From a BYU campus devotional January 16, 2018 ‘Combining heart and mind’. (by Marianne Holman Prescott, Church News staff writer)
“Both heart and mind—and humility—are essential to learning and serving in the Church”, Elder LeGrand R. Curtis Jr., General Authority Seventy, said during a campus devotional at Brigham Young University on January 16.
Held less than an hour after the announcement of a new prophet and First Presidency, the event brought students together on the BYU campus—as well as listeners tuned in around the world via BYU tv—to hear a message from Elder Curtis. Speaking on the topic “humbly combining heart and mind,” Elder Curtis taught about the process of knowledge and looked at connections found in the scriptures between the heart and the mind.
Drawing from the words of King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon, Elder Curtis taught of how the sermon offers insights into the interaction of the heart and the mind. “I find it intriguing that the people were urged to open their hearts to understand,” he said. “We usually think of understanding as being associated with the brain. But one of the lessons of this sermon is that spiritual things are understood with the heart—that is, by feelings of the Spirit within us. But the brain is not left out of the process.”
Sharing experiences he had as a young man studying at BYU, Elder Curtis said it was at that time in his life that he came to appreciate “what can happen as the mind and the heart, or Spirit, work together.” Whether it was in a class, listening to a devotional, reading the words of powerful intellects, or associating with other students on campus, Elder Curtis said those experiences challenged his thinking and “showed me how the wonderful principles of the gospel called for my very best thinking and, more importantly, my very best living.”
While recognizing the positive outcomes, Elder Curtis also offered students a warning. “While I rejoice in what can happen as the Spirit and the mind are joined in serious study, there is a caution that all of us who love the things of the mind need to take very seriously. … As we rejoice in the blessing of being able to think and to learn, it is imperative that we never lose our sense of humility before God. The greatest thinking in the world is “foolishness” if the thinker does not hearken to the counsel of God.” Read or listen to ‘Combining heart and mind’
