Reach Out to Those Who Do Not Attend
While the Savior often spoke to multitudes, He was deeply interested in individuals—including those who were forgotten, overlooked, rejected, or misunderstood. Just as the shepherd in the Savior’s parable left the ninety and nine who were safely in the fold to seek after the one (see Luke 15:4), you can reach out to those who are missing from your class. Your opportunities to teach and lift class members and help them come unto Christ extend beyond the classroom and beyond those who attend your formal lessons. You can HelpReaching out to less-active members is not only the duty of a home teacher, a visiting teacher, or a priesthood or auxiliary leader—teachers can help with this work as well. Teaching is much more than presenting lessons. It involves ministering with love and helping others receive the blessings of the gospel, and this help is often exactly what a less-active class member needs. We all need to work together to reach out to those who struggle, and as a teacher you may be in a unique position to help. President David O. McKay recalled the story of a boat full of young men floating down a river toward a dangerous waterfall. Noticing the dangerous situation, a man standing on the shore shouted at the young men to turn around, but they could not see the waterfall and ignored him. Again he shouted a warning, and again they laughingly dismissed his warning. Soon, however, they were in the midst of the rapids. They tried desperately to turn the boat around, but it was too late. President McKay taught, “It is one thing to stand on the shore and cry: ‘Young men, ahoy! There is danger ahead!’ It is another thing to row into the stream and, if possible, get into the boat with the young men, and by companionship, by persuasion, … turn the boat from the rapids. … Let us get into their lives" (David O. McKay, in Conference Report, Oct. 1968, 7–8). Questions to ponder. Who among those I teach seems to be struggling or is not attending class? What can I do to reach out to him or her? How could other class members help? Scriptural example. As I read about ways the Savior reached out to people (see, for example, Luke 8:43–48; John 4:6–30), what does the Spirit teach me about how I can reach out to the people I teach?
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