Welcome to our favorite time of year at BYU-Idaho. We couldn’t be happier to be starting a new semester with you. Some of you are returning, and some of you are just starting. I hope you’ve enjoyed your first few classes of the semester. There is something so exciting about the new, the possible, and the adventure ahead.
You came for the spring semester. But today, the weather report calls for snow. We are going to call it “Sprinter,” spring and winter combined. See why we like this semester? Anything is possible.
You will experience two paradoxes during this semester. A paradox occurs when a statement seems absurd at first but begins to ring true upon further examination.
I'd like to introduce the first paradox using a quote from Alice in Wonderland.
“Take some more tea,” the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
“I’ve had nothing yet,” Alice replied in an offended tone, “so I can’t take more.”
“You mean you can’t take less,” said the Hatter. “It’s very easy to take more than nothing.”
The Mad Hatter was right; Alice could have more since nothing is zero, and anything above zero is more.
Like Alice, you have yet to experience anything this semester. You are starting with nothing, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take more.
Raise your hand if you are sitting next to someone that you didn’t know before this semester. Now, raise your hand if you are looking forward to meeting someone new this semester. (Everyone’s hands should be up).
My husband, President Eyring, started a “Hello” campaign a few years ago by requesting that we look up and say hello to each other as we pass on campus. Let’s try to do that more.
The second paradox can be found in Matthew 16:25 where the Savior taught, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”1 The paradox of losing something to find something is true. I know it’s hard to believe, but you have likely already experienced seemingly contradictory truth.
Maybe you signed up for classes with the hope of figuring out what you really like and who you really are. You are hoping to begin the next chapter in your life with new skills and knowledge. While you are trying to find yourself in this way, your bishop may invite you to serve in your ward. You might think that you don’t have time for that kind of calling. Or a professor may ask you to help another classmate. You might think that will make it too difficult to get your own homework finished.
My husband was asked to serve in a bishopric while he was in an MBA/JD program. It seemed like a sacrifice, but we will forever be grateful for the people he served with. It turned out that he was able to study and fulfill his calling. I have had many opportunities to test this paradox out and it always brings the greatest friendships, the most growth, and the best experiences.
I hope it doesn’t really turn out to be a snowy spring. More than that, I hope that you and I will look for the opportunity to find “more” and really find ourselves by losing ourselves this semester. I know that the Savior is our best teacher and example of this. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
- Matthew 16:25.