I really enjoy the videos we have here in the gallery. I especially appreciate the inclusion of contemporary teachers from BYU in our last video “Gathering Strength”. In this video, teachers share meaningful lessons they’ve learned here at BYU or hope the students learn.

Brian Lemon, a chemistry teacher from BYU Idaho, shared the story of Dmitri Mendeleev organizing the periodic table. This story is actually quite moving and it resonated with him and infused his teaching (if you skip to 1:15 in the video, his story is really short).

What impresses me is that Mendeleev was someone without knowledge of the Gospel. He didn’t pray for inspiration. Yet he was still rewarded for his work. This fact adds to the principle that the Lord delivers truth in diverse places, in various ways and we seek that knowledge, wherever it may be found. How exciting it is to think that there have been and are Mendeleev experiences happening around the world!

In 1854, President John Taylor told the Deseret News, “If there is any truth in heaven, earth, or hell, I want to embrace it; I care not what shape it comes in to me, who brings it, or who believes in it; whether it is popular or unpopular, truth, eternal truth, I wish to float in and enjoy.”

I had the chance of attending Beauty and Belief in the Museum of Art. I was indeed overwhelmed by the beauty and touched by the belief. The culture was quite different, yet the heart of it didn’t seem foreign at all.

Camlyn Giddins, Gallery Educator

“…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

My mother always taught me to respect the scriptures: never throw them, put them on the floor, or ignore them – so many people have sacrificed so much for us to have them.

Growing up I’d heard stories about such sacrifices. John Wycliffe being declared a heretic for translating the New Testament. William Tyndale being burnt at the stake for publishing the Old and New Testaments. Caroline and Mary Elizabeth Rollins rescuing the Book of Commandments manuscript from mobs. And Joseph and Hyrum Smith dying for their testimonies of the Book of Mormon.

But there are also some that are less known: George Q. Cannon and Jonathan Napela consecrated over two years to translating the Book of Mormon into Hawaiian. Thomas Howard struggled for 3 years in pioneer Utah to produce paper for the printing of the Book of Mormon out of rags. George S. Reynolds worked on the first concordance of the scriptures for eighteen years: he even worked on it while he was incarcerated for his beliefs.

Sacrificing for the scriptures isn’t reserved for people born before 1830 though. Today there dozens of people who sacrifice everyday so that we can have the scriptures wherever we go: Gospel Library App workers.  Much of the work done to make Gospel Library Apps is done by volunteers. They have developed four free downloads: Mormon Channel, Gospel Library, LDS Tools and Scripture Mastery. These apps have literally touched the lives of thousands: they have been downloaded over 800,000 times since they were first released in 2009.

So as I finish reading the scriptures I carefully mark my place, glance at my alarm clock and start to calculate:  4 hours till wake up. My nose peaks over the edge of the bed as I carefully put my scriptures back down on the top of my pile of books. I couldn’t skip reading, not even for a night and I’m grateful.  After all, like my mother always told me, so many people sacrificed so much so I could have them.

—Anna Silver, Theater Education Major and 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

Hoping for a breakthrough for the theme of my tour, I sauntered over to the section called “Each of Us On the Charted Course” where in a glass display case it talks of the importance of properly preparing and educating religion teachers at BYU. I quickly glanced at the television and realized I had never seen the film that played in that room.

Upon watching the film I received words of encouragement from Apostles and Prophets, and personal revelation that helped me with something within my life I had been struggling with. Graduation is around the corner and prestigious schools back East have intimidated me, so I have been reluctant to apply. The words of President Thomas S. Monson in that film really put my heart at ease:“Tax your talent and Heavenly Father will make you equal to those decisions.”

I realized that if I correlate my plans for postgraduate work and the rest of my life with the Lord’s plans, He would assist me in fulfilling the life he has in store for me.

In Matthew 11, verses 29 and 30 it states, “Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

- Brittany Dahlin, Art History Major, Italian Minor, and 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