It is an honor for me to represent the Commissioner, Elder Kerr, and be invited to share a few introductory remarks to you graduates at this commencement. He would have liked to have been here, but had a conflicting assignment and asked that I represent him here today.
Graduation represents a pivotal point in your lives. It offers an exciting perspective while looking forward, as well as an opportunity for contemplating while reflecting on the past. While you have been here at this great institution, you have learned a number for very important things. At some point – either prior to being admitted to the university; perhaps while serving a mission; or for some, after you arrived at BYU–Idaho – you have learned the importance of having good study habits. In order to study effectively, you needed to find a place where you could create an appropriate learning environment. Most of you probably figured out that staying in your dorm room or apartment was not one of the most effective or efficient places to study, largely due to the “energetic sociality” that often surrounds that setting. You generally resorted to the library, the lab, a practice room, or a focused study group to get the most out of your study time. Establishing an appropriate study environment is essential to learning, whether it be at home, at school, at work, or in your personal spiritual devotions. Being able to find or create such an environment may be challenging at times.
When it comes to formal education, President Kimball once acknowledged that one of the most effective learning environments ever established, both for accumulating and disseminating knowledge, is a university. It is a place for learning, a place for growth, a place for discovering your potential, a place for becoming more than perhaps you ever dreamed possible (and some might say, more than your mother-in-law ever expected). The environment at BYU–Idaho is unique among universities. It is conducive not only to learning, but also to living the gospel, and being obedient. It is a place where you have been nurtured and strengthened by the Spirit. Wherever you go throughout the balance of your life, the knowledge you have gained will serve you well and the memories of your experiences here will hold a special place in your heart.
For many of you, this BYU–Idaho experience represents the pinnacle of your formal academic pursuits. However, don’t let it be the end of your learning experiences. Many of the facts and details you have gained while here will either be forgotten or outdated over time. However, knowing how to think and how to learn allows you to keep current on important issues and ideas, or to expand your knowledge by learning new things, or to think about things in new ways. The more you learn “of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms,” as stated in the Doctrine and Covenants[1], you will continually marvel at the knowledge and majesty of God and His creations, and in the process, you will be prepared to be of greater service in His kingdom.
Another learning environment has been created for us by the Lord himself. It has been referred to at times by some of the Brethren as “the University of the Lord.” I am referring of course to the temple. Entering the House of the Lord is a privilege for those who qualify and an exquisite environment for spiritual learning for those who seek, ask, and knock. President Packer stated, “The temple is a great school. It is a house of learning.” He continues, “In the temples the atmosphere is maintained so that it is ideal for instruction on matters that are deeply spiritual…If you will go to the temple and remember that the teaching is symbolic you will never go in the proper spirit without coming away with your vision extended, feeling a little more exalted, with your knowledge increased as to things that are spiritual. The teaching plan is superb. It is inspired.” Likewise, he observed, “the temple itself becomes a symbol. [As] you have seen one of the temples at night, fully lighted, you know what an impressive sight that can be. The house of the Lord, bathed in light, standing out in the darkness, becomes symbolic of the power and the inspiration of the gospel of Jesus Christ standing as a beacon in a world that sinks ever further into spiritual darkness.” The temple is a place to learn more about the Lord’s plan of happiness; the nature of eternity; and the nature of who you really are and your relationship to God. It is a place of learning that is, or should become, integral to your lives.
Perhaps the most important learning environment established and endorsed by the Lord is the home and family. The culmination of all learning should be for the purpose of blessing your home environment. Extending the counsel of the Lord regarding the purpose of temples to your own home, He instructed, “establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.”[2] By creating such a house, you can establish the kind of environment and be entitled to the kind of blessings described by Joseph in the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple. The environment should be such “that no unclean thing…be permitted to come into thy house to pollute it…that all people who shall enter upon the threshold…may feel [God’s] power, and feel constrained to acknowledge that [He has] sanctified it” and that those of your family “may seek learning even by study, and also by faith.”[3] The blessings are that those who dwell there “may go forth…armed with…thy power, and that thy name be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them; and from this place they may bear exceedingly great and glorious tidings, in truth.”[4] Your home can be a refuge from the storm, a spiritual light in an ever-darkening world, a sanctuary for all those who seek shelter from the vicissitudes of life.
Paul said to Timothy, “in the last days perilous time shall come. For men shall be…ever learning, and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.”[5] The Lord knew that many of His children would lack faith, especially in the last days. As a result of your experiences here, live your life so you can be an example of faith and a witness for truth “at all times and in all things, and in all places.”[6] Continue to create special learning environments where you can ponder new ideas and engage in important, uplifting, and insightful conversations. But most importantly, create an environment where you can let the doctrines “distill upon thy soul as the dews from heaven”[7], where you can contemplate the mission, the ministry, the majesty, and the mysteries of God.
As you go forward now, and throughout life, learning more about who you are, about who God is, and about your relationship with Him will influence not only the direction you go, but also your final destination.
To this I testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] D&C 88:79
[2] D&C 88:119
[3] D&C 109:20, 13-14
[4] D&C 109:22-23
[5] 2 Timothy 3:1-2, 7
[6] Mosiah: 18:9
[7] D&C 121:45