Education is an important part of seeking truth in the world. In fact, as President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, “For members of the Church, education is not merely a good idea—it’s a commandment."
In a recent Facebook post, Elder Dallin H. Oaks shares a message he delivered to BYU-Hawaii students more than 30 years ago about education that "still seems true" today.
Going through my files this summer I found the attached thoughts I shared with the graduating class at BYU–Hawaii over 30 years ago. It still seems true.
In order to be successful in pursuing an education, you should be hungry to learn. In order to obtain a good education, one that will increase your joy and enlarge your capacity to serve your family, your community, and your profession, seek learning for the sake of learning.
A learned person is an enemy to ignorance, and there is so much ignorance in the world. People by and large lack literacy in the vital subjects of general education: in clarity of thought and expression; in economics, history, and government; in nutrition, health, ethics, and education; in law and medicine; in knowledge of God and His commandments.
We are too easily victimized by quacks and demagogues, by preachers of false doctrine, and by political and other practitioners of the cults of something-for-nothing and get-rich-quick.
A learned person should seek and be able to evaluate answers to the important religious, physical, social, and political problems of the day. He or she should be prepared to defend the truth, to withstand social pressures, and to make a positive contribution to society.