Seminary and institute teachers gathered at the Joseph Smith Building on the BYU campus for the second annual Church Educational System Religious Educators Conference on June 13.
The global event, available both live and on demand, brought together religious educators to learn how to better help students learn by faith.
Elder Alvin F. Meredith, president of Brigham Young University–Idaho, opened the conference with a personal story of overcoming discrimination in high school, crediting the spiritual foundation laid by his seminary teachers.
“They made a difference in my life, and I hope that in your quiet moments of reflection about your teaching you can recognize the impact that you have had on the lives of those you teach in this rising generation. It is amazing,” Elder Meredith said.
He emphasized that because the rising generation has so much potential, they need the best gospel teachers to help them reach it.
“In gospel teaching, it is essential to stay focused on our divine objective. Then we are far more likely to achieve it,” he said.
Elder Meredith explained that this “divine objective” is to inspire students to become lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ.
Elder Clark G. Gilbert, commissioner of the Church Educational System, spoke after Elder Meredith and further emphasized this mission.
“We are preparing these young people to become lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ, and there is nowhere that happens more powerfully than in seminaries, religion classes and institutes,” Elder Gilbert said.
He then led a panel of religious educators in a discussion on how to teach discipleship intentionally, not just focus on memorization or passive learning.
One panelist, Janet Erickson, an associate professor in BYU’s Department of Church History and Doctrine and the School of Family Life, reflected on the intentionality of teaching discipleship, tying her thoughts to Elder D. Todd Christofferson’s keynote address the night before.
“The power is in them. That is what I want to ignite in my students, because they are yearning to let the Lord have access to their lives because He is the power to change,” Erickson said.
During the panel, Elder Gilbert asked educators to consider the connection between a student’s personal responsibility for learning and becoming a lifelong disciple.
Camey Andersen, a BYU adjunct professor, said that it is often through life’s trials that students turn to the knowledge they have gained once their faith is tested.
“It’s more than just reading their scriptures or praying. It’s when they choose to do this in times of difficulty that they realize their faith is in Him, and He will help them get through, and grow through, whatever the challenge is,” Andersen said.
Elder Gilbert concluded the session by urging educators to teach with the goal of helping students become new creatures in Christ, and then invite them to act.
“They have to act. In the process of acting is when they get it for themselves,” he said.
The remainder of the conference continued in various buildings across the BYU campus, with sessions also streamed live via Zoom for national attendees.