To seminary and institute teachers around the globe, Elder Clark G. Gilbert, a General Authority Seventy and the Church commissioner of education, encouraged to “please trust your students. This is the only way they will become who the Lord needs them to become.”
Teachers of the youth and young adults of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are not just disseminating information or simply inspiring students with dynamic personality and engaging lessons, he said.
“We are preparing students to survive spiritually in an increasingly challenging season. Spiritual survival will depend on the ability to recognize the direction of the Holy Ghost,” Elder Gilbert declared during the 2025 Seminary and Institute Annual Training Broadcast on Thursday, Jan. 23.
Elder Gilbert was one of several speakers during this year’s annual training broadcast to the Church’s more than 53,000 seminary and institute teachers around the world. He was joined by Brother Chad H Webb, administrator for Seminaries and Institutes of Religion and the first counselor in the Sunday School general presidency, as well as other administrators within Seminaries and Institutes of Religion, who provided training on the new life preparation lessons for seminary.
Elder Gilbert centered his remarks on the trust required for teachers to allow their students to use agency to deepen learning and personal conversion.
Drawing from Doctrine and Covenants 58:27-28 — “Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves — Elder Gilbert titled his remarks “The Power Is in Them.”
He spoke on three ways teachers can invite diligent learning from their students, outlined in “Teaching in the Savior’s Way”:
- “Invite learners to prepare to learn,
- “Encourage learners to share the truths they are learning,
- “Invite learners to live what they are learning.”
In discussing these things, Elder Gilbert said he hoped for two things: “First, I hope we can see our students the way that God sees them, recognizing that the power is in them and that from God’s vantage point we are all capable of learning when given equal opportunities to act and use our agency.
“Second, I hope you will reflect on ways you can invite diligent learning, as if there are areas you can improve.”
Invite diligent learning
There are many ways to help students prepare to learn, said Elder Gilbert. One way is by ending every lesson with a reminder of the reading for the next class or to invite scripture study before the class through email or text.
Teachers can also ask students to share something they learned from their scripture reading or a question they hope to have answered as they came to the class.
Elder Gilbert said he has also seen effective teachers send their students reflection questions ahead of a classroom discussion or selectively invite students to prepare ahead of the class to teach one of the concepts in the lesson or share an experience that might deepen the learning for others.
Deep learning also requires students to be engaged learners, not just passive listeners, he continued. One of the ways this happens is allow students to share what they are learning with others.
The Book of Mormon prophet Nephi teaches that the power of agency allows individuals to act for themselves and not be acted upon. “Are our classroom settings ones that allow students to act and take ownership for their learning, or are they passive environments where students are simply acted upon as they quietly listen?” Elder Gilbert asked.
“If someone visited your classroom this week, would they see students being given opportunity to engage in the learning process? It is difficult to invite diligent learning if we don’t allow students to share their own insights, inspiration and observe truths. Please encourage learners to share the truths they are learning and make that part of your classroom experience.”
The purpose of religious education in the Church Educational System is to “teach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ … in [ways] that [help] each student … become lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ, who make and keep covenants, who love God and others and who are able, willing and committed to gather Israel on both sides of the veil,” Elder Gilbert explained.
That kind of discipleship will not happen unless teaching includes invitations for individuals to become something more and live what they are learning.
In conclusion, Elder Gilbert told listeners, “When we teach our students to learn diligently by becoming active participants, we are also teaching them how to seek and receive direction from the Holy Ghost. It is this skill set that will bless them long after they have left our classrooms. As you strive to invite this diligent learning, I promise that you will see miracles happen in your students' lives. The power is in them.”
Qualifying for the blessings of the temple
One of the invitations President Russell M. Nelson has repeated often is to learn to access the power of the Lord through covenants and temples, Brother Webb noted.
For example, in his first press conference as President of the Church, President Nelson said, “The end for which each of us strives is to be endowed with power in the house of the Lord.”
In 2021 he said, “The safest place to be spiritually is living inside your covenants” (“The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation”).
During his most recent general conference address, President Nelson said, “Here is my promise to you: Every sincere seeker of Jesus Christ will find Him in the temple” (“The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again”).
More than 15 years ago, as administrators wrestled with the language for a new S&I objective statement, it was Elder Russell M. Nelson, then serving as the chair of the Executive Committee of the Board of Education, who encouraged them to include the second phrase of the objective, Brother Webb said — “We are to help youth and young adults qualify for the blessings of the temple.”
Brother Webb continued: “While the progress we’re making is wonderful and that emphasis should continue, I believe there is more we can do to also emphasize the second part of our objective and help more youth and young adults qualify for the blessings of the temple. I’m not suggesting you all write a new lesson or create new programs, but I am asking you to be thoughtful, even prayerful, about what more you can personally do within the context of what you are already doing.”
As Brother Webb has asked this question to many within seminaries and institutes, he has had many suggestions, including, “be current with prophetic emphases and teachings regarding covenants and the house of the Lord.” Also, “be intentional in connecting love for and faith in Jesus Christ to qualifying for the blessings of the temple.” Others suggested referring to the temple recommend questions when appropriate and to the specific covenants and sharing love and appreciation for the temple.
“I’m so grateful that the Lord loves us enough to bless us with covenants. May we be covenant keepers, and may we help ever more youth and young adults to qualify for the blessings of the house of the Lord, where every sincere seeker of Jesus Christ will find Him,” Brother Webb testified.
The ‘how’ of new seminary life preparation lessons
Now is an exciting time in Seminaries and Institutes of Religion, noted Elder Gilbert.
In recent years, seminaries and institutes has released new life preparation curriculum for seminary and moved forward with the Innovate Institute initiative. Enrollment is growing in both seminary and institute.
“I think all of these things we’re doing are helping build and make our classes and student experiences remarkable,” he said.
In his remarks, Brother Webb said he was grateful for the extra training on the life preparation lessons. “I was reminded just how Christ-centered these lessons can be. Using the perfect example of the Savior living these gospel principles and discussing how He is able to help our students in their circumstances was really powerful.”
In introducing the new life preparation lessons during the training broadcast last year, Brother Webb explained much of the “why” behind the new curriculum.
To begin Thursday’s training broadcast, Jason Willard, the associate administrator of Seminaries and Institutes of Religion, said this year’s training would now talk about the “how” of preparing and teaching these thematic lessons. He then introduced a series of videos, including an in-service lesson, a teacher’s personal lesson preparation, and a practical demonstration with follow-up discussion.
Willard expressed love and appreciation for each seminary and institute teacher throughout the Church. “Thank you for loving God’s children enough to want to bless their lives. You are making a difference. In fact, I want to thank our teachers throughout the world, each of them, for all the good that they’re doing. You are working so diligently to bless the rising generation. We love you. This is not easy. We want you to know that no effort is wasted. Nothing that you do in any classroom to bless God’s children will ever be wasted.”
The full broadcast, including the training videos, can be viewed on Gospel Library. The broadcast is available in 40 languages.
