“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.”
The words seem to shake the ground under your feet and stir up the Israeli dust around your sandals. The syllables form a tide. It swells and pulls, undercurrents drawing you toward He who teaches. Your family, sprawled out on brush and grass, is enchanted. You’ve never seen them so raptured by teachings. You, yourself, have never thirsted for enlightenment more than this moment. It is celestial; the words of the Master Teacher are a heavenly salve to both your intellect and soul.
Imagine it.
The Sermon on the Mount is the most impactful lesson ever given by any teacher. Its retelling in the New Testament is the closest we can get to being there with the Chief Educator. The Sermon’s maxims and principles have informed world leaders and champion athletes, absolved tragedy’s sting, and guided billions on their search for truth. It’s the pinnacle of spiritually informed education, and it lays the groundwork for BYU’s dual-heritage approach.
BYU’s Education Week draws from these headwaters to offer an enlightening—and often life-transforming—experience. Over seventeen thousand attendees hurry from class to class (which there are over a thousand of), cramming as much lifelong learning into five days as possible. World-class educators—disciples in their own right—give their very own sermons from their very own mounts. They teach about everything from marriage and family to communication, all enhanced by the spiritual underpinnings that make BYU unique. It’s an approximation of and ode to the Biblical sermons that are so precious to so many.
Education Week has one central goal: to contribute to the “balanced development of the total person” (Bruce Pane via Deseret News) through Christ-centered education. Its aims align with the mission statements of BYU Continuing Education and BYU, helping perfect individuals through lifelong learning.
“We are confident that . . . you will have a rewarding and uplifting experience that will strengthen your resolve to achieve these aims,” the 2024 welcome note says, referring to this gospel-grounded growth.
The impact of Education Week is incalculable. “One man . . . was divorced from his wife,” recounted one presenter. “After my Ed Week class three years ago, he used the principles taught [to get] remarried to her. They just had a baby together, which makes three children. All the work I spend preparing does make a difference.”
During another conference, a driver picked up an older lady who was from Canada and, another older woman who was from Salt Lake. As they traveled to Helaman Halls, the driver initiated a conversation, leading to the Canadian woman recognizing the voice of the Salt Lake woman from their time as family history missionaries. They joyfully reconnected, having lost touch since 2018. The Canadian woman had been praying to reunite with her old friends, and the Salt Lake woman had the mutual friend's phone number, making this encounter a touching answer to her prayers.
These stories are just two of thousands. Every August, through principles of disciple-scholarship, Education Week transforms lives. It is a space where the heavens can open and spill out their treasures of knowledge. Learners are uplifted; teachers are inspired. It’s a time that reflects the education of the soul so prominent in Biblical times. In a sense, Education Week is a modern projection of those sweet moments of learning recorded in the pages of scripture.
Imagine it. Onto the stage walks a modern master teacher: Neil L. Andersen. His visage is serene in a heavenly way, and this serenity seems to permeate the arena with a palpable thirst for truth. The crowd of thousands is raptured, enchanted. A tide of eyes and ears turns toward the stage, eager for the words to be spoken. No dust swirls; no brush rustles. The teacher opens his mouth, and truth comes out.
“We can shape our desires. We can educate our desires. We can, through patience and time, become more than we are.”