{"id":31270,"date":"2016-02-27T10:14:07","date_gmt":"2016-02-27T17:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=31270"},"modified":"2016-02-27T10:14:07","modified_gmt":"2016-02-27T17:14:07","slug":"elder-ballard-on-approaching-challenging-issues-forthrightly-and-head-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2016\/02\/elder-ballard-on-approaching-challenging-issues-forthrightly-and-head-on.html","title":{"rendered":"Elder Ballard on approaching challenging issues forthrightly and head-on"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Melvin<\/a>
Elder M. Russell Ballard
(LDS.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last night \u2014 Friday night \u2014 Elder M. Russell Ballard, of the Council of the Twelve, delivered a fireside address to the seminary and institute teachers of the Church. \u00a0What he had to say was striking, and very welcome.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said, flatly, that earlier Church Education System curriculum was not adequate to today\u2019s challenges from critical materials on the Internet, etc., and that it left our young people unprepared.\u00a0 They are no longer \u201csheltered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

He repeatedly spoke about \u201cinoculating\u201d students against difficulties and faith crises by candidly approaching such specific, controversial issues as polygamy and past statements and practices regarding race.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said that we can no longer dismiss issues by telling students \u201cdon\u2019t worry about it,\u201d or avoid grappling with challenges by merely bearing testimony.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

He exhorted teachers to know the Church\u2019s new \u201cGospel Topics\u201d essays \u201clike the back of your hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

He acknowledged his own reliance upon experts when his personal knowledge was inadequate to a topic, and he encouraged teachers to make use of solid scholarship in their teaching, and to be ready for honest, faithful discussions on difficult topics.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.lds.org\/broadcasts\/watch\/evening-with-a-general-authority\/2016\/02?lang=eng<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Elder Ballard\u2019s remarks begin at about 21:30.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m grateful to Ben Spackman<\/a> for calling my attention to this talk. \u00a0I agree with him that it represents a \u201csea change.\u201d \u00a0It\u2019s very important, and I hope that it foreshadows genuine and much-needed change. \u00a0I\u2019m very pleased with it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t be a believer if I weren\u2019t confident that the \u201cdifficult issues\u201d can be adequately addressed. \u00a0Still, I think we can address them more adequately than, on the whole, we have<\/em> been.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 Last night \u2014 Friday night \u2014 Elder M. Russell Ballard, of the Council of the Twelve, delivered a fireside address to the seminary and institute teachers of the Church. \u00a0What he had to say was striking, and very welcome. \u00a0 He said, flatly, that earlier Church Education System curriculum was not adequate to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nElder Ballard on approaching challenging issues forthrightly and head-on<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    Last night -- Friday night -- Elder M. 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