Introduction Together
President Meredith: Welcome to devotional! You’ll hear from us individually, but we want to extend a joint welcome. We extend a special welcome to the freshmen beginning this semester; Sister Meredith and I are freshmen, too!
Sister Meredith: We have anticipated this gathering since the end of April, when we met with the First Presidency and President Russell M. Nelson extended this assignment to my husband to serve as President of BYU-Idaho. You are a marvelous sight! We can imagine the many thousands of you gathered with us online from all around the world. We are so glad you’re here.
President Meredith: As you begin your studies this semester, in the beautiful buildings here on campus and even in your homes if you are taking classes online, we invite you to consistently attend two “great halls of learning.” The first is the BYU-Idaho Center, every Tuesday, for our weekly devotionals.
Devotional
Sister Meredith: We invite you to attend these devotionals. Bring friends, coworkers, roommates. Just come! The messages shared here will be carefully and prayerfully inspired by the Spirit. It will be especially important to attend when you don’t feel like attending. We promise that if you will prepare and attend each week, you will be taught by the Holy Ghost.
President Meredith: There is a long-standing tradition to come prepared to learn. This includes bringing scriptures, notebooks, or electronic devices and to dress in your Sunday best. Please dress in your Sunday best, but if, for some reason, you are unable to, please just come. The most important thing is that you are here.
Temple
Sister Meredith: The second great hall of learning is the temple. Schedule time to be in the temple. The Rexburg temple is adjacent to campus, and we will soon have another temple on the same street! For our online students, do your best to make temple attendance a priority. Attend as often as circumstances permit.
President Meredith: Attend the temple with your roommates, friends, spouse, or alone. Just attend!
President Nelson has promised: “Whenever any kind of upheaval occurs in your life, the safest place to be spiritually is living inside your temple covenants!”[i]
As you couple your academic learning with spiritual learning in these two great halls, your lives will be richly blessed. Once again, we are honored to be with you. You are the hope of Israel. The world desperately needs consecrated BYU-Idaho graduates who are disciples of Jesus Christ. You will achieve great things with the Lord’s assistance in the years to come.
Now Sister Meredith will address you.
Sister Meredith, “Enroll in the Master’s Class”
Several years ago, I saw an online business advertising “Master Classes.” These classes were taught by masters of trades and professions including authors, actors, chefs, strategists, designers, and more. For a fee, you could learn from them as it suited your schedule. What a great concept, I thought.
Then one day I read Paul addressing his fellow saints at the beginning of Hebrews chapter three: “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.”[ii]
“Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.”
What learning could Jesus Christ impart to help us master our professions or fields of study? He is, after all, the creator of the world, which surely involves knowing how to do everything within it. He is the Master.
The mission of BYU-Idaho is to develop disciples of Jesus Christ who are leaders in their homes, the Church, and their communities. By choosing to attend BYU-Idaho, you have enrolled in Discipleship 101. Just by engaging in your classes and participating in your wards, you will be tutored in discipleship.
Additionally, today I invite you to enroll in a “master class” with Jesus Christ, the Master Teacher. Find a way to spend time with Him each day. Be with Him in the scriptures, in prayer, in repenting, in ministering, in attending devotional, and in the temple. Over time, you will increase your capacity to hear Him and recognize and receive personal revelation. Participating in His master class will enhance and accelerate your learning in every other area of your life.
President Meredith and I strongly encourage you to schedule time with Him on your calendar. You returned missionaries know all about daily and weekly planning. If you miss an appointment or two, just keep going! Whatever you do, do not drop this class! It will bring peace and joy.
When life is difficult, our time with Jesus Christ will be even more important so that we may draw upon His strength and power. Remember the words to this well-loved hymn: “No waters can swallow the ship where lies / The Master of ocean and earth and skies.”[iii]
In our most recent General Conference President Nelson shared,
I plead with you to come unto Him so that He can heal you! He will heal you from sin as you repent. He will heal you from sadness and fear. He will heal you from the wounds of this world.
