For the “expound, exhort, teach, invite” teaching pattern
(as assigned to teachers in D&C 20:59, hereafter referred
to as EETI) the exhortation, teaching, and invitation
components are already widely represented in literature
available to educators, both religious and secular. 1 But
expounding—a term typically used to denote expanding
upon, explaining, or teaching—seems redundant in a
pattern that already includes the word “teach.” A closer
look at the word “expound” and its application in the Book
of Mormon reveals a teaching practice that kept students
attentive, engaged, and motivated to learn in ancient times.
A closer look at the
term expound and its
application in the Book
of Mormon reveals a
teaching practice that
kept students attentive,
engaged, and motivated
to learn in ancient times.
Pattern of the
Prophets:
Expounding
in the Book of
Mormon
J E N N Y TO N K S
To Expound
Among the Lord’s instructions to priesthood officers in
D&C section 20, a teaching pattern emerges:
The “expound” component of this EETI teaching pattern,
defined in the dictionary as “to set forth; to explain by
setting forth,2 implies the need for scripture or written
word for the teacher to “set” before the student. Consider
the following scriptures:
Teach, expound, exhort (v. 42)
Teach, expound, exhort (v. 46)
Teach, expound, exhort (v. 50)
Expound, exhort, teach (v. 59)
This “teach, expound, exhort” pattern—typically followed
by a fourth component, “invite,” that appears less
often than the other three—was utilized by the Book
of Mormon prophets from Nephi to Moroni, and was
such an effective teaching tool that even the Lamanites
utilized it when calling their people to arms against the
Nephites. The purpose of this article is to take a closer look
at one component in this pattern that is not given equal
representation in the literature available to educators.
“I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah … and I
will send them forth unto all my children …” (2 Ne 11:2,
emphasis added).
“You have that which is written before you” (D&C 18:30).
“Lay hold upon the gospel of Christ, which shall be set
before you, not only in this record but also in the record
which shall come unto the Gentiles from the Jews . . .”
(Mormon 7:8, emphasis added).
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opposite: i.e. the past is in front of me (before my face)
and the future is behind me (at my back). The image is
visual, something like rowing a boat across a lake. The
receding shoreline is ‘in front of you,’ where you are
headed is ‘at your back’, behind you. You view the ‘past’the receding shore-in order to fix your course for where
you are going.”4
Expounding does appear synonymous with looking
forward to the past in the following verse, where all of the
components in the EETI teaching pattern are mentioned:
“The prophets … and the teachers, did labor diligently,
exhorting … the people to diligence; teaching the law
of Moses … persuading them to look forward unto
the Messiah, and believe in him to come as though he
already was. And after this manner did they teach them”
(Jarom 1:11, emphasis added).
Such uses of “setting forth” in the Book of Mormon
indicate that there is more to expounding than common
usage that denotes teaching, lecturing, or explanation.3
Other scriptures suggest a different definition as well:
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, [Christ]
expounded unto them in all the scriptures…” (Luke 24:27,
emphasis added).
Christ “did expound all things, even from the beginning
until the time that he should come in his glory” (3 Nephi
26:3, emphasis added).
But in these scriptures, was Christ teaching from past
to future in addition to expounding, or did He teach from
past to future per definition of expounding? Evidence in
the scriptures seems to point to the latter, as will be shown
later. I therefore propose that the definition of to expound
might mean “to ‘set forth’ the past” or to set the past before
our learners.
According to Catholic Priest Donald Senior and Jewish
scholar H.W. Wolff, the past was perceived differently in
ancient times than it is today:
“In biblical Hebrew the way of referring to past and
future has the opposite orientation than does either
Although expound and invite aren’t named in this verse,
I believe that they are defined here as helping learners “to
look forward” to the past and “persuading,” respectively.
