“Handout 7: Message to Religious Educators of the Church Educational System,” Answering My Gospel Questions Teacher Material (2022)

“Message to Religious Educators of the Church Educational System,” Answering My Gospel Questions Teacher Material

Handout 7

Message to Religious Educators of the Church Educational System

Handout 7: Message to Religious Educators of the Church Educational System

Answering My Gospel Questions—Handouts

President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared:

In a General Authority training meeting, President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) said regarding the teaching of Church doctrine: “We cannot be too careful. We must watch that we do not get off [course]” [General Authority training meeting, Salt Lake City, Sept. 29, 1992]. …

As Church education moves forward in the 21st century, our educators need to consider any changes they should make in the way they prepare to teach, how they teach, and what they teach if they are to build unwavering faith in the lives of our precious youth.

Gone are the days when a student asked an honest question and a teacher responded, “Don’t worry about it!” … Gone are the days when students were protected from people who attacked the Church.

Fortunately, the Lord has provided this timely and timeless counsel to teachers: “And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith” [Doctrine and Covenants 88:118].

This is especially applicable today because not all of our students have the faith necessary to face the challenges ahead and because many of them are already exposed through the internet to corrosive forces of an increasingly secular world that is hostile to faith, family, and gospel standards. The internet is expanding its reach across the world into almost every home and into the hands and minds of our students. …

President Harold B. Lee (1899–1973) observed:

“We would remind you that the acquiring of knowledge by faith is no easy road to learning. It demands strenuous effort and a continual striving by faith” [Harold B. Lee, in Clyde J. Williams, ed., The Teachings of Harold B. Lee (1996), 331]. …

Knowledge by faith will produce a pure testimony, and a pure testimony has the power to change lives. (“By Study and by Faith,” Ensign, Dec. 2016, 22–23)

Discussion Questions

Why is it so important that our discussions remain in harmony with the core doctrine and principles of the Church?
How can faith be weakened when we avoid or sidestep difficult questions others ask us?
What does it mean to learn the gospel “by study and also by faith”? (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118).
When have you felt learning by faith has produced “pure testimony” in your life? (“By Study and by Faith,” 23).