Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, of the Quorum of the Twelve, addressed Seminary and Institute teachers at a CES Devotional broadcast from the tabernacle in Salt Lake City on Feb. 6.
Elder Paul V. Johnson, Church Education System commissioner, first addressed listeners. He spoke to alleviate feelings of inadequacy that Seminary and Institute teachers often feel in their callings or careers.
He quoted Ether 12:27 to bolster seminary and institute teachers to feel as though the Lord’s grace is sufficient to cover all weakness.
Elder Holland then spoke on the association and friendship found within the Church Education System. He expressed love and gratitude for the service and the opportunity to serve with the teachers and their spouses that were in attendance, whether in the tabernacle in Salt Lake City or watching the broadcast online.
Elder Holland encouraged his audience to not underestimate the learning and feelings that are experienced by both students and CES teachers. He addressed comments and questions asked in advance, most of which were about fear and anxiety. “I ask you and your students to be not afraid, only believe,” he said. “With uncompromised confidence in God, I ask you to summon full confidence in yourselves and build full confidence in your students.”
Elder Holland encouraged his audience to rise up and make the most of their “remarkable day.” “Unlike every other era before us, this dispensation will not experience an institutional apostasy. It will not see a loss of priesthood keys. It will not suffer a cessation of revelation.”
He continued saying this generation is favored to bring about the latter-day glory. “The victory in this final contest has already been declared,” he said. His message was one of hope, not just to CES personnel but also to those they teach, since their effects are so far-reaching.
“Your first and foremost lessons to your students will be the lessons of your own life,” Elder Holland said. “So it is for every member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; we teach by the example of our everyday life.”
