‘Making Christ my influencer of choice’: 1,007 classes available at BYU Education Week

The 102nd annual BYU Education Week begins Monday with nearly 100 sessions ranging from the spiritual — ”Following prophetic counsel leads to more effective prayer” — to the practical — ”How to help your brain work: Strategies to improve memory, time management and organization.”

Over 15,000 adults and teens will choose from 1,007 classes from Monday through Friday on the campus in Provo, Utah.

The big youth dance is Thursday night, surrounded by days of classes for teens like “Making Christ my influencer of choice” and “The art of spiritual warfare for teens.”

Adults can enjoy concerts by BYU’s a cappella choirs, a performance of “Fiddler on the Roof” amid classes about retirement planning, building emotional intelligence, parenting, conflict resolution, the Book of Mormon, the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and more.

Monday’s highlights are at the Marriott Center, where 55-minute presentations will be made by:

• The Primary General Presidency on “‘A little child shall lead them’: Developing lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ.” (9:50-10:45 a.m.)
• The Relief Society General Presidency on “Jesus Christ is relief.” (11:10 a.m.-12:05 p.m.)
• Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young on “The healing power of loving as God loves.” (12:30-1:25 p.m.)

Elder Neil L. Andersen will deliver a campus devotional that doubles as Education Week’s keynote address on Tuesday at 11:10 a.m. in the Marriott Center. Elder Andersen is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ, which sponsors BYU.

Elder Andersen was named an apostle in 2009. His remarks will be broadcast live on BYUtv, BYUtv.org (and archived for on-demand streaming), KBYU-TV 11, Classical 89 FM, BYUradio 107.9 FM and SiriusXM 143. Video, text and audio of the devotional will be archived on speeches.byu.edu .

This year’s Education Week theme is “Be Ye Transformed by the Renewing of Your Mind.”

Latter-day Saint leaders from the church’s Young Men and Young Women organizations will speak at Education Week, too. They will talk about using the principles in the For the Strength of Youth guide for lifelong discipleship.

Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman and Young Men General President Steven J. Lund will speak Wednesday about principles one and two. Their first counselors — Sister Tamara W. Runia and Brother Bradley R. Wilcox — will speak on Thursday about the third and fourth principles. Second counselors Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus and Brother Michael T. Nelson will speak Friday on the final two principles.

All of those presentations will be held in the Marriott Center at 11:10 a.m.

Education Week attendance edged closer to pre-pandemic levels last year, when 16,700 people flooded the campus, said Bruce Payne, an administrator in BYU’s Continuing Education division.

COVID-19 led to an online-only Education Week in 2020, when 9,400 attended by live streaming. That was down from 17,700 who went to campus in 2019.

Registration for Education Week classes can be completed any time through the final day, Payne said. It’s hard to predict which classes might change someone’s life, he added.

“With more than a thousand classes available, it’s difficult to highlight any individual one since the impact on people is so individual according to someone’s needs. Any class, or thought, can be a catalyst for change and growth,” Payne said.

The 68-page booklet that lists all 1,007 classes and the concerts and other events can be found here .