Thank you for inviting me to your grand day of celebration. Look at all you have to celebrate: you’ve finally passed American Heritage; you’ve landed a job that pays more than an early-morning custodian; you can stop eating ramen noodles and the yellow death which I understand is mac and cheese; you’ll no longer have to endure the bitter winds crossing the Taylor quad; you won’t have to remember every element of the periodic table; you won’t have to rack your brain for the most original way to ask out that prospective eternal companion because 300-plus of you have already found them.
Like most people in the small town where I grew up, my grandmother Dansie never had the opportunity to go to college. Nevertheless, she was a lifelong learner. She loved literature, was a columnist for the Midvale Sentinel, was always learning new skills—from canning fruit to how to get her chickens to lay more eggs. And she vowed that her children would attend college.
When my father finished high school, she helped him find a scholarship from the Union Pacific Railroad. With such a commitment to education in my family, there was no question that I, too, would attend college, no matter what it took.
I remember in 1958 leaving my home in Herriman, Utah, to attend the university. I was so excited to venture out of my little town. You all remember the feeling! But that first weekend at school I became so homesick I was physically ill and feared my heart was going to break. Some of you may also know how that feels. Even though I was attending the same university as my sister and brother, all I wanted to do was go home to the safety of hand-stitched quilts, to the gruff but tender care of my dad, to the gentle arms of my mother in her warm kitchen.
I knew I was supposed to go to school. But facing the enormity of that endeavor filled me with doubt. And so I found a ride home. Hugging the passenger door as we drove past our small two-room school and the old ward house, I felt completely alone. Finally, I saw the sign for our family’s store—Dansie’s place. I was home.
My mom and dad were shocked to see me on their doorstep. I was relieved. Sitting with my dad in his big brown leather chair, I sobbed as I recounted my heartaches and isolation so many miles away.
Dad was a farmer, a tough but caring man. Having served a mission during the Depression, he knew something about hardships. He could have called me weak or rushed to counsel me, yet he just listened and held me and finally said, “You don’t have to go back if you don’t want to.”
Now, as a parent myself, I know in his heart he was hoping that I would go back—but he was not going to force me. He simply told me he had faith in me, that I could do it. But still he let me decide. Somehow that gave me enough faith to return to school and face my fears. Four years later, I was sitting where you are, diploma earned, ready to face the world.
I’m sure there have been many challenges you’ve faced here at school that you thought you’d never get through. Yet you had the faith not to give up.
Faith precedes the miracle; your graduation is a reward for your faith. It is probably more of a miracle for some of you than for others! If you can pass American Heritage, you can do anything! Don’t forget that!
And guess what? Feelings of doubt, insecurity, and fear don’t end with the specter of American Heritage! They will continue through your life—from whom you will marry, to what job you’ll take, from where you’ll live, to how you will live with teenagers. I promise you, the list is endless. But guess what else? If you haven’t realized it, by your braving the uncharted waters of BYU–I you’ve learned a great life lesson: how to move forward in the face of fear or doubt. You’ve learned to rely on faith.
President Hinckley has said that faith allows us “to look beyond the problems of the moment to the miracles of the future.”[1] Don’t you love that? Can you take that with you from BYU–Idaho?
One of your classmates wrote: “The Lord has given me the opportunity to develop my faith that was scraping bottom only a year ago. Through the events and people here at BYU–Idaho and my effort to reach out to the Lord for all my support despite my smallness of faith, I have no doubt that the Lord chose to bless me with greater faith and teach me to trust Him. My experiences here strengthen my understanding that God really does have a loving and demanding plan for my life.”
I love her phrase “a loving and demanding plan for my life.” I believe that He has such a plan for each of us—our patriarchal blessings are evidence of that plan. Of course, finding and following that plan requires faith. Could this be one reason why faith is the first principle of the gospel?
You come from all 50 states and over 40 nations. Each of you planted a tiny seed of faith by walking out your front door to come to BYU–Idaho. You nourished that seed in many ways: sacrificing study and family time to serve as home and visiting teachers, in Relief Society and elders quorum presidencies, living the honor and dress codes—even if you didn’t understand or agree with all of them. You nourished the seed of faith by following personal inspiration for a spouse to postpone education to stay home and raise a family, attending class with a strong commitment to excellence, keeping your covenants, cultivating your testimony. By doing these things you have gained faith not only in yourselves and your abilities, but in your Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. And so your faith began to swell. And you began to know the seed was a good seed. And it began to enlarge your soul, enlighten your understanding, and it was delicious to you. Its fruits should certainly be extra delicious to you today! Now, for many of you, it is no longer just faith that says coming here was part of your plan. It is now knowledge because of how your life and your spirit have been expanded. Your graduation today is the evidence of that faith and confirms that faith is indeed a principle of action. Faith is more than a powerful religious principle; it is fundamental to everything we do.
Faith is the key principle of science. Successful experimentation begins with faith in a positive outcome. If Thomas Edison had not had faith that incandescent light could be produced, would he have tried those hundreds of different filament materials before he found the successful one?
Faith is essential in business ventures. What entrepreneur would start a new business if she did not have faith there was a market for her product or service? What investor would invest in a company if he did not have faith that he would receive a profit? Customers need faith in your honesty and integrity if you are to succeed in business.
