Paul was an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he explains to the people that his obligation to preach the gospel was huge. He said, "...necessity is laid upon me, woe unto me, if I preach not the gospel!" (1 Corinthians 9:16) Knowing what he did, he was almost compelled to teach.
He shared some of the wisdom of his teaching experience with the Corinthians: "And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews...to the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak..." (1 Cor 9:20-22)
One of the sisters in my mission (who was an incredible teacher, by the way) taught me about "leading people to truth". For them to accept the gospel, you have to go to where they are, and help them make the connections and do the actions that will lead to their progression in the gospel. That's not to say that you act in ways that aren't in harmony with the gospel of Jesus Christ, but you do adapt to their circumstance and belief. We learned quickly that what we had taught wasn't the same as what they had learned. We would use questions like, "What do you think about ____? Do you believe that? Why do you believe this?" And we would add our testimony to anything they said that was true.
It changed my teaching. I can testify with Paul that it is so important to find common ground. That way in our discussions with others, everyone will be open to learn and be edified. :)
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