As a member of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint, I know that learning is “good”
if I follow the counsel of God. (See
Book of Mormon – Another Testament of Jesus Christ, 2 Nephi 9:29.) I know that I can take with me into the next
life “whatever principle of intelligence” I gain in this life and it will be to
my “advantage” there. (See Doctrine and
Covenants 130:18-19.) I know that the “glory
of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth” (Doctrine and
Covenants 93:36). I know that it is “impossible
for a man to be saved in ignorance” (Doctrine and Covenants 131:6). I know that continual and lifelong learning
is important and can be very satisfying and enjoyable. I have other references that support my
knowledge.
Elder David A. Bednar of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles began his
talk “Learning to Love Learning” with this statement: “Learning to love learning is central to the gospel
of Jesus Christ, is vital to our ongoing spiritual and personal development,
and is an absolute necessity in the world in which we do now and will yet live,
serve, and work….”
Elder Bednar discussed his three
aspects of learning and then stated: “Learning
to love learning equips us for an ever-changing and unpredictable future. Knowing how to learn prepares us to discern
and act upon opportunities that others may not readily recognize….”
From the above information, I
know that learning is important to my “spiritual and personal development” as
well as my ability to influence other people; therefore, I must gain as much knowledge
as possible and love the process of gaining knowledge. With this understanding, I must ask a
question: what am I supposed to
learn?
President Spencer W. Kimball asked this same question more eloquently: “What is this knowledge,
intelligence, and light and truth that our Heavenly Father would have us
receive? Does it consist solely of the
truths God has revealed through his prophets?
What place does knowledge gleaned from secular sources and with secular
means have in the scheme of eternal progression? In considering these questions, we must
recognize that secular knowledge alone can never save a soul nor open the
celestial kingdom to anyone….
“Yet secular knowledge can be
most helpful to the children of our Father in Heaven who, having placed first
things first, have found and are living those truths which lead one to eternal
life. These are they who have the
balance and perspective to seek all knowledge – revealed and secular – as a
tool and servant for the blessing of themselves and others. They know that preeminent among all
activities in this life is preparing themselves for eternal life by subjugating
the flesh, subjecting the body to the spirit, overcoming weaknesses, and so
governing themselves that they may give leadership to others. Important, but of second priority, comes the
knowledge associated with life in mortality.”
From President Kimball I learned
that I am to seek knowledge of God and His kingdom first. I should seek the many different kinds of
learning that pertains to the kingdom of God.
(See Doctrine and Covenants 88:78). After I gain knowledge of God and His kingdom,
I should seek secular knowledge. This
brings another question: what secular
knowledge should I seek? I found the
following scriptures to be very informative in answering this question.
“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” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118).
“Teach ye diligently and … be
instructed … in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the
gospel, in all things that
pertain unto the kingdom of God,
that are expedient for you to understand;
“Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the
earth; things which have been,
things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of
the nations, and the judgments
which are on the land; and a knowledge
also of countries and of kingdoms –
“That ye may be prepared in all
things….” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:78-80).
“And set in order the churches,
and study and learn, and become acquainted with all good books, and with languages,
tongues, and people” (Doctrine and Covenants 90:15).
“And, verily, I say unto you,
that it is my will that you … obtain a knowledge of history, and of countries,
and of kingdoms, of laws of God and man, and all this for
the salvation of Zion. Amen” (Doctrine
and Covenants 93:53).
These scriptures tell me that I
should learn all I can from “good books.”
This learning would include languages, history of the various countries
in the world, astronomy, current events, geology, geography, agriculture, and
many more subjects. I should obtain all
the knowledge that Heavenly Father wants me to have. This is one reason why I should continue to
learn for my entire life or seek lifelong learning.
The scriptures also give warning
about being prideful because of my learning.
“O that cunning plan of the evil one!
O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned, they think they are
wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside,
supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and
it profiteth them not. And they shall
perish”
(2
Nephi 9:28).
We all know people who think
they “know it all.” Many people who have
college degrees, and especially Masters and Doctorates, believe they are “better”
than other people because they have more formal education. Some of these same people look down on those
who are humble and honest seekers of the things of God. They think their secular knowledge is much
better than knowledge gained through the Spirit.
President Gordon B. Hinckley explained
why we should not trust intellect over faith:
“The intellect is not the only source of knowledge. There is a promise, given under the
inspiration of the Almighty, set forth in these beautiful words: `God shall give unto you knowledge by his
holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost’ (Doctrine and Covenants
121:26).
“The humanists who criticize us,
the so-called intellectuals who demean us, speak only from ignorance of this
manifestation. They have not heard the
voice of the Spirit. They have not heard
it because they have not sought after it and prepared themselves to be worthy
of it. Then, supposing that knowledge
comes only of reasonings and of the workings of the mind, they deny that which
comes by the power of the
Holy
Ghost….
“Do not be trapped by the
sophistry of the world, which for the most part is negative and which seldom,
if ever, bears good fruit. Do not be
ensnared by those clever ones whose self-appointed mission it is to demean that
which is sacred, to emphasize human weakness, and undermine faith, rather than
inspire strength.” (See “Be Not Afraid,Only Believe” [CES fireside for young adults, Sept. 9, 2001], 4;
From all the above information,
I understand that I am to gain as much knowledge as possible, both academic and
spiritual, but not lose my soul in the gaining of such intelligence. I can
maintain my faith while getting a degree by doing those things that keep me
close to God. I can best do this by communicating
with Heavenly Father often, daily scripture study (particularly the Book of
Mormon), attendance at my weekly Church meetings, and going to the temple as
frequently as possible. By doing these
four things, I can keep balance in my life and still gain all the knowledge
possible. I can stay humble by
remembering the greatness of God and my littleness compared to Him!
No comments:
Post a Comment