I testify to you that there is another, a greater One, who lived, who walked the dusty roads of Galilee, who atoned for our sins, who was crucified and resurrected, and who lives again.

Great minds conceive great questions—questions that spark imagination, questions that stimulate discovery, and questions that provoke more questions. Ignorance cannot last long when accompanied by investigation and inquiry.

Al registrar los sentimientos que tuvo al salir de la Arboleda y en los días subsiguientes, José dejó registrada esta oración: “Mi alma se llenó de amor, y por muchos días pude regocijarme con gran gozo, y el Señor estaba conmigo, pero no pude encontrar a ninguno que creyera mi visión celestial”.

Recording the feelings he had on leaving the Grove and on the subsequent days, Joseph left on record this sentence: “My soul was filled with love and for many days I could rejoice with great joy and the Lord was with me but [I] could find none that would believe the heavenly vision.”

I want to focus not so much on his prophetic character and gifts as on the characteristics observed by those who surrounded him—on Joseph Smith the man.

I have gone through the life of Joseph Smith and singled out instances in that life when these gifts were manifest. It is no surprise that he did, in fact, experience all the spiritual gifts.

In all of this Joseph struggled both to endure and to overcome. That is the tension we all face. What must we simply go through, and what, through our faith and worthiness, can we overcome?

The Kirtland Temple was an unprecedented sacrifice, and it was met with an unprecedented divine outpouring.

There is a difference between speaking, testifying, and teaching, and that setting in which soul is alone with soul. And in this again the Prophet was a master.

The Nauvoo era also was the period of a life-and-death struggle, for there were many who by that time were organized against the Church and who swore they would bring Joseph Smith and his kingdom of blockheads to naught.

Like many of the prophets of ancient times, the prophet of the last dispensation was martyred for the Lord’s cause.

When you are on record and in the presence of others, and are trying to be truthful, and you consult the depths of your own soul, you yourself may learn how profoundly you know.

It is during our Abrahamic tests, our moments of excruciating trial, that we prove to ourselves how strong our conviction really is and receive our rewards.

The heritage of prayer in this church teaches us that, whether or not we settle the question of foreknowledge, there is a point in reaching up to that Person, not a thing, who is himself free and has used his freedom to forbid to himself the use of force.

“On this campus you have engaged texts and teachers. In the temple you can engage and commune with the intimate and ultimate Creator.”

Among the words of the English language the word farewell is the hardest to pronounce, and I, probably, will succeed very poorly at my present attempt.

Amid the ever-changing scenes of development . . . there must go through it all, like a golden thread, one thing constant: the spirit of the latter-day work.

Questions—particularly questions that arise about the gospel—can be especially trying. Questions are inherently born of uncertainty, and we as humans are vehemently opposed to uncertainty. We dislike the feeling of not knowing because we feel vulnerable. Yet this vulnerability can actually be a sacred space.

I have since learned that dwelling obsessively on what we do wrong is one of the greatest sources of interference to maximizing our potential. Self-doubt is dangerous.

The Lord knows you by name. He is so eager to share His infinite love with you. He wants you to feel His love so that you will embrace your life’s plan and cherish the gift that it is.

It is possible to reach your goals if you work hard, keep the right perspective, and use your challenges as opportunities to grow and develop.

Brothers and sisters, you are the light of the world and the future mileposts in the timeline of technology. May we recognize a loving Heavenly Father’s hand in the miracles of the technologies around us and remember that He gave them to us to bless us and our families and to advance His purposes.

It is true that we have to shoulder our burdens and do hard work, but when we look with hope and love to Christ, we will be given compensating blessings that will bind us to Him in powerful ways—even if our challenge remains.

The message of the Atonement is a message of joy. Our Savior knows our suffering. He took upon Himself our suffering that we might have joy.

Each of us has the capacity to accomplish much good in this life, but we must always return credit and appreciation to the source of all that is good and truthful.

Remember that there is one thing Christ and Satan have in common: they both want us to become like them. Satan, however, wants to trick us into it. Christ wants it to be our choice.

It is my testimony that God is love, that the gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of love, and that true discipleship requires sharing that love with all people. It is my hope that we will be able to recognize and reject those false systems of value that demean and divide and instead embrace the love that is true discipleship.

I think we should understand that individuals must shoulder the responsibility for their own preparedness and for their own acquisition of knowledge and of skills and service.

Not to recognize and appreciate the atonement is the greatest of all ingratitude; to ignore Christ is the height of folly; to obey him is the greatest happiness. The greatest display of wisdom that we can demonstrate on this earth is to follow the Lord and to keep his commandments.

