Breadth and Depth

In a BYU devotional talk entitled “Why Scientists Should Read Shakespeare and Humanists Should Understand Einstein” Professor A. Brent Strong spoke of the need in the academic world for one to gain a level of breadth across multiple disciplines.  He highlighted the competing goals of having both depth of knowledge in a specific, focused discipline and gaining a breadth of knowledge across a wide range of areas.  This is similar to the idea of the Explore/Exploit tradeoff in which one must decide when to explore (seeking breadth) and when to seek to develop and exploit our knowledge (having depth).  It seems to me that the gospel asks us to find a level of both breadth and depth in our own personal development. 

               Perhaps the most obvious instruction in the scriptures that tells us to seek for breadth in our knowledge is in the Olive Leaf revelation: “Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand; Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms” (D&C 88:78-79).  This is quite the list of topics that the Lord wants us to become familiar with.  In similar language the Lord told the Prophet Joseph to “obtain a knowledge of history, and of countries, and of kingdoms, of laws of God and man, and all this for the salvation of Zion” (D&C 93:53).  Again this list suggests a breadth of knowledge that the Lord wants His Saints to have.  Another scripture suggests that the knowledge we can gain in the next life will cover a whole range of topics: “ in that day when the Lord shall come, he shall reveal all things—Things which have passed, and hidden things which no man knew, things of the earth, by which it was made, and the purpose and the end thereof—Things most precious, things that are above, and things that are beneath, things that are in the earth, and upon the earth, and in heaven” (D&C 101:32-34).  This kind of wide, sweeping knowledge appears to be what was given to some of the ancient prophets in the visions they received.  For example, the Lord showed the brother of Jared “all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be; and he withheld them not from his sight, even unto the ends of the earth” (Ether 3:25).  That’s quite the breadth of knowledge that the brother of Jared was given for his faithfulness. 

               And yet I think there is also a place for seeking to develop specific talents and find depth in areas where we can contribute the most to the kingdom of God.  For example, the Lord said, “And all this for the benefit of the church of the living God, that every man may improve upon his talent, that every man may gain other talents, yea, even an hundred fold, to be cast into the Lord’s storehouse, to become the common property of the whole church” (D&C 82:18).  In another scripture about the spiritual gifts we may develop, the Lord suggested that we each have different gifts to work on and find depth in: “For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God.  To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby” (D&C 46:11-12).  We don’t all have the same talents given to us, and the Lord wants us to be able to master the talents we do have so the whole church can benefit from those.  I guess we just have to find a balance in our lives and know when to seek broadly for knowledge and understand in diverse places, and when to focus on the specific gift s we have been given and develop those to their fullest.