parts of it to others. You have to learn to capture and contain truth without blurting it out, to carefully construct situations and gently lead people along the path where they are most able to accept it, just as a shepherd would lovingly lead his sheep to greener pastures. You can’t selfishly blurt things out simply because you want relief. You have to subjugate your needs to their needs.
God revealed to Nephi everything that his brothers would do, and everything their posterity would do. He knew they would completely reject the gospel. Still, he treated them as if he did not know this. Why did God reveal these things to Nephi if he wanted Nephi to act as if he did not know them? Because, by the law of divine justice, God was obligated to bring judgment upon Nephi's wicked brothers. By revealing the future to Nephi, he was able, through Nephi, to exercise mercy on their behalf, giving the brothers yet another chance, while still satisfying the law of justice. If, like Nephi, you can keep things to yourself until and unless their revelation improves others, you too will find yourself being used by the Lord as a means to bring about mercy in the lives of others who otherwise would be cut off from further light and truth through their persistent disobedience.
Like a parent, you should keep truths hidden until your children are ready to contend with the chaos at that level. A parent's job is to provide a framework for their children that empowers them to derive order from chaos. It is not so much about the principles that a parent teaches (though these matter), but more that the parent teaches the child the meta-level process of acquiring, assimilating, and testing principles.
What one is capable of receiving is not the same as what they are willing to receive. If someone rejects truth they are capable of receiving, they offend the light within them. As soon and as often as they do this, they will lose some of the light they already have. Your objective, then, is to offer the largest portion of light that they are willing to receive.
It seems that everyone has a line in the sand. Should they? No. But they will.
Sometimes, even that small correction will make the person so offended that they will cut you off. Don’t let this discourage you. Jesus said that laying down your life for your friends is the highest sign of love. Is losing your friend easier or harder than giving your life for them?
Should a person's line in the sand prevent you from correcting them? No. Remember, correction is the kindest act you can do. If a principle is true, and someone doesn't have it, and you withhold it from them, you are exposing them to all the negative consequences of not having it. Is that kind? No, it is selfish. Kindness is doing what would lead to the greatest good with the person. Giving them what they want is not kindness, when you know better.
Start with the smallest possible correction. If a person can't accept a small invitation, they will reject a larger one as sure as the sun rises each morning, because light cleaves to light and those who turn away from a little light will always turn away from more.
If they aren’t willing to receive the full truth that you could teach them, consider how you could reformat and present a lesser version that will have the greatest positive impact in protecting them from harmful consequences and/or helping them encounter benefits.
God, possessing all light pertaining to this scope, devised a way for everyone else to obtain the same. His commandments don’t directly dump the light onto people. Instead, recognizing that they are not of themselves acquiring the raw light that is always available to all, God provides his commandments and our experiences as a way of incorporating light and truth at the pace we will allow. It is a very individual process, and one that requires wisdom and patience. In other words, don’t get trapped into thinking that dispensations of light and truth must be large or sudden. It could be that they are. You could save someone a lifetime of effort by transmitting what you know to them in their extreme humility, desire, and obedience. More likely is a situation where your store of light is less about a lump sum transmittance and more about a calculated, custom scenario that helps get that person just a little more than they had before.
People can and will remove the tools you have to impart new truth. As they strike off your options, evaluate which you have left. There can and will be a point where they have cut themselves off from every avenue at your disposal. When a person refuses to consider what you say, you should stop saying more, unless God has explicitly commanded you to.
It is unlikely people will say “please shut up.” Instead, they will give indirect clues to the fact that they have closed themselves off from the light you offer. The most obvious is avoiding you. But there are subtle actions like making excuses for not acting and using shut-down phrases like “agree to disagree,” “your truth,” “my truth,” etc. Also, beware of the use of exceptions as the general rule: “but what about some rare exceptional case?” The use of these tactics reveal that the person is not interested in further light and truth. One uses these tactics when they can’t counter your argument with facts, but would rather not cede their now defunct beliefs. When you hear these phrases, you should interpret the person as saying, “You have convinced me of my error, but I’d rather not change, and this causes me pain. Can you please leave me alone so I can continue in my willful blindness in peace?”
You are responsible for the consequences of another's actions until and unless you ensure that they are aware of them.
The only exception to this rule is when you have already given that person a lesser invitation and they have rejected it:
7 He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.
8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. (Proverbs 9)
People can’t be neutral. They are either good (reconciled to the light within them) or bad (in rebellion against the light within them).
How you interact with a rebellious person—someone who is not reconciled to the light they have—is very different to how you interact with a reconciled person.
When you present new light and truth to someone, you expand the light within them. They can accept it or reject it. When they reject it, which will happen most of the time, they will not remain neutral to you. They will hate you. The more light you have, the more they will hate you.
Knowest thou the condescension of God
There are two categories of people: spiritual givers and spiritual takers. By middle age, everyone ought to be aware of what category they fit into. Surprisingly, however, members of both groups seem to somehow convince themselves that they are like everyone else, with both categories doing so for very different reasons. Spiritual takers do not realize who they are due to a mix of pride, selfishness, and loving a lie, all of which are discussed elsewhere in this book. Spiritual givers do not realize who they are because of humility, unconditional love, and seeing the potential in others. The rest of this chapter will discuss these people in an attempt to help them recognize and assume their potential in life.
