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 “As
Sister Bednar and I prepare to leave this special
place, we are not going to say goodbye. A goodbye suggests a parting, a
concluding, and perhaps an ending. And we simply do not view our departure
as any of those things,” said Elder David A. Bednar,
president of Brigham Young University-Idaho in Rexburg.
Tuesday’s
devotional in the Hart Auditorium was Elder Bednar’s
last time addressing BYU-Idaho students before leaving to serve full time
in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Elder
Bednar focused on three topics: remembering and
joyful memories, thanking and heartfelt appreciation, and declaring his
apostolic witness.
By
way of tradition, BYU-Idaho students hold their scriptures in the air at
weekly devotionals to show they are ready to be taught the word of God.
Elder Bednar explained the reason behind the
outward symbol of inward preparation that he began seven years ago upon his
arrival as the 14th president of the university.
“I
choked with emotion as I watched you hold up your scriptures today. You may
wonder, ‘Why does Elder Bednar always have
us raise our scriptures?’ The answer is simple. Our study and use of
the scriptures is an invitation to receive revelation and be tutored by the
Holy Ghost,” said Elder Bednar.
“I
served my mission in southern Germany. In those days new
missionaries went to Salt Lake
City and spent one week in the mission home before
going to the language training center. Each day while at the mission home,
we received instruction from members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
“During
the course of my week in the mission home, the other missionaries and I had
an opportunity to be instructed on the fifth floor of the Salt Lake
Temple by President
Harold B. Lee, the First Counselor in the First Presidency. During that
training session, President Lee invited us to ask questions. For two hours
he answered every single question with a reference from the scriptures or
simply said, ‘I do not know.’
“That experience had a huge
impact on me. I began to catch a glimpse of how we should come to know and
understand and use the scriptures.
“So
what you have never known is that each time we hold up our scriptures in a
devotional, I am reminded again of that experience with President Lee as he
used the scriptures to answer the questions of brand-new
missionaries.”
He
offered counsel from the late Elder Neal A. Maxwell who taught about his
battle with leukemia: “Not shrinking is more important than
surviving.”
Elder
Bednar also taught the importance of following
the Prophet and expressed gratitude to God, his wife and family, President
Hinckley, faculty and students.
Sister
Susan Bednar spoke about the address given by
Elder Bednar when he was inaugurated as the
president of Ricks
College. At the time he
spoke of Nephi not knowing how to build a ship as the Lord had commanded
him, but he went forward without question, learning the process along the
way.
“I’ve
relied on [President Bednar] as he’s relied
on the Lord,” she said. She concluded with the admonition that
BYU-Idaho be preserved as the special place the Lord has made it.
Elder
Bednar concluded, “Everyone at BYU-Idaho is
a teacher, and I am thankful for what each person has taught me.” He
counseled BYU-Idaho to keep the “Spirit of Ricks” alive.
He
bore his testimony and reiterated the importance of not saying goodbye. He
closed simply by saying, “God be with you till we meet again.”
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