Church Leaders Encourage Latter-day Saint Youth in Utah to ‘Dream Big’ in Regards to Education

This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.

By Rachel Sterzer Gibson, Church News

Flint Nielsen has ideas about what he wants to do when he grows up. The 14-year-old Latter-day Saint from Layton, Utah, thinks maybe he’ll study engineering and then go to law school to become a patent lawyer.

That might seem a bit ambitious for a ninth grader, but developing those kinds of lofty educational goals was part of the message provided to youth during a devotional broadcast throughout Utah on Wednesday, October 11.

Don’t be paralyzed by fear when making educational decisions, said Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “Your Heavenly Father knows you exist, knows your specific circumstances, knows what you’re facing, and is willing to help.”

Elder Kevin W. Pearson, a General Authority Seventy and President of the Utah Area, told listeners to “go ahead and dream big.” Like Nephi, who did what the Lord commanded because he knew that the Lord would prepare a way for him, today’s youth can have faith the same is true in their lives.

“Heavenly Father will prepare a way for you to accomplish this important responsibility,” Elder Pearson said. “So … don’t make small plans for your life.”

Latter-day Saint youth from across the state gathered in their local meetinghouses with their parents and leaders to hear counsel from Elder Christofferson, Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman and Elder Pearson.

The trio formed a panel where they discussed not only the importance of education but also how to overcome many of the obstacles in pursuing further learning. Elder Clark G. Gilbert, a General Authority Seventy and the Church commissioner of education, served as the moderator.

The devotional, which was sponsored by the Utah Area Presidency, also introduced an education initiative by the area to help members — whether they be high school students or older adults — improve their spiritual and temporal self-reliance through education.

What Is the Utah Area Education Initiative?

Elder Pearson explained that the area presidency has asked stake presidencies to call individuals or couples in each stake to serve as stake education mentors.

These education mentors report to a stake education specialist. These education mentors will be given needed training and resources, facilitated through BYU–Pathway Worldwide, so that they can help individuals in their stake overcome any barriers to education, find educational opportunities and create a personalized education plan.

Education mentors can also help individuals prepare, enroll and obtain scholarships and financial aid and then follow-up regularly to encourage progress toward goals.

Quoting President Russell M. Nelson’s most recent conference address, Elder Pearson invited youth to: “‘Think Celestial’ about you. We invite you to make a personal education goal. Discuss it with your parents or with a trusted leader. Write it down, and put a date on it. Identify the potential obstacles that might prevent you from being successful. Then, together with your parents and the education mentor in your stake or ward, identify the resources available to help you overcome those obstacles.”

Lastly, he invited youth to make a personalized plan. “Be serious and intentional about it. You can and will succeed with your hard work and with the help of the Lord.”

Why Is Education a Religious Responsibility?

President Nelson has said: “In the Church, obtaining an education and getting knowledge are a religious responsibility. We educate our minds so that one day we can render service of worth to somebody else” (“Focus on Values,” Feb. 2013, “New Era”).

Referencing that quote, Elder Christofferson emphasized that education is part of individuals’ development and progress toward becoming more like Heavenly Father and the Savior, but also a way to be of service to someone else.

Education is not an end in itself, he said. “It’s a tool, it’s a means, it’s a resource that we can use to bless others.”

As a teenager, President Freeman said, she took to heart a line in her patriarchal blessing that instructs her to learn to find joy in learning.

In high school, she joined a band and learned all about producing music. In her 20s, she worked for a publishing company and learned about producing newspapers, books and magazines. In her 30s, she and her husband ran an events company. In her 40s, she became fascinated with social media and learned all about YouTube and producing podcasts.

When she stepped into her new role this last August, she learned she would have responsibilities with youth music, with producing a magazine that goes all over the world, with planning Church-wide youth events and with working on an Instagram account for all of the girls around the world.

“Now, in my 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s I had no idea I would be tapped on the shoulder by a prophet of the Lord, but God did. And He prepared me for what will hopefully be my finest hour. And He will do that for every single one of you,” she promised.

What Obstacles Get in the Way of Education?

While the cost of higher education can be a challenge for many prospective students, Elder Christofferson noted that stake education specialists and mentors can help individuals explore options for scholarships and grants. “There’s a way to handle cost without incurring terrible debt,” he said.

The Apostle also noted that they were talking about all types of training, not just college degrees, such as trade apprenticeships and certifications like carpentry, mechanical, electrical and others. “I don’t think anybody ought to feel like they’re pigeonholed in any specific educational opportunity or future. Do what really you’re fitted to and like and interested in doing and prepare yourself, beyond high school.”

There are ways to deal with virtually any obstacles, Elder Pearson added. “Don’t stop there. Let somebody show you how you can overcome that obstacle. Whether it’s an educational mentor, or it’s your parents or someone else.”

President Freeman noted that sometimes the obstacle is not knowing what to pursue. There are resources, such as career placement tests, that can help individuals discover what they want to do with their lives.

But with all of her children, President Freeman said, “the greatest resource ended up being a patriarchal blessing. A blessing given that said, ‘here are your gifts. Here are places where you could succeed in life. Here are places where you can be a difference maker.’”

Involving the Lord in Learning

Elder Pearson recalled starting graduate school and being completely overwhelmed. He prayed for help and was called in to serve as a ward missionary where he would be required to set aside 20 hours a week to serve. Although it felt completely counterintuitive, he accepted the call — and somehow passed his classes. “The Lord helped me in ways that I never could have done on my own,” Elder Pearson said. “And it was a lifelong lesson to me that if I’m willing to do what the Lord wants me to do, He will help me in the things that are important to me.”

President Freeman shared how her great-grandmother, who became a nurse and midwife, would pray before she studied for the Holy Ghost to be with her, and it helped her during exams to bring things to her remembrance.

She has instilled that lesson in her children, who have gone on to be a doctor, an accountant and a football player. “If you can pray for the Spirit to help you and then if you are in a place when you call upon that knowledge and the Spirit is with you, you will do better than you would ever do on your own, and that’s a lesson passed down from a great-grandmother to a mom to every one of her kids.”

Take charge of your education, Elder Christofferson said, “but always remember, you’re not alone.”

Goals Going Forward

Flint called the devotional “eye opening.”

“There’s a lot of opportunities out there for education I didn’t even know were there,” he said. As far as next steps, Flint said, for now he’s going to focus on involving the Lord in his learning by continuing to attend seminary.

His dad, Cameron Nielsen, commented that he was happy to be able to attend the devotional with his son and hear messages about how education and doing honest work is part of the Lord’s work. “We need to keep learning and keep progressing now, no matter how old we are or how far we are in life.”

Twelve-year-old Alice Brandt, from Layton, Utah, appreciated President Freeman’s advice about patriarchal blessings. She had planned to pursue a patriarchal blessing when she graduated from high school but said she decided to pray about receiving it sooner.

Her mother, Katie Wendel, loved the reminder about asking for the help of the Holy Ghost. “Whether you’re going into finance, whether you’re going into football, whether you’re going into cosmetology or driving a school bus — which I do — He knows how to do everything, and He can help us if we include Him in our lives.”