nurturing servant leaders in religious education - Scholarly ...

together to give them his last counsel and advice. In this speech he implored all
people to serve one another, as he always sought to serve them,
Behold I say unto you that because I said unto you that I had spent my days in
your service, I do not desire to boast, for I have only been in the service of God.
And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn
that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of
your God. Behold, ye have called me your king; and if I, whom ye call your king,
do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one another? And behold
also, if I whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet
has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to
thank your heavenly King! (Mosiah 2: 16-19).
King Benjamin did not expound upon a list of specific actions he had taken in order to
be a servant leader, nor did he tell his people ways in which they could show service
to others. That was up to them to decide. Instead, he outlined that all service rendered
to others was service to God, and therefore worthy of the title of service. Likewise, on
a contemporary plane, Church leader Featherstone (1995) outlines a list of ways in
which service might be rendered, but concludes by stating “true servant leaders do not
need a checklist of these character traits, for they live them daily” (p. 130).
Although it is not a prerequisite to receiving Church leadership callings, in addition to
regular church services on Sundays in which gospel teaching and learning takes place,
the Church also conducts weekday religious classes to assist its young members in
gaining a spiritual education while they may be attending secular institutions of higher
learning. Classes are run under a programme called the Church Education System.
The Church Educational System
The CES is a global religious education provider headquartered in the Western United
States which offers the Youth and Young Adults (roughly corresponding to ages 14-
17 and 18-30), as well as their educators, an opportunity to enhance their spiritual
knowledge and develop leadership skills based in the teachings of Jesus Christ, and to
prepare for service both inside and outside of the Church.
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