Milton Camargo
Brother Milton Camargo, first counselor in the Sunday School general presidency, instructs BYU–Pathway students during a devotional April 27, 2021. Photo courtesy of BYU–Pathway, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.
By Megan McKellar, Church News
Education is a piece of “a much larger picture,” taught Brother Milton Camargo, first counselor in the Sunday School general presidency and vice president of curriculum at BYU-Pathway. During his remarks to BYU–Pathway students at a devotional April 27, Brother Camargo stressed the need to prepare for the missions and callings that God has in store.
When Brother Camargo was a 24-year-old student with two children, he was first called as a bishop.
“I felt totally inadequate, but this experience taught me how to receive the revelation I needed to serve,” he recalled.
Thirteen years later, he was called to be a bishop once more, and received the calling for the third time after he was released from his calling as a mission president four years later.
“My experience as a mission president opened my eyes to new ways I could serve. The calling hadn’t changed, but I had!” Brother Camargo said.
In addition to the role as a BYU–Pathway student, students also have the opportunity to serve within Church callings, families, professions and communities.
“You may wonder at times: Will all this effort be worth it?” Brother Camargo said. “Will I get that better job, gain the skills or strengthen my family in the way I was hoping? Or, perhaps more importantly, is God pleased with my efforts to earn an education?”
The Lord promises that “what you are learning will not only help meet your needs now, but will also prepare you to serve in meaningful ways in His kingdom throughout your life and even after.”
Embracing all kinds of learning is also important, Brother Camargo taught.
In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord says to “be instructed … in all things that pertain” to God’s kingdom (Doctrine and Covenants 88:78).
“The Lord explains what He means by ‘all things’ in the next verse: ‘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; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms’ (Doctrine and Covenants 88:79).
“Of course, God wants His children to eventually learn about all of these things, but He only asks us to learn the things that ‘are expedient for [us] to understand’ right now,” Brother Camargo explained.
All learning serves the purpose of preparing one to serve in the Lord’s kingdom.
“As you study and prepare, He will send you again and again — and again,” Brother Camargo said.
Brother Camargo invited listeners to keep in mind the Lord’s promise that “my grace shall attend you.”
“You are never alone!” he said. “He wants you to succeed as a person, as a family and as an instrument in His hands to bless the lives of His children.”
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