Leaders & Ministry

Why is the Church so committed to education?

Elder Gilbert, BYU President Reese and BYU–Idaho President Meredith highlight the importance of education to Latter-day Saints during Las Vegas devotional

By Rachel Sterzer Gibson Aug 18, 2023 4 p.m. EDT

A man in a suit standing behind a pulpit.

Leaders & Ministry

Why is the Church so committed to education?

Elder Gilbert, BYU President Reese and BYU–Idaho President Meredith highlight the importance of education to Latter-day Saints during Las Vegas devotional

By Rachel Sterzer Gibson Aug 18, 2023 4 p.m. EDT

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Just two weeks into her senior year of high school, Amber Honeycutt has started thinking about college applications. The 17-year-old Latter-day Saint said she has been considering Southern Utah University — close to home but still away from home.

Fellow Las Vegas area high school senior Lili Johnson said she isn’t sure yet where she wants to go to college. But as they approach this important decision, both girls appreciated one of the central messages of a Church Educational System devotional on Thursday, Aug. 17: “Involve the Lord in your learning.”

Whether youth decide to attend a Church-affiliated school or not, “make Him your partner,” said Elder Clark G. Gilbert, a General Authority Seventy and the Church commissioner of education. “The Lord needs to become a fundamental part of who you become.”

Roughly 600 prospective college students and their parents from 26 stakes throughout the Las Vegas area gathered in the Church’s Charleston Boulevard meetinghouse to hear Elder Gilbert, Brigham Young University President Shane Reese and BYU–Idaho President Alvin F. Meredith III highlight both the importance of education and the strengths and advantages of their respective institutions.

The Thursday event is the first of three such devotionals this year with the trio of Church education leaders. Another will be held in Boise, Idaho, on Oct. 29. The third will convene in Idaho Falls, Idaho, on Dec. 10.

The purpose of the devotionals, Elder Gilbert told the Church News, is to help youth and parents understand the importance of education and to invite them to learn more about “the wonderful range of options available to them across the Church Educational System.”

One of the things Elder Gilbert said he hoped youth in attendance could feel is the spiritual strength and leadership available at both schools.

Both President Reese and President Meredith are what the latter’s wife, Sister Jennifer Meredith, called “true freshmen.” President Reese became BYU’s 14th president on May 1. President Meredith assumed the role as the 18th president of BYU–Idaho just three weeks ago.

“The presidents that we have across CES are individuals deeply aligned and committed to prophetic guidance, which gives me confidence that the future of Church education is incredibly bright,” Elder Gilbert said.

Why get an education?

With an interactive style more reminiscent of a Sunday School class than a conference talk, Elder Gilbert asked listeners to come up with three reasons why The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is committed to education.

Lili said an education provides greater access to truth, both temporal and spiritual. Another youth, McKayla, replied that Jesus Christ came to earth to learn and grow and Church members should do the same.

Elder Gilbert shared a quote by President Russell M. Nelson: “In the Church, obtaining an education and getting knowledge are a religious responsibility. We educate our minds so that one day we can render service of worth to somebody else” (“Focus on Values,” February 2013, New Era).

Elder Gilbert then listed several other reasons to get an education:

1. Increased self reliance or ability to provide for one’s self. College graduates can make nearly double the income of high school graduates, Elder Gilbert noted.

2. Higher civic engagement. “When people are talking about what’s going on in your community, do you have the ability to engage and be part of that?”

3. Friendships and social networks. Elder Gilbert noted that he as well as President Reese and President Meredith all met their spouses while in college.

4. Deepened appreciation for other people’s perspectives.

5. Deepened moral and spiritual character.

6. Increased ability to lift and help others.

In her remarks, Sister Christine Gilbert, wife of Elder Gilbert, testified that the Lord is eager to pour out blessings upon His children, and one of the ways He does that is through education. “I believe that just like our Prophet said, gaining knowledge is a religious responsibility. And I know that education is part of our Heavenly Father’s plan and something that can help us become more like the Savior,” she said.

