Really loved your article and agree that our young people must be prepared so they can stand firm. In a Sunday School lesson I was teaching recently I was instructing my young teens about going on a mission. I was telling them that they can't wait to the last minute to prepare and was citing the different areas that they must learn about and practice. One of them was learning the Bible because most of the people they would encounter would have questions about that book and would probably have not read the Book of Mormon. Go prepared to face the world by learning as much as you can to stand on your beliefs. Knowledge is power.
Joanne KappSeptember 27, 2021
In complete agreement. So thankful someone with clout is speaking up.
Douglas E NadybalSeptember 27, 2021
The writer is arguing both for pedagogy more inclusive of differing world views while at the same time advocating for more exposure to material more typically LDS. You see, you can either go to the gas station and fill the tank and then drive, or you can drive and then stop at the gas station, but you can't do both at the same time!
Jill PalmerSeptember 27, 2021
At BYU in 1968, my first Book of Mormon class taught by Dr Glen Pearson was a real eye-opener and I wondered what had struck me! This class and another, "Teachings of the living prophets", were so valuable in opening my eyes to socialism and communism and the differences between them and the United Order/Law of Consecration. Today, I feel for Church members who do not know the difference. I agree with you that BYU has a valuable role in arming students against worldly philosophies and practices.
Elizabeth SSeptember 27, 2021
Great essay. I received bachelors and Masters degrees in English from BYU, but found that with one exception all my teachers tended to avoid analyzing literature through an LDS lens. When I got to law school at another university, I wished that I had had some comparative analysis of modern and postmodern philosophies that could easily have occurred when I studied literature.
DavidSeptember 27, 2021
I totally agree with this article. I’d like to see the church clean house at BYU. There is definitely no shame in enforcing its curriculum and it’s ideology. I think the gospel should be central to every course. BYU is it’s flagship school. I was there over 30 years ago. It wasn’t fighting so hard against political correctness and moral relativism back then. But it is one of the churches most known entities and I believe it should do better at preparing its alumni to face these challenges going forward.
DavidSeptember 27, 2021
It seems to me that there are many professors that are doing an excellent job of exposing BYU students to many
-isms. But unfortunately instead of teaching them so as to be able to arm them to be able to argue against them effectively they are taught to them as truth. The Church needs to clean house or rid itself of BYU which is headed rapidly to becoming just another secular university.
Kelton ToblerSeptember 27, 2021
I agree that exposure to viewpoints in competition with secular and religious truths—with a view to affirming those truths and aiding their defense—can be a valuable component of an academically and spiritually edifying undergraduate education at BYU. The best time to learn something about Christian and specifically Latter-day-Saint apologetics may not be while under surprise attack in post-college years. BYU professors are ideally as intelligently faithful as they are highly educated. It can help students to hear how their teachers' faith has come through the refiner's fire of opposition.
SaraLyn BaxterSeptember 27, 2021
I agree completely! It seems like the perfect balance. We have such a unique opportunity at church schools— unique especially in this day— to examine more religious content through a scholarly and restored gospel lens, and to help develop thinking that can explore and argue against false ideologies popular in our day. Thank you for this thoughtful article.
Gary LawrenceSeptember 27, 2021
Spot on, Daniel. Thank you.
MeSeptember 27, 2021
There are plenty of professors there that teach against capitalism and for socialism.
Harold RustSeptember 27, 2021
Well, I'm 78 years old and started substitute teaching in our local school district four years ago---and I love it. For "old folks like me", your example is one of several that keeps us going. Your reflections have a fresh and youthful touch that does keep them relevant and inspiring. So...continue stirring the pot and we'll continue watching your example.
Duane BoyceSeptember 27, 2021
Amen. Very true and very well said, Dan.
Cynthia M. MoorheadSeptember 27, 2021
Be grateful you are old, because you and I are among the lucky ones who know what it is like to live in relative freedom. BYU is a great school, but too many there stand in awe of Harvard and other institutions that promote Marxism. Too many of our children are fans of the socialist/Marxist left and have become "for themselves." They will suffer for it. So will we.
