Education

I love to read and to learn. I like to study and find. I like to teach and help others discover the magical world inside a book. As a people, the LDS community also values education. The church maintains three universities and numerous other educational programs.

We learn scriptures that emphasize learning:

D&C 93:36
The glory of God is intelligence.

D&C 130:18-19
Whatever principle of intelligence man attains in this life will rise with him in the resurrection.

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

D&C 88: 78-79
Seek diligently and my grace will attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the Gospel, in all things that pertain to 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 perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms. . .

It is obvious the Lord wants us to be knowledgeable; to learn and study and comprehend all things about this world. week and then serve in all spheres of life so much better.

But there is another education that is even more important which is available to all God's children no matter where they live nor the circumstances of their lives.

This education began early as told in the book of Genesis where we read:

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat. But of the tree of the knowledge of Good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it semicolon for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

But in the following chapter it says:

And the Lord God said, behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil.

It seems to me that the most important education what we get while here on Earth and the purpose of our mortality is to experience both good and evil. We grow out of a "premortal childhood of sorts" into a mature understanding of the nature of both good and evil.

We see the potential for both of those within ourselves as we make choices and reap the consequences of those choices.

We witness man's inhumanity as well as see those who rise to the top and set stellar examples.

We suffer enough that we come to understand our dependence on the Lord and to rely on principles such as forgiveness and charity to help us navigate our way.

We have the opportunity to become like God not just in knowing what good and evil are, but in learning from experience to choose the good and reject all else.

My dad would call it the “school of hard knocks”. We call it “God’s Plan of Happiness” because it is designed to teach us and mold us into people who choose to live by principles that bring happiness. It’s the part of God’s plan that places responsibility directly on us, for he has given us the freedom to choose our own destiny and a place to learn how to make choices that will help us progress and become our best selves.

Fundamental to this education is Jesus Christ. Humans create chaos and disorder. They wound and separate. They choose evil and cannot undo that which they cause. If there is to be order out of the disorder, healing for the wounded, and a coming together of all that was separated, there is a need for a Savior. Jesus Christ will rescue us when our choices leave us trapped in misery and He will heal us from the wounds which come to all. He will bring us safely home.