Aim in the Teaching of Theology

Aim in the Teaching of Theology*

By Osborne J. P. Widtsoe

It is a cardinal principle of the art of composition that the

composer must have a definite aim in mind — a clearly defined

point, or end, in view — if he would produce a work really worth

while. The artist must determine what his picture shall rep-

resent, what it shall stand for, before he can begin to select and

to arrange the materials at hand. The same outlook may in-

spire any number of magnificent pictures according as the

artist's point is this or that. The literary artist must likewise

determine what the main impression, or general picture, of his

description shall be, before he can so order and group the de-

tails as to produce a work of art. The story-teller must have

clearly in mind the point of his story and the impression he

wishes to leave before he can intelligently select events and in-

cidents to make up a thoroughly interesting and instructive nar-

rative. In music, too, the end must be seen from the beginning;

indeed, there is no form of composition, be it great or small, in

which the principle is not of force. There must be a definite

aim in mind, a clearly defined point, or end in view, before one

can proceed so to select and arrange the matter in hand as to

produce a work of art.

Nor is this principle of force only in the field of art en-

deavor. The same principle holds in every activity of life. We

can not succeed even in the humblest calling unless we have a

clear and definite aim — an end toward which we are working.

In teaching this is especially true. No teacher can hope to suc-

ceed in his profession unless he determines early just what he

aims to accomplish during his year's work. The aim must be

definite, and it must be seen clearly beforehand, whether one is

teaching English, or mathematics, or history, or foreign lan-

guage, or natural' science, or theology, or what not. A course

without a definite aim is a failure from the start.

I take it, then, that there can be no question about the de-

sirability— about the absolute essentiality — of having a definite

aim in the teaching of theology. It appears as a great natural

truth that we must have a definite aim; and the question seems

to be, What should be the aim in the teaching of theology? It

is this question which I shall attempt briefly to discuss.

In the first place let me explain that I understand by

"definite aim" practically the same thing that I do by definite

purpose, or definite end. I should answer the question, What

should be the aim in the teaching of theology? in practically the

*This paper, read before the Church School Teachers' Convention, in

June, 1909, is equally applicable to school and quorum teachers today.

AIM IN THE TEACHING OF THEOLOGY 331

same way that I should answer the question, What should be

the purpose in the teaching of theology? or, What end do you

have in view in the teaching of theology? or, simply, Why do

you teach theology?

What, then, should be the aim in the teaching of theology?

In order to bring the matter squarely before you at once, I shall

answer immediately that the fundamental aim should be to

create faith — a living, active faith — a firm, abiding testimony

of the truth. Faith, we are told, is the principle of action in

both God and man. It is the first fundamental principle of re-

vealed religion. It is the primary essential of true worship and

noble citizenship. Unquestionably, the aim in the teaching of

theology in all our Church organizations should be to create and

foster faith.

Let me illustrate what I mean by considering a particular

subject. We teach in the second or third year of the Church

high school a course in the life of Christ. We require all second

or third year students to take the course. Now, what should be

the aim in the teaching of the life of Christ? It should be, in

my opinion, to inculcate faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of

the living God. It should be to lead students to feel the Christ-

ship and the Godhead of Jesus, in his every word and act. It

should be so to present the beautiful life-story of Jesus, that

pupils will be inspired with an unalterable testimony of his di-

vine Sonship, and of his great atoning mission. The aim should

be, it seems to me, to cause them to feel with every emotion in

them, and to know with all the intellect God has given them,

that Jesus Christ is verily the Savior of the world, even though

they cannot recite with chronological exactness every detail in

the history of his life.

But this, you say, is a superhuman task. Possibly so. How-

ever, can we not have it as our aim? Can we not strive to ap-

proximate, at least? I certainly think so, but how? In certain

of our Church organizations, a definite aim is appended to every

lesson. The lesson before the class is, let us say, the story of

Christ's temptation in the wilderness. The appended aim may

be, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and

with all thy eoul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy

mind." In other words, the aim of that wonderful lesson on the

temptation of Jesus is to teach children that they should serve

God. But how about Jesus himself, whose life we are studying?

Need I say that such a distracting aim is far from the purpose

of the course? An aim we must undoubtedly have for each

lesson, as we have an aim for the whole course. But what

should that aim be? It should be, in my opinion, a part of the

greater aim of the course. In other words, with the principal

aim of the course clearly in mind the teacher should so select his

332 IMPROVEMENT ERA

material, and so arrange his lessons, that each one will add its

part to the great aim, Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world.

