You’ve probably seen the yellow-and-white thumbnails popping up in your feed if you spend any time studying the scriptures. Maybe you’re a Sunday School teacher scrambling on a Saturday night. Or a parent just trying to keep your kids from throwing Cheerios during family scripture time. Either way, you’ve likely bumped into Teaching with Power Ben Wilcox.
It's not just another "lecture" channel. Honestly, it’s become a bit of a lifeline for people in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Why?
✨ Don't miss: Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme: What Most People Get Wrong About the Hexagonal Legend
Because Ben Wilcox doesn't just read the manual to you. He has this way of looking at a verse you’ve read fifty times and finding a "literary" hook that makes it feel brand new. He calls it a "literary approach," and it basically means he treats the scriptures like great literature—full of patterns, chiasmus, and imagery—rather than just a list of rules.
Who is Ben Wilcox?
Ben isn't some random guy with a webcam. He’s been in the religious education game for over 20 years. He spent a massive chunk of that time in the Seminary and Institute program, which explains why he knows how to talk to teenagers without being cringey.
He holds a BA and an MA in English Literature. That’s the "secret sauce."
When you combine a deep testimony with a master’s degree in how stories are built, you get something different. You get "Teaching with Power." He lives in Riverton, Utah, with his wife and four kids, and when he isn't making videos, he’s often seen as a popular EFY (Especially for Youth) speaker.
The "Teaching with Power" Philosophy
The core of the channel is simple: make the scriptures relevant.
🔗 Read more: Do You Get Paid in the Army? What the Recruitment Ads Don't Tell You
Wilcox often says his goal is to help you teach with "impact, relevancy, and power." He isn't trying to replace the Come, Follow Me manual. In fact, he’s pretty vocal about the fact that his stuff is a supplement.
What the weekly routine looks like
Typically, he drops two main types of content every week:
- Insights Videos: These are deep dives. He’ll take the weekly block—say, Genesis or the Doctrine and Covenants—and pull out 3 or 4 major principles.
- Teaching Activities: This is where the practical magic happens. He gives you actual object lessons, discussion prompts, and "handouts" you can use in a classroom.
It's sort of like having a veteran teacher whisper the "good stuff" in your ear before you walk into a room of 15-year-olds.
What Most People Get Wrong About Using His Resources
A common mistake? Trying to use every single thing he mentions in one lesson.
You can't. You shouldn't.
If you try to jam five different object lessons and a 20-minute PowerPoint into a 40-minute Sunday School slot, you’re going to stress yourself out. And your students? They’ll be overwhelmed.
Teaching with Power Ben Wilcox materials are designed to be a "buffet." You take the one or two ideas that actually click with your specific group. Maybe your class loves the "Celestial Squares" game, but they’d hate a fill-in-the-blank handout. Ben’s approach is about flexibility.
The Literary Angle: Why It Matters
Most of us read the scriptures as a history book or a set of instructions. Wilcox reads them as a masterpiece.
Because of his English Lit background, he points out things like:
- Parallelism: Why a prophet repeats a phrase three times in one chapter.
- Symbolism: What the "ark" actually represents in your modern life (hint: it's not just a boat).
- Character Arcs: Looking at someone like Mormon or Nephi as a developing person, not just a flat "hero."
This "literary" lens helps move the needle from "I have to read this" to "I want to see how this story ends." It makes the text feel alive.
Practical Tools: Beyond the YouTube Channel
If you want to go deeper than just watching the videos, Wilcox has built a bit of an ecosystem.
He runs an Etsy shop under the same name where he sells "Bundles." These usually include his PowerPoint slides, PDF handouts, and lesson plans. For a lot of busy teachers, $4.50 is a small price to pay to save three hours of prep time.
He also has a website, teachingwithpower.com, which acts as a hub for his blog and podcast versions of the lessons.
A Note on "Official" Status
It’s worth mentioning: Ben is very clear that he doesn't speak for the Church.
He’s a private creator. While he’s an expert in the field, these are his insights. It’s that "disciple-scholar" balance. He’s not a General Authority; he’s a teacher who loves the word of God.
This independence actually gives him a bit more room to be creative with his teaching methods. He uses things like DALL-E AI images for illustrations or buys toy soldiers and "fake police badges" from Amazon to make an object lesson stick. It’s fun. It’s engaging.
How to Actually "Teach with Power" This Week
If you’re looking to up your game, don't just watch Ben Wilcox and mimic him. That’s a trap.
The real power comes when you take one of his principles and make it yours. Here are some actionable steps to integrate his methods into your study:
- Pick ONE Principle: Don't try to teach the whole chapter. Ben usually identifies "The Big Three." Pick the one that hits your heart the hardest.
- Use the "Insight" for Yourself: Watch the Insight video early in the week—maybe Monday or Tuesday. Let it simmer in your brain before you even look at the "Teaching Activities."
- Focus on Relevancy: Always ask the question Ben asks: "Why does this matter to a person living in 2026?" If you can't answer that, the lesson won't have power.
- Check the Etsy Shop for Visuals: If you’re a visual learner or have a class of kids, his slides are high-quality and way better than a standard chalkboard list.
- Stay in the Manual: Use Ben’s ideas to enhance the official curriculum, not bypass it. The "Power" comes from the Spirit, and the manual is the foundation.
Teaching is hard. Whether you're at a pulpit or a kitchen table, it's exhausting to try and keep people's attention. Resources like those from Ben Wilcox aren't just "shortcuts"—they're tools to help you find the joy in the scriptures again.