Knowledge

"What does the Holy Ghost do for the education of men? Far more than our academies do. Our children have, by hard study, year after year, to acquire their learning in these human institutions; hard thinking is necessary, reasoning, gaining little by little, and it frequently requires many years of close application to become what is termed a learned man--a man that understands the sciences, that has worked his way through the various departments of mathematics, and perhaps geology, and mineralogy, and all the sciences, such as are usually taught in the universities. But a man filled with the Holy Ghost has the advantage of students who graduate at our universities. Why? Because he can learn more in ten minutes, in regard to many things, than another, not so favored, can in all his life." Elder Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses 19:284.

This is a humbling quote. This quote tells me that the Holy Ghost teaches all truth whether it be academic truth or spiritual truth. The Holy Ghost opens the big picture for our eyes to see and then in essence teaches us through that picture. The Gospel did not have real deep meaning to me until I started to study it like I study Tolstoy. It was not until I examined all the symbols in conjunction with the writing style of one of Bruce R. McConkie's talks that I realized that I was selling myself short in my study of the Gospel. Now I can say that the Holy Ghost teaches me more. I am grateful for the Holy Ghost and role it plays in my study, both spiritual and academically. It helps me remember more, focus more, and study for longer amounts of time. It is real, and it is powerful.