Tom Sederberg

Computer Science

Brigham Young’s instruction to Karl G. Maeser was, 'Remember to not teach even the alphabet or the multiplication tables without the Spirit of God.' He did not say to always draw in gospel principles when teaching these secular topics. I believe that the Spirit can attend our teaching things that on the surface seem completely independent of the gospel, such as math and computer science, or engineering and physics even when we are not bearing explicit testimony of the gospel. I usually say a prayer before I go into the classroom and invite the Spirit in my preparation, in my delivery. I firmly believe that the Spirit can enlighten your teaching of material completely independent of what we normally think of as gospel doctrine. It can enlighten teaching of computer science and math and engineering and quicken our and our students' understanding. I’ve heard President Eyring speak of getting a testimony of the principle of thermodynamics. I believe that can happen, and it ought to be a commonplace experience at BYU when you invite the Spirit.