Skip to main content
Religious Studies Center
Religious Education
Home About Us Publications Conferences My Gospel Study Videos & Podcasts
  Site Search
Sign In Sign Out

Religious Educator Vol. 18 No. 3 · 2017

Go to Religious Educators
Photo of Journal Cover
Subscribe
Purchase a Copy

Table of Contents

  • Balancing Spirit and Intellect
    Editor's Note
  • “I Am the Bread of Life”
    Gerrit W. Gong
  • Insights from the CES Commissioner
    Kim B. Clark
  • Elevate Learning Experiences in Institute: A Global Perspective
    Po Nien (Felipe) Chou
  • BYU–Idaho Pathway: A Gateway to Global Church Education
    Benjamin C. Peterson
  • Critical Thinking in Religious Education
    Shayne Anderson
  • Understanding the House of the Lord: A Study of Holy Places in Scripture
    Brian K. Ray
  • Seminary and Institute Recognition Pins
    Dennis A. Wright and Alan L. Morrell
  • Helping Female Students Rise to Their Spiritual Privileges
    Barbara Morgan Gardner
  • Stopping the Stigma: Lessons from Early Returned Missionaries
    Kristine J. Doty-Yells
  • “The Calamity That Should Come”
    Richard E. Bennett
  • Review of Mormons in the Piazza: History of the Latter-day Saints in Italy
    Richard Neitzel Holzapfel
  • Review of Council of Fifty, Minutes, March 1844–1846, Volume 1 of the Administrative Records Series of The Joseph Smith Papers
    Benjamin E. Park

Balancing Spirit and Intellect

Editor's Note

Teachers that balance spirit and intellect are truly a gift to the classroom. They are a delight to listen to, and they shape lives in profound ways. We’ve all been touched to some degree by a teacher, whether at the university, grade school, or church. Great teachers seek to improve, they study and subsequently adjust their teaching style and approach, and they dig deeper into the subject matter. This issue of the journal represents, in large part, the efforts of faculty and administrators from Seminaries and Institutes to present a spiritually grounded and intellectually informed gospel message. The majority of the essays arose out of a yearlong process of researching, writing, and editing and then submitting that work for peer review.

The first two-thirds of the essays found herein envision a religion classroom with students growing in their understanding. They are built upon the model that the teacher guides and directs students to truth, having already partaken of the waters of life freely. The essays are therefore a study in the quest to refine the teacher, who are in these essays the authors, while those same teacher-authors seek to build faith for students who are eager to learn. I believe they have presented us with some profound ideas. Highlights include an interview that was conducted over a three-year period with Elder Kim Clark, the commissioner of the Church Educational System; a discussion of the new Pathways program and the global initiative; and a thoughtful perspective on women and priesthood by the first female Mormon chaplain.

These essays are rounded out with a qualitative study of missionaries who return from their service early for various reasons, including sin, health challenges, and otherwise. The project grew out of an effort to help these missionaries reassimilate into institute and Church activity after a period of feeling disillusioned and marginalized. It is a fascinating study and will certainly help teachers grow in their understanding of the challenges faced by early-returned missionaries.

Thomas A. Wayment, Editor-in-Chief

Continue reading ...
Contact

185 Heber J. Grant Building
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT 84602
801-422-6975

Send Us a Message

Helpful Links

Religious Education

BYU Studies

Maxwell Institute

Articulos en español

Artigos em português

Connect with Us Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube

Subscribe to Our Newsletter