Excerpts--well, I included most of it, because it is a quick-read and phenomenal.
"You have the potential to become anything to which you set your mind.
Many years ago I worked for a railroad. I was in charge of what
is called head-end traffic. One morning I received a call from my
counterpart in Newark, New Jersey. He said, “Train number such-and-such
has arrived, but it has no baggage car. Somewhere, 300 passengers have
lost their baggage, and they are mad.”
I went immediately to work to find out where it may have gone. I
found it had been properly loaded and properly trained in Oakland,
California. It had been moved to St. Louis. But some thoughtless
switchman in the St. Louis yards moved a small piece of steel just three
inches, a switch point, then pulled the lever to uncouple the car. We
discovered that a baggage car that belonged in Newark, New Jersey, was
in fact in New Orleans, Louisiana—1,500 miles from its destination. Just
the three-inch movement of the switch in the St. Louis yard by a
careless employee had started it on the wrong track, and the distance
from its true destination increased dramatically.
There can be no doubt, none whatever, that education pays. Do not
short-circuit your lives. If you do so, you will pay for it over and
over and over again.
That is the way it is with our lives. Instead of following a steady
course, we are pulled by some mistaken idea in another direction. The
movement away from our original destination may be ever so small, but,
if continued, that very small movement becomes a great gap and we find
ourselves far from where we intended to go.
It is the little things upon which life turns that make the big difference in our lives, my dear young friends.
There can be no doubt, none whatever, that education pays. Do not
short-circuit your lives. If you do so, you will pay for it over and
over and over again.
Fulfill Your Potential
You have the potential to become anything to which you set your mind.
You have a mind and a body and a spirit. With these three working
together, you can walk the high road that leads to achievement and
happiness. But this will require effort and sacrifice and faith.
You must get all of the education that you possibly can. Life has
become so complex and competitive. You cannot assume that you have
entitlements due you. You will be expected to put forth great effort and
to use your best talents to make your way to the most wonderful future
of which you are capable. Sacrifice a car; sacrifice anything that is
needed to be sacrificed to qualify yourselves to do the work of the
world. That world will in large measure pay you what it thinks you are
worth, and your worth will increase as you gain education and
proficiency in your chosen field.
The Lord Wants You to Be Educated
You have a mandate from the Lord to educate your minds and your
hearts and your hands. The Lord has said, “Teach ye diligently . . . of
things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things
which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to
pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and
the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the
land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms—that ye may be
prepared in all things” (
D&C 88:78–80).
The Lord wants you to train your minds and hands to become an influence for good as you go forward with your lives.
The Lord wants you to train your minds and hands to become an
influence for good as you go forward with your lives. And as you do so
and as you perform honorably and with excellence, you will bring honor
to the Church, for you will be regarded as a man or woman of integrity
and ability and conscientious workmanship.... Become a workman of integrity in the world that lies ahead of
you.
Special Counsel for Girls
In this day and time, a girl needs an education. She needs the means
and skills by which to earn a living should she find herself in a
situation where it becomes necessary to do so.
The whole gamut of human endeavor is now open to women. There is not
anything that you cannot do if you will set your mind to it...Set your
priorities in terms of marriage and family, but also pursue educational
programs which will lead to satisfying work and productive employment in
case you do not marry, or to a sense of security and fulfillment in the
event you do marry. Education will increase your appreciation and
refine your talent.
Special Counsel for Boys
No boy anxious to please his Heavenly Father would fail to take
advantage of educational opportunities. But there is a troubling trend
taking place. Young men are more likely to drop out of school than young
women. Women have earned more bachelor’s degrees than men.
It is plainly evident that young women are exceeding young men in
pursuing educational programs. And so I say to you young men, rise up
and discipline yourself to take advantage of educational opportunities.
Do you wish to marry a girl whose education has been far superior to
your own? We speak of being “equally yoked.” That applies, I think, to
the matter of education.
More Than Secular Learning
Never before have so many been educated in the learning of the world.
What a powerful thing it is—the intensive schooling of a large
percentage of the youth of the world, who meet daily at the feet of
instructors to garner knowledge from all the ages of man.
As we pursue our secular studies, let us also add to our lives the cultivation of the Spirit.
The extent of that knowledge is staggering. It encompasses the stars
of the universe, the geology of the earth, the history of nations, the
culture and language of peoples, the operation of governments, the laws
of commerce, the behavior of the atom, the functions of the body, and
the wonders of the mind.
With so much knowledge available, one would think that the world
might well be near a state of perfection. Yet we are constantly made
aware of the other side of the coin—of the sickness of society, of the
contentions and troubles that bring misery into the lives of millions.
Each day we are made increasingly aware of the fact that life is more
than science and mathematics, more than history and literature. There
is need for another education, without which the substance of secular
learning may lead only to destruction.
I refer to the education of the
heart, of the conscience, of the character, of the spirit—these
indefinable aspects of our personalities which determine so certainly
what we are and what we do in our relationships one with another.
Over fifty years ago while serving in England as a missionary, I went
to the London Central YMCA. I suppose that old building has long since
gone, but I can never forget the words that faced visitors in the foyer
each time they entered. They were the words of Solomon: “With all thy
getting get understanding” (
Proverbs 4:7).
Understanding of what? Understanding of ourselves, of the purposes of
life, of our relationship to God who is our Father, of the great
divinely given principles that for centuries have provided the sinew of
man’s real progress!
As we pursue our secular studies, let us also add to our lives the
cultivation of the Spirit. If we do so, God will bless us with that
peace and those blessings which come from Him alone.
A Vanguard group is a formal group, typically for youth, that implements all the different principles and ideas outlined under the "Founding Principles" tab. They may be implemented using methods and techniques that are as unique as the group needs. However, the methods and techniques a group uses should always honor those principles to be considered a Vanguard group. It is up to the individual to decide if their group that has been identified as a "Vanguard group" supports them in a manner that satisfies their family's needs or is true to the name.