In this world, all things are incessantly pulled downward by the background of a lowly state of light and truth. Most people and things subscribe to this level of light and truth. However, there are some people who subscribe to a higher level of light and truth. In their interactions with the world, they constantly invite and entice others to act according to the higher level of light and truth.
Do you doubt you are someone special? Specialness does not come by virtue of a lottery. It is not rare by design, but rare because so few exert the effort required to fulfill the divine potential present in every child of God. Anyone can be a spiritual giver, because what you give is not your greatness, but God’s greatness, and he is willing to give his greatness to anyone who will trust, seek, and obey him. It is up to you.
The purpose of a person with higher light and truth is to: 1) expose others to greater light, and 2) alleviate the consequences of the ignorance of those with lesser light. This mimics, on an infinitesimally small scale, the intercession of the Lord Jesus: they obtain more light and truth, and they dispense it to others who have not put in the same effort to obtain it, satisfying the demands of justice through their condescending sacrifice:
22 For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting, behold, he sent angels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing.
23 And God also declared unto prophets, by his own mouth, that Christ should come.
24 And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were fallen, and there could no good thing come unto them.
25 Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ. (Moroni 7)
Most of Jesus’ followers past and present don’t actually believe in him , but in his goodies. They adore what he can do for them, as they believe, but couldn’t care less about how he is (and therefore how they ought to be).
Multiplying the loaves and fishes produced enough public attention that the ranks of Jesus’ followers swelled. These disciples were so numerous that he had to flee by night to escape the crowd. When they discovered his new location, he criticized them for their motives. “Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.” (John 6:26)
If you are a truth bearer, you ought to prepare yourself for the same. There will never be a shortage of people who are happy to have you bear the consequences of their ignorance. They are happy to enjoy the fruits of your wisdom, but they have no interest in the tree that produced the fruit.
You can grow beyond the ability to teach those at a lower level of light and truth
Adam lived for over 900 years, meaning he was alive during all generations previous to Noah. Do you find it strange that nowhere in scripture do we see any account of Adam preaching to his posterity? Isn't it strange that Enoch went on a mission to preach the gospel, despite the fact that Adam was still around and only middle-aged at the time?
Shem, son of Noah, lived for 600 years. He was alive both when Abraham was born and when Abraham died. He died well into Isaac’s life. Isn’t it strange that we have no record of his preaching to the people? Isn’t it strange that the only record we have of him at all is his blessing Abraham (if you accept that Shem is Melchizedek), and only after Abraham had completed so many of his experiences in life?
What were these people doing with their time? If they were preaching, why do we have no record of it? If they weren't, what were they up to?
Everyone who has light shares that light. Even if they don’t do it very effectively, they can’t help but radiate the light they have.
These holy men surely taught others. The fact that we don’t have their teachings is not a reflection on how they spent their time, but instead an instance of the principle of windows of truth.
When someone progresses in truth, they encounter higher blessings, but also separate themselves (to a degree) from those who possess lower grades or smaller quantities of truth. In order to progress to the level of law and glory (which are the same) that he possesses, the Father had to separate himself from those of telestial and terrestrial glory. Though he has constant and total connection to them through the spirit, he cannot occupy the same space with them. People also experience this, on a lesser scale, here on earth.
As a person acquires more truth, his capacity to preach it to those of lower glory/law without revealing a degree of truth above what they can bear is diminished. For every degree of glory, there is a degree of glory at which interaction is no longer possible without unavoidable damage. Were the Father to appear to a terrestrial person, the latter would immediately be destroyed. A person can obtain enough light that interaction with those of lower levels of glory will cause them to permanently turn away from the truth.
The more spiritually intelligent a person is, the more often their interactions with someone will be correcting in nature. Unfortunately, people don't want to learn; they want to feel good about themselves as they are; they want to be left alone. Juxtaposing these two opposites will help you understand the separation from normal society that comes as a person acquires more light and truth.
Why can't those who have more truth simply keep their mouths shut? Because a fundamental principle of acquiring truth is to always stand for it, at all times and in all places. It is so fundamental that it is the covenant we make at baptism (though few keep it).
The sons of Adam separated themselves from everyone else. They fled to a mountain where they could be separate from the masses. Enoch, who was raised in this separate environment, was called to go to preach to his cousins, those who had been born and raised in the inverse to his experience: in an environment absent from those who had followed God.
As you acquire more light, you are less able to teach that light to the masses, who generally reject higher order truth. But you will be able to help those who have acquired greater light. These are fewer, but those that can help them are fewer still.
Light is never lost
The slow speed at which others accept truth can be discouraging. When people reject what you try to give them, you may be tempted to get depressed as you consider how much effort and suffering they could have avoided by accepting what you offered. You may sorrow at the consequences you see will follow in their lives for having rejected the advanced light you offered. Consider an alternative perspective.
When you remain true to the light within you in spite of the darkness around you, you emanate light. This is true whether people accept your light or not. Light is never wasted. Everything you do that is right will benefit the world, whether it is perceived and accepted or not.
At any moment, choose to live earnestly according to your current understanding of right and wrong, particularly when it hurts. Treat people better than they deserve to be treated. Stand up for those who are oppressed. Help others become better than they were. Gratefully give up the things you have earned for the benefit of others, particularly those who will not comprehend and/or appreciate what you are doing.