When we think of all we need to know, temporally and spiritually, it can be daunting. However, knowledge is also a great source of empowerment and comfort.

The Lord has sent you comfort—many sources of comfort and inspiration—not the least of which are witnesses in stars and stones that He lives, that He loves you, and that He has set in place a plan by which all that He has created can be yours if you will have faith and endure.

If we can understand the law of love—for God, for others, and for ourselves—we will be able to follow all of the rest of the commandments and teachings in the scriptures and from latter-day prophets.

Hold tight to that rod of iron! Be true to everything that you are and everything you can become. It is so worth it. It will bring you joy and happiness now and forever. It will bring you full circle back to Him.

It is through prayer that we can find strength, both in spirit and in body. Prayer can provide protection from all sources of harm and evil.

Having light is evidence that Jesus Christ is part of our life. His light—His spirit, His truth, His power—inspires, motivates, comforts, capacitates, and protects.

“May we be fervent enough in our faith and love of the Lord and his work that we will be more than passive camp followers in our Church membership.”

I have learned from living sixty years that imperfections are challenges all of us must deal with. We cannot overcome them nor their consequential effects in our lives without the Lord’s help. We cannot permit ourselves to be overcome by them, and there is absolutely no benefit to be gained by detecting and advertising those we see in the lives of others.

“The gospel is true in that it will yield to us from those principles, according to the way we think and act and feel, those things which have been promised to us.”

Expectations are thoughts or beliefs we have about ourselves, our relationships, and what happens to us in life. They are crucial, as they are the standards or yardsticks by which we judge what happens to us and how satisfied or unsatisfied we are with ourselves and with life.

When we are in the midst of transformation, we may feel like we are being broken down, much like the butterfly in its cocoon, but the Savior will help build us up again and make us “new creatures,” if we let him.

Just as we have various learning styles in college classrooms, we have unique needs for learning about spiritual guidance, so our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost customize our learning experiences with spiritual promptings.

Someday we will meet Jesus and feel His profound love for us. Until then, we have many lessons to learn. There are going to be both smooth days and rough days throughout our lives, but the Lord has commanded us repeatedly to “be of good cheer.”

Therefore, go; go humbly to serve. Work hard, be honest, and be reliable. I testify to you that you will be blessed and success will be yours.

Sometimes leaders need to foster close relationships of relative equality. Occasionally, strong displays of power and difference may be necessary. Usually leaders must achieve an appropriate balance according to the contingencies of their situation. That’s the hard part.

You Latter-day Saints, the youth of the noble birthright, if you can say, as Martha said, “Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world”—if you can say that and know that he is in his heaven, and you believe that with all your soul, you will not be trapped in the pitfalls of life.

Our physical surroundings change many times in our lifetimes. If we are listening to the Spirit, we will surround ourselves with truth and goodness in each of our earthly homes, making the pathway to our ultimate heavenly home more direct and attainable.

If only we could realize that the momentary pleasure we might feel by an act of disobedience can never be equal to the feelings of peace and happiness that result from obedience.

I used to think that faith in God came in the form of feeling certain that life would be as I wanted it to be. I have grown to understand that to have ultimate faith in God is to know he is with us and will give us unfailing strength to help us through life’s challenges.

“I strongly believe that one of the best barometers by which you can measure whether you are taking advantage of what BYU uniquely offers is your activity in your ward or other congregation.”

But if I could turn back the clock, would I also have to trade in what I have learned? I wouldn’t want to give that part back. Always having our first choice might mean giving up unknown benefits.

“It is this we must always remember: No matter how alone or discouraged we may feel, our Father in Heaven is always there to help us.”

“Most important, never forget to get on your knees and ask your Heavenly Father to point you in the right direction.”

“Selective attitudes—particularly when combined with the truths of the restored gospel—affect the quality of life itself.”

“Usually the road to victory involves encountering a great many mistakes. The Lord wants us to learn from our mistakes because that is how we become strong. He does not expect us to be perfect, just to keep trying.”

BYU is unique among American universities because it incorporates the restored gospel as an integral part of its academic program. It is also true that both our uniqueness and also our effectiveness are enhanced to the extent that we use the Restoration to inform what we do academically.

“I am satisfied that whatever else may eventually hang in the constitutional balance, this much is clear: The continuation of the blessings of liberty depends finally on our spiritual righteousness.”

