We should ever remember that we not only teach with words; we teach also by who we are and how we live our lives," President Thomas S. Monson said as he instructed leaders and teachers throughout the Church.

Copyright Intellectual Reserve

President Thomas S. Monson drew from a lifetime of rich experience to show how lives of others have touched
him and taught never-to-be-forgotten lessons. Some of the best lessons learned in life, he said, come from parents.

Speaking during the Worldwide Leadership Training Broadcast Feb. 10, President Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, emphasized that "we are all teachers." He spoke of individuals who have touched his life and taught important and never-to-be-forgotten lessons.

He described Elder Marion D. Hanks, an emeritus General Authority, as one "who has excelled in teaching seminary, institute and the Church generally. He has utilized many different teaching methods."

On one occasion, he said, Elder Hanks toured a mission and interviewed each missionary. President Monson said that he had been on an assignment in an adjoining area and was given a ride to the airport with Elder Hanks and the mission president when Elder Hanks told the mission president about the interviews and said he had felt prompted to ask one sister missionary to tell him about her mission and how she felt about being called as a missionary.

"She told him that her humble father, a farmer, had willingly sacrificed much for the Lord and His kingdom. He was already sustaining two sons on missions when he talked with her one day about her unexpressed desires to be a missionary and explained to her how the Lord had helped him to prepare to help her.

"He had gone to the fields to talk with the Lord, to tell Him that he had no more material possessions to sell or sacrifice or to use as collateral for borrowing. He needed to know how he could help his daughter go on a mission. He felt the inspiration to plant onions. He thought he had misunderstood. Onions would not likely grow well in this climate: others were not growing onions; he had no experience growing onions.

"After wrestling with the Lord for a time, he was again impressed to plant onions. So he borrowed money from the bank, purchased seeds, planted and nurtured, and prayed. The elements were tempered; the onion crop prospered. He sold the crop; paid his debts to the bank, the government, and the Lord; and put the remainder in an account under his daughter's name — enough to support her during her mission."

Elder Hanks told the mission president he would not forget the story or the moment or the tears in the missionary's eyes or the sound of her voice or the feeling he had as she said, "'Brother Hanks, I don't have any trouble believing in a loving Heavenly Father who knows my needs and will help me according to His wisdom if I am humble enough."'

President Monson added, "Elder Hanks was teaching a most important lesson: Each child in each classroom, each young man or young woman, each student in seminary or institute, each adult in Gospel Doctrine classes, each missionary — yes, every one of us — has a story waiting to be told. Listening is an essential element as we teach and as we learn."

President Monson spoke of some effective teachers from his childhood, including an inspired Sunday School teacher, Lucy Gertsch, who "taught us concerning the creation of the world, the Fall of Adam, the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. She brought to her classroom as honored guests Moses, Joshua, Peter, Thomas, Paul, and, of course, Christ. Though we did not see them, we learned to love, honor, and emulate them.

"Never was her teaching so dynamic nor its impact more everlasting as one Sunday morning when she sadly announced to us the passing of a classmate's mother. We had missed Billy that morning but did not know the reason for his absence.

"The lesson featured the theme, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive' (Acts 20:35). Midway through the lesson, our teacher closed the manual and opened our eyes and our ears and our hearts to the glory of God. She asked, 'How much money do we have in our class party fund?'

"Depression days prompted a proud answer: 'Four dollars and seventy-five cents.'

Then ever so gently she suggested, 'Billy's family is hard pressed and grief stricken. What would you think of the possibility of visiting the family members this morning and giving to them your fund?'

"Ever shall I remember the tiny band walking those three city blocks, entering Billy's home, greeting him, his brother, sisters, and father. Noticeably absent was his mother. Always I shall treasure the tears which glistened in the eyes of all as the white envelope containing our precious party fund passed from the delicate hand of our teacher to the needy hand of a grief-stricken father.

"We fairly skipped our way back to the chapel. Our hearts were lighter than they had ever been, our joy more full, our understanding more profound. A God-inspired teacher had taught her boys and girls an eternal lesson of divine truth: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'

"Well could we have paraphrased the words of the disciples on the way to Emmaus: 'Did not our heart burn within us...while (she) opened to us the scriptures?' (Luke 24:32).

"Lucy Gertsch knew each of her students. She unfailingly called on those who missed a Sunday or who just didn't come. We knew she cared about us. None of us has ever forgotten her or the lessons she taught."

Another inspired teacher was Erma Bollwinkel, a stake Primary board member who emphasized the importance of learning the Articles of Faith. President Monson said that as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, he had responsibility for what was then the German Democratic Republic. During 20 years of supervising the area, he remembered Sister Bollwinkel as he frequently reminded members of the Twelfth Article of Faith: "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."

In the early 1980s, the Church sought approval to build a temple, and later asked permission for young men and women to serve missions outside the country and for missionaries to enter the country. A government official's response was: "Elder Monson, we've watched you for 20 years, and we've learned we can trust you and your Church because you and your Church teach your members to obey the laws of the land."

Some of the best lessons come from parents, said President Monson, who noted that his parents taught him valuable lessons that frequently had to do with serving others. He recounted the memory of anticipating Sunday dinner as the aroma of roast beef filled the room. He said that although he wanted to eat first, his mother would send him to deliver dinner to an elderly neighbor they called "Old Bob."

When he arrived, he would wait anxiously as Bob's aged feet brought him to the door. He would hand the man his dinner and receive the spotlessly clean plate from the previous Sunday's delivery. Old Bob would offer him 10 cents to pay for his services. "My answer was always the same: 'I can't accept the money. My mother would tan my hide.' He would then run his wrinkled hand through my blond hair and say, 'My boy, you have a wonderful mother. Tell her thank you.'

"I remember, too, that Sunday dinner always seemed to taste a bit better after I had returned from my errand."

After relating these and other examples of inspired teachers, President Monson counseled the broadcast congregation: "As we teach others, may we follow the example of the perfect teacher, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He left His footprints in the sands of the seashore but left His teaching principles in the hearts and in the lives of all whom He taught. He instructed His disciples of that day — and to us He speaks the same words — "Follow thou me" (John 21:22).

"May we go forward in the spirit of obedient response, that it may be said of each of us as it was spoken of the Redeemer, 'Thou art a teacher come from God."'