The boat we take on life’s journey matters, since it will largely determine how we experience the storms.

There are lots of disappointments in the world that may be hard to understand. Instead of stressing over them or blaming others, sometimes it is best to “be still,” become humble, and put your trust in God that all is well.

Our perspective is limited, so we must act with restraint and compassion. Indeed, our purpose must be to serve. And we, perhaps more than any other group on the planet, are equipped and obligated to establish peace.

Our Savior gave us the perfect example of love, compassion, respite, and rescue. He has beckoned us to come unto Him, to be His hands, and to love one another. May we go forward with a commitment to listen to those spiritual promptings.

All hell may be moved, but as it moves, the devil’s kingdom will be irrevocably shaken, so that many can be shaken loose from his grasp. It is the kingdom of heaven that is coming—triumphant, true, and everlasting!

The catalyst of prayer helped Jesus to cope with suffering, and by his suffering he emancipated all men from death and made possible eternal life. This cardinal fact about the central act of human history, the Atonement, ought to give us pause, therefore, as we face our challenges individually.

God knows you perfectly. He loves you perfectly. His Only Begotten Son, Jesus, has asked you, “Come, follow me.” Thus, in a real and majestic sense, each of us here tonight has been “called to serve”!

“We must, like the prodigal son, arise and go to our father and be prepared for that resplendent reunion.”

An essay about the Prophet Joseph Smith as a seer. Referring to the translation of the Book of Mormon, the author writes that “since Joseph, who knew the ‘particulars’ [of the translating process], chose not to describe them in detail, we cannot presently be definitive about methodology”

The family is the tilt point for a vast number of souls who can go either way—to alienation and anger or to sweetness and service.

[God] wants us to have joy. We cannot do that unless we are free to choose. But neither can we have that joy unless we are willing to be spiritually submissive day in, day out, and unless we exercise that grand and glorious freedom to choose in which people truly matter more than stars.

None of us can or will be immune from the trials of life. However, if we learn to endure our struggles well, they will be turned into blessings in eternity.

Oh, how we adore Jesus for his atonement! For his free gift of immortality to all!

Latter-day Saints should have all the genuine excitement others have in the traditional adventure of learning, including learning secular truths—and we, of all people, should have a little more!

From Joseph Smith, one unlearned and untrained in theology, more printed pages of scripture have come down to us than from any other mortal—in fact, as President Holland has pointed out, more than the combined pages, as available at present, from Moses, Paul, Luke, and Mormon.

Meekness is needed in order for us to be spiritually successful—whether in matters of the intellect, in the management of power, in the dissolution of personal pride, or in coping with the challenges and routine of life. With meekness, living in “thanksgiving daily” is actually possible even in life’s stern seasons.

Furthermore, whether you realize it or not, you are a generation drenched in destiny.

The combined doctrine of God’s foreknowledge and of foreordination is one of the doctrinal roads least traveled by, yet these clearly underline how very long and how perfectly God has loved us and known us with our individual needs and capacities.

“What we will take with us—to the degree we have developed them—will be the cardinal qualities that Jesus has perfected; these are eternal and portable.”

The daily discipleship of which I’m speaking is designed to develop these very attributes that are possessed to perfection by Jesus. These attributes emerge from a consciously chosen way of life; one in which we deny ourselves of all ungodliness and we take up the cross daily—not occasionally, not weekly, not monthly.

Patience is a vital mortal virtue in relation to our faith, our free agency, our attitude toward life, our humility, and our suffering. Moreover, patience will not be an obsolete attribute in the next world.

I love you. I have great hopes for your generation. Thank you for this chance to bear my witness to you today. This is the Lord’s work.

Thus, there are certain mortal moments and minutes that matter—certain hinge points in the history of each human. Some seconds are so decisive they shrink the soul, while other seconds are spent so as to stretch the soul.

“Those of little faith frequently mistake local cloud cover for general darkness.”

When we speak of shaping our lives through service to others, we are really speaking of living a charitable, Christlike life.

In the midst of our adversity, it may be tempting to think that God has not fulfilled His promises. But we do not lean for repose on desired outcomes. As the song says, we lean for repose on Jesus, who will not desert us to our foes, though all hell may shake around us.

It is our obligation to go to work on our problems and then counsel with the Lord and get the ratifying seal of the Holy Spirit on the conclusions that we’ve reached; and that ratifying seal is the spirit of revelation.

