Editor’s note: “The Spoken Word” is shared by Derrick Porter each Sunday during the weekly Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square broadcast. This will be given Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. This week is No. 5,070 of the broadcast.
Please note: Reservations are needed to attend “Music & the Spoken Word” in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. Find out more about how to make reservations here.
“Of all existing things,” said the philosopher Epictetus, “some are in our power, and others are not in our power” (“The Enchiridion,” by Epictetus, translated by P.E. Matheson, published in 1916, sacred-texts.com).
These words, shared nearly 2,000 years ago, remain relevant today. And while more lies outside our power or control than we might like, we can still teach and positively influence others.
The key is how we go about it. On one end of the spectrum is control. Control often looks like telling, pointing and pushing. On the other end is teaching. Teaching usually looks like coaching, guiding and modeling.
When teaching a child how to ride a bike, it may be necessary to tell, point and even push as the child learns to pedal and steer. But when the child grows and learns to drive a car, what worked earlier no longer applies. A young driver could never learn if the teacher were constantly reaching across the armrest and trying to control the steering wheel. Instead, the student learns best when the teacher encourages through coaching, guiding and modeling what success looks like.
This is how God works with us. He teaches with patience and kindness through persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness and love (see Doctrine and Covenants 121:41–44). The words of His prophets in holy scripture and the feelings we receive through His Spirit exemplify His tutoring touch — His perfect pattern of helping us grow, learn and become more.
In His wisdom, He allows us to choose what we will do and who we will become. His trust is evidence of His love. He knows that the most valuable learning comes through individual choice — responding to an invitation rather than being driven by compulsion.
As one hymn teaches:
To choose his life and what he’ll be;
For this eternal truth is giv’n:
That God will force no man to heav’n.
He’ll call, persuade, direct aright,
And bless with wisdom, love, and light,
In nameless ways be good and kind,
But never force the human mind.
(See “Know This, That Every Soul Is Free,” “Hymns,” No. 240.)
This is our invitation. This is our challenge. This is our opportunity: to teach, to love, to lead and then to let go. (See “Begin with the End in Mind” by President Russell M. Nelson, Brigham Young University devotional, Sept. 30, 1984, speeches.byu.edu.)
Tuning in …
The “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast is available on KSL-TV, KSL News Radio 1160AM/102.7FM, KSL.com, BYUtv, BYUradio, Dish and DirecTV, SiriusXM (Ch. 143), tabernaclechoir.org, youtube.com/TheTabernacleChoir and Amazon Alexa (must enable skill). The program is aired live on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time on these outlets. Look up broadcast information by state and city at musicandthespokenword.com/viewers-listeners/airing-schedules.