Whatever questions or problems you have, the answer is always found in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Learn more about His Atonement, His love, His mercy, His doctrine, and His restored gospel of healing and progression. Turn to Him! Follow Him![iv]
Our family once found a wonderful playground with a large playscape. Its beautiful design was anchored by a center metal pole with four surrounding stakes, connected by a web of ropes. There appeared to be infinite ways to climb through the ropes to summit the top with an amazing view. Our youngest son Christian energetically followed his big brother, Ethan, through the maze excited to conquer the challenge!
At one point, Christian, in the red shorts, got a little off balance with foot placement. As he slipped, his focus quickly changed from his brother to looking down. He anxiously tried to correct his mistake, but within seconds, and only a few turns, he was clinging to the bottom of the center pole, upside down! What you cannot hear is him saying, “Um, I think I need help!” Fortunately, President Meredith was there to pick him up and get him moving upward again.
Have you ever felt like Christian? I have! You may have, too. I hope you will remember this image of Christian upside down when you feel this way. We will have missteps as we learn and grow. It is rare that students do not face some type of challenge during their university experience. Please remember the following:
Like Christian, we have a Father, a Heavenly Father who can and will pick us up and turn us if we ask for help. And, like Christian we all have an older Brother who has given us an example of where to go and how to get there. This may include additional support from family, friends, and professionals.
As you can see, Christian triumphantly made it to the top! And you can too!
In the Book of Mormon, Alma 17, Ammon, a disciple of Christ and great leader, who was probably a young adult like you, had just begun his mission among the Lamanites. You may remember Ammon’s precarious situation with the scattered flock of sheep. In reaction, we read that "[the servants of the King] began to weep exceedingly, saying: Behold, our flocks are scattered already. Now they wept because of the fear of being slain.”[v]
In contrast, we continue to read, “when Ammon saw this his heart was swollen within him with joy; for, said he, I will show forth my power unto these my fellow-servants, or the power which is in me, in restoring these flocks unto the king, that I may win the hearts of these my fellow-servants, that I may lead them to believe in my words.”[vi]
Ammon’s reaction to the same situation was the opposite of his fellow servants. Why was his heart swollen with joy?
President Nelson has taught that “the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives . . . Joy comes from and because of Him. He is the source of all joy.”[vii]
Ammon knew his focus and his mission among the Lamanites: to bring souls to Christ.
So, with that understanding, what did he do? With great confidence in that focus and mission, Ammon led out!
In verse 31, we read four things he told his fellow servants to do: “My brethren, be of good cheer and let us go in search of the flocks, and we will gather them together and bring them back unto the place of water; and thus we will preserve the flocks unto the king and he will not slay us.”[viii]
After they followed his direction he added a fifth directive, “encircle the flocks round about that they flee not.”[ix]
How was Ammon able to have such clarity of thought and lead out in a time of great fear? What can we learn from his leadership?
Yes, we live in the last days, and it can feel hard and overwhelming. These things are acknowledged. And like Ammon, when our foundation is built upon Jesus Christ, we can learn to find joy in challenging situations and see them as great opportunities to show forth God’s power. We can be sure that Jesus Christ will guide and direct us to know what to do. Personal revelation will flow.
My invitation to you for this semester is to “consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.” Whatever your desired profession or field of study, enroll in His master class. Be His student. Make Him your priority. When we are intentional in learning from the Master, He will help us master our learning. In the process, we will find peace and joy.
I conclude with President Nelson’s promise: “Please believe me when I say that when your spiritual foundation is built solidly upon Jesus Christ, you have no need to fear.”[x] In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[i] Russell M. Nelson, “The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation,” Liahona, Nov. 2021.
[ii] Hebrews 3:1.
[iii] “Master, the Tempest is Raging,” Hymn 105.
[iv] Russell M. Nelson, “The Answer Is Always Jesus Christ,” Liahona, May 2023.
[v] Alma 17:28.
[vi] Alma 17:29, emphasis added.
[vii] Russell M. Nelson, “Joy and Spiritual Survival,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2016.
[viii] Alma 17:31.
[ix] Alma 17:33
[x] Nelson, “The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation.”