Some of the 1,985 full-time teachers and administrators and 34,638 volunteer teachers who worked for the Church Educational System during the 2000-2001 school year will swell numbers on campus this week.

They are here for the annual CES Conference, designed for full-time, part-time and administrative employees of the CES, volunteer teachers, retirees and their spouses.

"It's a preparation for our full- and part-time teachers and volunteers to learn more about teaching," said Diane Bastian, executive secretary for the CES conference committee.

Bastian said the purpose of the conference is to help them be better teachers, better people and better examples.

A conference for full- and part-time CES religious educators has taken place annually since 1977. Prior to August 2000 it was called the CES Symposium, said Wayne Smith, Manager of Communication Services for the CES conference committee.

The conference has grown significantly since it began. In 1977, about 1,000 people attended. In 2001 this number had increased to about 10,000, Smith said.

Volunteer early-morning and home-study seminary teachers were added in the early 1990s, he said.

The conference grew out of several five-week summer training sessions that took place between 1927 and 1970 for full-time teachers, Smith said.

"It was started to give centralized in-service training to seminary and institute teachers in the U.S. and Canada, in addition to the local in-service training," he said.

The conference features addresses from CES central office administrators and a general authority, and classes taught by CES central office personnel, field personnel and volunteer teachers.

Max Lehman, CES Coordinator for the Knoxville, Tennessee Stake, is presenting at this year's conference. He will be speaking on how seminary supervisors can enhance teaching in the classroom.

"I've been to this conference nine times," Lehman said.

Lehman, who has worked in CES for 18 years, said he is excited for this year's conference.

"It's a marvelous experience to hear the general authorities speak, to be with over 10,000 other instructors and to receive instruction," Lehman said.

He said the conference is a great way to bring a lot of people together.

"It's like on a mission," he said. "It can get pretty lonely to be the only teacher in an area, then you come together with 10,000 other people trying to bring people to Christ. It's amazing."

Religion professors from BYU and BYU-Idaho will also be presenting at the conference.

Lehman referred to a quote by Elder Boyd K. Packer, who said that when the CES started, it was a nice thing to have, but now he considers it a Godsend - it's essential.

The CES began in 1912 with the first seminary program. In 1926, the first institute program was started, Bastian said.

Since then, the program has grown to include 132 countries and has been translated into 24 languages, Smith said.

It includes all of the church colleges, schools, seminaries and institutes. Anything that deals with education in the church falls under CES, but the emphasis is seminary and institute, Bastian said.

Copyright Brigham Young University 12 Aug 2002