President Eyring and I are grateful for the opportunity to express our gratitude to each of you. To the faculty, we express our admiration for the talents you share. To the staff and administrators, we are grateful for every hour of time that is consecrated to making BYU-Idaho run so smoothly. And, to the students, we are in awe of your goodness and the opportunity we have enjoyed of being in disciple training with you.
We feel confident that BYU-Idaho is in preparation mode for the Second Coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. And we know that Elder and Sister Meredith will be inspired leaders to continue this preparation.
In 2013, I shared an idea in a devotional address.[1] I compared BYU-Idaho to the EAC, or East Australian Current. According to Wikipedia, “the EAC is . . . a superhighway that fish and sea turtles use to travel down the East Coast of Australia.”[2] In that talk, I compared that quick-flowing current to the current I feel at BYU-Idaho. I called it YEC, or Each of you has an eternal current.
President Henry B. Eyring has said,
"Your life is carefully watched over, as was mine. The Lord knows both what He will need you to do and what you will need to know. He is kind and He is all-knowing. So you can with confidence expect that He has prepared opportunities for you to learn in preparation for the service you will give."[3]
BYU-Idaho has an abundance of opportunities to learn. I could never have imagined that my eternal current would take me to live in Massachusetts, Tokyo, and Rexburg. Your current will have similar surprises and even some turbulence, but you can always look back on your time here at BYU-Idaho and in Rexburg with fondness and certainty that it gave you the boost you would need for your lifetime of service.
Several factors make BYU-Idaho a superhighway for students—academically and spiritually. One of those factors is the emphasis put on spiritual growth and testimony building on this campus and online. The temple on the hill[4] is another important component of this superhighway to discipleship. The “Spirit of Ricks” is real and palpable here, and it leads to all kinds of learning of truth. Moroni 10:5 tells us, “By the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.” Everyone at BYU-Idaho is striving to live Doctrine and Covenants 88:118: “Seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”
I have a personal testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His gospel, and it has been strengthened in this special place.
Elder and Sister Meredith, prepare to be swept up in this wonderful current called BYU-Idaho. It is now part of your eternal current. President Eyring and I extend our best wishes and congratulations to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Kelly Child Eyring, “A Mother’s Testimony and Counsel,” BYU-Idaho Devotional, Nov. 19, 2013, https://www.byui.edu/devotionals/kelly-child-eyring.
[2] “East Australian Current,” Wikimedia Foundation, last modified Jan. 3, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Australian_Current.
[3] Henry B. Eyring, “Education for Real Life,” Ensign, October 2002, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2002/10/education-for-real-life.
[4] Henry B. Eyring, “The Temple and the College on the Hill,” BYU-Idaho Foundational Addresses, June 9, 2009, https://www.byui.edu/speeches/devotionals/henry-b-eyring/the-temple-and-the-college-on-the-hill.