Foundation of faith formed around kitchen table
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While on a backpacking trip with his sons, David M. McConkie sat down on a large boulder to take a rest. The boys joined him. What started as a quick stop filled with casual conversation about life and the things on the boys' minds became a discussion on the priesthood. From that point on, the huge boulder, named by the group "Priesthood Rock," stood as a reminder of the lessons learned on a backpacking trip.
For Brother McConkie, it stood as a teaching moment he shared with his sons.
"Some of the times away from the formality of the classroom there are wonderful teaching moments," said Brother McConkie, sustained as first counselor in the new Sunday School general presidency during April general conference. "It was a huge boulder where we could all sit and talk. It was a special time to teach the gospel."
Whether sitting on a rock or in a lesson at church, Brother McConkie says there are teaching opportunities all around to help others strengthen their testimony and come closer to Christ. For Brother McConkie, teaching goes far beyond the formal classroom.
When he was a child, Brother McConkie and his family spent a lot of time sitting around the dinner table talking, teaching and learning from each other. Whether it was discussing the Sunday School lesson taught in Church or just sharing and reviewing a timeline of the day, sitting around the table is where much discussion took place.
"That's where I learned the gospel," said Brother McConkie, the third child in a family of eight children. "At least that is where my learning process started. We would have discussions around the dinner table and that is where I received my foundation in the gospel."
Brother McConkie spent his young years growing up in Salt Lake City, and then at age 10 moved with his family to Bountiful. It was in his teenage years he developed a love for being active, participating in football and track. His football abilities earned him a scholarship to BYU, which he declined in order to prevent postponing service of a full-time mission.
Upon receiving a call to serve, Brother Mc-Conkie took the lessons he had learned around the kitchen table to teach the gospel to the people in South Africa. After finishing his missionary service, Brother McConkie returned home and was asked to help prepare African materials for missionaries preparing to serve in the Language Training Mission, the precursor to the Missionary Training Center in Provo. He enrolled at BYU and moved to Provo, where a friend and co-worker introduced him to JoAnne Albrecht. They were married a short time later.
After briefly attending BYU, Brother McConkie transferred to the University of Utah where he finished his undergraduate degree and later attended law school. Three of their seven children were born during his schooling, but despite being busy juggling family, school, work and church, the McConkies look at that time with fond memories.
For Brother and Sister McConkie, teaching moments come as they spend time with their family.
"As a family we like to do a lot of things outdoors," Brother McConkie said. "Most of the activities we do are with our family."
For the McConkie family, camping, backpacking, hiking, and bicycling are hobbies they have enjoyed together for many years. Not only have these hobbies given their family great stories to recount, they have also provided opportunities to spend time and learn together.
"There is a need for formal classroom learning, but it's when you are together, when you are at home, the informal times where I think most of the learning takes place."
Whether spending time around the dinner table, hiking in the mountains or attending Church, teaching is something everyone can do, Brother McConkie said.
"I really believe that everybody is a teacher," he said. "The most important responsibility that any of us have in the Church is to teach, to strengthen families and to bless the lives of others. Whether you are a priesthood or relief society leader, a home or visiting teacher or a parent, we all have wonderful opportunities to teach."
Brother McConkie approaches his new calling in the general Sunday School presidency as an opportunity to help people understand they can be effective teachers in many different settings.
"The reality is we are not all professional teachers in the Church," he said. "As we come to love the scriptures and love the gospel through our personal gospel study and prayer, we then help others to love the gospel and understand it better."
Most importantly in teaching, Brother McConkie said, we must understand who we represent.
"We must understand who we serve and what He would have us do," he said. "[Teachers] are the Lord's agents; they are on His errand. The Lord will help us to accomplish His work as we search the scriptures and seek His help."
President Monson charged the new general Sunday School presidency with the responsibility to help improve teaching in the Church. In an effort to do so, Brother McConkie hopes to help people realize they can make a difference in the lives of others.
"Whether we are the newest member of the Church or have been in the Church for our entire life, we all have the same promises and can be entitled to receive the same blessings," Brother McConkie said. "We can be successful teachers as we prepare, study, pray and rely on the Lord. We are all teachers and can bless the lives of others."
