At BYU’s fall 2026 Education Week, three College of Humanities faculty presented unique texts whose wisdom inspires readers long after the book is closed.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are likely familiar with Doctrine and Covenants 88:118: “Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom.” For bookworms, this scripture may sound like a cozy invitation to settle down at home with a good classic. However, three 2026 Education Week lectures, sponsored by the Humanities Center, suggested that even slightly unexpected texts can contain wisdom that inspires more Christlike interactions with all of God’s children.
Christian Philosophies in the Dao De Jing
Professor Marc Yamada (East Asian Film and Literature) noted that his lecture title, “How the Dao De Jing and the Concept of Non-Action Can Help Us Be Better Christians,” may be confusing at first glance—after all, the Dao De Jing, as the foundational text of Daoism, is not a Christian text. However, as Yamada explained its historical context and overarching philosophies, he showed how the ancient text aligns with many Christian beliefs, like peacemaking, trusting in a higher way, and learning gratitude for the simple joys of life.
Daoism emerged during China’s Warring States period from 476 to 221 B.C., a time when conflicting regimes created instability in society. With that instability came the draw to new philosophical systems, like Daoism. The Daoist school of thought, Yamada said, functions a bit like beloved Pooh from A. A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh—both prefer a sense of “effortless living.” Yamada explained that, far from promoting idleness, Daoism believes that the universe has a natural order that is meant to be tapped into, not created from scratch. This philosophy is not so different from the Christian parable of the lilies of the field, which teaches not to “focus so much on what we want or our time or our worries, but to trust in God’s providence.”
Yamada shared a quote from President Russel M. Nelson, who taught, “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.”1 The Dao De Jing and Christian texts have many things in common, and one is the understanding, as Yamada said, that “if your focus is broadened to understand your place in the greater whole, you’ll be fulfilling the measure of your creation.”
Laughs and Lessons from The Far Side
Professor Kerry Soper (Popular Culture and Comedy) shared that wisdom from the written word is not limited to books, essays, or poems—it can also be found in cartoon panels. Soper’s lecture, titled “The Benefits of Reading the Far Side Cartoons by Gary Larson,” took a deep look at The Far Side: a single-panel comic strip that explores the absurdity, and sometimes morbidity, of human and animal behavior.
When Larson’s The Far Side comics debuted in 1980, their humor was considered subversive. Soper said that most contemporary single-panel comics were “of a very tame nature, targeted to people who enjoyed cute jokes about pets or the funny things children say.” Larson chose to play with taboos instead, displaying bizarre disasters, plays on stereotypes, and cows acting strangely human.
As Soper put it, The Far Side makes “people laugh in a way that sort of flirts with a certain level of irreverence.” Soper noted that this slight irreverence causes readers to “think, laugh, and then ponder in quick succession, sort of like a party in the brain.”
Soper also shared stories of his family, who often gathered around the table to read The Far Side comics, and who still quote them as inside jokes. He said, “Sharing and reading this beloved text with friends and family provides a sort of social glue, reducing conflict, creating shared affinities, and building a storehouse of familiar family references and jokes.” To Soper, his family, and a world of readers, The Far Side packages its wisdoms in humor and in “share size.”
The Literature of City Life
Associate Professor Jamin Rowan (English, American Studies) spoke on the eye-opening influence of urban literature in his lecture called “How the City Made Me a Better Saint.” For every city that Rowan has lived in and visited, he’s immersed himself in its literature. He said each book has offered him the wisdom of the city’s story, teaching him that “reading literature about the place you live can change the way you understand people.”
In his graduate studies in Boston, Massachusetts, Rowan scoured the libraries to learn what made cities “such amazing social spaces.” Outside of studying, he and his young family were dedicated to soaking in the city life by visiting public parks, farmer’s markets, neighboring churches, and public libraries. Rowan’s research and personal experiences led him to see that “the beauty of cities is that it makes it possible for all sorts of different people to do their things. The city made it clear to me that everyone is interdependent.”
Rowan came across Jane Jacobs’s book The Death and Life of Great American Cities while living in Boston’s South End, and it captured his experience of seeing “all sorts of different people coming out onto the sidewalk and just doing this kind of dance.” This text, among many others, reflected his growing belief that a city is a way for God to gather people from everywhere. “People find each other somehow,” Rowan said, “and they creatively come up with solutions to problems that have plagued our heavenly parents’ family for ages.”
The literature that Rowan read taught him to see the complexity and beauty of city life—and even how it reflects heaven. Rowan said, “If heaven doesn’t look like the South End, I’m going to be very disappointed because it just felt like Zion to me.”
Learn about more humanities education week lectures on the College of Humanities Education Week news page.
Notes:
1Russell M. Nelson, “Joy and Spiritual Survival,” (address, General Conference, Salt Lake City, UT, October 2016), The Church of Jesus Christ of Lattery-day Saints, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2016/10/joy-and-spiritual-survival?lang=eng.