The Work of a Shepherd

Sisters and brothers, colleagues in the great work of Church Education, I am grateful for the opportunity to be with you today and particularly grateful to be here during this twenty-fifth anniversary year of the creation of Brigham Young University-Idaho.

Mary and I are grateful to be here with President and Sister Meredith. I know how much our Board of Trustees trust President Meredith and are grateful for his extraordinary leadership. I think the Merediths are remarkable. During my first year as a general authority, I received the assignment to “tour” their Salt Lake City South mission where they were serving as mission leaders. I suppose I was supposed to be the teacher, but I was clearly the learner. They taught the gospel with such depth and power. And they taught it with joy. Truthfully, they taught it with just the sort of optimism about which President Meredith spoke.

One of the blessings of watching the Merediths serve has been seeing how much they love the students and how much they love this university. The gift to love like the Merediths is one I am working to develop. I remember about six months into the Covid-19 pandemic, my brother said to me, “You know, we Rasbands have been good at social distancing for a long time.” The real question for Rasbands was when we could return to 12 feet of distance, instead of the required 6 feet.

Poor humor aside, just like the Merediths love this university, I know those of you who gather here today feel the same way. I know this because it is an iron law that we love those whom we serve. I trust that one of the great blessings of your having dedicated yourselves to building this university and its students is the love you feel for both.

I am grateful for your effort to achieve the mission of BYU-Idaho, which is also the mission of the Church Educational System: “To develop disciples of Jesus Christ who are leaders in their homes, the Church, and their communities.”

Today, I want to offer a few reflections on that mission and specifically on the relationship between discipleship, education, and leadership. I believe to my core that true education—the sacred effort to help others increase in light and truth—produces leaders. Every degree at BYU-Idaho, whatever the subject, can and should also be a leadership degree. Based on my experiences on this campus, this is already happening. Indeed, much of what I will say today is really my attempt to name and express gratitude for something that is already part of the DNA of BYU-Idaho.

This 25^th anniversary year seems a particularly appropriate occasion to think about education and leadership. Twenty-five years ago, in September 2001, Ricks College became Brigham Young University-Idaho. Shortly afterwards, President Henry B. Eyring, then serving in the Church Educational System, came to this campus under assignment from the First Presidency and delivered the landmark address we know as “A Steady, Upward Course.”

That address has become foundational to the identity of BYU-Idaho, in part because President Eyring did something unusual. He spoke prophetically about what the graduates of this new university would become.

But before we get to the prophecy itself, I think the sentences immediately preceding it deserve careful attention. President Eyring said:

President Eyring’s preface to his prophetic pronouncement has three key elements. First, he suggested students would learn by example. Second, he emphasized the example would come from “leaders and teachers and staff.” [2] His prophecy depended not just on faculty in the classroom but on all of you in every role you play here on campus, and, indeed, in the community. The third condition was that leaders, teachers and staff would place the Savior and His kingdom at the center of their lives.

Having established this three-part foundation, President Eyring then prophesied:

From all that I have been able to glean, I trust that this group, gathered together today, are striving to fulfill President Eyring’s prophetic predicate. I believe our BYU-Idaho students see staff and faculty for whom the Savior and His kingdom are at the center of their lives. They see faculty who care deeply about teaching and mentoring. They see staff members who understand that their service and mentoring is a sacred part of the educational mission.

You are shepherds rather than hirelings. Recall the Savior’s words in John 10:

I know from President Meredith how many of you live as shepherds. So many who recognize that a student’s problem is worth solving even when it arrives in the wrong office, people who notice when something needs to be done without waiting to be assigned, and people who are willing to carry a little more of the burden because they understand this is a sacred enterprise. Surely the attitude of a shepherd rather than a hireling is an example of natural leadership and a part of the Spirit of Ricks.

I love this internet meme, because in any organization—particularly a large one—it can be tempting to see ourselves as a mere employee, a hireling “whose own the sheep are not,” rather than a part-owner, leader, and shepherd.

I still remember my father’s counsel when I started my first job. I was fourteen years old and went to work at the Carmel Drive-In Market in Carmel, California. My father told me there were two ways I could approach the job. I could have what he called an “employee mentality,” focused on making sure that I was fully compensated for everything I did and that the employer never got one minute more than he had paid for. Or I could have an “owner's mentality” and act as though the success of the enterprise depended upon me. My father used to say: “If you insist on getting paid for everything you do, you will only get paid for what you do.”

As I remember it, I told my father that I had no particular ambition to own the Carmel Drive-In Market. I was planning to stock shelves, spray the lettuce, finish my shift, and head to the beach. I may have missed his point, but, of course, my father was not teaching me how to become the owner of a grocery store. He was teaching me that the rewards to shepherds were ultimately much more satisfying than the rewards to the hireling.

President Eyring made a similar point. “This campus will be beautiful,” he said, “because you don’t think it’s yours—you think it’s His, and you’ll care for it that way.” [5]

Those who serve on this campus have a beautiful reputation of treating your roles as shepherds rather than hirelings. That consecrated reputation is part of the fulfillment of President Eyring’s prophecy. Through your example, students learn the leadership traits of building others and adding value wherever they serve. Thank you for teaching our students by example to be shepherds rather than hirelings.

John 10 illustrates one other dimension of disciple leadership. Earlier in the chapter, Jesus says of the shepherd, “The sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.” [6]

I realize that BYU-Idaho is much bigger than it was 25 years ago. In fact, it is exciting that the last two years have seen the largest incoming classes in the school’s history. But I am grateful that, despite your growth, you continue to strive to know your students as individuals. Even more important, I am grateful for your efforts to help them know the Savior’s voice. This matters because we live in a world filled with voices—social media voices, political voices, influencers and algorithms. Amidst all these voices, Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” [7]

May our teaching, our service, and our efforts to stand as the Savior’s witness “at all times and in all things, and in all places”[8] help students become familiar with the voice of the Good Shepherd.

Indeed, our individual and collective effort to live in such a way that we may hear His voice is, I believe, integral to the entire university project. Section 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants promises, “And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.” [9]

Comprehension is at the heart of the university project. And the Lord tells us that, if our eye is single to His glory, we can comprehend all things. This is why the Honor Code and the ecclesiastical endorsement requirement are not taxes on productivity that we pay to be a Latter-day Saint university. To the contrary, they are keys to comprehension. And if our students are to be comprehending and wise leaders, they need to be filled with truth and light.

Surely, this is part of why President Meredith, in his inaugural response, said that “all that we do . . . must be done with the intent to ‘ensure an alignment with the university’s spiritual mission.’ We must,” he said, “lean into our mission and recognize that it not only makes us different, but is also a source of differential strength.” [10] Part of that differential strength must be greater comprehension of truth.

Speaking of light, truth and comprehension, may I share a few thoughts on artificial intelligence. We know artificial intelligence cannot replace the most important sources of comprehension—revelation through the Holy Ghost, the scriptures, and the words of prophets. As we know, intelligence is “light and truth.” And the Savior declared that he is “the way, the truth, and the life,” [11] and “the light of the world.” [12]

Nevertheless, artificial intelligence can aid our efforts at comprehension. It is an extraordinary tool that I hope we are helping our students learn to use in appropriate ways—in part, because they will surely need to use it in the workplace.

In his university conference address at BYU just a couple of weeks ago, Elder Gerrit W. Gong said:

From his rich teaching, let me share just a bit more of what he said:

May I invite you to read Elder Gong’s whole address, but let me summarize three key teachings from this talk and other talks he has given on AI:

First, we should not be afraid of AI. I know there are many complex issues about pedagogy, assessment, and the nature of student learning. But may I encourage us to learn together how AI might bless our work and where it creates risks of undermining our sacred mission. In pedagogical language, may we consider in every course where AI might aid us in achieving learning outcomes and where it might hinder learning outcomes.

My sense is that one important learning outcome in our courses is to help our students develop the capacity to judge and evaluate the wisdom and veracity of what AI produces. This will surely require much of the same painstaking and foundational study of literature, artistic expression, and mathematical and scientific reasoning that has always been core to higher education. How to provide this foundational knowledge while also preparing our students to use AI in the workplace and elsewhere, is, in my mind, one of the most significant challenges we face. I take comfort in President Eyring’s prophetic words that BYU Idaho graduates “will be natural leaders who know how . . . to learn.” [14]

A second principle Elder Gong has repeatedly emphasized is that AI will never be enough. As he has taught, AI can answer questions, but it cannot answer prayers. It can organize information, but it cannot provide revelation, covenant connection, or divine truth. Describing the perilous times of the last days in Second Timothy, Paul describes those who are “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” [15] Let us not use AI to be ever learning, but never coming to know and experience the beautiful truths of the plan of salvation.