A Prophet’s Art
Note how Jacob’s sermon follows the EETI pattern in
these verses:
TEACHING
METHOD
EXAMPLE
E X PO U N D
(place the past before
the learner)
Recounts Jewish History
2 Nephi 6
EXHORT
(admonish or advise;
testify5)
“I have read these things that ye might
know … I speak unto you these
things that ye may rejoice … I know
that ye have searched … I know that
ye know …”
2 Nephi 9: 1-5
T E AC H
Quotes Isaiah; uses anaphora: “O the
greatness …. O the great holiness…
[but] wo unto them who … wo unto
them who … wo unto them who …”
2 Nephi 7-8
INVITE
“Remember my words … turn away
from your sins … prepare your souls.”
2 Nephi 9:44-54
English or French. While we say, ‘the past is behind me’
and ‘the future is in front of me,’ the biblical idiom is the
PERSPECTIVE | 32
Here is only one of many instances in which Alma ‘s
teaching also models this pattern:
TEACHING
METHOD
EX POUN D
(evoke the past)
EXAMPLE
• Amulek begins his sermon by expounding their
genealogy (Alma 10)
“My father, Alma … did baptize his
brethren in the waters of Mormon …
they were delivered out of the hands
of the people of king Noah … after
that, they were brought into bondage … we were brought into this land,
and here we began to establish the
church of God ...”
Alma 5: 3-5
EX HOR T
(admonish or advise;
testify)
“[These things] are made known unto
me by the Holy Spirit of God…”
v. 46
T EACH
Socratic: Have ye been born of God?
… his image engraven on your countenances? … etc
vv. 6-56
I NV I T E
Other examples of prophets and teachers expounding
(while also exhorting, teaching and inviting) in the Book of
Mormon include:
• When people didn’t understand Alma’s “Faith Like
a Seed” sermon (Alma 32), he had to clarify by
expounding Zenos, Zenock, and Moses (Alma 33)
• Ammon expounded from Adam on up (Alma 18)
• Lamanites expound often to their people to stir them up
to battle against Nephites (see example in Ammaron’s
epistle, Alma 54:17)
• Nephi’s garden tower sermon begins with his
expounding Abraham, Moses, Zeons, Zenock, Ezias,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lehi, and Nephi (Hel. 7-8).
• Moroni where he expounds Jaredite history in Ether,
exhorts readers in chapters 4-5, teaches in the book of
Moroni, invites in Moroni 10:3-5.
“Come ye out from the wicked,” etc.
vv. 57-62
• The entire Bookof Mormon is an example of EETi
Even Captain Moroni’s famed title of liberty was
inspired by an ancestor, about whom he expounded while
seeking recruits:
TEACHING
METHOD
EXAMPLE
EX POUN D
(evoke the past)
“We are a remnant of the seed of
Jacob; yea, we are a remnant of the
seed of Joseph … let us preserve our
liberty as a remnant of Joseph …”
Alma 46: 23-26
EX HOR T
(admonish or advise;
testify)
“…the seed of Joseph, which shall
perish as this garment … even it shall
be ourselves if we do not stand fast
in the faith of Christ.”
v. 27
T EACH
I NV I T E
Mormon sums up: “Now behold, this
was the language of Jacob …”
v. 26
“Come forth in the strength of the
Lord, and enter into a covenant …”
v. 20
(Mormon expounds Nephite history, exhorts/testifies and
teaches throughout, invites readers to action)
Why Expounding Works
In evoking the past for our students, I believe that we
are effectively summoning help from the other side,
inviting history’s heroes to join our ranks. President
Faust noted that, “it may very well be that there are more
helpful sources at work than we know. I believe there is a
strong familial pull as the influence of beloved ancestors
continues with us from the other side of the veil.”6 Elder
Scott similarly quoted Joseph F. Smith in a recent General
Conference address: “I believe we move and have our being
in the presence of heavenly messengers and of heavenly
beings. We are not separate from them. … We are closely
related to our kindred, to our ancestors … who have
preceded us into the spirit world.”7
Expounding benefits reluctant learners, too. When
Nephi and his brethren were forced to flee Laban’s servants,
the commandment of an angel of the Lord to “go up to
Jerusalem again” failed to convince Laman and Lemuel to
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return (1 Nephi 3:24-31). But return they did—only after
Nephi expounded:
“Therefore, let us go up. Let us be strong like unto
Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red
Sea and they divided … let us go up; the Lord is able
to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban,
even as the Egyptians” (1 Nephi 4:1-3).
