Dad - Thoughts on Teaching

Caleb:

It looks like you are in Virginia.  Mom heard from Sister Riggs and it sounds like she is a sweet lady and all is well.

You wrote your hand letter from the MTC and it sounds like you were frustrated with how your teaching was going.  I'm not surprised.  I have felt that way many times.  As recently as Sunday I had to conduct church and then bear my testimony about how the birth of Christ had impacted our family.  I honestly didn't know what to say.

Here is my general observation - It's hard to fake it when it comes time to teach.  Either you know the information or you don't.  If you don't know your stuff you usually feel inadequate; I least I do.  I'm not sure what was going on in the MTC but likely you were being challenged and it is probably safe to say that the material you were teaching you maybe didn't know very well.

Consider D&C 1 where the Lord says:

"That the fullness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers.

"Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding" (D&C 1:24).

I would say that you and I are among the weak and simple.  A 19 year old young man who is off to proclaim the gospel - a gospel that he knows very little about.  When you were younger you had little interest in scriptures and even in paying attention in church.  Now, you get to learn through a fire hose.  I'm among the weak and simple because I rarely study the scriptures like I should and like I'd like.  As a result, I'm not a scriptorian that can give amazing sermons when called upon.

There are some things that you are already brilliant at.  You are kind, compassionate, caring, and loving toward your fellow man.  Focus on those things and the rest will come.  Don't be frustrated with yourself in the mean time.  You're just fine.

Dad

On Mon, Dec 14, 2015 at 6:14 PM, Caleb Gibbons <cgibbons@myldsmail.net> wrote:

Sorry I will be able to write each of you later I'm just super tired
and we have to do orientation. Adios!

Sent from my iPad

> On Dec 14, 2015, at 8:13 PM, Caleb Gibbons <cgibbons@myldsmail.net> wrote:
>
> Today I woke up at 2:30.. Got on a bus and got to the airport at 5:30.
> Our flight was delayed an hour and a half because of icing. When we
> got to Atlanta we had 20 minutes until our plane left so we said
> goodbye to our zone and boarded a plane to Richmond. Then after a
> sketchy one hour flight we finally landed... and the humidity is real.
> I felt heavy like with sweat... It was 70° here when we landed.
> Ridiculously hot and humid. We met the mission president and his wife
> and they're very nice people! Anyway I'm here and I'm ready to get out
> and do the work.
>
> Sent from my iPad