Education vs. Truth

This month's non-fiction book was Three Cups of Tea - a remarkable story about Greg Mortenson and the Central Asia Institute, which builds schools for impoverished children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Truth be told, I actually picked up the Young Reader's Edition at the library without noticing that it wasn't the original book, but I read it anyways. I highly recommend this book, Young Reader's Edition or not.

Reading this book made me think about Education vs. Truth. There is a big difference between possessing an education and possessing truth. The Book of Mormon teaches, "O the vainness, and the frailties and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, where their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not . . . But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsel of God" (2 Nephi 9:28-29). The Central Asia Institute is trying to do a great thing - provide education for children who have never had a chance for education in their lives because of poverty and war. Hopefully, this education will help them to be wise and to seek truth.

Education is not always a sign that someone has truth. Take the Taliban for example. According to Wikipedia (not always the most trusted source, I know, but it will do for now), the word Taliban means "students" in the Pashto language. Three Cups of Tea also describes the Taliban as originating with a group of students. In this case, the "students", the Taliban, may have an education, but they do not have the truth, as evidenced by their acts of violence, murder, and hate. Similarly, there were undoubtedly educated men involved in Hitler's Nazi regime, but they must not have had, or followed, truth.

I hope that as we all gain education through formal schooling and through life experiences, we try to gain truth, too. I hope that we can all, like Greg Mortenson, try to make the world better for all of us living here.

Mortensen, G., Relin, D. O., & Thomson, S. (2009). Three Cups of Tea (The Young Reader's Edition). New York: Penguin Young Readers Group.