An address to the Church Educational System (CES) religious educators and missionaries, S&I personnel, and stake-called seminary and institute teachers, broadcast on Friday, 26 February 2016. Here is the video.
The following partial transcript was provided by someone on reddit who said the following about the transcription, "This is only 23 minutes of transcript, there is about another 10 minutes or so that needs transcribing. If anybody wants to finish it, I left off at 43:26, and make sure you turn the subtitles on."
The transcription starts at the 20:00 minute mark.
I’d like to thank the choir for all of you staying in the boat. That’s a great song with a great message. As Elder Clark was talking to you, about being 6 years old in our old ward, I started thinking, “You must have been one of those little ones that brought great joy to the nursery leader”.
My dear brothers and sisters, thank you for your extraordinary efforts to bless the lives of our young members of the church. I recently reviewed the new book By Study and Also By Faith: One hundred years of seminaries and institutes of religion. It’s a remarkable story. As I browsed through it, I noted the roles of my great grandfather Joseph F. Smith and my grandfather Melvin J. Ballard had in the creation and expansion of church education. Today, I am serving where they once served because of my own association with you. Since 1985, I have had the privilege of serving for the fourteen years on the board of education, seven years of which I was on the executive committee; and almost four of those years I served as chairman. During my time on the board I developed great appreciation for the Church Educational System. Tonight, I speak for all of the parents, grandparents, and even great grandparents in the church when I thank you teachers and administrators and your families for your faithful service.
What CES has accomplished in the last one hundred years is amazing. However, I’m more interested in the next one hundred years and how you can help your students face the ever changing challenges of the twenty-first century. In a general authority training meeting, president Gordon B. Hinckley taught on the subject “Keeping the gospel pure, and the church on the right course”. He said “We cannot be too careful. We must watch that we do not get off course in our efforts to be original and fresh and different, we may teach things which are not entirely in harmony with the basic doctrine of this the restored church of Jesus Christ. … we had better be more alert. … we must be watchmen on the tower.”
As church education moves forward in the twenty-first century, each of you needs to consider any changes you should make in the way you prepare to teach, how you teach, and what you teach of you are to build unwavering faith in the lives of our precious youth. Gone are the days when a student asked an honest question, and the teacher responded, “don’t worry about it!” Gone are the days when a student raised sincere concern and a teacher bore his or her testimony as a response intended to avoid the issue. Gone are the days when students were protected from people who attacked the church. Fortunately, the lord provided this timely and timeless counsel to you teachers: “and as all who have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another these words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books the words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and faith”. This is a especially applicable because not all of your students have the faith necessary to face the challenges ahead and because many of them are already exposed through the internet to corrosive forces of an increasingly secular world that is hostile to faith, family, and gospel standards.
The internet is expanding its reach across the world into almost every home and into the very hands and minds of your students. You can help your students by teaching them what it means to combine study and faith as they learn. Teach them by modeling this skill and approach in class. President Harold B. Lee observed “we would remind you that the acquiring of knowledge by faith is no easy road to learning. It will demand strenuous effort and continual striving by faith. … In short, learning by faith is no easy task for a lazy man or woman. Someone has said, in effect, that such a process requires the bending of the whole soul. The calling up of the depths of the human mind, and linking them with God – The right connection must be formed. Then only, knowledge comes by faith.” Knowledge by faith will produce a pure testimony, and a pure testimony has the power to change lives, as illustrated in these three brief stories.
First, Phoebe Carter, who left her home in Maine to gather with the saints in Ohio. In the 1830’s. She recalled “My friends marveled at my course, as did I, but something within impelled me on. My mother’s grief at me leaving was almost more than I could bear. And had it not been for the spirit within, I should have faltered at the last”. Phoebe followed the prophet, and gathered with the saints in Ohio, and eventually to Utah where she died a faithful Latter-day Saint and equally yoked as the wife as the wife of church president Wilford Woodruff.
This next story comes from Marion G. Romney’s biography. As a college student, Marion had decided that he could not serve a mission because of the financial situation. On one occasion he heard Elder Melvin J. Ballard speak. The biography notes “Little did Marion know that the course of his life, in one very short moment, was about to be completely changed.” The story continues: “Marion’s father had told his children … that there was as much difference between a man who lived under the inspiration of the spirit and who didn’t as there was between a growing tree and a dead stump. For the first time Marion … fully understood what it was like to be under the influence of the inspiration. A piercing, tingling sensation filled his soul. … He never had been so touched as he was now, listening to the words of this newest of the apostles. … young Marion … was electrified. The glow of the apostle’s countenance and the sincerity of his testimony filled him with in irresistible desire to go on a mission. … He knew his plans for further education must be postponed.” Soon Marion was on his way to Australia where he served faithfully. Later he became a might apostle and a member of the first presidency.
The final story was told by president Boyd K. Packer about the impact of an aged teacher on William E. Berrett. The teacher, a convert from Norway, had imperfect English language skills. Despite the teacher’s limitations, president Packer recalled that “brother Berret testified on more than one occasion, ‘we could warm our hands by the fire of his spirit’”. Later William became the head of Seminaries and Institutes of Church Schools.
Now for Phoebe, Marion and William, hearing a pure testimony became the catalyst that changed their lives forever. The same can be true for your students. However, given the realities of today’s world, pure testimony may not always be enough. Phoebe, Marion, and William were clean and pure and were free from pornography and worldliness as they sat at the feet of inspired missionaries, teachers and leaders. The spirit easily penetrated their soft and pure hearts. Today, this story is much different, as some of your students have already been infected by pornography and worldliness before they ever reach your classes.