All other aims such as, "Love the Lord thy God," "It is better

to give than to receive," "To him who hath much shall be given,"

"Obedience is better than sacrifice," and so forth, ad infinitum,

should be wholly subordinate to the one great cumulative aim

of the course. And when this advice is followed, and teachers

select and make assignments with Jesus the Christ as the central

truth and not some irrelevant though beautiful subordinate

thought, then the task of creating faith in Christ and of estab-

lishing the firm conviction that he is the Savior of the world

will not seem so superhuman a task as it does to some now.

Of course, what I have said here of the life of Christ is true

of the other courses in theology taught in our schools. The

fundamental aim in them all should be to inculcate a living,

abiding faith, to build up a firm unshakable testimony of the

truth. That the Book of Mormon is a divinely inspired record,

ihat the children of Israel were the chosen people of God, that

Joseph Smith was a divinely appointed prophet of God, — these,

or something like these, should be aims in the several courses,

and each lesson should be made to build up the great aim of

the course. And always it should be borne in mind that high

school students want, not a philosophical discussion of theology,

but a faith-promoting discussion — a discussion that will foster

the great principle of power and action.

Some of you may now be thinking that we shall not be able,

in some courses at least, to finish every year the large amount

of work outlined for the classes in theology if we are to pay so

much attention as here indicated to the accomplishment of the

aim. That would be a serious calamity: for there are some of

us, you know, who hold that the Book of Mormon must be fin-

ished every year at whatever cost; that the Old Testament his-

tory must be thoroughly covered from the creation to the close

of the canon; that the life of Christ must be studied in detail

from the council in heaven to the second coming; that modern

Church History must be learned with chronological accuracy

from the family tree of the Smiths and the Macks to our own

present day. And truly, all that is very well. I would that

every class in theology could cover with irreproachable thor-

oughness all the work outlined for it. But there is something

more desirable and more important still than quantity. It is

quality. The definite aim in the teaching of theology should

be to inspire faith; and the inspiring of faith is more important

than the cramming with cold knowledge. We should endeavor

to do all the work outlined for the year; but who will say that

it is not better to inspire a class with perfect confidence and

faith in every page of the Book of Mormon as vou go along

AIM IN THE TEACHING OF THEOLOGY 333

though you cover only half the book, than to finish the whole

book and leave the great work of testimony building undone?

While we should strive to impart as much information as possi-

ble, we should strive first to accomplish the purpose of the

course. It is not the amount of coal consumed, but the amount

of energy conserved, that counts.

There is at least one other thing related to my subject about

which I should like to say something. There are very few things

in the Church School system if any at all, that I admire more

than the practice of assigning classes in theology to all teachers

competent to instruct them, and of training the rest to become

competent. The practice makes for spirituality and harmony in

the school as perhaps no other one thing could. But I would

ask you now to consider what such a definiteness of aim as I

have here outlined will require of the teacher who shall pre-

sume to conduct a class in theology. Will it be possible for the

teacher who asks to conduct a certain course because he should

like to know something about it to accomplish tfie purpose of

the course? I doubt it seriously. It seems to me that it should

be required of teachers of theology, first, that they know rea-

sonably well the subject they are to teach; second, that they

themselves feel the spiritual value of it and are convinced of the

divine truth of it; and third, that they possess the gift, in some

degree at least, of inspiring others with the incalculable worth

of spiritual things. More is required, it seems to me, of the

teacher of theology than of any other teacher. There must be a

definiteness of knowledge and no mere vague surmising ; there

must be a true and active spiritual conversion; and there must

be zeal for the work of God. Here, too, more than anywhere

else, the student must be left with an interest in the subject and

with an insatiable appetite for more. These requirements are

truly great, but I hope that they may become common accom-

plishments among the teachers of our Church schools; and I

sincerely hope that the practice will ever continue of assigning

some work in theology to every teacher in the school.

In conclusion I would say, beginning with the item last dis-

cussed, that every teacher of theology should be specially qual-

ified for the work he undertakes; that the aim of every course

should be to inculcate a living, active faith, particularly in the

subject in hand; that the aim of every daily recitation should be,

not to impress some irrelevant truth foreign to the subject in

hand, but to build up the great aim of the course; that, finally

the great aim of all— the aim of our four years of work— should

be immovably to establish an abiding faith in the existence

and the fatherhood of God, the Father of all, the Ruler of all —

the great Creator in whom we live and move and have our

being.