The mission, purpose and responsibility of religious educators in the worldwide Church

During Religious Educators Conference held at BYU, leaders remind teachers ‘begin with the end in mind’

Published: June 18, 2025, 1:33 p.m. MDT

Elder Clark G. Gilbert, Kaylee Merrill, John Hilton III, Jenet Erickson and Nathan Peterson sit together on stage during the Religious Communicators Conference at BYU. — From left, forum members Elder Clark G. Gilbert, a General Authority Seventy and Church commissioner of education; Kaylee Merrill, a seminary principal; John Hilton III, a BYU professor of ancient scripture; Jenet Erickson, a BYU associate professor of Church history and doctrine; and Nathan Peterson, a BYU-Idaho religious education faculty member; share a laugh during the Religious Communicators Conference at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, Friday, June 13, 2025. Brian Nicholson, for the Deseret News

PROVO, Utah — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints invests heavily in the education, including the spiritual education, of individuals. Why?

“One of the major reasons the Church invests so much in what we do, in everyone who’s involved in this work, is because they believe this matters,” Elder Clark G. Gilbert, the Church commissioner of education, told religious educators within the Church Educational System.

In a broadcast that will be made available to tens of thousands of university, college and seminary and institute teachers around the world, Elder Gilbert reiterated the mission, purpose and responsibility of teachers within CES.

View Comments

To read the full story, visit TheChurchNews.com.

Looking for comments?

Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.