At the same time The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was emerging in western New York, the political framework holding the Middle East together was growing weak — a precursor to the region’s modern turmoil.

In 1830 the Ottoman Empire was the “sick man in Europe,” said professor Victor Ludlow, a professor of ancient scripture, recounting recent Middle Eastern history and the Church’s role in the area to an Education Week audience on Thursday. The region had declined from a golden age in the late 1500s to a silver age and finally to a “rusty iron age,” he said.

Ludlow said other European powers were watching the Ottomans’ ailing empire with plans for their own expansion. “They sensed here was a new region with some possibilities for empires,” he said. “This could be a prime location ... It wasn’t because of oil; it was because of trade, commerce, empire.”

In crucial conversations, the first 30 seconds are critical; how they are handled can determine the outcome of a confrontation, job or relationship.

In these conversations, “your first few words establish the tone for everything,” said Kerry Patterson, the chief development officer of VitalSmarts and a best-selling co-author who shared tips on handling important confrontations with an Education Week class on Thursday.

In addition to being crucial, Patterson said, the first half minute of these conversations can be hazardous, as well.

“If you’re upset, it’s easy to go wrong,” he said. “You’re often on your worst behavior.”

If a crucial conversation goes wrong, not only can the problem at hand go unsolved; relationships may be damaged as well. Every one of these conversations has the potential for disaster, he said.

By ALICIA MOULTON

Concert pianist Marvin Goldstein shared his insights on the power of music from the “Children’s Songbook,” with a special guest, Janice Kapp Perry, in the audience on Thursday.

He recognized her work in composing many children’s songs and performed fun and inspirational primary song medleys.

“The true joy of the gospel of Jesus Christ certainly resides in the primary,” Goldstein said. “They respond well to the influence of the Spirit in music.”

By ALICIA MOULTON

A. Lynn Scoresby, BYU professor emeritus of family studies, taught how parents can instill integrity in the lives of their children, while it is often forgotten and undervalued in the world.

Scoresby said a lack of integrity is apparent by dishonesty in business and political sectors, cheating, stealing and bullying in public school systems. He said 80 percent of school children in Utah admit to cheating from time to time and about half of LDS young single adults become inactive within their first year out of high school.

Stephen Harper, during the second day of his lectures on Joseph Smith’s first vision, said one of the main contributors to the vision was the religious conflict at the time the vision occurred.

Harper spent the duration of his lecture giving a cultural and historical setting surrounding the vision, in order to foster a greater understanding of its significance.

“I really want you to see the conflict in Joseph’s time, and within Joseph Smith himself,” Harper said. “I don’t think we would have the first vision if he wasn’t so conflicted inside.”

Harper read through portions of “Joseph Smith’s History,” focusing on the emotions young Joseph would have been feeling.

Followers of Emanuel can be saved by grace through an investment in obedience which determines the willingness and desire to live back within the presence of God.

In 2 Nephi 25:23 it states: “for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”

This commonly referenced scripture was the basis for Brad Wilcox’s Tuesday lecture, “After All We Can Do,“ from the series “Using the Atonement to Turn Weakness into Strengths.”

“This is a source of discouragement if not understood,” said Wilcox, an associate professor of teacher education at BYU.

Wilcox focused on each individual word in the latter part of the scripture and examined its definition alone and within its context.

He said the inflection put on a particular word in a sentence changes the meaning of how someone understands the concept.

By ALICIA MOULTON

President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve taught Education Week participants the importance of arming themselves with gospel doctrines to strengthen themselves and their families in the war against the adversary.

President Packer said in his Tuesday address in the Marriott Center that church members should turn to the scriptures and gospel doctrines because they teach how to triumph in the battle with the adversary. He read 2 Timothy 3:1-7, “in the last days, perilous times shall come …,” to describe the condition of the world today, emphasizing “disobedience to parents” and “without natural affection.”

“Do we need any more evidence to understand we are at war with the adversary?” he said.

“These verses serve as a warning, showing us patterns to avoid. We must be ever watchful and diligent.”