Chip Oscarson teaches how to be secularly and spiritually bilingual.
Most people associate bilingualism with the skill of being able to speak two languages, but Associate Dean Christopher “Chip” Oscarson (Interdisciplinary Humanities, Scandinavian Studies) expands this definition to include being skilled in spiritual and secular learning. In his devotional in the Marriott Center on June 27, 2023, Oscarson spoke on the importance of a transformative education through spiritual and secular learning.
Multilingual himself, Oscarson speaks both French and Swedish in addition to English. After completing his education at BYU and later joining the university as a faculty member, Oscarson came to realize that being bilingual in spiritual and secular learning can be far more valuable than being able to speak multiple languages.
In describing the value of an education at BYU, Oscarson said, “Faith and education do not merely tolerate each other; they embrace each other. They catalyze and strengthen each other.” He went on to say that “grasping these differences opens new possibilities and realities to us.” Oscarson taught that such an education can allow students to discern truth from error and provide a transformative experience for the learner.
Commenting on BYU’s mission “to assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life,” Oscarson said, “The value in the experience [of studying at BYU] is in how it shapes us and how it changes us.” The journey of an education is more important than the destination. Oscarson explained that education liberates and refines individuals, preparing them for their earthly and eternal experiences.
Oscarson emphasized the importance of higher education by telling the story of his mother, Bonnie L. Oscarson (former Young Women General President), and her lifelong journey to obtain a degree while raising a family. She started her education at BYU in graphic design, but her plans were put on hold for marriage, moving to St. Louis, starting a family, and directing missionaries in Sweden with her husband. However, none of these life-changing events deterred her from her goal to receive higher education.
By the time Sister Oscarson returned to BYU, the landscape of her major had completely changed with the introduction of new curriculum requirements and technologies, leading her to pursue a degree in English instead. She faced these new challenges undeterred, even taking a Swedish literature class from her son. She finally received her degree in 2010, 42 years after starting at BYU. Her education paid off as she and her husband were later called to serve in Sweden again as temple president and matron. They spoke at many firesides throughout the country, giving her the opportunity to write many talks and put her education in Swedish writing to good use. When she was later called to the Young Women General Presidency, Oscarson noted his mother’s “experience reading, analyzing, and writing about American, British, and Scandinavian literature for classes was an ideal training for the innumerable articles and talks she needed to write during her years in that calling.”
He concluded his address with a promise to the student body, saying, “I testify that the Lord will use both the process and the product of your education, to refine you, to change you, and to prepare you to work in your homes, in your communities, and in the Church.”
You can read and view the devotional here.