Just like the candy M&M’s come in so many colors but all taste the same, missionary work looks different for every person but all leads to the same thing—bringing souls unto Christ.

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.

“I hope that we may continually improve our behavior toward others in the way our Savior would have us do, to be magnanimous in our thoughts and deeds.”

Andrea Thomas teaches that doing small things and listening to those around us are easy ways to make a difference in the world.

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.

Listen, learn, live, and serve, and as you do so you will carve out memories that will be etched into your heart and soul. Our memories and experiences, our friendships and closeness that we have developed will last with us wherever we go.

As you examine the memorabilia you have put into your book of life, will you find the ones prescribed by the Lord in being obedient to his laws?

Direction came to Joseph Smith from the Lord, who instructed Joseph to build the first temple in this dispensation in Kirtland. This temple was built out of the poverty of the Saints, and shortly after its dedication the Lord came and accepted it. At that glorious time other heavenly manifestations also took place, including the fulfillment of the prophecy found in Malachi.

Resolve that each moment of your life will reflect your determination to humbly be an example of righteousness, integrity, and conviction.

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.

Every time we go to the temple, the ordinances reorient us to the natural order of the universe, including the natural order of marriage. Like the ancient mariner, we look to the heavens to get our bearings—and we do that through the temple.

I…have chosen to see the hand of the Lord not only in our history but also in the discovery of new understandings of His handiwork in the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in these latter days.

In the end, leadership is about serving, teaching, and encouraging and truly caring for individuals with kindness.

Inspiring learning is our entire university project. It is a shorthand description of the mission and aims. It is about educating our students by study, by faith, and by experience.

I wanted to start with the voyage we all know about and take it to another voyage, because there is an element to the Pilgrim story that, 20 years ago, I would have never believed existed but is true.

While the reputation and standing of this remarkable institution are measured and evaluated in a number of different ways, ultimately the real value of its contribution is reflected in the graduates that it produces.

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.

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.

It is the meek who have access to heaven’s instruction and guidance. The centrality of meekness in our spiritual growth, indeed our salvation, has been taught repeatedly, perhaps most often in the form of caution to avoid its opposite—pride.

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

Will you shift in your seat and succumb to popular opinion, or will you stand firm and confident in the counsels and blessings of your loving God and let Him have His head?

If I had been more meek, more patient, more understanding of the challenges or problems facing others…it is quite possible that my judgment would have been improved and I might have been more open to being taught by the Spirit in my actions.

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.

Let us continue to do what we have learned from our university experience and seek out truth and understanding everywhere it can be found.

How we ought to rejoice that this Firstborn Son in the spirit was willing to become the Only Begotten Son in the flesh, to suffer incomprehensibly and die ignominiously to redeem us.

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.

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.

We can decide to always be perfectly honest, to contribute our skills and talents to our communities, and to build and serve everywhere we go. We can decide to live up to the expectations and to guard the trust of those who have sacrificed for us.

All of us will experience difficult challenges in life. How you deal with and overcome adversity is what is important.

I have seen some individuals who have confessed and forsaken their sins with a broken heart and a contrite spirit and yet are unable to accept the forgiveness that comes through the Atonement … They do not understand the miracle of forgiveness or the wonderful gift of grace that the Atonement is.

Whatever your past has been, your future is spotless, so tie yourself to your potential, not to your past. One of the most beautiful truths of the plan of happiness is that the Lord ­forgives and forgets.

God does have control of all of these elements. You and I can reach out, and if it’s His will, we can bring those elements under our control for His purposes.

The seeds of faith and light are planted, cultivated, nurtured, and grow bathed in the glow of His tender care—the behavioral and verbal testimony examples of Latter-day Saint BYU students and graduates on campus and around the world.

With the battle raging between good and evil, I have seen many a modern, mighty woman stick her banner in the ground in her own way as she takes a stand and defends the doctrine of Jesus Christ.

The choices we make with money are at the heart of mortality’s test. Will we choose to waste our resources upon transitory pleasures, or will we choose to serve others and build up the kingdom of God?

It is because of the Atonement of Christ that we can recover from bad choices and be justified under the law as if we had not sinned.

What do we have that we can offer in return for all the good gifts of our Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ? We can offer our hearts and our free will—our obedience. We can sacrifice a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

We know who we are. We know that we have made the commitment to do our parts in advancing scholarly excellence while lifting and strengthening the faith and testimonies of our students. Without apology, we affirm the supremacy of Deity, the reality of the Restoration unfolded through the Prophet Joseph, and our allegiance to today’s presiding high priests who are also the officers of our board of trustees.

If we are going to beat the problem of contempt, we’re going to need something more radical than civility—something that speaks to our hearts’ desire. We need love.

Perhaps the most unique thing about a BYU education is that it prizes eternal and not simply academic progression. This difference in priorities encourages both faculty and students to factor in service alongside their pursuit of knowledge.

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.

The image of the Savior, what He taught, what He sacrificed and did for us planted firmly in our minds can help us remember all that we must do.

Who are we? We are the spirit offspring of an Eternal Being who has given us the opportunity to experience mortality—a brief but critical time in an eternal journey.

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.

I testify that charity—Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s pure love for us—is real. I pray that we may be blessed with a more abundant measure of charity in accordance with the work of our hands and the desires of our hearts.

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

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 beneficial for all of us to examine periodically where we spend our time and money and realize that this denotes the state of our hearts. As we adapt to simplicity, we feel more joy and gratitude. We appreciate more fully what we already have.

How important is each of the dimensions of the commandment to love God with all our heart, might, mind and strength! Loving and trusting God in our hearts and minds may require all of our might and strength, but doing so will allow us, in time, to rejoice.

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.