We can expect trials and tribulation—they are an essential part of the great plan. Some we will experience because of our own mistakes—our sins—others merely as a part of living in mortality, and others because the Lord loves us and provides experiences that tend to our spiritual growth.

Our greatest performance is when we take time to give of ourselves in love, one for another, often away from the crowd.

“If any of you are burdened with sin and sorrow, transgression and guilt, then unload your wagon and fill it with obedience, faith, and hope, and a regular renewal of your covenants with God.”

Only after we are tried and tested can we be trusted with our inheritance as heirs to the kingdom of God, joint heirs of Jesus Christ.

Our Father in Heaven desires us to be joyful and well, to nurture and care for the garden that is entrusted to each of us. He needs a healthy people and has given us the gifts and abilities to be so.

Just as with Brigham Young, Leonardo da Vinci’s ultimate allegiance wasn’t to a single discipline but rather to the “triumph of truth.” No individual or perspective is the owner of truth; truth is as widespread and diverse as those who search for it.

As often as we sincerely seek and are worthy to receive, our Eternal Father communicates with us through revelation—messages that come to us in the reflective moments of prayer, through the words and enlightenment of the scriptures, from the teachings of the prophets, or in the peaceful melodies of heavenly music. His messages are often quiet, and we all know that we can miss them if we are not ready to receive.

As you set goals and make plans for your life, working to relieve the suffering and lift the burdens of others should be present in your endeavors.

If we are constantly seeking to know the breadth and depth of His atoning love and how very personal it really is, our seeking will not be in vain.

Receiving personal revelation is not a passive process. As we seek such revelations, we must prepare for these sacred experiences.

The interconnected nature of the spiritual and secular learning that takes place at Brigham Young University is one of the defining characteristics of a BYU education.

As graduates you may think you have completed your last final exams. I must remind you, however, that one final examination remains for us all. This will be a comprehensive final exam, and it will include an ultimate accounting of our personal stewardships—what we have learned, what we have done with what we have learned, and who and what we have become.

“The two most important decisions you will make in this life are the kind of person you choose for a mate and the kind of person you choose to be as a mate.”

The very best and most certain defense we have against the temptations of the devil is our faith in Christ, our faith in His great atoning sacrifice, our faith in and testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. With faith and testimony firmly and consciously in place, the fiery darts of the wicked one will not and cannot pierce our souls.

When you hold a personal morning devotional every day, I promise you again that your life will be changed. Joseph Smith also promised us: “If you will obey the Gospel with honest hearts, I promise you in the name of the Lord, that the gifts as promised by our Saviour will follow you.”

May we really cultivate that power to say to our Heavenly Father, “O Lord, thy will be done.”

God’s existence is a reality. Immortality is a reality. These realities will not go away simply because we have different opinions about them. These realities will not be dissolved just because some have doubts about them.

Perfection is a long, hard journey with many pitfalls. It’s not attainable overnight. Eternal vigilance is the price of victory. Eternal vigilance is required in the subduing of enemies and in becoming the master of oneself. It cannot be accomplished in little spurts and disconnected efforts. There must be constant and valiant, purposeful living—righteous living. The glory of the Lord can be had only through correct and worthy marriage and living a clean, worthy life.

Can we not build dream castles in the air and build foundations solidly under them?

It should be obvious to us all that the ultimate future of BYU is partially hidden from our immediate view. Until we have climbed the hills just ahead, we cannot glimpse what lies beyond. And the hills ahead are higher than we think.

If two people love the Lord more than their own lives and then love each other more than their own lives, working together in total harmony with the gospel program as their basic structure they are sure to have this great happiness.

As previous First Presidencies have said, and we say again to you, we expect (we do not simply hope) that Brigham Young University will “become a leader among the great universities of the world.” To that expectation I would add, “Become a unique university in all of the world.”

When you know that Jesus is the Christ, that the gospel is true and you’re willing to sacrifice your life for it, then you have had a revelation of the Lord through the Holy Ghost, and it will guide you to all truth.

BYU accepts the copyrights of Kirkham’s two new books, A New Witness for Christ in America. Kirkham describes his motives behind writing the books and his experience of publishing the work. He also discusses the coming forth of the Book of Mormon to the world.

Our capacity to be taught is infinite—whatever our current circumstances, whatever the conditions of our physical abilities, and whatever status we may hold in the eyes of others.

Today I would like to talk about the war we are waging to defend our homes. Our social fabric has been attacked around the edges, and now it is moving to the center—our homes! I’ll use Moroni’s strategies of preparing places of security to suggest ways to protect our homes and renew our powers today.

Things do work out in the end if we trust the Lord. We cannot control some events that cause us great pain, but we can always control how we respond to them. We have no lasting power over another’s agency, but we can control our own for eternity.

It requires faith to establish and act upon a vision. But it is only when we move forward in faith that we put ourselves in a position in which the Lord can bless us.

In our communion with God we must ever be careful not just to talk but to listen. We must listen for His Spirit to guide and teach us.

I invite each of you to “step up with me.” Let us “walk together” in service to this great university and the students it produces.

I pray that your experiences will have taught you this university’s divine mission and that you will faithfully accept your very personal responsibility to carry the Spirit of the Y into every corner of your life, safeguarding its reputation and sharing its light with all around you.

I pray that you will understand clearly BYU’s divine mission and that you will faithfully accept your very personal responsibility to carry the Spirit of the Y into every corner of your life, safeguarding its reputation and sharing its light with all around you.

I pray that you will exemplify BYU’s influence in your lives by joining me in serving this great university and the students it produces.