“…the voice of the Lord came unto me, saying: Arise , and get thee unto the mountain. And it came to pass that I arose and went up into the mountain, and cried unto the Lord.” 1 Nephi 17: 7

The Book of Mormon is filled with passages concerning the mountains. Nephi was directed by the Liahona to go into the mountains when he broke his bow in the wilderness. When faced against the Gadianton robbers, the Nephites went into the mountains to pray to the Lord. As the brother of Jared contemplated bringing his family across the sea in barges, he climbed the mount to converse with the Savior. In every instance given, each was faced with a trial, ascended to the privacy of the mountains and, thus showing faith and determination for answers, the Lord lifted them up in their burdens.

As Disciples of Christ today, we can take this council to “arise, and get thee unto the mountain” literally or symbolically. Ascending into the peaceful solitude of nature and leaving the world behind allows the still small voice to pierce through the bubble of Babylon we fight against every day. Although we may not speak to the Lord face to face, the still small voice can whisper to us if we are still enough to grasp it. Climbing the mountain can also mean to rise above the wavering standards of the world. As we control our natural man and act, think and feel as the Savior would, we are symbolically arising above “the cunning plan of the evil one” and striving to draw closer to Jesus Christ.

During my time at the Education in Zion gallery, I have had ample time to look to the mountains. I have seen them in their majesty and glory and have often thought of the majesty and glory of the Lord and how he looks over all of us in love. Elevated above campus, the gallery allows one a grander view at the landscape and into his or her life.   When we show the Lord we are willing to listen make His teachings priority, we find peace and make room for ourselves in His heavenly home. It is my hope that we all take time to steadily climb our mountain, physically or spiritually, and put heavenly matters first.

Tiana Birrell, Gallery Educator

“I have been asked what I mean by ‘word of honor.’ I will tell you. Place me behind prison walls–walls of stone ever so high, ever so thick, reaching ever so far into the ground–there is a possibility that in some way or another I may escape; but stand me on the floor and draw a chalk line around me and have me give my word of honor never to cross it. Can I get out of the circle? No. Never! I’d die first!”

Karl G. Maeser knew what it meant to stand by your honor.  Do you?

As BYU students, we have given our word that we’ll stay in the circle of honor.  And, to the world’s surprise, we actually do live by its principles…for the most part.  Yes, we’ve been named the world’s most stone-cold sober university campus and we don’t have co-ed student residencies.  We have very little violence and we know that if we accidentally misplace a wallet, it’ll most likely be in the lost-and-found with all the cash in it by the next day.

But, in light of honor week, let’s think of ways that we can hold even tighter to the standards we’ve agreed to, or “stand a little taller” as Gordon B. Hinckley once said.

Let’s have the courage to bid the young men farewell when midnight rolls around.  Let’s have the humility to say goodbye to our sideburns.  Let’s have the will to resist cheating on that Organic Chemistry Test.  Let’s toss that miniskirt.

Now is the time to pay our respects to Karl G. Maeser and to the One who has brought us to this wonderful university and recommit ourselves to stay within our circle of honor!

– Karen McKay, BFA Major, Education in Zion Gallery Educator

During the day, the gallery is illuminated.  It is quite possibly the warmest and brightest space on campus.  This warmth and light, I explain, represents the invitation for all to come to Christ.

Education in Zion has a message for all who come: through education, both spiritual and secular, we can each grow closer to Him.  Through my work at Education in Zion, I’ve found that it’s about getting people in here to experience the same spirit I feel here each day while I work.  It’s about sharing the invitation to come unto Christ and helping students, professors, and members of our community feel His presence in our lives through education.

Heavenly Father loves each of us immeasurably.  By sharing this message with others we are pleasing Him, and showing our gratitude to Him.

Now whenever I tell someone where I work I invite them to come see for themselves. I extend this invitation with the hope that they too will feel the same illuminating warmth that I have come to feel.

-    Danielle Julander, English Major, Education In Zion Gallery Educator

Each year I have seen the eyes of these new students light up as I tell the inspiring stories of men and women in Church and BYU history, and my own excitement of the spirit of BYU is once again ignited.   I love starting the new school year by teaching about the spirit of the Y.