It was only a generation ago that our young people’s access to information about our history, doctrine, and practices was basically limited to materials printed by the church. Few students came in contact with alternative interpretations. Mostly, our young people lived a sheltered life. Our curriculum at that time, though well-meaning, did not prepare students for today, a day where students have instant access to virtually everything about the church from every possible point of view. Today what they see on their mobile devices is likely to be faith challenging as much as faith promoting. Many of our young people are more familiar with Google than they are with the gospel, more attuned to the internet than to Inspiration, and more involved with Facebook than faith. In light of these challenges in the board of education recently approved an initiative in seminary called “Doctrinal Mastery” , building on what has been done in scriptural mastery. This new initiative will focus on building and strengthening our students’ faith in Jesus Christ, and fortifying them with increased ability to live and apply the gospel in their lives. Drawing on the scriptures and the words of the prophets, they will learn how to act with faith in Christ to acquire spiritual knowledge and understanding of his gospel. And they will have opportunities to learn how to apply the doctrine of Christ and gospel principles to the questions and challenges they see every day among their peers and on social media.
This initiative is inspired and timely. It will have a wonderful influence on our young people. However, the success of Doctrinal Mastery and of all other programs of study and CES, will depend to an important extent upon you. In the face of these challenges, what are your opportunities and responsibilities as CES teachers in the twenty-first century? Obviously, you must love the lord, his church, and your students. You must also bear pure testimony sincerely and often. Additionally more than at any in our history, students need to be blessed by learning doctrinal or historical content and context by study and faith accompanied by pure testimony, so they can experience a mature and lasting conversion to the gospel and lifelong commitment to Jesus Christ. Mature and lasting conversion means they will “stay in the boat and hold on” throughout their entire lives.
For you to understand the doctrinal and historical content and context of the scriptures and our history, you will need to study from the best books. As the lord directed, the best books include the scriptures, the teachings of modern prophets and apostles, and the best LDS scholarship available. Through your diligent effort to learn by study and faith, you’ll be able to help your students learn the skills and attitudes necessary to distinguish between reliable information that will lift them up and the half-truths and incorrect interpretations of doctrine, history, and practices that will bring them down. Teach them about the challenges they will face when relying on the internet to answer questions of eternal significance. Remind them that James did not say “if you lack wisdom, let him Google!” Wise people do not rely on the internet to diagnose and treat emotion and mental and physical health challenges, especially life-threatening challenges. Instead, they seek out health experts, those trained and licensed by recognized medical and state boards. Even then, prudent people seek a second opinion. If that is a sensible course to take in finding answers, for emotional, mental, and physical issues, it is even more so when eternal life is at stake. When something has the potential to threaten our spiritual life, our most precious family relationships, and our membership in the kingdom, we should find thoughtful and faithful church leaders to help us. And if necessary we should ask those with appropriate academic training, experience, and expertise for help.
This is exactly, brothers and sisters, what I do when I need an answer to my own questions that I cannot answer myself. I seek help from my brethren in the quorum of the twelve, and from others with expertise and fields of church history and doctrine. You should be among the first outside your students’ families to introduce authority sources on topics that will be well-known or controversial, so your students will measure whatever they hear or read against what you have already taught them. You know, we give medical inoculations to our precious missionaries before sending them into the mission field, so they’ll be protected against disease that can harm or even kill them. In a similar fashion, please, before you send them into the world, inoculate your students by providing faithful, thoughtful, and accurate interpretation of gospel doctrine, the scriptures, and our history, and those topics that are sometimes misunderstood. To name a few such topics that are less-known or controversial, I’m talking about polygamy, of seer stones, different accounts of the first vision, the process of translation of The Book or Mormon or the Book of Abraham, gender issues, race and the priesthood, or a Heavenly Mother. The efforts to inoculate our young people will often fall to you CES teachers. With those thoughts in mind, find time to think about your opportunities and your responsibilities.
Church leaders today are fully conscious of the unlimited access to information. We’re making extraordinary efforts to provide accurate context and understanding of teachings of the restoration. A prime example of this effort is the eleven gospel topics essays on LDS.org that provide a balanced and reliable interpretations of the facts for controversial and unfamiliar church related subjects. It is important that you know the content in these essays, like you know the back of your hand. If you have questions about them, then please ask someone who has studied them and understands them. In other words, “seek learning, even by study and also by faith” as you master the content of these essays. You should also become familiar with the Joseph Smith Papers website and the church history section on LDS.org and other resources by faithful LDS scholars.
The effort for gospel transparency and spiritual inoculation through a thoughtful study of doctrine and history, coupled with a burning testimony is the best antidote we have to help students avoid and/or deal with questions, doubt, or faith crisis they may face in this information age. As you teachers pay the price to better understand our history, doctrine, and practices -- better than you do now – you will be prepares to provide thoughtful, careful, and inspired answers to your students’ questions. One way to know what questions your students have, is to listen attentively to them. Our little daughter, little girl, when she was five, climbed on my lap while I was reading the newspaper. She was telling me something important to her, and I was not paying attention. So she reached up her little hands, pulled the newspaper down, clasped my face in her little hands, looked me squarely in the eyes, and said “daddy, you are not listening!” She was right -- I was wrong in not listening to her. All good teachers must be good listeners. In addition to listening to your students, encourage them in class or in private to ask you questions about any topic. When of the most important questions your students may ask is “Why?”. When asked with a sincere desire to understand, “why?” is a great question. 43:26
We are in the process of writing our response.