“there is a place for scholars in the Lord’s house”

Have you ever felt like there isn’t a place for scholars in the Lord’s house? Think about the reading selection from this week. When the early saints were building the Salt Lake Temple there were many needs for laborers and craftsmen, but what did the scholars have to offer? If your expertise was in languages or medicine in what way could you help in building the Lord’s house?

From the experiences of Elder Talmage, we learn that there is a place for scholars in the Lord’s house. Elder Talmage was a great example of using the talents the Lord had given him in building up the Lord’s kingdom.

In the next several weeks you will start to make your own journey to BYU. Upon arrival, you will have so many different feelings that it will probably be hard to concentrate on any one thing. Try to take time now as you prepare to reflect on what you hope to accomplish during your time here.

Here are two different BYU Photographer slide shows. The first is one of the annual First Day of Class slide shows that BYU Photographers make. During this slide show, you will feel the excitement of the first day. The first day of classes is the start of something new to everyone. For those of you that have never visited BYU, you will be able to see some scenes of campus.

The second slide show is from the opposite side of the spectrum. This slide show is about graduation. As you listen and watch this slide show, think about the sense of accomplishment you can feel in his voice. Your time at BYU is yours. You can accomplish amazing things. The key is to start from the very beginning. Be your best from the first day.

Your time at BYU is your preparatory time. I hope that we all have goals that once we leave BYU we can be prepared to help better build up the Lord’s kingdom. There is room for scholars in the Lord’s house. There is room for craftsmen. There is room for people that are willing to serve and work. There is room for anyone that is willing to work and serve.

“at a state university, and quite properly, I could not inject gospel concepts into my teaching…”

This week we read and thought about Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s lecture The Disciple Scholar.

I hope that you had some time to reflect on the three questions that we posted for Elder Maxwell’s lecture.

For this post, I want to focus on the first question. Katie touched on this question in her comment where she said that sometimes she was challenged with things taught in her AP Literature class.

I have felt that way too. Sometimes in high school I felt like I was taught things that were contrary to the church’s teachings. Even at BYU, sometimes we are taught certain things that may be new or foreign to us at the time. I have found in my experience that the best way to handle these types of situations is to be a better disciple-scholar (just as Mandell mentioned, we should all be actively pursuing a course that makes us better disciple-scholars).

As a disciple-scholar, I try to take all teachings and find how they truly relate to the gospel. This pursuit requires meekness. As Arica touched on in her comment - if we are meek, then we can challenge ourselves to grow. Taking new teachings and applying them to my life has helped increase my vision and understanding of the world and gospel.

However, some teachings truly oppose the gospel. These teachings should be understood but not applied. We should learn how to handle situations that involve these teachings and thoughts, but as a disciple-scholar we cannot believe them.

There was a point in BYU history where several teachers were trying to teach things that truly opposed the gospel.

The following video shares the story of that time (it is kind of long, but it is really good).

Education in Zion: For the Students' Sake from Education in Zion on Vimeo.

Thanks to all that posted last week. Your posts were great. This next week we will focus on Paul Alan Cox’s lecture Journey to City Creek: Adding Scholarship to Discipleship. There won’t be any questions for this one, but this story is pretty amazing. As you read, try to think about how you can apply the principles they focused on in your life.

Read, read, read

Thanks for coming on over to check out our First-Year Reading blog. This blog will have posts in the upcoming weeks that focus on disciple scholarship and Learning in the Light of Faith. Interacting on this blog will help you better prepare for learning at BYU. Feel free to comment on anything that you like, dislike, or just want to discuss more.

This week's blog post is just an introduction. In order to start thinking more about BYU and BYU learning, I've included a video to get you started.

Education in Zion: Leaders Speak from Education in Zion on Vimeo.

My favorite part of the video is the quote from President Hinckley (1:53) that says “Read. Read. Read. Read the word of God in sacred books of scripture. Read from the great literature of the ages. Read what is being said in our day and time and what will be said in the future.”

How you feel about reading will greatly influence your time at BYU. If you love reading, you will find that many of your classes will be more enjoyable and that study will be less tiring.

The best way to learn how to read for college is to start right now. Because this is the first-year reading blog we will focus on our book Learning in the Light of Faith. The first lecture in the book was given by Elder Neal A. Maxwell. Here are some questions to think about as you read this lecture.

1. Have I ever felt like there has been a conflict between faith and learning?
2. In what ways does scholarship take a form of worship in my life?
3. What does meekness mean to me?

Feel free to start posting and commenting today.