The most important decision you can make in this life is choosing your eternal companion. Don’t settle for less than eternity.

Repentance means that we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that we forsake our sins, that we come into the church and kingdom of God on earth and receive the Holy Ghost.

[Joseph Smith] is one of the great dispensation heads, and a dispensation head is a revealer for his age and his period of the knowledge of Christ and of salvation.

If our vision is blurred where this doctrine and these concepts are concerned, or, if knowingly or unknowingly we have fallen prey to any of the false sectarian notions that abound with reference to them, our progress toward eternal life will be slow indeed.

True and saving worship is found only among those who know the truth about God and the Godhead and who understand the true relationship men should have with each member of that Eternal Presidency.

It is incumbent upon us to believe the truth. We have the obligation to find out what is truth, and then we have the obligation to walk in the light and to apply the truths that we have learned to ourselves and to influence others to do likewise.

God grant that we may all believe and know and understand the great eternal verities by which salvation comes and that, believing and knowing and understanding, we may so live as to gain eternal life.

It is in the accepting of our lot and moving forward with what the Lord has asked of us that we discover that the Holy Ghost enjoys our company, angels feel constrained to join us, and the heavens open to our vision.

We are taught to honor and celebrate those great men who wrote and voted for the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. But none of what they committed themselves to … none of that would have been worth any more than the paper it was written on had it not been for those who were fighting to make it happen.

Daily prayer, daily scripture study, and daily service are three important spiritual antioxidants that help guarantee we will retain our spiritual vision and have the Spirit to guide us in our day-to-day activities.

I wish you every success and hope your wildest and fondest dreams come true. Clearly you are the hope of our nation, our church, and your families.

I hope that when you are at the end of your days you will not have walked past opportunities that you should have taken or challenges you should have accepted. I hope you will draw each day upon your secular and spiritual knowledge to find your way in faith.

Just as you have passed through the halls at BYU, I hope the Spirit of the Y has passed through you and become a part of you.

I believe you are the hope of things to come in the sciences, the home, politics, technology, medicine, engineering, the arts, and society as a whole. There is no better time than today to catch—then realize—the vision of your possibilities.

The power of choice is within you. The roads are clearly marked: one offering animal existence, the other life abundant…

The Spirit will help you remember that our potential is beyond our present capacity. We cannot attain it in our current condition and we cannot attain it on our own. We need help. We need a helper. We need Jesus, who is our Helper.

The Savior, both in His own recorded words and through the words of His holy prophets, has invited us to come unto Him, to experiment for ourselves on the truthfulness of His gospel, and to claim the attendant blessings.

It is my belief that we can obtain this goal of celestial glory as we seek and follow the divine feedback that comes through the still, small voice of the Holy Ghost.

Act upon what you know to be true and your righteous works will perfect your faith. Your lives will be full and wonderful.

Change yourself. Decide today “I am going to make the Church and kingdom of God the center of my life!” Position yourself firmly inside God’s kingdom; allow it to encompass you.

Civil War historian James McPherson details important events from history that show how and why the Civil War still matters today.

Much of my time here at BYU is spent teaching students how to build therapeutic relationships. Over the years I have come to realize that there isn’t much to do with the gospel that isn’t about relationships—either our relationships with Heavenly Father and the Savior or with our fellowmen.

We cannot be slackers in our commitment to the Lord . . . Our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and our gratitude for His sacrifice for us compels us to serve by bearing testimony of Him, even Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.

Becoming decisive is part of our spiritual growing up. This growing up requires constant decision making. We must learn to be decisive, because indecision is no choice at all. If we fail to choose, we fail to act.

Individually and collectively our destiny lies in the ability to connect the points of light in our lives so that we can see the broad patterns of eternity.

God wants you to find and keep joy in this world and in the world to come. You have been specially endowed with a celestial nature that is to grow into a fullness of joy.

There is, however, a soul-expanding kind of doubt that proceeds from an attitude of humility—the species of humility that openly admits our weaknesses. When we begin to see ourselves and our weaknesses clearly, we arrive at a state of vulnerability similar to what Joseph Smith faced as he unwittingly prepared himself for the Sacred Grove.

Besides a sincere apology, repentance includes striving to forsake our shortcomings and weaknesses. We strive to keep our promises to do the dishes. We focus on not being grumpy and not snapping at our spouse. We endeavor to become better listeners and less judgmental. As we continually repent, we constantly try to improve ourselves.

There is so much to learn. So be curious. Keep your sense of wonder about the world. We have been given a great promise over and over again. Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find.

