Alma 1:26-27

"And when the priests left their labor to impart the word of God unto the people, the people also left their labors to hear the word of God. And when the priest had imparted unto them the word of God they all returned again diligently unto their labors; and the priest, not esteeming himself above his hearers, for the preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner; and thus they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man according to his strength.
And they did impart of their substance, every man according to that which he had, to the poor, and the needy, and the sick, and the afflicted; and they did not wear costly apparel, yet they were neat and comely."
Alma 1:26-27


I thought this was interesting just because I am getting this degree in education and earlier this month I wrote a paper on the inherent inequality in the American classroom, talking about the gaps between different types of learners and the gap between almost any learner and the instructor... so, I guess this impresses me. First of all, the whole implied lesson-in-the-middle-of-the-day thing is cool... and getting to leave work is ALWAYS cool. :) ... But also, just that neither of them considered themselves better, you know? I think, even in religion classes you find inequality, and it's cool that these people overcame it. I also think that the second verse illustrates that they were equal in a lot of other ways too. Did you know that the biggest gaps in student test scores comes if you divide the scores by income level? It's a bigger gap than dividing them by ethnicity, which is second highest. That is scary.... and it's a huge gap, not just a few points. I think to achieve equality, the second verse is just as important as the first. We have to share what we have with others. If we are supposed to be one, and we are only attempting to be one with people of the same ethnic and socio-economic background, I think we are missing the point. :)