BYU Speeches
Alphabetical by Speaker

My young friends, remember that marriage is essential to eternal life and that a good marriage and family life is crafted, not found.

We should not get discouraged when our careful plans and solutions don’t always lead to calm, clear sailing. Joseph Smith, Lehi, and even the Stice family have learned that “happily ever after” means pressing forward with faith, not discouragement.

I promise that if you will feast upon the scriptures daily, especially the Book of Mormon, you will invite the Spirit into your life and you will naturally pray daily, repent more often, and find it easier to attend church and partake of the sacrament weekly.

As aspiring Christians but still imperfect Saints, we may not always understand the struggles of others or know how to help. But we can always love them, creating safe spaces where others—and often we ourselves—can struggle with the hard sayings in life.

But here’s some bad news: it’s hard work to understand the Constitution. At least it’s hard work if you try to understand what it meant to those who wrote and ratified its provisions. In my view, that is the understanding we must seek.

True beauty is the result of a subtle alchemy and a delicate balance, which in large part comes from our personal inner light, rather than from aesthetic or physical criteria alone.

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.

Perhaps one of my messages today is to learn from our family histories. Both Howard and Harvey were born in large families in small towns. One became an internationally known scientist, bearing his testimony to large numbers of people throughout his life and while working in New York City. The other quietly served a mission, raised a family, worked hard on a farm in Victor, Idaho, and served the Lord with all of his heart whenever called. Perhaps in the eyes of the world one was great and one was relatively obscure. However, in the eyes of the Lord, I think that both were good. Both were valiant servants of our Lord Jesus Christ throughout their lives.

Do not play games with the Lord. When you trust Him fully, He is able to bless you richly.

During a personal crisis of any kind individuals should remember the words of 1 Nephi 15:8, “Have ye inquired of the Lord?” Author cites several stories as examples.

In such times of peace, happiness, and comfort, we are feeling the gift of the Holy Ghost at work with us. When we experience those good feelings, we can rest assured that we are feeling the consequences of possessing the gift of the Holy Ghost, and we are thus feeling the witness to us, on the part of this member of the Godhead, that Jesus Christ is real.

He who is omnipotent really does not need us to move the wheel or to build anything for Him. It is not His ultimate objective to cover the world with chapels and temples. That is a means to His end, and I believe we can all easily quote that end, His ultimate objective: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” I believe that He cares more about the shoulder than about the wheel—that wheel is how we are moved to come home to Him. The wheel, the work, is a blessing to us. This is important. The work is a blessing.

Surely, returning to our loving Father is the final purpose of our attempts to order our lives, that in full and complete wholeness, sanctified through the blood of the Lamb, we might “dwell in the presence of God and his Christ.”

I know [God] knows us. He hears and answers our prayers. He has not left us alone on our earthly journey.

I am impressed with Hyrum’s life, his attitude, and the love that the Lord has for him. The Lord will always have a special love for those who embrace the right. May God help us to realize that in Hyrum Smith we have a man who is a worthy example.

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.

Healing is much more than “getting better” or “having our problems go away.” Healing is growth, development, and maturation. In a word, healing is change. It takes time and energy and struggle, but healing teaches us.

I gained an appreciation for my value as a human being by realizing what it cost him to purchase my salvation.

As representatives of Christ, we can work hard to heal the painful legacies of racism that we have inherited, legacies that manifest in new and pernicious ways. Taking this action will help us alleviate the suffering of others. This is what the Savior did for each and every one of us.

My list could go on, but the central point is that your BYU education has been much, much more than the mastery of academic subjects or preparation for further education or employment in the workplace, as important as these are. You have been given the extraordinary and unique opportunity to prepare for devoted discipleship and competent leadership to assist you in your families, communities, and professions as well as in your primary quest to obtain eternal life.

Both the heart and the mind must be fully engaged in this holy process. The conversion of our soul and the ongoing refinement of our life, as we adopt the attributes of godliness, is our earthly mission and is rewarded with “eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.”

I hope that because of our efforts to create a community of belonging, we may one day say, “The campus of BYU, the mountains of BYU, the buildings of BYU, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer as their hearts were knit together in love.”

Having a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ gives us confidence and courage in life. We can yield our agency to the Lord and let him manage our lives. I know it requires faith to do this, but our divine nature gives us that strength, and we find joy in our commitment and our duty.

We cannot fulfill our mission as a Church without the inspired insight and support of women. They matter to the Lord, and their value is infinite.

Certainly throughout our lives we repeatedly have opportunities to step forward and declare, “Here am I!” Some of these times are formal, such as when we receive a mission call, have a temple recommend interview with our bishop, or receive a calling in the Church. . . . Other times may come to us unexpectedly.