Our conduct and our way of life cannot be separated from our doctrine, for what we believe empowers and directs what we do.

Members of different faiths need to work together to affirm religious liberty, necessary in preserving human rights, human dignity, and human flourishing.

One aspect of just being nice is appreciating the dignity of every human soul—even those you don’t know, but especially those you do, and even more especially the hard to love among you.

There are people all around us, in our classes in school, in our work, in our homes and families, who cry, like Bartimaeus, “Have mercy on me.” And we, in turn, reflect on the Savior’s answer to Bartimaeus: . . . “Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole.” [Mark 10:51–52]

As you keep the flame of testimony burning brightly, you will become a beacon of righteousness—even a light—for all to see.

I can’t stress too strongly that decisions determine destiny. You can’t make eternal decisions without eternal consequences.

If you ever have doubts—and of course you will—just remember this quotation from Shakespeare’s play Measure for Measure: “Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.”

Actually, my young friends, the period of your preparation did not begin the day you walked into your first college or university classes. It began long before you ever came to mortality, when we lived as spirit children of our Heavenly Father.

I testify to you today that turning away from God brings broken covenants, shattered dreams, and crushed hopes. Such a quagmire of quicksand I plead with you to avoid. You are of a noble birthright. Eternal life in the kingdom of our Father is your goal.

What can we learn from the prophets whom I have known and about whom I have visited with you today? We can learn that they never wavered, never faltered, never failed; that they are men of God.

Today I pray earnestly that all of us may open wide the three gates of which I have spoken—the Gate of Preparation, the Gate of Performance, and the Gate of Service—and walk through them to our exaltation.

A plan in which supposedly everything would go right so nobody would be lost was already proposed and rejected. The plan of salvation, on the other hand, allows for opposition in all things: sadness and sweetness, wrongdoing and repentance, trial and testimony.

Our responsibility to watch involves more than merely registering the signs that precede the Savior’s coming. It includes preparing ­ourselves for that coming.

What I learned is this: there is a fundamental part of our identity that continues no matter what changes we experience in our lives. That fundamental part of our identity is that we are children of a Heavenly Father who loves us.

Brothers and sisters, do we relish our time on Earth? Do we have enough purpose in our lives to shake off despair and apathy? President Uchtdorf recently challenged us to prioritize all of the “good” things we do in order to do the best things we can. I have found that on occasion it is healthy for me to step back and contemplate what I really want to gain from this life and the precious time that I have.

In the final analysis, then, the greatest testimony we can ever give to others is an exemplary life devoted to service.

If we are truly going to be holy, we will have to overcome our desire to fit in and think like everyone else and instead relish the idea of thinking more like God and less like this world.

All of us can find ways to be more open and receptive to the transformative change that the Lord requires of us—even that mighty change that transforms us into someone new.

The unique and magnificent thing about a BYU education is that in addition to being taught truths that we are meant to question, we are also taught far more important truths that we need not doubt. These truths are simple: God loves us, He sent His Son to save us, and He wants all of His children to be happy.

In making this choice, please remember the father who sought healing for his son. The Savior reminded him that belief, or faith, was key. Said He, ”If thou canst believe, all things are ­possible to him that believeth.”

The issues tying the United States and the Middle East together are not simple. From oil, to terrorism, to Isis, Vali Nasr explains why maintaining interactions with the Middle East is crucial at this time.

To avoid money’s corrupting influence, we must love only God and our fellowman and embrace only virtue as the defining and motivating force in our lives.

I believe we are placed on this earth to be sanctified. The Lord has declared that His work and glory is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” May we focus more consciously on acting in holiness and make it a habit of practice while becoming more mindful of the moments and opportunities in our lives.

The Holy Spirit is the conduit through which you can feel how much your Father in Heaven loves you and how Jesus Christ, through His Atonement, desires to change both your mud and sand to rock and to be your sure foundation.

The Lord has provided me some specific tender mercies over the years to give me comfort and at least partial answers to these questions. These tender mercies did not come at once, but in hindsight I can see they came when I needed them. Importantly, they came at times and in ways that have helped to build my testimony that God knows me and is personally mindful of me.

Begin with the end in mind. Shape your own destiny. Remember that the development of your career, your family, and your faith in God is your individual responsibility—for which you alone will be held accountable.

Jesus descended below all things in order to rise above all things. He expects us to follow His example. Yoked with Him, we can rise above all challenges, no matter how difficult they may be.

