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Religious education and secular education have much in common, but there are two very important differences. The first difference is in what is taught; the second is in how it is taught.
What is Taught?
Secular education strives to teach truth in many fields, such as mathematics, the sciences, and the arts. The Church has always taught the importance of education and learning in many fields, but in the Church the primary concern is to teach the saving principles of the gospel.
How it is Taught?
In religious education the Spirit must be present. The Lord stated it very simply:"If ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach"(D&C 42:14). President David O. Mckay said, " After all, the technical learning is secondary, if we keep in mind the ultimate aim of the work. We must never lose sight of that. It is the Spirit which teaches the spirit" (Gospel Ideals, Salt lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1953, p. 219)
Gospel teaching has to do with edification. The Lord described effective teaching as teaching that edifies (see D&C 50:21-22). To edify means to build up spiritually or to bring one closer to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Edifying teaching is one of the fundamental values of CES. While there are many principles of the gospel that lead to edification, there are seven identified by CES that are particularly important in bringing about teaching that edifies.
- The worth of a soul
(see D&C 18:10). Each person living on the earth is a spirit son or daughter of God and has successfully kept his or her first estate (see Abraham 3:26). The worth of the individual soul is, in the final analysis, the reason behind all of God's work and the entire plan of redemption.
- The agency of others (see D&C 101:78). Moral agency is the opportunity to choose between good and evil according to one's desires. The Lord has given all mankind the gift of moral agency and lets them use that agency even though it may be used to choose evil. How people use their moral agency profoundly influences their conditions in this life and their eternal happiness and progress.
- Relationships of trust (Proverbs 3:5). Trust in God comes from a knowledge of and faith in his nature and attributes, which are all held in perfection. He cares perfectly for his children and seeks only their best good. Trust can fully develop between people when they acquire the attributes of godliness.
- Growth through participation (see Matthew 7:21). Part of God's plan for his children is for them to actively participate in their own growth and development. Those who seek learning must put forth an effort to achieve it. Living the gospel requires diligence and commitment. The kind of participation the Lord requires involves the "heart, might, mind and strength" (D&C 4:2).
- Vision (see Proverbs 29:18). One of the most important aspects of edification is vision--having an eternal, spiritual perspective. A major effect of the influence of the Holy Spirit is increased vision, or seeing things more as God does (see Isaiah 55:8-98) This deepened and broadened understanding then leads to a desire and a determination to become more like God.
- Unity (see John 17:17-23). The Lord has said that he requires his people to be one, as he and his Father are one. The idea of unity is so crucial that Jesus also said, "If ye are not one ye are not mine" (D&C 38:27). Living gospel principles encourages a person to love the Lord and others and to try to be one with them.
- An eye single to the glory of God (see D&C 88:67-68). One of the end goals of the gospel is to so sanctify people that their "minds become single to God." Each successive experience in learning and living the gospel should strengthen one's yearnings to accept God, to give all glory and honor to him, and to move further away from worldliness, selfishness, and sin.
If the principles of edification are violated by either the teacher or the student, the Spirit will be grieved and religious education, or gospel learning, will be lessened--perhaps even stopped altogether. |