The Lord’s covenantal fetters paradoxically give us ultimate freedom, if we will wholeheartedly commit ourselves to them.

We promise we will never forget you and expect that you will not forget BYU. You will demonstrate your great love for this institution and all that it represents by the way you live your life. You will live in such a way that objective observers will be able to tell that you are different—in a very positive way. They will usually not know exactly how or why, but they will appreciate the goodness and example of your life.

Remaining steadfast in Christ through our afflictions and adversity increases our capacity to see our promised end more clearly. Like a powerful spotlight that shines more brightly in complete darkness, our suffering reveals Christ to us.

Grace is not achieved somewhere down the road. It is received right here and right now. It is not a finishing touch; it is the Finisher’s touch.

The need for us to hear the voice of the true Shepherd has never been greater. His sheep still hear His voice. The influence of the Holy Ghost is available for us in our lives every day.

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.

The iron rod is the word of God. The scriptures, the words of the living prophets, and the gift of the Holy Ghost are powerful in their ability to keep us safe. Let us hold fast to the words of the prophets. Let us hold fast to the iron rod.

Though men’s hearts are failing them, you should take heart. There have always been challenging times. We, the generations of your predecessors, have survived daunting challenges, and so will you. The answer to all of these challenges is the same as it has always been. We have a Savior, and He has taught us what we should do.

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.

Caring for others, physically and emotionally, requires an unselfish and sensitive heart. It is an important part of the gospel. This caring is done in and out of the Church by good people, believers and nonbelievers.

If you make and keep sacred covenants, if you prepare yourself daily for spiritual experiences through scripture study and prayer, if you align and bind yourselves with God, a light will emanate from you.

Hearkening to the call of Christ from His Spirit, or through another’s countenance, or both, we become genuinely honest, simple, solid, true—often together with someone we may not have trusted before.

Honesty, integrity, and truth are eternal principles that significantly shape our experience in mortality and help determine our eternal destiny. For a disciple of Christ, honesty is at the very heart of spirituality.

Real hope, based on eternal principles and spiritual experiences, is an anchor to our souls, intended to have and capable of having precisely the same effects as a sea anchor.

Even when death comes to those we love, we know what lies ahead. We know they are fine. It is those of us who are left behind who are sad. We know we will see them again, and we know we will be with them.

“The standard we must demand is that all we do, in the classroom and out, must reflect our respect and appreciation for our differences.”

I would tell you that this world, if you don’t stand up, will fail as it has failed always. It is you—our hope. It is you—tomorrow’s leaders. You are the future of this world, and my message today is to you young people. Stand up and shape the world.

President Kimball believed that there must be ongoing pruning for BYU to become more fruitful. We are trying to do this at the central level for university-wide programs and institutes.

We are here not only to “save” ourselves—meaning to advance our careers, accomplish our personal and academic goals, and increase our individual spirituality—but we are also here to do the same for all of our students, however it is and in whatever ways they hear us.

May the Lord continue to guide us and bless us as we do our very best to move Brigham Young University forward in its ordained charge to bless Heavenly Father’s children here and throughout the world.

Christlike staying power in romance and marriage requires more than any of us really have. It requires something more, an endowment from heaven.

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.”

The plan is for us to seek our way from simplicity through complexity, by study and by faith, until we arrive at the simplicity on the other side of complexity.

Can you sense the blessings that await if you drink deeply of Christ’s living water? Will you set aside a few minutes each day to read from the scriptures and then ponder the meaning of the verses read?

President Kevin J Worthen shares insights on how we should act despite outside influences.

Like a simple magnifying glass that brings things into focus using the light of the sun, the gospel of Jesus Christ will bring your life into focus with light from the Son of God, our Savior and Redeemer.

Part of the impression I want to leave with you today is that making inspired decisions and setting wise priorities is a matter to be considered at all stages of your life, particularly at the stage you are in now. Your priorities of today will be your joy and fulfillment of tomorrow.

“I presume if there were no repentance there would be no revelation received.”

As you sit here in this congregation, ask yourself, “How can I serve?” Think of all you have learned during the past four or so years. How will you share the blessings of your BYU education?

Perhaps you will not see the full meaning of your effort in your own lifetime. But your children will, or your children’s children will, until finally you, with all of them, can give the Hosanna shout.

Our bodies are sacred temples, worthy of special care and respect. Sacrifice is required to keep our temples in good condition. Do not give up.

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.

One of the important things that happened to me during my days as a student at BYU was that I came to appreciate what can happen as the mind and the heart, or the spirit, work together.

Our commitment should be to be educated well—broadly with a humility that opens us to the widest possibilities for knowledge and hopefully, with an eye to how learning can enable us to contribute to a better future, not just for ourselves but for all the world.