The role, strategy of each of the Church’s 5 institutions for higher education

The spiritual mission of BYU

Sister Wendy Reese spoke of some of the reasons she loves the Provo, Utah, campus, including fond memories of traveling to LaVell Edwards Stadium as a child with her father to experience a football game with 60,000 other enthusiastic fans.

BYU has a unique light to shine for the world, she said, and shared how much she appreciated the love and concern the faculty showed to her as a student.

However, “one of the most amazing parts about being at BYU is that the mission of the university is guided by living prophets,” Sister Reese said.

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency, then of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, talked about the destiny of BYU in a talk to BYU faculty in 2014: “[I] firmly believe that it is the destiny of Brigham Young University to become what those prophetic statements predicted it would become. But inherent in being the university of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the reality that this great goal will not be attained in exactly the same way that other universities have achieved their greatness. With your help, it will become the great university of the Lord — not in the world’s way but in the Lord’s way.”

“That is a daunting task, but it’s one that I find exhilarating,” President Reese said of President Oaks’ statement.

BYU has a responsibility to help prepare students for eternal life as well as provide them with a first-rate education.

President Reese told the youth that regardless of whether they decide to attend BYU or go elsewhere, there will be people who will try to convince them that they can’t simultaneously be great at their job, their sport and their scholarship and a faithful covenant keeper. “I’m here to tell you that that’s false,” President Reese said.

“At BYU, we believe that we can in fact be an excellent educational institution, and simultaneously to that be true and faithful and bold in our covenant keeping. That’s the vision that President Oaks had for us at BYU,” President Reese explained.

Best-kept secret in the Church

Although they have been in Rexburg, Idaho, for roughly only three weeks, Sister Meredith said she and President Meredith are realizing, “BYU–Idaho is one of the best-kept secrets in the Church and truly in higher education.”

President Meredith issued an invitation to youth: “When you are considering where to continue your education, will you talk to someone who has been to BYU–Idaho?”

He and Sister Meredith shared five reasons students go to — and love — the Rexburg, Idaho, campus.

First, it’s a “disciple-preparation center,” President Meredith said, quoting Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who served as president of the university from 1997 to 2004. Students there have “unparalleled spiritual resources” to aid in developing and deepening their devotion as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Second, the university is teaching focused, Sister Meredith said. Class sizes are small, averaging about 31 students per class. This enables students to more easily get questions answered or help with their learning.

“The third answer to why BYU–I,” President Meredith continued, “is that we believe in the potential of every student in Rexburg.”

The small class sizes, the free tutoring, the teachers focused on the student all make BYU–Idaho a great fit for an average student, a struggling student or an aspirational student, Sister Meredith said. “We see the potential in every student and provide teaching and mentoring to help each student reach their full potential no matter where they are or when they come to us.”

Fourth, BYU–Idaho provides high value. In other words, students can expect a high-quality education for less cost. BYU–Idaho is about half the tuition of other state schools, President Meredith noted. Combined with the many financial aid and scholarship opportunities and the 5,000 student jobs on campus, BYU–Idaho graduates finish school with significantly less debt, President Meredith said.

Lastly, BYU–Idaho has a strong focus on employability. About 95% of graduates are employed within one year of graduating. “We really do take everyday students who go on to do extraordinary things,” Sister Meredith said.

Involve the Lord

In conclusion, Elder Gilbert reiterated his directive to the youth to involve the Lord in their education. “Education is a spiritual responsibility,” he repeated. “I hope you feel that it’s not just a good idea. … It’s a commandment,” Elder Gilbert said, quoting Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf (“Two Principles for Any Economy,” October 2009 general conference).

There is a place in the Church Educational System for everyone, Elder Gilbert emphasized. “I have a testimony that the Lord is doing a work with the youth of this Church to prepare them for the return of the Savior and to prepare the Church. We need you. We need you to be educated. We need you to be capable. We need that capability and education to come with an associated deep commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Following the event, Amber said what she learned that evening might have caused her to change her plans. “I was able to strongly feel the Spirit about BYU–Idaho. I was like, ‘Oh, wow, I really want to go there.’”

And while Lili hasn’t made any firm decisions, “this definitely helps,” she said of the devotional.