246.2: A World of Learning (D&C Gospel Doctrine Lesson 23)
“Seek Learning, Even by Study and Also by Faith”
Hook / In a way, this lesson is at the core of everything else: How do we interact with and understand the world? How do we learn?Goal / Class members should better appreciate the importance of learning and how to integrate study and faith in their lives.
Overview /
- Attitude toward learning in the Church
- History of the Church and education (reference sources, quotes; go through reading)
- Benefits and costs of learning
- How we experience the world
- How we learn
- Expectations we can have of faith documents
- Balancing study and faith
Conclusion
In sum, the attitude of the Church toward education is unusual in several respects. First, the Church is distinctive in the degree to which its members, child and adult alike, participate in the many educational activities of the Church: "As a people we believe in education-the gathering of knowledge and the training of the mind. The Church itself is really an educational institution. Traditionally, we are an education-loving people" (Widtsoe, 1944, p. 666). Second, its commitment is to education as an essential component of religious life: "Every life coheres around certain fundamental core ideas…. The fact that [God] has promised further revelation is to me a challenge to keep an open mind and be prepared to follow wherever my search for truth may lead" (Brown, 1969, p. 11). Third, it holds a deep conviction that knowledge has an eternal dimension because it advances man's agency and progress here and in the world to come: "Both creative science and revealed religion find their fullest and truest expression in the climate of freedom…. Be unafraid of new ideas for they are as steppingstones to progress. You will, of course, respect the opinions of others but be unafraid to dissent-if you are informed" (Brown, 1958, p. 2-3). Fourth, it is insistent that secular and spiritual learning are not at odds but in harmony with each other: Latter-day Saints do not emphasize "the spiritual education of man to the neglect of his intellectual and physical education…. It is not a case of esteeming intellectual and physical education less, but of esteeming spiritual education more" (Roberts, pp. 122-23). "Secular knowledge is to be desired " as a tool in the hands of the righteous, but "spiritual knowledge is a necessity " (S. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 280).
Brown, Hugh B. "An Eternal Quest-Freedom of the Mind."BYU Speeches of the Year,May 13, 1969.
“Whether you are in the field of economics or political science, history or the behavioral sciences, continue your search for truth. And maintain humility sufficient to be able to revise your hypotheses as new truth comes to you by means of the spirit or the mind. Salvation, like education, is an ongoing process.”
“One may not attain salvation by merely acknowledging allegiance, nor is it available in ready-to-wear stores or in supermarkets where it may be bought and paid for. That it is an eternal quest must be obvious to all. Education is involved in salvation and may be had only by evolution or the unfolding or developing into our potential. It is in large measure a problem of awareness, of reaching out and looking up, of aspiring and becoming, of pushing back our horizons, of seeking for answers, and of searching for God. In other words, it is not merely a matter of conforming to rituals, climbing sacred stairs, bathing in sacred pools, or making pilgrimages to ancient shrines. The depth and height and quality of life depend upon awareness, and awareness is a process of being saved from ignorance. Human beings cannot be saved in ignorance.”
Gardner, David P., and Jeffrey R. Holland. "Education in Zion: Intellectual Inquiry and Revealed Truth."Sunstone6 (Jan.-Feb.1981):59-61.
"We are a church that talks about eternal progression, though we sometimes talk a better game than we play. I think God will require it of our hands that we improve, develop, grow. That requires both intellectual inquiry and revealed truth. We need to reason as well as we can, and he will then compliment our efforts and provide his own forms of revelation. It behooves us to be humble and patient.”
Maxwell, Neal A. "Discipleship and Scholarship."BYU Studies32 (Summer 1992):5-9.
