Give Heed to the Words of the Prophets | Quentin L. Cook | 2022

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© Brigham Young University. All rights reserved.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to share some remarks at this one hundreth anniversary of Brigham Young University’s Education Week.

The first Leadership Week was held for a few days beginning on January 23, 1922. Looking at 1922, two other events have caught my personal attention.

The year 1922 was the first time the Church used the relatively new radio technology as a means of communication. The second event was the commencement of Aggie ice cream. I realize that Aggie ice cream is a little frivolous, particularly at BYU, but having grown up in Cache Valley, it also has caught my attention.

Coming back to Education Week, the stated purpose then was to provide spiritual as well as academic stimulation and training to leaders, particularly in Church leadership lines. Over the years the trend moved toward classes to enhance knowledge and continue education. These special classes relate to the regular classes taught at BYU.

This event has continued to progress, evolve, and improve over the years. It blesses the lives of many people. Since 2008, Education Week has been the responsibility of the Brigham Young University Division of Continuing Education.

I appreciate the fact that from the beginning the purpose was to provide spiritual as well as academic information. To use a little different phraseology, the effort has always been to increase knowledge and build faith in Jesus Christ.

In the doctrines of the Church, faith and the quest for knowledge are not inconsistent; they are compatible and complementary.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members have a doctrinal commitment to education. President Russell M. Nelson recently said, “I consider [education] a religious responsibility.”1 Some pursue education formally, and studies indicate that a high percentage of active Latter-day Saints has completed four or more years of college. That is among the highest percentages of all religions. In addition, members of the Church “with college experience have [Church] attendance rates notably higher than any other group.”2 Others pursue informal, continuing education such as that you will experience this week. I commend each of you for attending today to learn and to strengthen your faith. An omniscient God honors your efforts.

Latter-day Saint doctrine is unique and unequivocal about the role of intelligence and the importance of education and knowledge. In section 93 of our Doctrine and Covenants, we are taught:

1. Truth is independent—it “is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come.”3

2. “The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.”4

3. Exercising our agency to receive “truth and light”5 is essential.

In the quest for both faith and knowledge, we also need to maintain humility.

Faith and knowledge both require effort and commitment. We cannot expect to have faith at the center of our lives if all our efforts are expended on knowledge, sports, hobbies, making money, or other pursuits.

I love and have often used the story Elder LeGrand Richards, then of the Quorum of the Twelve, used to tell of a man living in the United States who sold rabbit pies. He had a significant business and produced a large number of pies. At some point people became suspicious that the pies included horsemeat. A charge was made that he was engaged in false advertising. He initially denied that the pies contained horsemeat but upon questioning admitted that, yes, there was a little horsemeat. Upon further interrogation, he finally acknowledged that the pies were half horse and half rabbit. When asked what he meant by half horse and half rabbit, he said one horse and one rabbit.

Some of us want faith to be at the center of our lives, but it does not get our attention—it is the rabbit portion of the pie.

My purpose today is to examine certain knowledge through the lens of revealed doctrine. My emphasis will be on doctrine and initiatives that have been provided by some of the presidents of the Church over the last one-hundred-year period. The doctrine I have chosen is significant in that it provides an immunity to protect against specific challenges and evils not only for the times in which revelations were received but also to protect future generations. These teachings provide an immunity for future events that could have serious adverse impact on members. Interestingly, the Book of Mormon also fits this description; written anciently, it provides immunity for our day."