Rewarding relationships are based on faith. Knowing what kind of person you want to marry and where that kind of person can be found will affect where and how you foster new friendships. Committing to get married requires faith, despite limited finances or divorced parents or other obstacles. But being single when you hoped to be married also requires great faith, and to you young single adult women, who have a special place in my heart, I know the Lord loves you, is mindful of you, and needs the contributions you have to make.
When my husband, Jim, was serving as bishop of a singles ward, a couple came to him for counsel. They said they were in love with each other. They both had good jobs and good incomes, but they were worried they would not be able to make it financially. Jim had encountered that concern many times. That night he asked me if, when we were engaged, I had worried whether we would make it financially. I told him I hadn’t. After all, we were in love with each other and we knew things would work out. That may sound naïve, but exercising faith frequently does. I worry if couples today confuse wants with needs, thinking they need more than necessary to start a marriage. My husband and I learned much from our struggles during many lean years together. Our mutual faith sustained us.
In pursuing Heavenly Father’s plan for you, you will face challenges that seem insurmountable. It will appear that things will not work out. In those dark moments, remember your days here and what you accomplished. Heavenly Father always keeps His promises if you believe and doubt not. Of course, that’s easier said than done—especially when relief is nowhere in sight.
Since he was eight, our oldest son wanted to be a filmmaker. He spent much of his growing-up years making Super-8 movies about vampires and space. He continued making films in high school and into college. Jim and I secretly hoped it was a phase that he would outgrow. But his mission call was to Los Angeles (home of Hollywood!). Our son knew he loved making movies but worried about its financial stability, the moral climate of the entertainment industry, the time required away from family to shoot a film. But he felt inspired to become a filmmaker despite the many challenges it would pose.
He graduated from a well-respected film school and began working as a filmmaker in Los Angeles. There were many times that he was close to directing a full-length film. But, for one reason or another, nothing ever worked out. Being so close yet so far from achieving his dream was agonizing, but he persisted. All the while, he couldn’t understand why he had felt guided to pursue film. After a great deal of spiritual wrestling, he felt strongly inspired to consider teaching filmmaking at a university outside of California. This was very difficult for him because he was sure that leaving L.A. would mean leaving behind his lifelong dream. But eventually he decided that he would follow the promptings.
It was only five and a half months after he and his family had moved from Los Angeles that he was hired to produce a feature film. It came unexpectedly, without any effort on his part. And then, only weeks after completing production on that film, he was hired to direct another. Who would have guessed that he would have to leave Hollywood to make a movie, that he would have to “lose” his dream to find it?
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland observed, “Faith is to agree unconditionally—and in advance—to whatever conditions God may require in both the near and distant future.”[2] I don’t know about you, but that sounds a bit frightening to me. But if we remember that Heavenly Father loves us so very much that He sent His Only Begotten Son to be sacrificed for our sakes, we can have faith that God’s requirements will give us experience and shall be for our good.
Such faith in a loving Heavenly Father and His obedient Son should motivate us and influence all of our choices, including how we deal with our doubts. True faith “always moves its possessor to some kind of physical and mental action; it carries an assurance . . . of the things hoped for.”[3]
Even after I returned to college back in 1958, I still experienced fears. But at those times I knew that miles away in a big leather chair sat my father, who had faith in me when my own faith wavered. I was grateful for that. There are so many who have had faith in you: your parents and family, your spouse and children, your teachers and professors, your bishops and Church leaders. At this time, I invite you to express your gratitude to them. [Applause.] Thank you, parents, for having faith in your children, praying for them, paying for them, encouraging them.
In addition to support from your families, you have been supported by Saints around the world—many of whom have not attended college themselves. But because of their faith, they paid their tithing. How can you thank them for their sacrifices? As I witness the Church in action around the world, I see those Saints who have been educated through the Church schools. They are blessing their families, the Church and their communities. Go and do likewise.
The affairs of this university are directed by a prophet. As a member of the Church Board of Education, I have heard the fervent prayers of prophets of God praying for you. Hearing President Hinckley stand and pray in that meeting is an emotional experience. On one specific occasion, I was especially touched to hear him ask Heavenly Father to bless you with faith and testimony. As he did, the Spirit witnessed to me that this was what our young people most needed: faith and testimony. President Hinckley said: “The BYU experience . . . should—it must—leave an everlasting impression upon you. . . . It should become an inseparable part of your very nature, something almost intangible but of great substance.”[4]
That same faith that brought you to BYU–Idaho and has supported you while here can sustain you through life, through the knowns and unknowns—and there will be many of these! With faith you can find work you enjoy, find an eternal companion, raise a righteous family, face and overcome hard things. With faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be sustained. I pray that you will be able to feel the love of the Lord daily as you seek to do His will with faith. Congratulations, graduates, and God bless you. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] “Lord, Increase Our Faith,” Ensign, Nov. 1987, 53
[2] Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, 18-19
[3] “Faith,” Bible Dictionary, 670
[4] “The BYU Experience,” in Brigham Young University 1997–98 Speeches [1998], 65; italics added