I would urge upon the young men to do nothing for show, but to do their best to obtain knowledge and then strive to put the knowledge obtained to practical use. I am acquainted with some people who are regular encyclopedias of knowledge, but so far as their knowledge being utilized for the benefitting of their fellow men, they might just as well not possess it or be deaf, dumb, and blind; this is all wrong. [In Daniel H. Ludlow (ed.) Latter-day Prophets Speak. (Salt Lake City, UT: Bookcraft, 1951), p. 402]
Gospel Standards; Selections From the Sermons and Writings of Heber J. Grant (Salt Lake City, UT: Improvement Era, 1941).
I remember speaking, upon one occasion, in one of our great Church schools. I said that I hoped it would never be forgotten that the one and only reason why there was any necessity for a Church school was to make Latter-day Saints. If it were only for the purpose of gaining secular knowledge or improving in art, literature, science, and invention, so far as our information was concerned, and adding to it on these subjects, that there was no need of Church schools, because we could gain these things from our secular schools supported by the taxation of the people; and that we had an abundance of uses for all the means that the Church possesses, all the tithing that might come into our hands, without expending vast sums of money upon Church schools. But if we kept in our minds the one central thing, namely, the making of Latter-day Saints in our schools, then they would be fulfilling the object of their existence. The amount of money expended would cut no figure at all, because we cannot value in dollars and cents the saving of a single soul. (Era, 24:866-867, p. 165)
Unless the heart of a man is right, unless a man is determined to do good, unless he believes in God and in Jesus Christ, and believes in the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, he cannot accomplish what he might achieve in this Church if he had that knowledge. It is to implant that knowledge in the hearts of the people that we have a school system, and if the Church school system fails to do this, it will not have accomplished the thing for which it was organized, that which is expected of it, and which we all hope and pray for it to do. (Era, 26:1091, p. 165)
Unless these schools had been established, I believe that some of the strongest, best, and most noble workers in the Church of Christ would not be such noble workers, would not have their faith, would have gone away for their education without a love of God in their hearts, and would not today be numbered in the membership of the Church. I believe that as a cold-blooded business proposition, we should try to discern and find out the spirit of men and women teaching in these schools, to see to it that we haven't somebody teaching there just because there is as good a salary as he could get somewhere else or because he can do better financially; and who pays his tithing simply because he is working in the Church school system as I know some have done, for the day they got another job they discontinued paying their tithing. When we can get rid of every teacher who has not the love of God and the love of Jesus Christ and the love of this work and of implanting in the hearts of the children the testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and have only those who are determined to make Latter-day Saints, then this school system will grow more rapidly than it has in the past, and the specific object for which it was created will be more rapidly attained. (Era, 26:1093, p. 167)
Faith and knowledge without practice are of no value. All the knowledge in the world would not amount to anything unless we put that knowledge into actual practice. We are the architects and builders of our lives, and if we fail to put our knowledge into actual practice and do the duties that devolve upon us we are making a failure of life. (CR April, 1939:18, p. 185)