Continuing Education

This time last year, despite our tight schedule, we prioritized enrolling in BYU Pathway Connect because we knew it would help us elevate our practical, professional and university skills, and we were right! We completed the course after a year. It has helped us become better disciple leaders. It has increased our ability to serve our family and everyone around us. We have developed good habits and skills that have eternal consequences. Our desire to be more self-reliant has deepened. We were reminded that support, understanding, and spiritual guidance cannot come from the emotionally starved and spiritually weak.

In his talk, "Two Principles for Any Economy" President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has said:

"Education is not so much the filling of a bucket as the lighting of a fire. For members of the Church, education is not merely a good idea—it’s a commandment."

In the April 2009 Ensign article "Learning and Latter-day Saints," Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught:

"Most important, we have the obligation to continue our spiritual education by studying the scriptures and Church literature and by attending church and the temple. Feasting on the words of life will enrich us, increase our ability to teach those we love, and prepare us for eternal life.

"The ultimate goal of an education is to make us better parents and servants in the kingdom. In the long run it is the growth, knowledge, and wisdom we achieve that enlarges our souls and prepares us for eternity, not the marks on college transcripts. The things of the Spirit are the things that are eternal, and our family relationships, sealed by the power of the priesthood, are the ultimate fruits of the Spirit. Education is a gift from God; it is a cornerstone of our religion when we use it to benefit others." 

"Learning with the Spirit is not confined to classrooms or preparation for school examinations. It applies to everything we do in life and every place we do it—at home, at work, and at church.

"An education is not limited to formal study. Lifelong learning can increase our ability to appreciate and relish the workings and beauty of the world around us." (Emphasis added.)

Beginning this fall semester, I am grateful to be a part of this "monumental moment in Church education". I will be one of Brigham Young University Idaho's Online Instructor. I will be facilitating 50 students from different countries. At the same time, my husband and I are taking a Certificate on Marriage, Family and Human Relations leading to a degree in Marriage and Family Studies. This semester, we are enrolled in three courses: Intro to Marriage Skills and Family Studies, Marriage Skills, and Parenting. We are grateful to have the opportunity to study and engage in assignments that will help us learn how to become the parents the Lord needs us to be. We are looking forward to learning and applying key principles pertaining to marital success. We also expect to develop a sound understanding of doctrinal principles as we study relevant scriptures, modern-day teachings, and instructions from other experts. We know these will guide us in raising our children. As family advocates, we fight for the family and love sharing principles we learn from our study with others.

“Our family-centered perspective should make Latter-day Saints strive to be the best parents in the world. It should give us enormous respect for our children, who truly are our spiritual siblings, and it should cause us to devote whatever time is necessary to strengthen our families. Indeed, nothing is more critically connected to happiness—both our own and that of our children—than how well we love and support one another within the family.”—What Matters Most Is What Lasts Longest, Elder M. Russell Ballard, General Conference, Oct. 2005.

Modern-day scripture states that “it is impossible for a man [or woman] to be saved in ignorance” (D&C 131:6), and that “whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life it will rise with us in the resurrection” (D&C 130:18 )