Comments | Return to Story
J.L. GuinnSeptember 29, 2021
Really loved your article and agree that our young people must be prepared so they can stand firm. In a Sunday School lesson I was teaching recently I was instructing my young teens about going on a mission. I was telling them that they can't wait to the last minute to prepare and was citing the different areas that they must learn about and practice. One of them was learning the Bible because most of the people they would encounter would have questions about that book and would probably have not read the Book of Mormon. Go prepared to face the world by learning as much as you can to stand on your beliefs. Knowledge is power.
Joanne KappSeptember 27, 2021
In complete agreement. So thankful someone with clout is speaking up.
Douglas E NadybalSeptember 27, 2021
The writer is arguing both for pedagogy more inclusive of differing world views while at the same time advocating for more exposure to material more typically LDS. You see, you can either go to the gas station and fill the tank and then drive, or you can drive and then stop at the gas station, but you can't do both at the same time!
Jill PalmerSeptember 27, 2021
At BYU in 1968, my first Book of Mormon class taught by Dr Glen Pearson was a real eye-opener and I wondered what had struck me! This class and another, "Teachings of the living prophets", were so valuable in opening my eyes to socialism and communism and the differences between them and the United Order/Law of Consecration. Today, I feel for Church members who do not know the difference. I agree with you that BYU has a valuable role in arming students against worldly philosophies and practices.
Elizabeth SSeptember 27, 2021
Great essay. I received bachelors and Masters degrees in English from BYU, but found that with one exception all my teachers tended to avoid analyzing literature through an LDS lens. When I got to law school at another university, I wished that I had had some comparative analysis of modern and postmodern philosophies that could easily have occurred when I studied literature.
DavidSeptember 27, 2021
I totally agree with this article. I’d like to see the church clean house at BYU. There is definitely no shame in enforcing its curriculum and it’s ideology. I think the gospel should be central to every course. BYU is it’s flagship school. I was there over 30 years ago. It wasn’t fighting so hard against political correctness and moral relativism back then. But it is one of the churches most known entities and I believe it should do better at preparing its alumni to face these challenges going forward.
DavidSeptember 27, 2021
It seems to me that there are many professors that are doing an excellent job of exposing BYU students to many -isms. But unfortunately instead of teaching them so as to be able to arm them to be able to argue against them effectively they are taught to them as truth. The Church needs to clean house or rid itself of BYU which is headed rapidly to becoming just another secular university.
Kelton ToblerSeptember 27, 2021
I agree that exposure to viewpoints in competition with secular and religious truths—with a view to affirming those truths and aiding their defense—can be a valuable component of an academically and spiritually edifying undergraduate education at BYU. The best time to learn something about Christian and specifically Latter-day-Saint apologetics may not be while under surprise attack in post-college years. BYU professors are ideally as intelligently faithful as they are highly educated. It can help students to hear how their teachers' faith has come through the refiner's fire of opposition.
SaraLyn BaxterSeptember 27, 2021
I agree completely! It seems like the perfect balance. We have such a unique opportunity at church schools— unique especially in this day— to examine more religious content through a scholarly and restored gospel lens, and to help develop thinking that can explore and argue against false ideologies popular in our day. Thank you for this thoughtful article.
Gary LawrenceSeptember 27, 2021
Spot on, Daniel. Thank you.
MeSeptember 27, 2021
There are plenty of professors there that teach against capitalism and for socialism.
Harold RustSeptember 27, 2021
Well, I'm 78 years old and started substitute teaching in our local school district four years ago---and I love it. For "old folks like me", your example is one of several that keeps us going. Your reflections have a fresh and youthful touch that does keep them relevant and inspiring. So...continue stirring the pot and we'll continue watching your example.
Duane BoyceSeptember 27, 2021
Amen. Very true and very well said, Dan.
Cynthia M. MoorheadSeptember 27, 2021
Be grateful you are old, because you and I are among the lucky ones who know what it is like to live in relative freedom. BYU is a great school, but too many there stand in awe of Harvard and other institutions that promote Marxism. Too many of our children are fans of the socialist/Marxist left and have become "for themselves." They will suffer for it. So will we.
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