It is a privilege for me to be here on campus today. I have always been impressed with the graduates of BYU–Idaho and of the people who live here. I have come to the conclusion that more people as a percentage of the population serve missions from Rexburg than from any other city in the Church. I have had the privilege of serving with many of them, some of them who were leaders of this community and former members of this faculty. I have also had the privilege of being here on campus when my former missionaries had the opportunity of performing in one of the great productions of the Performing Arts Department.
It is a privilege to be here with young people that President Hinckley declared to be, “the finest generation of young people ever in the history of the Church.”[1] You are currently living in one of the most challenging and greatest periods of your life.
You live in a troubled world. Since “9/11" the world has changed. With terrorism and the ungodliness that exist in the world, Thomas L. Freidman, political editor for the New York Times, describes our time by saying,
"My kids aren’t sure whether North Korea or South Korea is on our side, but they know the difference between code red and code blue. I grew up terrified of another super power with a nuclear missile. They grow up terrified of a super empowered angry person with an automatic weapon. I knew the threat to my life came from Moscow. They have no idea which student might be carrying a gun or a knife."
He continues by saying,
". . . About the only thing we know for sure is where the cure has to start. It has to start in the home, the basic building block for any community or country. Nothing good will happen in your state house or in your school house if it does not start and is sustained in your own house."[2]
I remember my daughter as she was growing up had a constant feeling in her mind that the second coming was just around the corner and she would not live to adulthood or have the privilege of raising children. It was interesting as this feeling of insecurity constantly bothered her. We were unaware that in Family Night as we spoke of the Second Coming and as she listened to the daily news about the cold war and the A bomb, she was internalizing this in a way that she was afraid. She would even go to the extent of saving food and putting it in a drawer. This was her way of implementing the food storage program. It was not uncommon for her mother while cleaning her room to find a chicken leg or wing stuffed in one of the dresser drawers.
I didn’t fully understand until I began to relate it to my own life. I was born just prior to World War II. I remember wondering during the war years what the world would be like in the future. The Korean War and then the Vietnam conflict came along and feelings of instability and uncertainty existed. I remember listening to the gospel teachings and knowing that we are living in the last days. The questions would come; how far do I plan ahead? What do I do? I found that I didn’t feel those feelings alone. I have talked to college professors and business professionals who have indicated that while growing up they too wondered what was in the future and had a feeling that the second coming was just around the corner.
As we look back in history, we find that throughout all ages there have been troubled and disturbing times and unsettling times in the minds of people and saints. It required faith to live. During the time of the Savior the Jewish world was in captivity by the Roman Empire. Can you imagine the concern that was in their minds for what the future should bear? The Jewish people had already been through captivity in Babylon and experienced great hardships.
Aware of the concerns that exist in the minds of our young people, President Packer, in his talk entitled, “Do Not Fear,” said this as he contemplated the future of his grandson:
"What kind of a world awaits him?"
"For a moment I had that feeling of anxiety, that fear of the future that so many parents express to us. Everywhere we go fathers and mothers worry about the future of their children in this very troubled world."
"But then a feeling of assurance came over me. He said, ‘My fear of the future faded."
"That guiding, comforting Spirit, with which we in the Church are so familiar, brought to my remembrance what I already knew. The fear of the future was gone. That bright-eyed, little two-year-old can have a good life - a very good life - and so can his children and his grandchildren, even though they will live in a world where there is much of wickedness. [May I add so can you!]"
