Knowing, Doing, and Being | William H. Baker | 2006

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Professor William H. Baker teaches us how we can know, do and be more like our Savior.
This speech was given on July 25, 2006.
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"I am grateful to be joined by my wife, Jeannie, and a number of our children and grandchildren today. In two months Jeannie and I will celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. She has been a wonderful companion. She and my family are the source of my greatest joys. They are also the source of some of my greatest humor.
A few years ago, in a joint family home evening, my daughter Julie gave a lesson, and then I started making a few concluding comments, as grandpas often do. My little grandson, Ethan, then aged three, had had enough, and he shouted out, “Just say amen, Grandpa!” Even though he was quite young, he had learned that there is a direct correlation between when speakers say amen and when they stop talking. Ethan is here with us this morning, and I hope he will show a little restraint with his comments as I speak.
During the years I have taught at BYU, I have enjoyed hearing from a wide range of speakers on a great variety of topics. One story shared by Elder Oaks when he was president of BYU has stuck with me. Given from this very pulpit, the story went something like this:
Many years ago the federal government placed county agents throughout the country to help farmers learn to be more productive. One county agent in the South went to visit an old farmer in his area, but he found that convincing the farmer to change proved rather difficult.
He asked the farmer, “Wouldn’t you like to know how to get your cows to give more milk?”
“Nope,” the farmer replied.
“Well, wouldn’t you like your pigs to have larger litters of baby pigs?”
Again the farmer answered, “Nope.”
“Well, wouldn’t you like to learn how to get more corn per acre?”
The same answer was given as before: “Nope.”
Exasperated, the county agent asked, “Well, why not?”
The farmer replied simply, “I already knows more than I does.”
In other words, his knowledge was greater than his application of that knowledge, so why make matters worse by obtaining even more knowledge!
This story highlights two great challenges of mortality: first, the need to constantly increase our knowledge and, second, the need to continually improve our behavior to keep up with that greater knowledge. But there’s also a third challenge the county agent might have uncovered if he had asked a second “why” question: “Why don’t you do as much as you know?” This question gets closer to the core of the problem-the farmer’s level of love for his work, or what he was in his heart. In addition to increasing what we know and improving how we apply that knowledge, we must refine who we are deep down in our heart.
In a general conference address a few years ago, Elder Dallin H. Oaks stated, “In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something” (“The Challenge to Become,” Ensign, November 2000, 32; emphasis in original).
As we move along the path of life, each of us, as members of the Church, must address these three areas of knowing, doing, and being.
Increasing Our Knowing
First, we must increase our level of knowledge, or what we know. In our search for truth, however, we have to be selective, because we have an overwhelming amount of information available to us. It seems to me that information can be classified into four categories.
The first consists of that which is harmful and destructive. Much of today’s media falls into this category. Pornography is especially dangerous, for it will drive away the Spirit and destroy us.
The second category includes information that isn’t necessarily destructive but is not of much use. Pursuing it is largely a waste of time.
The third category includes information that is good and useful and offers much practical benefit. Most of our university learning falls into this category.
The fourth category includes vital information-specifically gospel knowledge. The truthfulness and value of the information in this fourth category will be confirmed to us by the Holy Spirit..."

[@henryponnefz1444]

Thank you.

[@jeppajeppson2900]

What a wonderful talk

[@guardianangel9517]

I appreciate the Holy Spirit that comes with these eternal truths this speaker talked about. As we learn more, we're RESPONSIBLE to DO more. I'm finding that the more I serve, the more patience I'm gaining. AND .... The patience is still a work in progress ☺🙏🏼

[@TedMpanga]

I needed this too, thank you.

[@vickiheath6133]

Thank you for this heartwarming message.

[@AThoughtfulSaint]

I needed this clear direction. Thank you for speaking and posting this!

[@byuspeeches]

Glad it was helpful!

[@rosahuanca3810]

Great words, this is the basis of our eternal progress. I felt it for my future days, and forever. Thanks.

[@konyanagift3234]

Thank you, this is what I needed to learn❤️

[@brindygray4410]

Thank you for posting this. These talks are teaching me so much, and this one made a huge connection for me with the application doctrine.

[@ildenete3235]

Thank you.