To be learned is good – Full stop.

An old guy at church told me he only reads the scriptures and the words of the prophets. He steers clear of all other reading material – because it’s too worldly for him. OK, I’ll try to respect his decision.

However…that idea is so far against my religion, I’m surprised we go to the same church. 

I have a PhD and work in academia – meaning I spend a lot of my time reading and writing and learning from people outside of the church. Aside from work, I like reading fiction and the news and nonfiction secular writing. I enjoy writing on this blog for other people to read. I love reading and discussing books and magazines and articles with my family. I learn a lot and feel closer to God through all of these endeavors. Am I the outlier here in a church full of people who agree with this guy?

I shouldn’t be.

I mean, I attend a church where as a child I was encouraged to memorize the Articles of Faith – one of which said, “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things” (presumably including reading material outside the church). I attend a church where I was told repeatedly as a teenager by the prophet to get as much education as I can (presumably while reading books and articles outside the church writings). I attend a church where I pay tithing that subsidizes higher education institutions (that happen to assign reading material from all kinds of authors). 

So why did this guy say what he said? I’d like to think this guy is the outlier, not me. I could brush him off as a bit wacky and go on with life. But, this man is a prominent leader in my area and I know he’s not the only prominent leader with these feelings – I know because I’ve heard other people express similarly anti-academic rhetoric.

The anti-intellectualism is killing personal enlightenment. Why is this view so prominent?

I’ve sat through too many gross Sunday School discussions where someone reads the scripture in the Book of Mormon that says, “But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.” In these conversations, the “if” statement is focused on so heavily, that it almost seems like people think you may as well skip the education because it’s too hard to still believe in God. I’ve heard derailed Sunday School classes where class members start telling everyone about the person they knew who was super educated and left God behind. Come on, folks – that conversation is so unhelpful and teaches us to miss out on so much good in the world! 

I want to read the scripture like this: “It’s great to be educated! Especially when you’re also seeking personal revelation for your life.” Perhaps if Nephi had worded it like that, we wouldn’t have church leaders denying themselves the opportunity to “anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy.” And we’d have more willingness to seek truth everywhere we can.

Does the anti-intellectualism sentiment hit your congregation? How do you combat it?

Photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash