We meet today to formally break ground on two very important projects—the expansion of the Manwaring Center and the construction of the new auditorium. These projects complete the founding of BYU–Idaho. When viewed together with the construction of the temple, this is truly a significant time in the history of the university.
I would like to reflect for just a moment on what these projects mean to us and what lies ahead of us as we carry them out.
To begin, let’s turn to 2 Nephi, chapter 27, and read verses 20 and 23. In these passages about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, the Lord teaches us powerful principles about how He works:
Then shall the Lord God say unto him [Joseph Smith]: The learned shall not read them, for they have rejected them, and I am able to do mine own work; wherefore thou shalt read the words which I shall give unto thee.
For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith.[1]
Brothers and sisters, the hand of the Lord has been on these projects for a long time. He really is able to do His work, but He works according to our faith. We can see His work in the case of the location of the new auditorium.
This marvelous new building will sit on what I believe is the perfect place for it on this campus—next to the Hart, close to the academic core, and yet framed against the hill so that it fits well with the other buildings on campus.
How did it come to be that with all the construction of new buildings in the last few years this perfect site is still open and still available? Here is the story:
When the President’s Council considered the location for what are now the Hinckley and the Ricks Buildings, there was a good bit of lobbying and a lot of logic behind building both of those buildings on the field where the auditorium will stand. It made all the sense in the world to put those new academic buildings right in the academic core of the campus. But President Bednar and the other members of the President’s Council were not settled in their minds. They decided to take a walk. As they looked at the field and visited sites up on the hill, the strong impression came that the new buildings should be built up on the south end of campus and that the field should be left empty. And so, long before the temple was announced, long before we knew anything about an auditorium, the hand of the Lord protected this site and extended the campus in the direction of what would be the Rexburg Temple.
We will need such guidance and such miracles in the months to come. The auditorium and the Manwaring Center addition are very complex projects. We have been directed by the Board to build them in a relatively short period of time. And we have been directed to build them within the approved budget. That means we must design and engineer the projects while we are building them. And we must build them together.
To do all of this in the face of everything that is going on in the world—with all the disruption and the potential for cost and delay that complex projects often entail—will require nothing short of miracles, and lots of them. Thus, we need to exercise great faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that truly He might continue to work miracles among us.
I have felt this need for miracles for some time. Let me share a personal note. Early one morning after the projects had been approved by the Board, I sat in my office pondering the challenge we face. I turned to the scriptures and came across this passage in 1 Nephi, chapter 9, verses 5 and 6:
Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me to make these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not.
But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is. Amen.[2]
As I read, I felt the sweet confirming power of the Spirit—this is the Lord’s work; His hand is over these projects. Skeptics might doubt our capacity to do all the Lord has laid out for us to do. Yet, we trust in Him and go to work. And that is what we are going to do.
Now, one last thought. As we exercise our faith and build these buildings under the Lord’s direction, we will have wonderful new facilities that will bless the lives of thousands. These buildings will stand forevermore as another great symbol of the hand of the Lord in this university and in our lives. The Lord has power to help us build buildings; but His much greater purpose is to help us build lives of faith, consecration, courage, and humility. While He will bless us with these wonderful structures, His far greater blessing is that we might gather together and live in Zion, that we might invite all to come unto Him.
I know this is the Lord’s work. He knows how to do His work. I pray that we will exercise our faith that He might work great miracles among us—in these buildings, and in our lives. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] 2 Nephi 27:20, 23,emphasis added)
[2] 1 Nephi 9:5-6