"They will see many events transpire in the course of their lifetime. Some of these shall tax their courage and extend their faith. But if they seek prayerfully for help and guidance, they shall be given power over adverse things. Such trials shall not be permitted to stand in the way of their progress, but instead shall act as stepping-stones to greater knowledge."[3]
In a priesthood session Elder Maxwell said, “My brethren old and young, sweeping is the only way to describe your spiritual history and your possible future. There will always be plenty of work to do, especially for those who know how to do the Lord’s work.”[4]
I find this counsel comforting. Yes, we know the Savior will again come to this earth and we know that the conditions of the world will be difficult. The key is to live “worthy” lives, to make right choices so that we can be part of the great work that lies ahead. As President Hinckley pointed out, “With all of the problems of today’s world with the difficulties, challenges and transgressions that are occurring we as Latter-day Saints still have the greatest group of young men and young women anywhere on the face of the earth.”[5]
In a recent meeting the President expressed concerns about the challenges of today and then asked the question, “Are we spiritually converted?” Referring to the strength and commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ, are we as converted as those of the early Church, those who crossed the plains and established the kingdom? These are questions that cause all to ponder. Are we, and more importantly are those we are teaching, developing a deep spiritual conversion? The fire of conversion Paul referred to, “the fire that shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.”[6] The fire that will yet save us.
Joseph Fielding Smith said,
"Men and women who become settled in the truth founded in the knowledge of the gospel depend upon no person for borrowed or reflected light, but trusting only upon the holy spirit who is ever the same, shining forever and testifying to the individual and the priesthood who live in harmony with the laws of the gospel of the glory and will of the Father. They will then have light everlasting which cannot be obscured, but is shining in their lives they shall cause others to glorify God and by their well doing put to silence the ignorance of foolish men and show forth praises for him who hath called them out of darkness into his marvelous light."[7]
This is the type of deep gospel testimony and understanding we must develop and teach for the time cometh that no one can stand on borrowed light. We must teach and learn to understand the scriptures, to get beyond the commentaries of those who are not certain. We must prepare ourselves to be so rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ that as we bear testimony and share the sacred truths, the gospel teachings live for us, and we have a desire and thirst after knowledge and righteousness. We cannot live on what was accomplished in the past.
Our challenge is with every new generation. Righteousness and knowledge are not passed on in the genes. Every generation must acquire it. As individuals we must, as the Lord said, “Work out our own salvation with diligence.” We must recognize that,
"Never before, at least not in our generation, have the forces of evil been so blatant, so brazen, so aggressive as they are today. Those things we dared not speak about in earlier times are now constantly projected (or enter into our living rooms) affecting the families. Men to whom we have looked to as leaders have betrayed us. We are disappointed and disillusioned and their activity is only the tip of the iceberg in successive layers beneath the tip is the great mass of sleaze and filth of dissolute and dishonest behavior,"[8] said Elder Maxwell.
Leaders and especially teachers in the Church today must be better qualified and prepared with problems they face. Mothers and Fathers, in order to preserve the home, require support. The Church leaders and auxiliaries together with Church Education System are the only source of spiritual strength and support to which they can turn for help in a very troubled world.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, reputedly the wisest American, said, “Character is higher than intellect. A great soul will benefit to live, as well as to think.”
Developing character is the process of acquiring Christlike attributes such as “. . . faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindliness, godliness, humility, diligence, . . . charity and love with an eye singled to the glory of God . . .”[9]
You are at the very point in your lives where you are faced with the major decisions that will affect now and all eternity. You have been well prepared as students through your earlier schooling, seminary and institute. In these next few years you will be deciding on the course of your majors and minors in school, whether to go on missions, marriage, future employment opportunities. These are key and pivotal decisions in your life. It causes me to reflect on the problems that I faced growing up trying to make decisions, counseling with my mother, not sure sometimes exactly what I wanted to do and she would always say, “You have your own agency. You do what you think is best.” Then as she would turn to walk away she would quote, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve. . . as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”[10]
This always left me with that subtle reminder that yes, I have agency, but I had better make the right decision. You live in a glorious generation. A generation with more opportunity than any other who proceeded you. Elder Maxwell said,
"More than any proceeding generation in the Church, yours is destined to serve in a period of human history which will feature things both grim and glorious. Indeed your season can be characterized by Charles Dickens words, ‘These were the best of times and the worst of times.’ The days we live in are challenging."[11]
You are at a most interesting time of your lives, making decisions that will shape the future. Richard L. Evans said,
"Life offers you two precious gifts. One in time and the other in freedom of choice. The freedom to buy with your time what you will. You are free to change your allotment of time for thrills. You may trade it for base desires. You may invest it in greed. You may purchase with it vanity. You may spend your time in pursuit of material things. Yours is the freedom to choose, but these are not bargains for in them you will find no lasting satisfaction."[12]
A couple of years ago while I was home from my assignment in the Pacific for General Conference, a knock came at my door. When I opened the door there stood a man, who was advanced in years with gray hair and gray beard. He looked at me for a moment and said, “You don’t recognize me, do you?”
