Seek Ye Out Of the Best Books

My beautiful bride suggested that I write about education this week.  Education is definitely one of those things that add to the quality of life.  This is actually a soft spot for me because I love school.

Here is an example of what I mean.  When I was at BYU, I would plan out my schedule of courses several days in advance because I was just so excited to think about what classes I would be taking the next semester.  I would always include 2 or 3 alternatives, just in case the classes I wanted were taken.  I would then get up really early on the day of registration (the web site opened at 0600) and register for all my classes.  I know, I am a geek.

What I want to share is that we need to be excited about education.  I believe that Heavenly Father wants us to get a good education:

“And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” (D&C 88:118)

We are commanded in this verse to do our best to learn.  We need to study “out of the best books” which most certainly includes the scriptures but also includes many diverse topics of secular understanding.  We also need to learn by study and by faith–meaning that we need to exert our best efforts and also rely on the Spirit to guide us in our educational pursuits.

Joseph Smith taught, “Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.  And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.” (D&C 130:18-19).  In other words, the more we learn, the better off we are.

In this life of struggle, we need to learn as much as we can in order to provide for ourselves and our families.  It used to be that a high school diploma was enough to secure employment for a lifetime.  However, the world has changed and it is becoming increasingly more important to get at least a Bachelor’s degree.  This degree should not only give us good skills to provide for our physical needs (in other words, to help us become gainfully employed) but the value of such an education goes beyond the job market.  With such an exposure to a wide variety of ideas, there are a number of things we gain as we seek education:

• Better communication skills (writing and speaking)
• Improved ability to work well as part of a team
• A wider comprehension of the world around us (I am a big proponent of General Education requirements)
• A better grasp of what it means to be a contributing member of society
• Increased ability to learn

Plus many other benefits that go beyond a pay check.  In any case, education should be a lifetime objective.  Even after we finish our formal degree we should continue to seek education.  Read a new book every month or so.  Take a class from work or from the Community College from time to time.  Ask a mentor to teach you a new skill.  Do some research on the Internet.  Don’t ever lose that zeal for learning.

I want to give you a homework assignment.  Read Pres. Uchtdorf’s excellent talk about education from the Priesthood Session of the October 2009 General Conference and share with me your thoughts on education.  What do you think?

Forever Families

This weekend I am visiting my family because my nephew was blessed. I love the symbolism of a new-born infant, cradled in the arms of the priesthood, surrounded by that power, to receive a blessing.

Families are the center of our experience here on Earth.  Heavenly Father, in His matchless wisdom, organized us into families in order to learn and support each other.  Friends can come and go, but you always have your family.  They are the ones who know you the best.  They are the ones who are there through all your experience, and it always seems like we gather our family around us in the most sacred moments of our lives.

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe in the sacred nature of the eternal family.  Not only are we spirit children of our Heavenly Father but we also can be with our earthly families, if we choose to be, for all eternity.  The beauty of this doctrine is that we know our families will continue to exist even after we leave this mortal existence.   For this reason, we try to make our families a fundamental part of our lives–and to build on those relationships.

I would encourage you to spend more time with your family.  I find it interesting that most of the younger generation detest spending time with family but the older you get, the more important it seems to spend time with families.  Turn off the iPod, take out the ear buds, step away from the computer, and simply enjoy being with your family.  Treat them with love and respect.  Listen to their stories and share with them your experiences.   Learn to love your family and relish the moments together.

So I am off to enjoy time with my family!

The Lamanite Converts

Have you ever been around someone who is truly converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ?  People who are truly converted–whether they were born in the covenant or not–have a special joy in the gospel and they seem to really get it when it comes to living gospel principles.  Why is this so?

Perhaps a quick review of one of my favorite stories in The Book of Mormon will help.  Ammon and his brethren, themselves recently converted to the gospel, decided that they wanted to go teach the Lamanites (see Mosiah 27-28).  After convincing their father to let them go, they began their missions to this “lazy and idolatrous” (Mosiah 9:12); “wild and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people” (Mosiah 10:12).  Through a series of miracles, Heavenly Father helped Ammon and his brethren convert a large body of Lamanites who then buried their weapons of war and refused to fight, lest they should blemish their repentant souls once more (see Alma 24).  Said of these people–which can be said of all people who are truly converted:

“And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth…and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away.” (Alma 23:6).

Fast forward about 80 years.  Now Samuel, a faithful Lamanite, in an ironic twist of fate, is preaching to the wicked Nephites (for most of The Book of Mormon, the Nephites are the faithful people while the Lamanites are usually the wicked).  He reminds them of this story of Ammon and those he taught and then gives us the answer to my earlier question about why converts are so firm in the gospel.  Samuel tells the Nephites that the Lamanite conversion “leadeth them to faith on the Lord, and unto repentance, which faith and repentance bringeth a change of heart unto them” (Helaman 15:7)

There you have it, two simple principles of the gospel: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and repentance.  This is the key to that change of heart which shows in the countenance and actions of true converts. Two fundamental principles which we believe are the first principles of the gospel (see Article of Faith 4) and the ONLY principles taught by Alma, the elder, when he organized the church in his day (see Mosiah 18:20).

Sometimes we just don’t get it when it comes to these two key principles.  Think about it.  If you have a burning conviction that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer; that He lived and taught us the true gospel; that He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane for all of our sins and weaknesses, thereby qualifying Himself to KNOW how to succor us and how to heal us; that He suffered on the cross and allowed Himself to die in order to finish the work which He was commanded to do; and that He rose from the tomb on that third day, with power to bring us back into the presence of the Father, then you should not hesitate to repent and seek to become better.  If you sincerely repent (and you should always have a spirit of repentance), then you will be forgiven and will know of the joy of the gospel.  That is it, once those two things are really in place, then everything else God wants us to know, do, and become can follow.  Repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are foundational and paramount to our eternal progression!

So are you truly converted?