I used to think that faith in God came in the form of feeling certain that life would be as I wanted it to be. I have grown to understand that to have ultimate faith in God is to know he is with us and will give us unfailing strength to help us through life’s challenges.

“I strongly believe that one of the best barometers by which you can measure whether you are taking advantage of what BYU uniquely offers is your activity in your ward or other congregation.”

“The only constant across the entire time period has been our commitment to our unique combination of things spiritual with things secular.”

“I can think of no better lesson that all of us could learn from our experience at BYU than the importance of genuinely caring for our neighbor.”

“It is this we must always remember: No matter how alone or discouraged we may feel, our Father in Heaven is always there to help us.”

“There will be adequate opportunities for unavoidable error and disappointment; we need not reach out affirmatively to create them.”

“Selective attitudes—particularly when combined with the truths of the restored gospel—affect the quality of life itself.”

Remember the Brazilian butterflies. What you as an individual can do may not be much, but it is something; and when aggregated with what others are doing, the increment can be significant.

“I will also at this time express my conviction that we are engaged here at BYU in something very worthwhile, something that has both intellectual and also spiritual dimensions of great significance for us and our students.”

Our ability to maintain ourselves in the face of changing circumstances and a changing world will depend principally on our ability to build our house on those things that do not change.

“Over the past year perhaps more than at any other time I have understood and appreciated that while we are many, we are also one.”

May you and I, every year, every month, and every day, appreciate the fact that we are alive and able to take advantage of the BYU experience, and may we through the things that we do manifest our gratitude to our Heavenly Father for the fact we are alive and have the opportunities that life offers.

Indeed, we know that persuasion is a theme that cuts across many different academic and professional fields. In an even larger sense, persuasion is at the core of the learning process because it changes the way we perceive and understand reality, influencing our attitudes and creating our vision of the world.

An admonitional speech encouraging individuals to regard the Book of Mormon with resolution. The stories relating Alma’s encounter with Korihor and Alma’s parting words to his three sons are recalled. The Book of Mormon is vital to our spiritual condition.

People will love to hear your stories. Don’t be afraid to reach out and share them. Your stories did not just happen for you; they are meant to be shared. Sharing them is a great way for you to let your light shine for others.

The reasons behind our choices matter. And each of us individually is in charge of determining what those reasons are. May we all have the courage to allow the love of God to govern the thoughts and desires of our hearts and embark upon the path of spiritual rebirth that makes it possible.

I believe that when we exercise our agency to learn, grow, and accomplish good in this world and when we apply “the principles of righteousness,” our influence will naturally increase.

In American history this sublime and ­serious combination of religion and democracy has overall been a force for great good. Some of the most important movements of conscience in our history emerged from the convictions of religious people and used the language and liturgy of faith to build popular support.

As we learn to better recognize and respond to the promptings of the Spirit, we will find answers to our prayers and have increased capacity to know how and whether those promptings are from the Holy Ghost.

With the instruction to “always remember Him,” the Lord does not want some form of general, always-sort-of-in-the-back-of-the-mind kind of remembering.

We are of infinite value and worth to Christ. As we love him, have faith in him, and desire to be like him, he is the one who will change us, perfect us, and bring us home. Then he will give us all that he hath. How could we want for anything else?

As we listen to the stories of others, we form invisible connections that bind us to our ancestors and to strangers. These connections can be both fulfilling and compelling, driving us to strengthen relationships, to develop new friendships, and, ultimately, to make the world a better place.

One of the most important—if not the most important—challenges in learning how to come unto Christ and to be perfected in him is to learn to hear, to recognize, and then to follow the voice of the Lord.

Life often presents itself as an incessant gray wall stretching off into nowhere, but here and there, if you watch for them, flickering assurances of God’s love for us will become evident.

Our Father in Heaven’s work is individual salvation and individual happiness for eternity. We aren’t specks in the universal expanse of God’s creations but individuals loved and cherished by God.

Words, the power of language, are among the greatest gifts. I pray we can use words for our edification and bless the lives of others.

Do you have faith that your Heavenly Father knows you so well that He knows under what circumstances you will emerge as a stronger, albeit wounded, healer so that you will become a valuable instrument in His hands, able to do His work and comfort His children?

“May we be discerning of the language used in the world today, and may our own language be ever in harmony with His will.”