I struggled and still could not recognize the individual. He then shared his name with me. Upon hearing the name I then recognized that he was a boyhood friend. I was excited and invited him in. We chatted for sometime about our past experiences together. Then he said something that I felt was very profound, “The difference in our lives is in the decisions that we have made.” Then he proceeded to tell me of some of the struggles and challenges he had in his life and some of the decisions that he made that led him in a path contrary to the will of our Father in Heaven. He then shared with me the price that he had paid for those decisions.
I felt a deep friendship and love for him, but also a sorrow for what he had been through. I have often pondered upon the statement that he made and realized that we are in fact the result of the sum total of the decisions we make in life.
As I pondered this thought the words of a hymn came to mind:
"Know this that every soul is free
To choose his life and what he’ll be,
For this eternal truth is given,
That God will force no man to heaven.
He’ll call, persuade, direct to right,
And bless with wisdom, love and light,
In nameless ways be good and kind,
But never force the human mind.”[13]
President Hunter in speaking to a group of young people like this said:
"I would like to say something to you that I consider to be very important. Throughout your life you will be faced with many choices. How well you select among the alternatives will determine your success and happiness in life. Some of the decisions you will make will be absolutely critical and can affect the entire course of your life. Please measure those alternatives against the teachings of Jesus Christ. To be able to do that, you must know and understand his teachings as you exercise faith and live worthy of inspiration you will be directed in the important choices you make. The very wise know and obey the will of our Father in Heaven. I suggest that you place the highest priority on your membership in the Church of Jesus Christ. Measure whatever anyone else asks you to do whether it be from your family, loved ones, your cultural heritage, or traditions you have inherited, measure everything against the teachings of the Savior. When you find variance from those teachings, set that matter aside and do not pursue it. It will not bring you happiness . . . live the restored truth with honesty and integrity . . . then the Lord can cause his miracles to occur."[14]
This is the time of life when parents continue to worry about you. Not because they don’t trust you, they do, but they recognize the importance of each of the decisions you make. Let me share with you a letter;
Dear Son:
[Mike] We will always love and support you in your journey through life. We are proud of your life and for the person you are. There will be both joys and trials ahead. As the trials come just remember the story of the cocoon and the butterfly. It takes the butterfly nearly 12 hours of hard work and pain before it can emerge from the cocoon and take wings and fly. If anyone were to do it for him he would die because it is through the strength he gains in his struggle that he can take wings and fly and find food to live. As you are about to emerge from your cocoon we hope your trials will be small ones and you will take wings and soar with eagles.
Love Mom and Dad
(Letter from Larry and Ruth Todd to son, Mike).
Do you read into that what I do? An expression of confidence, yet a little apprehension that Mom and Dad are aware because they have been there. The old adage that everyone who is 40 was once 18, but no one that is 18 has ever been 40 truly applies in this case. There are experiences gained by life as we live it. Listen to those who would help you avoid unnecessary pitfalls.
It is not my intent to talk about agency, but the environment needed to make proper choices. As you face the future, may I challenge you to:
1. Choose to keep membership in the Church your highest priority.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”[15]
President Howard W. Hunter said,
"Each one of you is a son or daughter of our Father in Heaven, and you therefore have divine potential. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints you are given a singular opportunity to develop that potential. Membership in His Church brings with it sacred responsibilities and limitless opportunities. We are happiest and most productive when we seek to know more of our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, our beloved redeemer. Life is fullest and more worthwhile when we seek to understand their teachings and apply them consistently in our lives. Jesus Christ is in charge in the affairs of this earth. He unwaveringly does the will of the Father. When we are obedient to the commandments of the Savior, we are obedient to the commandments of our Father in Heaven. When we follow His example, we are the happiest."[16]
2. Choose to keep the commandments of God.
Remember you are free to choose everlasting death or eternal life.[17] Agency is god-given. We all have the right to choose for ourselves. The Lord will not force us.
