The Rising Tide: Mediocrity and the Pursuit of Zion

The prophet Isaiah warned of a time when the people would “cast the law behind their backs, and forget my covenants” (Isaiah 58:12). It’s a sobering prophecy, one that compels us to examine the state of our own hearts and minds. Lately, a disquieting sentiment has been voiced within our community – a feeling that Church experiences, from sacrament meeting to Gospel Doctrine, are… boring. Not a word one expects to hear from those who seek after knowledge and understanding, who strive to partake of the “line upon line, precept upon precept” promised in 2 Nephi 28:29.

This isn't a new observation. The frustration isn't born from a lack of effort on the part of those who teach, but from a perceived deficit in the depth and challenge of the material presented. It's a longing for more than just pleasant platitudes; a desire for intellectual wrestling, for nuanced analysis, for the kind of rigorous exploration that truly expands our understanding of the Restoration.

The sentiment resonates deeply with a historical parallel. Consider the “Nation at Risk” report of 1983, a stark warning about the decline of American education. As the podcast host points out, it essentially accused the nation of deliberately allowing its educational foundations to crumble, a situation so dire it could be likened to an act of war. The report highlighted a “rising tide of mediocrity” that had infiltrated the system.

The question then becomes: are we, as Latter-day Saints, susceptible to the same fate? Have we, perhaps unconsciously, allowed a similar tide of mediocrity to creep into our own spiritual education? Have we settled for a comfortable, yet ultimately unfulfilling, level of understanding?

The comparison to historical eighth-grade exams is particularly telling. The expectations of that era, the intellectual demands placed upon individuals, were far greater than what many adults today would be able to meet. This isn't to denigrate modern education, but to illustrate a potential shift – a dumbing down, if you will – that could also apply to our understanding of gospel principles.

The word “mediocrity” itself doesn’t appear in scripture. However, the spirit of complacency, the rejection of challenge, the turning away from rigorous study – these are themes echoed throughout the prophets' warnings. Think of the Nephites after the reign of the Judges, who “did harden their hearts, and did not wish to learn, and they did lay down wickedness, and did say that all was well” (Helaman 16:19). That is a spiritual mediocrity far more dangerous than any academic one.

The antidote? A renewed commitment to seeking knowledge, a deliberate pursuit of intellectual and spiritual rigor. It requires us to be active participants in our own learning, to question, to analyze, to wrestle with difficult concepts, and to not be afraid to admit when we don’t understand something. It necessitates a willingness to engage in respectful debate and to challenge our own assumptions, always guided by the Spirit and the teachings of the prophets.

This isn't a condemnation, but an invitation. An invitation to raise the bar, not just for ourselves, but for the entire community. An invitation to remember the promise of the iron rod, the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life, a path that demands vigilance, effort, and a constant striving for greater understanding.

Let us each examine our own hearts and minds, and ask ourselves: am I contributing to the rising tide, or am I actively engaged in pushing it back?