Congratulations, graduates. And thank you to the many people, especially family members, professors, administrators, staff, and all other supporters who have helped to make this achievement possible.
Heavenly Father knows each of us perfectly. And, wherever we are, the path to success and satisfaction is prepared. That is because our Savior Jesus Christ has overcome all worldly influences.
However, as my mother said from my earliest boyhood, life is a test. And that test seems to be getting harder with time. In addition, there is growing spiritual malaise in our world. Nevertheless, the way is prepared for the righteous, always.
Qualifying for righteousness is the goal of this wonderful university in which you have studied and lifted your classmates. Now you are qualified for graduation. Secondary benefits flow to all members of the BYU-Idaho community—past, present, and future. Tertiary benefits, especially through the BYU-Pathway program, are covering the globe.
It was my mother who was uneasy about my father’s prestigious and well-paying job at Stanford in the early 1970s. When newly appointed Church Commissioner of Education Neal Maxwell called, she sensed the opportunity to leave what seemed like the Garden of Eden, knowing that there was something better. Grandma’s oversized swimming pool and country club dinners were replaced with hot dogs cooked on coat-hanger wire over sagebrush and fishing on the north fork of the Snake River, out near the Buttes.
Rexburg was a welcome new frontier. I particularly enjoyed making lunch in my father’s office in the Spori Building—the old one, built by destitute pioneers in 1903. That building stood for 97 years, a miracle of rough-hewn design and make-it-work engineering. That was the Spirit of Ricks. It is alive and growing today. I am confident that it will persist, always.
Now we are graduating. With few exceptions, we will say goodbye to this wonderful university. Fortunately, we can rely not only on the friends we have made, but also on the knowledge gleaned and the spiritual strength we have taken.
We are needed more than ever in this world. But we can’t do it alone. Almost all of what happens, spiritually, is little recognized and even invisible to our mortal eyes. Some of you have heard me tell of the improbable, unplanned circumstances that brought me to BYU-Idaho, in 2006.
At the time, I was serving a mission in Japan with my family, including all five of our children, age ranges 19 years to 18 months. Back in Rexburg, BYU-Idaho had a new president, Kim B. Clark, who had just completed a decade of presiding over the Harvard Business School, arguably the most prestigious institution of higher education anywhere.
Kim’s longtime HBS colleague Steve Wheelwright and his wife, Margaret, were called as service missionaries and were invited to join Kim and Sue at BYU-Idaho. The effect—both reputationally and academically—got the attention of university leaders across the United States and even the scholarly world.
After the 2005–2006 academic year, Kim and Steve and their spouses took a trip to the British Isles. One of their stops was in a bucolic, ancient town called Lower Slaughter, renowned for hundred-year-old cottages with neon-green lawns, manicured shrubs, and multi-colored flowers.
While walking the charming lanes, the foursome turned a corner and happened to find a couple whom they had known well for decades. These newcomers knew that I was nearing the end of a three-year mission in Tokyo and needed employment. Before long, there was a plan hatched to get Sister Eyring and me to join Kim and Steve at BYU-Idaho. It was a miracle.
Out of the goodness of his heart, Kim gave me a job, initially in the university printing operations, about which I knew little. Another responsibility was something called online learning.
In the ensuing 17 years, the BYU-Idaho community has worked wonders on me and my family. I hope that the lessons and experiences will be good for a lifetime. Let’s make that your goal and mine.
The Savior stands ready to redeem us. In October’s general conference, President Russell M. Nelson called us on to become a righteous people. He said, “Cherish and honor your covenants above all other commitments. As you let God prevail in your life, I promise you greater peace, confidence, joy, and . . . rest.”[1]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true and efficacious. As we bend always to the Spirit and follow living prophets, we can be sure of returning with honor to our Savior and Heavenly Father. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Russell M. Nelson, “Overcome the World and Find Rest,” Liahona, Nov. 2022.