President and Sister Farnes, President and Sister Meredith, family, friends: How marvelous it is to be with you today! And to you graduates, congratulations! We’re thrilled for you and extend our heartfelt admiration for your accomplishments!
And thanks to each of you, faculty, staff, and administration. President Henry B. Eyring once said, “Teaching is a moral act. Faith is indispensable to teaching.” [1] On behalf of these commencing students, thank you sincerely for the way you engage in your sacred responsibility!
It is a humbling privilege today to represent BYU-Idaho’s Board of Trustees. The last time I was on this campus, President Nelson, President Oaks, and President Eyring constituted the officers of the Board. Now, the officers of BYU-Idaho’s Board of Trustees are President Dallin H. Oaks, President Henry B. Eyring, and President D. Todd Christofferson.
At the inauguration of President Meredith just over two years ago, Elder Ronald A. Rasband taught, “[This institution] operates under the guidance of a unique and distinctive Board of Trustees.” [2]
“[The leadership of the First Presidency] allows—in fact it compels—[us] to do things at this university that could be done nowhere else in the world.” [3]
What do you think Elder Rasband could see when he said we are compelled to do things here that could not be done elsewhere? I encourage each of us to ponder what we have received or contributed while we’ve been here that could not be done at other colleges and universities.
With the passing of the mantle from President Nelson to President Oaks, we stand in a rare and sacred moment in the earth’s history. When the mantle passed from Elijah to Elisha at the Jordan River, the people saw whirlwinds and chariots of fire.
And prior to Elijah’s passing, Elisha committed to following the Lord’s prophet with this oath, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” [4]
President Jeffrey R. Holland once said, “We have sustained a new prophet, seer, and revelator to lead the Church only [a few times] since the death of the Prophet Joseph, …[Such an experience is] a moment of significant and profound Church history. We do well to ponder it, to savor it, and to teach our students something of it.” [5]
While you might still be exhaling from having just passed your last final, may I risk taking a moment to learn something together?
Just six days following the passing of President Ezra Taft Benson, President Howard W. Hunter became the 14th president of the Church. President Holland was called to fill the resulting vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and shortly after his call he insightfully and tenderly taught us about the transition from one prophet to the next. He said:
“What we ourselves now take almost for granted was not always so obvious or so routine. Can you imagine the consternation, the devastation in the hearts of the Saints at the time of Joseph and Hyrum's martyrdom? How many of those tearful and beleaguered Saints said, or thought, ‘What on earth do we do now?’
“Can you imagine what would happen in such circumstances at AT&T or General Motors? The infighting would be absolutely lethal, the corporate bloodletting incalculable, the confusion suffocating, all the while watching the organization spiral downward, out of control, probably toward destruction.
“But in the Church? Not a whimper. Not a whisper. Not a sixty-fourth of a second without keys and authority and prophetic leadership. And all of this given by revelation to a boy.
“To paraphrase Winston Churchill, ‘Some boy. Some church.’” [6]
Brothers and sisters, and particularly to you who graduate today, we continue under that great compelling privilege described by Elder Rasband of being guided at BYU-Idaho by prophets, seers, and revelators. Nothing on earth can compare.
In the transition from one prophet to the next we stand, almost as it were, back on the banks of Jordan River with Elijah and Elisha. And while your mom might mistake your apartment for having experienced whirlwinds, and your last date would never confuse your hot 1997 Honda Civic for a chariot of fire, we all have the privilege, along with Elisha, to choose to sustain the Lord’s prophet with our own raised hands and equally elevated wills; “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” [7]
On this commencement day, we sincerely congratulate each of you. And we pray that tomorrow morning, and every morning thereafter will find us willingly and gratefully sustaining the prophet.
I add my testimony to yours that the Lord’s prophet and apostles will lead us with certainty and confidence to the feet of the Savior. I testify that He is worthy of every emulation and adoration. I testify that He is the personification of Heavenly Father’s love and plan, which love “sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men,” and is “the most desirable above all things,” and “the most joyous to the soul.” [8]
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Henry B. Eyring, “Teaching Is a Moral Act,” [Brigham Young University Conference], Aug. 27, 1991, speeches.byu.edu.
[2] Ronald A. Rasband, “2023 Inaguration Address,” Oct. 10, 2023, byui.edu.
[3] Ronald A. Rasband, “For Such a Time as This,” [Brigham Young University Devotional], Sep. 19, 2023, speeches.byu.edu.
[4] 2 Kings 2:2.
[5] Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “A Standard unto My People,” [Brigham Young University Book of Mormon Symposium], Aug. 9, 1994.
[6] Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “A Standard unto My People,” [Brigham Young University Book of Mormon Symposium], Aug. 9, 1994.
[7] 2 Kings 2:2.
[8] 1 Nephi 11:22-23.
About Brother R. Kelly Haws
Brother R. Kelly Haws serves as the Secretary to the Church Educational System Board of Trustees. He received his associate's degree from Snow College, his bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University, and his master's degree from Utah State University.
Brother Haws began his doctorate work at the University of Utah, but received his doctorate degree in education and physics and astronomy from George Mason University.