“Thoughargumentdoesnotcreateconvictionlackofitdestroysbelief. Whatseemstobeprovedmaynotbeembracedbutwhatnooneshowsthatabilitytodefendisquicklyabandoned. Rationalargumentdoesnotcreatebeliefbutitmaintainsaclimateinwhichbeliefmayflourish.” Maxwell quoting Austin Farrer (in reference to C. S. Lewis)
“Certain standards and requirements are laid upon all disciples. The member who is an automobile mechanic does not likely have all the skills of a scholar, and not likely you his. But both of you are under the same spiritual obligations to keep the same commandments and the same covenants. Furthermore, the mechanic is under the same obligation to develop the attributes of patience and meekness as are you. Frankly, the world holds to no such democratic view. If one is a superb scholar in a narrow discipline, such is considered enough. One so gifted can then be as bohemian in behavior as one likes. But it is not so in the Kingdom, is it? Of course, we all enjoy certain of the fruits of the labors of secular geniuses who may be visibly or significantly flawed in some respects. Nor would we desire to detract from their important contributions. A just God will surely credit them. However, God will excuse neither them nor us from keeping his commandments, including the requirement given to us by him and his Son to become more like them.”
“All I have to do is live in a wholesome way, which is best for me anyway, and be busy about finding truth wherever I can. I suspect that you would enjoy that formula too.
The significant thing about a scientist is this: he simply expects the truth to prevail because it is the truth. He doesn’t work very much on the reactions of the heart. In science, the thing is, and its being so is something one cannot resent. If a thing is wrong, nothing can save it, and if it is right, it cannot help succeeding.
So it is with the gospel. I once had the privilege of attending a youth conference and responding to questions of the assembled young people. A young man asked, “In high school we are taught such things as pre-Adamic men, but we hear another thing in Church. What should I do about it?”
I think I gave the right answer. I said, “In this Church, you only have to believe the truth. Find out what the truth is!”
Henry Eyring, Sr. Reflections of Scientist.
Make the point the principles of learning are curiosity, questioning, the ability and freedom to make mistakes, try different hings
Goals: It its by study AND by faith, not by study OR by faith; the two work together
Very familiar tropes:
If you can’t understand someone, you can’t trust them
Clever people are “too clever by half”
Resources
History of the Church and education
Brown, Hugh B. "What Is Man and What He May Become."BYU Speeches of the Year,May 13, 1969.
Cannon, J. W. "Mathematical Parables."BYU Studies34:4 (1994-1995):81-107.
Clark, J. Reuben, Jr. "The Charted Course of the Church in Education." Provo, Utah, 1936.
Clark, Marden J. "On the Mormon Commitment to Education."Dialogue7 (Winter 1972):11-19.
Hafen, Bruce C. "The Dream Is Ours to Fulfill."BYU Studies32 (Summer 1992):11-25.
Nibley, Hugh W. "Educating the Saints," and "Zeal without Knowledge." InNibley on the Timely and the Timeless,ed. T. Madsen, pp. 229-77. Provo, Utah, 1978.
Roberts, B. H. "The Mormon Point of View in Education."IE2 (Dec. 1898):119-26.
Salisbury, H. S. "History of Education in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints."Journal of History15 (July 1922):257-81.
Widstoe, John A. "The Returning Soldier."IE47 (Nov. 1944):666, 701-702.
Young, Brigham.Discourses of Brigham Young,comp. John A. Widstoe, pp. 245-63. Salt Lake City
The history of ideas arises from revealed teachings of the prophets and ongoing dialogue in which members of the Church seek to understand those teachings, to incorporate them into their daily life, and to teach them to others. Its history is largely unwritten.
A useful introduction is Leonard J. Arrington, "The Intellectual Tradition of the Latter-day Saints,"Dialogue4 (Spring 1969):13-26.
