A Foundation
Edify (v) “And now, behold, I give unto you a commandment, that when ye are assembled together ye shall instruct and edify each other” (Doctrine and Covenants 43:8).
The word “edify” usually implies building up or strengthening. Elder Jay E. Jensen noted, “It is instructive to note that the word edify and the word edifice come from the same root. Building an edifice that will pass the test of time requires the right plan and the right materials. Similarly, to be edified and to have heavenly confirmation of your spiritual growth, a foundation has to be in place, and it has to be right. The need for a right foundation is made more relevant from a lesson learned during the building of the Salt Lake Temple.
“In February 1853 President Brigham Young presided over the groundbreaking services. Work proceeded on the excavations and foundation stones for the temple until Johnston’s army arrived in 1857. To protect the work, Brigham Young instructed the Saints to fill in the temple trenches with dirt, resulting in a vacant lot that looked like a plowed field when the soldiers walked past it. Following their departure the dirt was removed and the work continued. A few years later, President Young, along with others, made an inspection of the foundation and discovered faulty foundation stones. The faulty stones were replaced with the large granite stones you know today” (BYU Devotional, August 16, 2011).
The Test
So, how does one decide if something is edifying? Elder Jensen gives us a clue, “The word edify comes from the French edifier and from the Latin aedificare and means to ‘improve spiritually’ and to ‘instruct’ (Robert K. Barnhart, The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology [New York: H. W. Wilson Company, 1988], s.v. “edify,” 315). The Oxford English Dictionary gives this meaning: ‘In religious use: To build up (the church, the soul) in faith and holiness; to benefit spiritually; to strengthen, support’ (2nd ed., s.v. “edify,” 5:71). Thus, to edify is to instruct and improve the soul in knowledge generally, and in particular to increase in moral and religious knowledge, in faith and holiness” (BYU Devotional, August 16, 2011).
Therefore, in order to test if something is edifying, ask the question: does it increase our faith and holiness? Is our faith in Jesus Christ increased by what we are experiencing? Does it make us more holy? If so, it comes from God, and is edifying.
The Prophet Joseph Smith observed, “By proving contraries, truth is made manifest.” (History, 1838–1856, volume F-1:262, The Joseph Smith Papers). Therefore, the opposite is true. “And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness” (Doctrine and Covenants 50:23). Anything that detracts from faith and holiness is not edifying.
One of the inherent blessings of the restored gospel is an organizational structure designed to edify us. “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets… for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11–12).
Inviting Revelation
One of the Lord’s Apostles, Elder David A. Bednar, gave us a practical approach to edify the body (or church) of Christ. He called this “A Pattern for Learning and Teaching”.
“1. Prepare to learn. If you attend your Sunday School class and listen to your teacher present a topic, that is good. But if you have worked and prepared, if you are thinking about things your teacher has invited you to read, ponder, and pray about before class, there can be a powerful outpouring of the Spirit, and the Holy Ghost becomes your teacher. Preparation invites revelation.
“2. Interact to edify. I want to draw your attention to this verse. “Appoint among yourselves a teacher, and let not all be spokesman at once; but let one speak at a time and let all listen unto his sayings, that when all have spoken that all may be edified of all, and that every man may have an equal privilege” (D&C 88:122).
“This is one of the Lord’s powerful patterns for learning and teaching. May I suggest another way of looking at this verse: “Appoint among yourselves a teacher.” Who is the teacher? The Holy Ghost. Could it be that if you want the Holy Ghost to be the teacher, then “let not all [speak] at once, but let one speak at a time and let all listen unto his sayings, that when all have spoken, that all may be edified of all”? The only one that can produce that edification is the Holy Ghost.
“Interacting to edify invites revelation. Presently in the Church, we are learning and applying ever more spiritually sensitive, rigorous, and demanding patterns of learning and teaching. Will we always do what we have always done and get the same results that we have always gotten, or will we repent and learn and change and teach increasingly the Lord’s way?
“3. Invite to act. Just one simple question helps to achieve this goal. What will you do with what you have learned? Acting upon revelation invites more revelation” (“Learning in the Lord’s Way,” Ensign,Oct. 2018).
