LDS Place

Education is a shortcut to proficiency. It makes it possible to leapfrog over the mistakes of the past.

Gordon B. Hinckley

“We do live in turbulent times. Often the future is unknown; therefore, it behooves us to prepare for uncertainties. Statistics reveal that at some time, for a variety of reasons, you may find yourself in the role of financial provider. I urge you to pursue your education and learn marketable skills so that, should such a situation arise, you are prepared

Thomas S. Monson

“The Lord has mandated that this people get all the education they can. He has been very clear about this. . . . “. . . And so I say to you young men, rise up and discipline yourself to take advantage of educational opportunities.”

Gordon B. Hinckley

“Study and prepare for your life’s work in a field that you enjoy, because you are going to spend a good share of your life in that field. . . .

“Have discipline in your preparations. Have checkpoints where you can determine if you’re on course.

“I hope that you are not afraid of tough classes. I never did have a ‘cinch’ class. I hope that you are not afraid of lengthy periods of preparation. Burn the midnight oil. Don’t procrastinate like my older sister, who after a late date rationalized, ‘I have a test tomorrow, but I am weary. What is more important, my health or my test? Aha, my health! I need my sleep.’ So she slept. I won’t say what happened to the test.

“You simply have to apply yourself. I hope that you want to be so well equipped that you can compete in this competitive world. I hope that you will learn to take responsibility for your decisions, whether they be in your courses of study which you elect to take, or whether they be in the direction of the academic attainments which you strive to achieve.

“Should you become discouraged or feel burdened down, remember that others have passed this same way; they have endured and then have achieved. When we have done all that we are able to do, we can then rely on God’s promised help.”

Thomas S. Monson

“Learning the lessons of the past allows you to walk boldly in the light without running the risk of stumbling in the darkness. This is the way it’s supposed to work. This is God’s plan: father and mother, grandfather and grandmother teaching their children; children learning from them and then becoming a more righteous generation through their own personal experiences and opportunities. Learning the lessons of the past allows you to build personal testimony on a solid bedrock of obedience, faith, and the witness of the Spirit.”

M. Russell Ballard

“The thirst for education can be a blessing or a curse, depending on our motives. If we continue to seek learning to serve God and His children better, it is a blessing of great worth. If we seek learning to exalt ourselves alone, it leads to selfishness and pride.”

Henry B. Eyring

“In academic preparation, I have found it a good practice to read a text with the idea that I will be asked to explain that which the author wrote and its application to the subject it covered. Also, I have tried to be attentive in any lecture in the classroom and to pretend that I would be called upon to present the same lecture to others. While this practice is very hard work, it certainly helps during test week!”

Thomas S. Monson

“To keep spiritual learning in its proper place, we will have to make some hard choices of how we use our time. But there should never be a conscious choice to let the spiritual become secondary. Never. That will lead to tragedy. Remember, you are interested in education, not just for mortal life but for eternal life. When you see that reality clearly, you will put spiritual learning first and yet not slight the secular learning. In fact, you will work harder at your secular learning than you would without that spiritual vision.”

Henry B. Eyring

“John Taylor had a dignified, impeccable speaking style. His great gift and ability to communicate to our Father in Heaven’s children has given the Church so much in greater understanding of the mission of our Lord and Savior. Listen to his philosophy of education:

” ‘We want also to be alive in the cause of education. We are commanded of the Lord to obtain knowledge, both by study and by faith, seeking it out of the best books. And it becomes us to teach our children, and afford them instruction in every branch of education calculated to promote their welfare, leaving those false acquirements which tend to . . . lead away the mind and affection from the things of God. We want to compile the intelligence and literacy of this people in book-form, as well as in teaching and preaching; adopting all the good and useful books we can obtain; . . . instead of doing as many of the world do, take the works of God, to try to prove that there is no God; we want to prove by God’s works that he does exist, that he lives and rules and holds us, as it were, in the hollow of his hand’ (Deseret News Weekly, 5 June 1878, 275).

“May the strength of his conversion, his loyalty to the Prophet Joseph Smith and to the Church, and the articulate way in which he defended the Church with polish and refinement always be remembered.”

L. Tom Perry

“The real life we’re preparing for is eternal life. Secular knowledge has for us eternal significance. Our conviction is that God, our Heavenly Father, wants us to live the life that He does. All we can learn that is true while we are in this life will rise with us in the Resurrection. And all that we can learn will enhance our capacity to serve.”

Henry B. Eyring

“Our education must never stop. If it ends at the door of the classroom on graduation day, we will fail. And we will need the help of heaven to know which of the myriad things we could study we would most wisely learn. We cannot waste time entertaining ourselves when we have the chance to read or to listen to whatever will help us learn what is true and useful. Insatiable curiosity will be our hallmark.”

Henry B. Eyring

“For members of the Church, education is not merely a good idea—it’s a commandment. We are to learn ‘of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad’ (see D&C 88:79–80).”

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

“I call your attention to another matter that gives me great concern. In revelation the Lord has mandated that this people get all the education they can. He has been very clear about this. But there is a troubling trend taking place. Elder Rolfe Kerr, Commissioner of Church Education, advises me that in the United States nearly 73 percent of young women graduate from high school, compared to 65 percent of young men. Young men are more likely to drop out of school than young women.

“Approximately 61 percent of young men enroll in college immediately following high school, compared to 72 percent for young women.

“In 1950, 70 percent of those enrolled in college were males, and 30 percent were females; by 2010 projections estimate 40 percent will be males, and 60 percent will be females.”

“Women have earned more bachelor’s degrees than men every year since 1982 and more master’s degrees since 1986.

“It is plainly evident from these statistics that young women are exceeding young men in pursuing educational programs. And so I say to you young men, rise up and discipline yourself to take advantage of educational opportunities. Do you wish to marry a girl whose education has been far superior to your own? We speak of being ‘equally yoked.’ That applies, I think, to the matter of education.”

Gordon B. Hinckley