A third principle from Elder Gong is that we and our students should be accountable for how we use AI. We are responsible for the work product we produce. We should teach our students to be transparent about their use of AI, and we ourselves should be transparent. In that regard, I need to credit AI with helping me with some of the research for this talk and with finding a few ways to shorten what is still a long address. It’s hard to part with my own words, but AI was full of suggestions! You may well find yourself wishing I had taken more of ChatGPT’s advice!
As we continue considering President Eyring’s prophecy and the mission of BYU-Idaho to develop disciple leaders, we can learn from Jesus’s own example. As the Savior taught the Nephites, “for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do.” [16]

In that regard, let’s consider Matthew 20 where the Savior teaches His disciples something about the nature of servant leadership.

The teaching on leadership begins with a familiar, if uncomfortable, conversation among Jesus’s disciples. Recall that the mother of James and John asks Jesus that her sons be allowed to sit in His Kingdom, one on His right hand and the other on His left. When the other ten disciples hear the request, Matthew tells us that “they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.” [17]

In response, Jesus tells His disciples that leadership in the kingdom of God is different. He teaches them:

Jesus inverts the standard leadership pyramid. The world may think of a standard pyramid with the president at the top, vice presidents just beneath, then middle managers, and then workers. But in the gospel, the leadership pyramid is inverted with the Father and the Son at the bottom holding everything else up through the Father’s plan and the Savior’s atoning sacrifice. When we are called to lead, we are called to step down—to put our wants, our desires, and our comfort second to those whom we serve.

If an education at BYU-Idaho is to produce leaders in homes, in the Church and in communities, it should be producing leaders who serve.

President Dallin H. Oaks has taught this powerfully, saying, “Education is a gift from God; it is a cornerstone of our religion when we use it to benefit others.” [19]

President Russell M. Nelson similarly taught, “We educate our minds so that one day we can render service of worth to somebody else.” [20]

I love the Savior’s teaching on servant leadership, but I’d like to focus on what happens next in Matthew 20. Matthew relates:

“Jesus stood still.” There is something powerful in those words. Clearly, the Savior was busy. He was headed from Jericho to Jerusalem for the last week of His mortal ministry. He was busy enough that the multitude rebuked the two blind men. But for Jesus, it was not enough to provide a magnificent lecture and lesson about servant leadership. He stood still, and He taught His disciples by example.

Amidst all the important work happening across campus, are we able to stand still and notice those who most need our help? In a life filled with distractions of all kinds, are we able to find times to pause and hear the still, small voice of the Spirit?

I trust that you do stand still and notice. Elder Bednar once described this campus as “legendary for the individualized and nurturing attention given to students.” [22] May that always remain true.

Jesus not only paused and stood still but He then asked: “What will ye that I shall do unto you?” The question is interesting because the need seems obvious. They are blind men asking the Messiah for mercy. Surely Jesus knew what they wanted. Yet He asked.

There is a leadership lesson in the Savior’s willingness to ask a question. Our role in higher education is often about talking, but may we also model for our students a lifetime of listening. Listening with charity to our colleagues; listening to our students to really understand not only the gaps in their learning but also their hopes and aspirations; and listening for the developments in our disciplines.

Listening requires humility. President Oaks recently taught that “increased humility draws us closer to Jesus Christ.” Humility, he said, is a “master virtue” to “help us learn other virtues necessary to become what our Heavenly Father and His Only Begotten Son created us to become.” He quoted President Kimball:

Returning to Matthew and to the Lord’s question of what He could do for them, the two blind men answered, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” Matthew then tells us, “So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.” [24]

I do not know whether the touch was necessary to accomplish the miracle. The New Testament contains plenty of evidence that the Savior could heal without touching. Yet here He chose to touch. Somehow, personal contact mattered.

I think this is what Elder Bednar was driving at in his inaugural remarks many years ago. He said, “New technologies [and] innovative pedagogies. . . . cannot and will not replace the special powers of people in the processes of learning and teaching.” This school, he said, would “be both high-tech and high-touch.” [25]

Now neither I, nor I’m sure Elder Bednar, meant to encourage a BYU-Idaho campaign of physical “touching.” But the metaphor is important. “High-touch” requires human connection. It requires that people be known. A student may forget a lecture but remember the professor who believed in her. A student may never know the name of the employee who solved a financial or registration problem that allowed him to remain enrolled. A student may remember for years the person who sensed that something was wrong and took a few minutes to listen.

This “high-touch” ethic is already part of the DNA of BYU-Idaho. As President Meredith has said: “[A] hallmark of BYU-Idaho is consecrated employees, staff, and administrators who also see themselves as teachers and mentors to students. Everyone at BYU-Idaho is a teacher.” [26]

As we think about our roles as teachers, which I am suggesting involves humble listening and taking the time to stand still and notice the needs of our students, this does not mean lowering expectations for them. Quite the opposite. One of the ways we serve our students is by believing that they are capable of difficult things and by asking them to do difficult things.

