At the 2025 Religious Educators Conference, President D. Todd Christofferson stated: “It is essential that we teach in a way that invites students to exercise their agency in the learning process. We want to help them become active participants in the process and take responsibility for their own learning.” Then, pointing us to Jesus Christ as the master teacher, President Christofferson said: “Jesus didn’t just tell His disciples what they should do, nor did He do everything for them. He taught in ways that required them to think, to participate, discuss, and apply His teachings. Because of this, when the Savior was no longer with His disciples in person, they were more prepared to receive and be led by the Holy Ghost in acting for themselves.”[1]

These principles are powerful for all religious educators. However, applying them in real classroom settings—balancing between talking and listening, demonstrating and observing—can be challenging.

One approach that aligns beautifully with President Christofferson’s counsel comes from a teaching framework I learned years ago from one of my professors, M. David Merrill, while working on a graduate degree in an educational field. His framework consisted of four steps teachers can take to facilitate more lifelong learning skills in their students:

Show them -> Help them -> Watch them -> Let them

These four steps are like runners passing a baton. In the “show them” phase, teachers model skills and share knowledge. In “help them,” teachers and learners work together—asking questions, exploring ideas, and clarifying understanding. During “watch them,” teachers step back into more of an observer role as they watch the students apply what they are learning to new situations and their own lives. Finally, in “let them,” students are invited and encouraged to carry their learning beyond the classroom, becoming teachers themselves by passing the learning baton to others.

In Religious Education, we are constantly seeking more effective ways to empower our students to become lifelong learners and disciples. This framework is one small example of many possible ways we can strive to implement President Christofferson’s counsel to “structure our instruction so students have opportunities to engage with the depth and rigor required to develop true discipleship” and take full personal ownership of their learning.

Tyler J. Griffin
Associate Dean, BYU Religious Education

Notes

[1] D. Todd Christofferson, “Lifelong Disciples of Jesus Christ,” Religious Educators Conference devotional, June 12, 2025, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/broadcasts/miscellaneous-events/2025/06/full-session-thursday.