Am I The Teacher or the Student?

I taught my first Sunday school lesson today to the 14-15 year olds. There were 9 out of 16 attending. It went very well. I could only thank Heavenly Father for that.

The material was from the Old Testament (Genesis and Moses), particularly about Cain's attitude towards God, Enoch's attitude, and being of one heart and one mind.

As I began preparing for today's lesson a week ago and reading the Old Testament, I found myself being distracted about the whole Adam and Eve thing. I had pretty much come to peace with the concept of them, but more questions came as I read. There had to have been others besides Adam and Eve. Interbreeding would not have produced a strong, healthy population. And when I read that Cain took his brother's daughter as his wife, the "eew" factor rose (Moses 5:28).

There HAD to have been others.

I paused and realized that this isn't the point of these books. Scriptures are not science nor history books. They are compilations of lessons Heavenly Father wants us to learn. If Adam and Eve and their descendants are literal, fine. I may not understand fully how, but that's not the point. There were many books available to make up the Bible. Some were kept and some passed over. What made the final selection important? There's something in them that we need to learn, I need to learn.

I prayed and asked for guidance. I relied on my testimony and the Holy Ghost to help me get over the hurdle of my Adam and Eve fixation. I have been entrusted with the teaching of His children. "Heavenly Father, what do you want me to teach them?"

I poured myself into the lesson this past week and did my best to prepare. I was nervous I may not know how to relate to them and intimidated because one was the daughter of our bishop, and another is a daughter of our previous bishop, and the others have awesome parents who served faithful missions. Who was I to teach them? I had the impression I just needed to love them. Maybe they were to teach me. They are of the age of Joseph Smith when he went into the Sacred Grove after reading, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him," - James 1:5.

I felt the warmth of the spirit as I walked to church, sat on the bench, and sang the hymns amongst my brothers and sisters. I felt the spirit as I taught. The youth were great and inviting. I appreciated their participation. I thank Heavenly Father for his help today.

It's my teaching companion's turn next week, then I teach about The Abrahamic Covenant. Then, two weeks later, I teach about Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac. Now, THAT is a hurdle for me.