REXBURG—As part of BYU-Idaho’s Spirit Week activities, Sister Susan K. Bednar and Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held a devotional with students Thursday night in a packed BYU-Idaho Center.
BYU-Idaho President Alvin F. Meredith III and his wife, Sister Jennifer Meredith, asked the Bednars about their time at Ricks College and BYU-Idaho.
They asked them about the transition to a four-year university and what students and employees can learn from the Bednars to apply to their lives today. Elder Bednar said it was similar to when the children of Israel had to go into the River Jordan before the waters parted.
“That's called line upon line, precept upon precept, but your feet have to be moving, you've got to be doing and going, not just sitting and waiting,” Elder Bednar said.
Sister Bednar said the days during the transition were hard on a lot of people. She said it was a big undertaking. Elder Bednar compared the transition to refurbishing a passenger airplane while it’s flying at 45,000 feet.
President Meredith also asked about the tradition of holding up scriptures to show devotional speakers the audience is ready to be taught. Elder Bednar said the tradition started when he was a stake president. He said there’s a price to be paid to understand the doctrine of Jesus Christ.
“The price to be paid is in the holy scriptures and in the teachings of the prophets and apostles,” Elder Bednar said. “You have to go to those sources and get it for yourself by the power of the Holy Ghost.”
Elder Bednar emphasized the importance of reading the scriptures and for students to gain their own witness of Jesus Christ.
“The scriptures are the prerecorded voice of the Lord,” Elder Bednar said. “We listen to our playlists, that is the most important playlist any of us can listen to.”
Sister Bednar explained what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
“Discipleship means ministering. I think ministering helps us become a true disciple of Jesus Christ, and if we can learn how to do it, to look for ways to bless, to help, to encourage other people, then we're not only helping them but we're opening our own eyes, and opening our ears and opening our heart to other people," Sister Bednar said.
Following the devotional, Elder and Sister Bednar joined the Merediths to scoop ice cream for the students. Sister Bednar said the ice cream tradition started while they served on campus. A group of students showed up at their house with ice cream following a devotional where Sister Bednar said she wished she could take them all home and feed them ice cream.
The Bednars will participate in Spirit Week activities through the weekend. You can see a list of events on the Spirit Week web page.