The story of Laman and Lemuel in the Book of Mormon has always been an interesting story for me because I realize that they saw an angel, heard the voice of the Lord, saw miracles, saw the Liahona and were brought to the promised land, but what did they do? Why do you suppose they did what they did? Are there people like them today? They loved evil more than good and enjoyed the pleasure of the flesh. Why? Because of the hardness of their hearts.
When we are willingly obedient in keeping the commandments of our Father in Heaven, we are learning to live the “law of the celestial kingdom.”[18]
3. Choose to build a testimony on eternal truths.
I was once chairman of the State Judicial Selection Committee. It was an interesting experience for me because I got acquainted with many of the leading attorneys and judges and chief justices in the Supreme Court in the State of Utah. As we went through the selection process I learned much about how decisions are made from the bench and to some degree I lost faith in the court system. I had always held out in my mind that through the court system you would find out right from wrong, or truth. Yet, that is not how the system works. Their desire is to find justice. That sometimes is not black or white, right or wrong, it is a middle ground that seems to solve problems rather than truth or exacts. We must realize that there are things that never change. There are eternal truths, those principles that we can depend on. They are the foundation stone of our testimony.
The Lord has given us two scriptures that help us to know and understand. The first is in the Doctrine and Covenants, section nine, where the Lord chastised Oliver for not doing what he should have done. He should have reasoned it out in his own mind. When you are working here at school, when you deal with problems of life, give it your best intellectual effort. Ask the question, when you are confronted with temptations or trials or doctrinal issues, does it make common sense? Has it withstood the test of time? Remember to reason it out in your own mind. Then ask God.
There is another way by which you can build testimony. It is found in Moroni 10:4,5:
"And when ye shall receive these things I would exhort you that ye would ask God the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost,"
"And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."
The final vindication for absolutes is one that comes through the eternal principle of revelation. Live worthy to receive it.
4. Choose to make a difference in a changing world.
Do you think you can change what is happening in the world, or the Church, or your lives? I believe that you can because I know how the Lord changes the course of history. He sends babies into the world. The statement that you were held back to come forth at this time and in this dispensation has great meaning when you understand the plan of the Lord. Many of you may be asking the question, “If I can’t change myself, how can I make a difference, or change the world?”
I know that there are doomsayers that say, “Well that’s just the way I am, you can’t change!”
My answer to them is they do not understand or do not believe the doctrines of the gospel, for the doctrine of repentance brings about change. When you choose to follow Christ, you choose to be changed. As President David O. McKay said, “No man can sincerely resolve to imply in his daily life the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth without sensing a change in his own nature”[19]
I have watched with interest over the last several years what appears to me to be a growing dearth and lack of leaders and leadership and a growing lack of interest in preserving the rights and freedoms we hold dear. I only need to point to the recent primary election where so few went to the polls to cast their ballots to make my case.
We need young men and young women of integrity, high moral principle, conviction and vision to stand forth and to lead and to assume responsibilities - not only in the Church, but in government for “Where there is no vision, the people perish . . .”[20]
Do not back away from the responsibilities that lie ahead. Do not put pleasure and self-gratification before duty. Seek to do the will of the Lord. Make a difference.
5. Choose a companion that is worthy to enter the House of the Lord.
Keep yourself worthy. Never, never, compromise the standards of the Church. Never succumb to the enticements of the world. We live in a world with many temptations and the adversary holds it out like he did to Adam and Eve. He tempts you with all the lures of the world. There are people in high positions in the world today that are not living as they should. How will they be judged? By their fellow man or by God? Yes, I think we all know ultimately by God. We cannot hide or deceive an all-knowing and just God.
