Continue the Great Process of Learning

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are continually encouraged to learn and also to learn continually. James E. Faust said, “Learning and education have always been the hallmark of our people. Every president of the Church, beginning with President Joseph Smith, has zealously fostered, encouraged, and supported the cause of education.”1 In fact, Spencer W. Kimball said, “There should be no people who have a higher desire to obtain truth, revealed and secular, than Latter-day Saints.”2

In Chapter 17, Continue in the Great Process of Learning, Gordon B. Hinckley said, “We must never cease to learn. We believe in eternal progression and that this life is a part of eternity to be profitably lived in until the very end. … No matter how old we grow, we can acquire knowledge and use it. We can gather wisdom and profit from it. None of us … knows enough. The learning process is an endless process.” What a great example President Hinckley was of one who learned, and loved to learn, until the very end!

A lifetime of learning should be our goal. Russell M. Nelson once taught, “As long as you live, you will learn. It is part of God’s plan for us. You will grow intellectually and spiritually. Just as Jesus the Christ ‘increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man,’ so may you.”3

President Hinckley taught the importance of both secular and spiritual learning. He encouraged the young adults of the Church to get all the education they could afford, to “look upon the educational opportunity that you have as a great blessing. I know it is a grind. I know it is difficult. I know you get discouraged at times. I know you wonder why you are doing it at times. But keep on, keep hammering away, and keep learning. You will never regret it as long as you live but will count it as a great blessing.” And he reminded parents to “let your children be exposed to great minds, great ideas, everlasting truth, and those things which will build and motivate for good. … Try to create within your home an atmosphere of learning and the growth which will come of it.”

Yet most important is our spiritual learning. President Hinckley cautioned, “There is need for another education, without which the substance of secular learning may lead only to destruction. I refer to the education of the heart, of the conscience, of the character, of the spirit. … With all of our learning, let us also learn of him. With all of our study, we need to seek knowledge of the Master. … Never forget that the schooling of the spirit is as important, if not more so, than the schooling of the mind.”

Similarly, President Kimball taught, “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. … Important, but of second priority, comes the knowledge associated with life in mortality.”2

So how do we school our spirit? The scriptures admonish us to “seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”4 They teach us that “the glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.”5 Let me suggest three places we can seek learning – in the scriptures, in the words of the living prophets and apostles, and in the temple.

We can seek learning by studying the scriptures. As we sincerely study, we will surely find light and truth. C. Scott Grow recently said, “As you study and ponder the scriptures, you will hear God’s voice, know His words, and come to know Him. God will reveal His eternal truths to you, personally. These doctrines and principles will become part of who you are and will emanate from your very soul.”6

We can seek learning by studying the words of the living prophets. M. Russell Ballard teaches, “It is no small thing to have a prophet of God in our midst. Great and wonderful are the blessings that come into our lives as we listen to the word of the Lord given to us through him. When we hear the counsel of the Lord expressed through the words of the President of the Church, our response should be positive and prompt. History has shown that there is safety, peace, prosperity, and happiness in responding to prophetic counsel. Today I make you a promise. It’s a simple one, but it is true. If you will listen to the living prophet and the apostles and heed our counsel, you will not go astray."7

The blessing of having the words of the living prophet and apostles to study is invaluable. Conference talks are published in the May and December issues of the Ensign and Liahona and we are encouraged to study them regularly. But every other issue of the Ensign and Liahona also contains the words of our living prophets. Each month there is a First Presidency Message. Do we know what this month’s message is? Interestingly it is “A Disciple’s Life.” President Dieter F. Uchtdorf reminds us that “those who live a disciple’s life—who remain faithful and keep moving forward in faith; who trust God and keep His commandments; who live the gospel day by day and hour by hour; who give Christlike service to those around them, one good deed at a time—are those whose small acts often make a big difference.”8

One of my favorite places to seek learning is in the temple. It is the perfect place to find light and truth! “Each temple is a house of learning,” said Russell M. Nelson. “There we are taught in the Master’s way. … Teachings of the temple are beautifully simple and simply beautiful. They are understood by the humble, yet they can excite the intellect of the brightest minds.”9

Howard W. Hunter emphasized “the personal blessings of temple worship and the sanctity and safety that are provided within those hallowed walls. It is the house of the Lord, a place of revelation and of peace. As we attend the temple, we learn more richly and deeply the purpose of life and the significance of the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.”10

But how do we seek learning by faith? I think we can find the answer in another scripture. “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 130:19) Through diligence and obedience - that is the key. It requires more of us than merely going through the motions. It requires concerted effort, real action. What will it matter if we study truth but do not apply it? President Uchtdorf said, “Obedience is the lifeblood of faith. It is by obedience that we gather light into our souls.”11 And Ezra Taft Benson taught, “When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power.”12

Are you noticing the same words being used over and over? Clearly obedience, faith, light and intelligence are all interconnected.

I found this quote by Joseph F. Smith very enlightening: “There is a difference between knowledge and pure intelligence. Satan possesses knowledge, far more than we have, but he has not intelligence or he would render obedience to the principles of truth and right. I know men who have knowledge, who understand the principles of the gospel, perhaps as well as you do, who are brilliant, but who lack the essential qualification of pure intelligence. They will not accept and render obedience thereto. Pure intelligence comprises not only knowledge, but the power to properly apply that knowledge.”13

As we sincerely seek learning, by study and also by faith, in the scriptures, in the words of the living prophets and in the temple, we will gather the necessary light to help us in an ever-darkening, difficult world. And President Hinckley told us that “it is incumbent on each of us to acquire more and more light, so that our personal light can help illuminate a darkened world.”

It seems the time is now that Heber C. Kimball warned of a century and a half ago when he said, “To meet the difficulties that are coming, it will be necessary for you to have a knowledge of the truth of this work for yourselves. The difficulties will be of such a character that the man or woman who does not possess this personal knowledge or witness will fall. … The time will come when no man nor woman will be able to endure on borrowed light. Each will have to be guided by the light within himself.”14

I refer again to the scripture, “The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.” We must gain light and truth individually. Then we must “render obedience to the principles of truth.” Just as we will not be able to endure on borrowed light, neither can we borrow another’s obedience.

We have been told that there are many who are “only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it.”15 We know where to find truth! And we know why it is so necessary to have truth! Truth is light. And oh how we need light! We need light to dispel darkness. We need light to keep us from being deceived. Just as we should never cease to learn, neither should we cease to acquire light. May we heed the prophetic counsel to “acquire more and more light, so that our personal light can help illuminate a darkened world.”