Since Education in Zion’s participation in NSO is fairly new, I never had the opportunity to experience this event as a freshman.  I came to BYU in the summer of 2006 and my time in school has been a season of the greatest joys I have ever experienced.   However, as an English major I have come to understand the truth in binary opposites and have also experienced and learned very difficult lessons here.

Some of these lessons have come as consequences of bad decisions.   Many of these bad decisions revolve around certain choices I have made in academics, and the majority of these consequences I have had to deal with could have been avoided had I made the effort to try or change.

Education in Zion has changed me.  The spirit and message of this exhibition have taught me the importance of education through its countless stories and examples of sacrifice for the greater cause of education.  I have come to realize that if men and women from the beginning of the restored Church’s history would sacrifice so much of their time and material goods to build up a Zion community through education, it must be important.  It must be worth it.

The prayers and sacrifice and trust in the Lord that allowed BYU to become a reality were not made so I could come to this university and slack off.  Too many people have sacrificed too much for even one student’s experience to be wasted.  And from what I’ve learned in the exhibition, it’s not just our pioneer legacy or the traditions of greatness as exemplified by our BYU presidents and professors that makes BYU’s spirit so special and inspiring; it’s also the students.

I am a student.  Therefore it is my responsibility to take from Education in Zion this message of learning and growing together and share that with other students on campus as well as individuals I will meet outside of Provo in the future and the family I will someday have.

Education in Zion invites us each to come unto Christ and be educated in His light.  I wish I was able to connect that when I was 18 and living in the dorms.  I’m not sure how different the end result would be upon graduating, but I do know that I would have made very different decisions academically.

The good news is that I still have one year left at BYU to partake of its spirit and tradition of learning.  I know this year has the potential to be my best.  The even better news, however, is my deeper understanding of an eternal education.  This message, also gleaned from the gallery, has given me hope in leading a more purposeful life outside of BYU after graduation and for the rest of eternity.

-    Danielle Julander, English Major, Education In Zion Gallery Educator

In the end, the piazza included an overlapping petal pattern surrounding a twelve pointed star at its center. The star showcases the piazza’s centerpiece, an ancient statue of the Roman ruler, Marcus Aurelius. In addition to the stone pattern in the ground, the other significant change Michelangelo made to the piazza was to rotate this statue 180 degrees. Instead of facing the ancient Roman forum, the new orientation pointed the statute towards St. Peter’s Basilica. This likely indicated Michelangelo’s view that truth, and in turn true power, comes from the church.

What, then, is the connection between this important piazza in Rome and Education in Zion? In answer, take a quick look at this picture of the Joseph F. Smith Building plaza, home to Education in Zion gallery:

Although seen from two different vantage points, the similarity between the two locations emerges. In fact, the two are almost identical. For a closer view, go to the Education in Zion lobby on the Joseph F. Smith Building’s first floor on the east side and find the twelve pointed star in the floor.

What’s the significance of a plaza in Provo, Utah with an identical layout to a piazza in Rome? Here is perhaps one possible interpretation of this plaza/piazza parallel. Just as the center of Michelangelo’s star indicated where he felt true power came from, I think the center of the JFSB star points to what we believe to be the source of real truth. It’s the staircase, leading up to the Education in Zion exhibition.

This does not mean that Education in Zion is the source of truth and light. However, the underlying theme of the permanent exhibition is that the source of all true knowledge is our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. The journey up these stairs invites us to come up to a higher plane of being and thinking. When we have the right perspective about our education here at BYU, we recognize that it is something eternal, something in which the Master and Creator of the universe can be intimately involved. It truly is an “education for eternity” as President Spencer W. Kimball referred to it.

These architectural similarities are probably passed over by the great majority of people as they scurry across campus, hurrying from one class to another. There certainly isn’t any reason for the average student to know the source of architectural inspiration for one of the many buildings on campus. However, I do think it’s important for all of us to recognize and remember the central message of the plaza because it’s a message shared by the University, the Church, and the Gospel itself. Light and truth come from the Savior, and without Him there is no progression, educational or otherwise. If we can nestle this message in our hearts and make it our center, then just like Michelangelo’s piazza, it will point us on a course; a straight and narrow course leading to light, knowledge, happiness and eternal life.

- Kenny Bentley, Education in Zion gallery educator