Other important sources include Leonard J. Arrington and Davis Bitton,The Mormon Experience, New York, 1979, chaps. 13 and 16; Philip L. Barlow, ed.,A Thoughtful Faith: Essays on Belief by Mormon Scholars,Centerville, Utah, 1986;
Maureen Ursenbach [Beecher], "Three Women and the Life of the Mind,"Utah Historical Quarterly43 (Winter 1974):26-40;
Lowell L. Bennion, "The Uses of the Mind in Religion,"BYU Studies14 (Autumn 1973):47-55;
Davis Bitton, "Anti-Intellectualism in Mormon History,"Dialogue1 (Autumn 1966):111-34, and response by James B. Allen; Marvin S. Hill, "The Shaping of the Mormon Mind in New England and New York,"BYU Studies9 (Spring 1969):351-72;
Paul R. Green, comp.,Science and Your Faith in God,Salt Lake City, 1958 (essays by Henry Eyring, et al.);
Duane E. Jeffrey, "Seers, Savants and Evolution: The Uncomfortable Interface,"Dialogue8 (Autumn/Winter 1973):41-75;
Erich Robert Paul,Science, Religion, and Mormon Cosmology,Urbana, Ill., 1991;
Richard D. Poll, "What the Church Means to People Like Me,"Dialogue2 (Winter 1967):107-18; Charles S. Peterson, "The Limits of Learning in Pioneer Utah,"Journal of Mormon History10 (1983):65-78; John L. Sorenson, "Mormon World View and American Culture,"Dialogue8 (Spring 1973):17-29.
How we perceive/interact with the world
Filters:
*Our senses, brains, and physiology (including what type of natural learners we are)
*Our cultures/upbringing
*Our experiences/education
Filters to the way we interact with the world
*our physiology (brain chemistry, genetics, physical gifts and limitations, what kind of learners we are)
*our culture and upbringing
*our education and experiences
Our tools for learning
Rational thought and inquiry
Emotion, intuition, hunches
Our other senses, that pick up non-verbal communication and help us understand the world
The spirit and God work through all of these
How we learn
Sources of learning—depends on what you are trying to do!
How to read faith documents (study “by faith”) responsibly
How to learn by study AND faith, both sides
Risks of “learning”
1)It is possible to become out of touch with more important principles
2)There is a risk of “pride”, in that when we are educated we may close ourselves off to what we can learn from others and we may judge others as having inferior perspectives.
3)Another risk of pride is that we get invested in our ego and seek status and praise
4)We can forget to act with love
5)Our learning can transform the way we look at things of faith: this can be either a loss or benefit depending on our ability to rebuild our worldviews
The way the “learned” are “prideful”—and the ways they aren’t.
It is true that in order to be an academic or writer or other educator, you need to believe that what you have to say is worth listening to by thousands or more. That takes a degree of self-confidence, even self-centeredness. In a way you could call this “pride”, though I think this can still be healthy if balanced. The way good academics and scientists are NOT prideful, and are in fact some of the most humble people you will meet, is that they will always admit when they are wrong, when they don’t know something. They are always open to correction and that is an ideal worth striving for.
*Attitudes about education and learning (both by study and faith) in the current Church
*History of education in the Church
*How do we experience the world?
*How do we learn?
*What expectations should we have when we are studying documents of faith such as the scriptures?
*In what areas can we rely primarily on “study” and what areas can we rely primarily on “faith”?
*How do we rely on both together?
Rules to spark learning:
1)Rule number one: Curiosity comes first.Questions can be windows to great instruction,but not the other way around.
2)Rule number two: Embrace the mess.…trial and error can still be an informal partof what we do every single day.
3)And rule number three: Practice reflection.What we do is important. It deserves our care,but it also deserves our revision.
Quotes (from Fiona Givens):
John Taylor--The apostasy: Journal of Discourses 16:197-198
I have a great many misgivings about the intelligence that men boast so much of in this enlightened day. There were men in those dark ages who could commune with God, and who, by the power of faith, could draw aside the curtain of eternity and gaze upon the invisible world[,] . . . have the ministering of angels, and unfold the future destinies of the world. If those were dark ages I pray God to give me a little darkness, and deliver me from the light and intelligence that prevail in our day.
President Hinckley's "Resentment" quote: "The Voice of my Servants" page 61
President Hinckley: "If you stop now, you will only stunt your intellectual and spiritual growth" BYU Commencement, April 27, 1995
Joseph Smith and pure Mormons: Words of Joseph Smith, 234
Joseph Smith "The first and fundamental principle of our religion [is to be free] to embrace all....." Letter to Isaac Galland "Personal Writings," ed. Dean Jesse.
Edward Beecher: "Not only is this doctrine the centre of God's power, but it is also the centre of his greatness and glory": Edward Beecher: Concorde of Ages, p 92.
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