You have a challenge to fulfill your god-given birthright or your foreordination, but you can’t do it by indecision. Elijah thundered, “How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him.”[21]
To do nothing or procrastinate in making a decision, is a decision. Many times when we fail to act we find ourselves going along with a crowd and succumbing to the world around us. Be strong, resist.
Making good decisions depends a lot on what we think and how we feel inside. Are we truly converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ? Do we truly want to do good or is the lure of the world or the excuses given by many in the world just too strong to resist? You must face it, as my mother reminded me, “Choose ye this day whom ye will serve . . . as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”
6. Obtain all the education you can so you can support a family.
Prepare so you can raise your children in a complex and changing world. The job market is changing and the demand for more skill and a higher level of specialty is ever increasing. In order to stay up with the technological explosion and the shifting economic conditions in the job market, it is thus essential that you take seriously the opportunity you have and that you are not just occupying a seat in order to obtain a degree, but that you truly retain the knowledge and information that can be applied and added to. The one thing that attending the university should teach you is that learning does not cease on graduation day.
Now, in conclusion, these are days never to be forgotten. You will in the future look back on them with feelings of satisfaction and reassurance if you are obedient to the counsel of the Lord. Life will not always be easy. It was not meant to be. How else would we learn if we didn’t meet opposition? The Lord has promised that at this important time of your life, “if ye are prepared, ye need not fear.”[22]
The basketball coach at Kent State, Brother Tony Ingle, one who has met a lot of difficulties and challenges in his life, said, “Life is short, serious and frail. Learn from it, laugh at it and live it well.”[23]
President Hinckley has counseled us by saying,
"There is still so much of conflict in the world. There is terrible poverty disease and hatred. Man is still brutal in his inhumanity to man. Yet there is a glorious dawn. The Son of righteousness has come with healing in his wings. God and his beloved son have revealed themselves. We know them. We worship them in spirit and in truth. We love them, we honor them and we seek to do their will . . . there is in other words much reason for cheer and there is every reason to have faith that the forces of righteousness will prevail over evil even in this perilous time."[24]
Stay close to your Heavenly Father through prayer. Seek divine guidance. You will face challenges and you will see your children face challenges that you didn’t know existed. The difficulties, the trials, the struggles will continue to get worse, but you have been given the power to help, to bless. You can overcome!
Remember that a crown of eternal glory in the kingdom of our Father and all that the Father has promised is yours as you remain true and faithful to the doctrines of the kingdom. You can be blessed with wonderful homes and wonder marriages, but only by keeping the commandments and making right choices.
May you be so blessed is my humble prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, 1997, 714; see also Conference Report, April 1992, 96 or Ensign May 1992, 69
[2] March 30, 2001, New York Times, “Longitudes and Attitudes” by Thomas L. Freidman, 2002 Anchor Books, p. 23-24)
[3] Boyd K. Packer, “Do Not Fear,” Ensign, May 2004, 77
[4] Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, May 1998, 37)
[5] Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [1997], 714
[6] 1 Corinthians 3:13
[7] Joseph Fielding Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 87-88
[8] Neal A. Maxwell, Love and Loyalty, 5
[9] Doctrine and Covenants 4:5-6
[10] Joshua 24:15
[11] Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, Sheldon Company,1863,7. Neal A. Maxwell, “These Are Your Days” Church Education Fireside, p.2
[12] Film, “Man’s Search for Happiness”
[13] Hymns, William C. Gregg, #240
[14] Counsel to Students and Faculty, Church College of New Zealand, Howard W. Hunter 12 Nov. 1990, 1,4
[15] Matthew 6:33, see also Doctrine and Covenants 11:23
[16] Counsel to Students and Faculty, Church College of New Zealand, Howard W. Hunter, 12 Nov.1990, 1,4
[17] 2 Nephi 10:23
[18] Doctrine and Covenants 78:7
[19] David O. McKay, President of the Church, 1961, 253-254
[20] Proverbs 29:18
[21] I Kings 18:21
[22] Doctrine and Covenants 38:30
[23] Church News, April 3, 2004, p.14
[24] Church News, April 10, 2004, p.24