Serving Arizona Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
October -November 2018 • Vol 44 • No 5 • Est 1975
East Valley Institutes Offer Spiritual Strength to ASU and MCC Students
Deepening The Faith of Every Student by Merry Gordon & Emily Jex Boyle
W
ith a goal to provide college-age students an opportunity to study spiritual values in concordance with their secular learning by establishing a “reconciliation of faith and reason,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints implemented Institutes of Religion in the 1920s. Nearly 100 years later, much has changed in higher education. However, for East Valley college students, the Mesa and Tempe CES Institutes of Religion continue to provide a solid foundation for those wishing to remain close to their spiritual heritage as they gain an earthly education. The Institute program focuses on, but is not limited to, students aged 18 to 30 who have not graduated from an Institute or LDS Church college or university. About a dozen sites in the Valley serve members wishing to attend Institute courses, with the Mesa and Tempe locations among the busiest.
TEMPE INSTITUTE “I would say that Institute really offers an opportunity to deepen the faith
of every student no matter at what level edifying lessons for fellow students. they enter a class,” says Tempe Insti“With many new converts and both returning and preparing missionaries, tute Director Terry F. Calton, who has we have to have served the Tempe the courses Institute for nearly Brother Ken Bawden teaches a fifteen years. here be diverse course at the Mesa Institute of Designed to Religion across from MCC. build upon the Photo by Pam Pratt four-year Seminary curriculum, Institutes offer four cornerstone classes: Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel, Teaching and Doctrine of the Book of Mormon, Foundations of the Restoration, and The Eternal Family. Additional secondary elective courses include studies of such topics as Isaiah, the parables of Jesus, and the restored gospel as it fits into Christian history. Brother Calton explains that each semester the Tempe program typically hosts about 350 married LDS adults, 600 young single LDS adults, and 150 adults who are not of the LDS faith, all of which are students at ASU. Along with the Institute course study, students may also participate in their Institute’s student council, where they learn valuable leadership skills while preparing
enough to meet all of their needs,” he says. Additionally, Institute offers monthly service projects, interfaith activiContinued on pg. 3