Elder Bednar has taught that work is essential to our spiritual progression. Speaking of AI, he said, “The objective is not merely producing or presenting impressive content; rather, it is working and becoming what God intends and yearns for us to become.” [27]

Those of us privileged to work in Church education should feel ennobled by the eternal nature of our work reflected in the scriptural teaching that “whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.” But the next verse suggests an important additional principle: “And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.” [28]

“Diligence” matters. Our students deserve our compassion, but they also deserve our confidence in their capacity to work, to struggle, to think deeply, and to become more than they are today. Indeed, asking that of them may be one of the most important ways in which we serve them.

To return one last time to the text of Matthew 20, after Jesus stands still, listens, and touches their eyes, Matthew concludes, “And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.” [29]

The gift of sight gave the ability to follow the Savior. The mission of BYU-Idaho is the same—to help our students become disciples of Jesus Christ—to follow Him. Education is an extraordinary gift. The truths we learn make us free. They give us perspective. They enlarge our field of vision. They help us become self-reliant. But ultimately the most important sight, the most freeing truth, we can help our students receive is the witness that Jesus is the Christ.

May the Lord bless each of you in your sacred trust to develop disciples of Jesus Christ who are the natural leaders foretold in President Eyring’s prophecy. I am truly grateful for a university community that has never been satisfied to be mere hirelings but has always strived to be shepherds whose own this university and its students are. Thank you for your example of leading in the Savior’s way. May your example and your faithful teaching help our students to receive sight—to see light and truth in all the beautiful ways it is taught at this extraordinary university. And with that sight, may they follow Him.

In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Notes

[1] Henry B. Eyring, “A Steady, Upward Course” (Brigham Young University-Idaho devotional, Sep. 18, 2001).

[2] Eyring, “A Steady, Upward Course.”

[3] “Eyring, A Steady, Upward Course.”

[4] John 10:11-13.

[5] Eyring, “A Steady, Upward Course.”

[6] John 10:3-4.

[7] John 10:27.

[8] Mosiah 18:9.

[9] Doctrine and Covenants 88:67.

[10] Alvin F. Mereith III, “From Birthright to the Steady, Upward Course” (Brigham Young University-Idaho inauguration, Oct. 10, 2023).

[11] John 14:6.

[12] John 8:12.

[13] Gerrit W. Gong, “Becoming BYU in an Age of Artificial Intelligence” (Brigham Young University University Conference address, Aug. 24, 2026).

[14] Eyring, “A Steady, Upward Course.”

[15] 2 Timothy 3:7.

[16] 3 Nephi 27:21.

[17] Matthew 20:24.

[18] Matthew 20: 25-27.

[19] Dallin H. Oaks, “Learning and Latter-day Saints,” Ensign, Apr. 2009, 24.

[20] Russell M. Nelson, “Focus on Values,” New Era, Feb. 2013, 4.

[21] Matthew 20:29-32.

[22] David A. Bednar, “Inaugural Response from President David A. Bednar” (Brigham Young University-Idaho devotional, Feb. 27, 1998).

[23] Dallin H. Oaks, “Coming Closer to Jesus Christ” (Brigham Young University devotional, Feb. 10, 2026).

[24] Matthew 20:33-34.

[25] Bednar, “Inaugural Response from President David A. Bednar.”

[26] Mereith, “From Birthright to the Steady, Upward Course.”

[27] David A. Bednar, “Things as They Really Are 2.0” (Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults, Nov. 3, 2024), Gospel Library, churchofjesuschrist.org.

[28] Doctrine and Covenants 130:18-19.

[29] Matthew 20:34.

About Elder James R. Rasband

James R. Rasband was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 6, 2019.

Elder Rasband was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 6, 2019. He served for three years as a counselor in the Asia North Area Presidency, three years as an Assistant Executive Director in the Temple Department, and is now Commissioner of the Church Educational System.

Elder Rasband has served in a number of Church callings, including full-time missionary in the Korea Seoul Mission.

Elder Rasband received a bachelor of arts degree in English and Near Eastern studies from Brigham Young University in 1986 and a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1989. He began his career as an attorney with Perkins Coie in Seattle, Washington. In 1995 he joined the faculty of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. He later served as dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School from 2009 to 2016 and then as academic vice president of Brigham Young University.

Elder Rasband was born in Seattle, Washington, on March 20, 1963. He married Mary Diane Williams in 1984. They are the parents of four children.