There is great power in a strong partnership. True partners can achieve more than the sum of each acting alone. With true partners, one plus one is much more than two.

Also pivotal to God’s plan is the family. In fact, a purpose of the plan is to exalt the family.

Today I should like to distill and discuss the essence of these experiences and entitle that essence “Four Lessons from One Life”—the life I have lived thus far.

“A commitment to endure to the end means that we will not ask for a release from a call to serve.”

“Your precious identity deserves your precious integrity! Guard it as the priceless prize that it is.”

Three steps in the process of forging a monumental life from its base are neatly tucked in the verses of our song—I’ll go, I’ll do, I’ll be.

Sinless and flawless as Jesus was in mortality, we should remember that he viewed his own state of physical perfection as being yet in the future (see Luke 13:32). Even he had to endure to the end. Can you and I be expected to do any less?

Because the Father and the Son love us with infinite, perfect love, and because They know we cannot see everything They see, They have given us laws that will guide and protect us.

Remember, glorious as this physical tabernacle is, the body is designed to support something even more glorious—the eternal spirit that dwells in each of our mortal frames. The great accomplishments of this life are rarely physical. Those attributes by which we shall be judged one day are spiritual.

To increase your wisdom and stature, you will exercise your agency. You will choose your teachers and your role models. Choose them wisely.

Dear brothers and sisters, please fill your minds with worthy sights and sounds. Cultivate your precious gift of the Holy Ghost. Protect it as the priceless gift that it is. Carefully listen for its quiet communication. You will be spiritually stronger if you do.

Indeed this is a time for reflection on activities of the past, and for resolution pertaining to the future. This evening is a real milestone—the first Sabbath day of new semester, of a new year, and of a new decade.

Living in accord with these twelve standards will help us be worthy standard-bearers of the Lord. Then we can be his means of serving our fellowmen.

Gratefully add to your list of blessings thanks for the covenant—the Abrahamic covenant—by which you will be vital and precious participants in God’s promise to bless all the nations of the earth through that choice seed.

The great privilege of studying God’s creations builds in its students a reverence for life and a testimony that we are literally created by Deity.

Now, let me share a thought for you graduates. You are entering a new phase of life…with this transition in the pursuit of your formal education, you need to continue to focus on becoming the person the Lord needs you to be.

The Lord’s message to you today is the same message He sent through His angels so long ago: “Fear not.” He can say that because He knows more than we do. He sees what we cannot see. He knows what is coming, and, in the eternal scheme of things, it is not as bad as we may think.

So you see, the rigorous change required by the gospel of Jesus Christ is not meant to be disheartening or exhausting; it is exciting and exhilarating! The plan of salvation is the ultimate adventure.

Hugh Nibley discusses the military strategy and tactics of the wars in the Book of Mormon compared to other modern and ancient warfare.

Hugh Nibley discusses the military strategy and tactics of the wars in the Book of Mormon compared to other modern and ancient warfare.

Hugh Nibley shares some of the words of Brigham Young that demonstrate his unique character and his devotion to the goal of eternal life for the Saints.

Hugh Nibley speaks about the history and theology surrounding the highly coveted city of Jerusalem and the hope for peace there one day.

“Twenty-three years ago on this same occasion, I gave the opening prayer, in which I said: ‘We have met here today clothed in the black robes of a false priesthood.’ Many have asked me since whether I really said such a shocking thing, but nobody has ever asked what I meant by it. Why not? Well, some knew the answer already, and as for the rest, we do not question things at the BYU. But for my own relief, I welcome this opportunity to explain: a ‘false priesthood’?”

True leaders are inspiring because they are inspired, caught up in a higher purpose, devoid of personal ambition, idealistic, and incorruptible.

Israel’s language, religion, and culture were heavily influenced by Israel’s neighbors. Many early Christian practices were performed even before Christ.
Hugh Nibley presents interesting new scholarship about the relationship between Israelis and other Middle Eastern people in Biblical times.

Israel’s language, religion, and culture were heavily influenced by Israel’s neighbors. Many early Christian practices were performed even before Christ.
A continuation of Hugh Nibley’s presentation of interesting new scholarship about the relationship between Israelis and other Middle Eastern people in Biblical times.

The original talk, later republished in other documents.
Ties science fiction and gospel ideas.

Preston Nibley narrates accomplishments of Joseph’s life and proves that he was a man of sincerity who never wearied of the task of spreading the gospel.

All around the globe, major universities hold in their keeping science, technology, the arts, and cultures in their halls of learning and in their research establishments.