Later, an angel did employ this more effective teaching
method with another reluctant learner, when expounding
for the rebellious Alma the Younger to remember “the
captivity of thy fathers in the land of Helam” and “how
great things [God] has done for them; for they were in
bondage and he delivered them” (Mosiah 27:16).
In recent years, the
Church has made
expounding central to
our curriculum.
In recent years, the Church has made expounding
central to our curriculum by introducing the Teachings
of the Presidents of the Church series of manuals for
Relief Society and Priesthood use. The Relief Society
additionally published a history of their organization
after presidency leaders “prayed, fasted, pondered, and
counseled with prophets, seers, and revelators to learn
what God would have us do to help His daughters be
strong” because of “findings that many [sisters] are
not doing essential things such as praying and reading
scriptures.”8 Clearly, expounding is making a comeback
in church classrooms. Are we following suit in our homes
and university classrooms?
Additional Research Required
The nature of expounding in ancient times requires
additional research. Expounding must be more than
tossing out some contextual background information at
the beginning of a lecture or “summing things up” for
students. Consider the reaction of listeners to the historical
accounts read aloud in Mosiah 25, as they:
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• “Were struck with wonder and amazement” (v.7)
References
• “Filled with exceedingly great joy” (v. 8)
1
BYU’s John Hilton III, PhD, models effective invitation in LDS classrooms in his
articles “Helping Students Act” (Religious Educator, 2012) and “See That Ye Do
Them” (Religious Educator, 2009).
• “Shed many tears of sorrow” (v. 9)
• “Did raise their voices and give thanks” (v. 10)
2
Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/
expound accessed 12 Oct 2012, emphasis added.
• “Were filled with pain and anguish” (v. 11)
Are our students responding to our expounding in this
way? If not, how might we improve our expounding skills?
The Book of Mormon gives us many clues as to why the
prophets’ historical accounts were so much more riveting
and engaging than the sleep-inducing pioneer stories often
droned from the modern-day pulpit. I invite readers to
discover for themselves the secrets of powerful teachers in
the Book of Mormon, whose expounding made learners
“desirous beyond measure” to hear more (Mosiah 28:12).
3
In my research of all the various EBSCOHOST (and other) scholarly databases, I
found the term used most often as synonymous with explain, teach, or expand upon.
4
Donald Senior, CP, “The Biblical Heritage and the Meaning of Vocation,”
Origins, Vol. 31, No. 46 (also attributed to H.W. Wolff in other literature).
Senior’s explanation further clarifies the meaning behind Alma’s declaration “I
would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these
commandments unto his children” (Alma 13:1, emphasis added). Special thanks
to Jeff Christensen of Mexico City, Mexico for pointing this out to me; I hadn’t
found it in my own research.
5
Defined as “encourage, stimulate” (on etymonline.com), to which Elder Bednar
added “testify” in his October 2009 Conference Address, “More Diligent and
Concerned at Home.”
6
Expounding must be
more than tossing
out some contextual
background information
at the beginning of a
lecture or “summing
things up” for students.
“Dear are the Sheep that Have Wandered,” April 2003 General Conference Address.
Richard G. Scott, April 2012 General Conference address online at https://www.
lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/how-to-obtain-revelation-and-inspiration-foryour-personal-life?lang=eng
7
8
Julie B. Beck, “Daughters in My Kingdom,” General Relief Society Meeting
address, September 2010).
Power to Resist
In a time of indescribable wickedness among the
Jaredite people, Shez remained righteous because he
“did remember the destruction of his fathers” and “he
remembered what the Lord had done in bringing Jared and
his brother across the deep” (Ether 10:3). Shez’s knowledge
of the past was such a powerful force for good in that
time of wickedness that the adversary must surely want
expounding erased from our teaching repertoires today,
lest it thwart his efforts.
Let us, then, invite those powerful spiritual figures from
the past to assist us in the classroom by invoking their
names and sharing their stories. How will their presence
engage the immortal spirits of our learners and meliorate
learning outcomes? We have only to expound to find out.
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