Read Time: 2 minutes
More than 120 people from around the world attended the first annual LDS Educators Conference in July 2017, and officers were elected for the new LDS Educators Association.
Keynote speakers were John S. Tanner, president of BYU-Hawaii, and Elder Tad R. Callister, the Church Sunday School general president. "LDS education is about shaping or molding individuals. Education in the Church is much less about transmitting information than it is about developing transformation," Tanner said. "It is about helping people become something, not just knowing things."
The purpose of the conference was to challenge educators who are members of the Church to consider the relationship between their covenants and their professional practice. Various professionals also presented at the conference, including Mossi White, child and public education advocate; Alan Wilkins, director of the BYU Faculty Center; and Mark Woodruff, assistant to the commissioner of education and secretary to the LDS Church Board of Education and Board of Trustees.
"I have visited schools in all 50 states and several foreign countries. I have seen both the worst and the best," shared White. "In these challenging times it is imperative that our children receive their education in the best of schools. We must not fail. Our futures depend on it."
Association officers include LeGrand "Buddy" Richards, president; David Boren, president-elect; Barbara Morgan Gardner, vice president-elect; and Scott Ferrin, secretary to the board. They will plan the next conference and discuss additional directions that the association will take in the future. Learn more at education.byu.edu/ldseducators.