Speaking at a conference recently in northern Indiana, a stake president urged his Latter-day Saint congregants to rely on the Holy Spirit when they spoke in church meetings. Rather than read or memorize talks, they should discern in the moment what the congregation needed to hear, and speak extemporaneously

I took notice of that because in March, a visiting authority spoke at multiple conference sessions in my own stake (a regional cluster of congregations) in Salt Lake City, telling us repeatedly that he had no prepared remarks. He was instead relying on the Spirit to prompt him in the moment to say what we needed to hear.
I find these assertions a bit disconcerting for a number of reasons I'll detail below.

I Live in Northern Indiana!

Okay, I live in Northeastern Indiana so maybe I didn't miss it. It could be one of the other two northern Indiana stakes. I have no direct knowledge of this.

However, I did hear a report of a local leader telling a local member to not write down a talk, to just speak extemporaneously.

However, if this advice was also inferred by the unnamed visiting authority in Salt Lake City, this is also a reason to pause.

Rely on the Holy Spirit of Course

There is no reason not to rely on the Holy Spirit whether you are speaking extemporaneously, preparing or have prepared a talk. This is as crucial as breathing. I would never suggest otherwise.

However, there are so many different people and so many different speaking situations. I wouldn't want to make one rule and apply it to everything.

One Size Doesn't Fit All

General Authorities who speak in General Conferences speak from a prepared text they labor over continuously by all accounts. They don't speak extemporaneously, at least not anymore and there are multiple reasons for this.

Visiting General Authorities to stake conferences need to be especially receptive to the Spirit and may indeed be prompted in the moment. Not having extensive knowledge of your particular audience makes it difficult to know what it may need despite having some prepared remarks you need to share with all congregations. The Spirit can supply the knowledge.

A young person speaking in church for the first time would find it hard to speak extemporaneously. A seasoned teacher such as myself finds it a lot easier. The more you do it, the easier it can be. However, that does not necessarily mean it will be easier.

Inspiration

I'm recalling a girl I knew years ago. She faced the audience once and said, "I believe in inspiration!" and started to talk. She proceeded to give the same talk she had given two weeks prior, somewhere else. Hmm.

I remember recalling that I would have retorted, "I believe in being prepared!" and courageously read mine.

Extemporaneous and/or Prepared

At a recent stake conference, we had a guest General Authority speaker. A short time later, he gave a talk in General Conference. Local members were contrasting the two experiences. His General Conference talk was excellent. His stake conference talk was ... not. Members were in fact, "underwhelmed" with it.

It was evident he had no prepared remarks at stake conference. He did for General Conference. The difference, and experience, was stark.

Your Experience and Mine

Hasn't your own experience varied over time? Mine certainly has. As a child, I needed to have a parent write the talk for me and I was then able to read it, haltingly.

When I was older, I wrote my own talk and read it. As I got even older, I was able to speak more extemporaneously from notes and bullet points, although I had some of it written out.

When I was teaching full time I had no problem speaking extemporaneously anywhere. I would often work hard on my start so that it was flawless, but once I got going I was fine.

With suffering from a chronic illness that can affect my ability to do many things, I've gone back to reading my talk, mostly because I'm focusing more on doctrine and I want to get the doctrine right.

I've also had difficulty finding the words I want to say. This could be old age and/or inflammation affecting my brain. I don't know which, perhaps both. However, to speak effectively now, I write out my talks verbatim.

Relating a personal experience or story lends well to speaking extemporaneously and it can usually come from the heart, easily. Talks that rely on these experiences are generally convincing and compelling.

Write the Talk in Conversational Prose and You're Good to Go

Written talks can often sound stilted and formal because we all tend to write stilted and formal. However, if a talk is written in conversational prose, it will sound natural and unaffected.

Journalists have this mastered. They write the way they speak, in conversational prose even though they are reading off of a teleprompter. It's easy to tell because when they are extemporaneous, they often sound like idiots. I've watched it happen more than once.

The best example of a superb talk written in conversational prose is the initial talk of Elder Vaiangina Sikahema in General Conference after being ordained to the First Quorum of the Seventy. As a broadcaster by profession, he knew how to write and present his talk. It was perfect in construction and execution. He did a masterful job. You have to view the talk to fully appreciate all of this.

He wrote it in conversational prose and it sounded natural and unaffected. He certainly knew what he was doing.

Inspiration Can and Does Occur During the Preparation

It's folly to suggest that you can only receive inspiration in the moment. Heavenly Father knows who your audience will be ahead of time and what they need to hear. He can inspire you ahead of time, during your preparation, to include what is necessary.

I'm wondering if relying on the Spirit in the moment is more important for the faith of the speaker than it is for the audience. Elder Carl B. Cook related the humorous story of Elder Packer encouraging him to set aside his prepared remarks and asking him to speak extemporaneously several times during one meeting and over the course of the weekend.

It's a skill that needs to be cultivated, but I'm not certain I'd be willing to rely on it exclusively.

I spend about 30 hours of direct preparation time on a Sacrament talk. I listen to the Spirit and make adjustments as necessary. Only when I feel prompted that it truly is in the shape that Heavenly Father wants do I finalize it and declare it done.

An Experience of Mine

During the height of my difficulties in speaking extemporaneously because of my illness, I was giving a prepared talk in Sacrament meeting. I received inspiration to add one sentence to my prepared remarks, which I did. I was also prompted to know who it was that needed to hear that sentence. I remember him avidly listening to me as I made the remark.

Afterward, I couldn't remember what the sentence was and only now do I have a vague recollection of it. The prompting was vivid and the sentence was explicit at the time.

Conclusion

I remember a quote from President David O. McKay, a superb teacher and educator. He said, something like, "Instead of preparing a talk, why don't you just prepare yourself, then you'll always be ready to speak."

This infers that you've got to have something for the Spirit to work with.

Speaking with the Spirit is one of the most powerful things you can do. I'd want to rely on it both in preparation and in the moment.

If I was prompted to set aside my prepared remarks and speak from the heart, I'd do it, but I'd also want to be prepared.

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