Dear friends, welcome to this spring semester at BYU-Idaho. As Sister Eyring has said, spring is a relatively loose term in Rexburg. Blizzards are rare, but chilly wind is common. Even in April and May, there’s still plenty of “brr” in Rexburg.
My first Rexburg winter in 1971 was particularly hard. Snow drifts frequently closed the roads. School was cancelled often.
On each winter workday, my father walked to the Ricks College campus where he worked. Then, in the early evening, he would walk back home. Walking was necessary because driving his large Ford Thunderbird sedan had the feel of riding in a military tank on ice skates. Walking was cold, but at least it wasn’t dangerous.
Those early years were lean financially due to a combination of monetary inflation and social unrest. Also, the Baby Boomer generation was cresting and declining, causing Ricks College to cut costs, with attendant faculty furloughing. There was also an energy crisis at the time, along with a U.S. Government Watergate scandal.
A Message from the Kimballs
Nonetheless, the hard times at Ricks College were few compared to the sweet ones. I particularly remember a visit to Rexburg by Church President Spencer W. Kimball along with his wife, Camilla. It was in the fall of 1975 when I was twelve years old. The Kimballs had come to Ricks College where they spoke in a homecoming devotional.
Of course, the students filled the Hart basketball arena, and the prophetic messages came with a special feeling. Since youth, President Kimball had been a serious student of history. On this day, he talked about one of the most unusual political events in modern history.
In the depths of the Great Depression, a relatively young king abdicated his throne. In so doing, he threw his country and its affiliated countries into tumult. The political world worried about possible negative and even dangerous consequences.
At birth, it was clear that this prince would follow his father as king. According to tradition, he would reign and rule largely without political rivals or other legal limitations.
Sadly though, he fell below his privileges, succumbing to misdeeds. Before long, he abdicated, to the detriment of his citizens and fellow national leaders.
However, on that 1975 October day in Rexburg, President Kimball also described two other boys. They were twins. One young man, John, was a gifted salesman. The other young man, Peter, was naturally hard-working.
John found it easy to negotiate financial deals. That gift afforded stocks, bonds, and houses. And those sources of wealth also afforded time for leisure and pleasure. But it became spiritually dangerous: John created the life of a playboy. In biblical terms, he traded his birthright for a mess of potage.1 He also indulged in liquor and other addictive substances. In time, his marriage crumbled.
Peter, on the other hand, married and built a happy, almost heavenly home. He and his wife and children created an environment conducive to approaching godhood and becoming heirs of salvation through our Savior Jesus Christ.
At the end of their lives, Peter and his wife left a modest but meaningful financial donation to the Church. In fact, speaking of Peter’s death, I would like to share President Kimball’s comments in a passage from that 1975 devotional.
He was immaculately dressed in his temple robes. He was prepared physically and spiritually for the trumpet sound when the graves will be opened. He had received the promise, the blessings of faithfulness, he was made King and priest forever, forever in the kingdom of God. He was like Abraham who is sitting now upon the throne of God. He read the scripture that “no man is possessor of all things except he be purified and cleansed from all sin. And if ye are purified and cleansed . . . ye shall ask whatsoever you will in the name of Jesus and it shall be done.”2
As President Kimball said of such Saints, they are purified and cleansed. What they ask will be given and they will have eternal life as spiritual princes and princesses with attendant joy. This was the outcome President Kimball wanted to promote.
Spencer and Camilla Kimball, Persistent Leaders
President Kimball became president of the Church in 1973 in his 78th year, having been born in 1895. There were many reasons to wonder about this pick. As a boy, Spencer was small and shy, sometimes even doubting his capabilities.
Much of Spencer’s life was also dogged by health challenges and loss. During his youth, he suffered from facial paralysis, typhoid fever, and the loss of his mother and four sisters. Later in life, he lost his father. He also survived throat cancer, heart surgery, cranium surgery, and numerous other trials. Perhaps the most memorable was the throat cancer, which resulted in the removal of most of his vocal cords. From that time on, he could speak only in a raspy whisper.
However, this did not affect his commitment to the Lord. Elder Robert D. Hales referred to Spencer Kimball as “being righteous like Job.” Elder Hales invited us to use Spencer’s life as a model for “overcoming . . . adversity and suffering in our lives.”3
Spencer was blessed with worthy role models, including his father, who served as a stake president for 26 years. His paternal grandfather, Heber C. Kimball, had been an Apostle of the Church for 33 years. In fact, Heber was one of the original Twelve Apostles in modern times. He was also a first counselor to Brigham Young in the First Presidency of the Church for more than two decades, from 1847 until his death in 1868.
Though Spencer seemed shy, he was a prodigious journal keeper, a pursuit that gave perfect “voice” to his ideas. The sum of these journal entries amounts to ten linear feet, to say nothing of his general conference talks. In that regard, Spencer resembled the prophets of old, whose messages had to be transmitted by scribes and translators just to keep up.
Spencer was also blessed with a strong, intelligent, and hard-working spouse. Camilla Eyring was born in 1894 in the Mormon Colonies of northern Mexico. Her family prospered and her father responded to the call of a three-year full-time mission to Germany.
Throughout her life, Camilla shouldered multiple burdens. The oldest child in her family, she bore much of the brunt of caring for her siblings.
A younger sister was born. Camilla’s mother slowly recognized that this new baby, named Mary, was deaf. But, out of concern for her missionary husband, she made no reference to this sorrow. He learned only upon returning home from mission service.
At that time, outlaws under the direction of revolutionary general Francisco “Pancho” Villa began to harass the Saints in Mexico. In the beginning, it was just a matter of mollifying Pancho Villa’s demands for foodstuffs and livestock. But he was prone to bouts of rage and violence. And the trend appeared to be steadily worse.
Given the hazards, at seventeen, Camilla fled with her family from the dangers of revolution. They went first to El Paso where they found temporary shelter in a stockyard. Ultimately, Camilla’s family reunited and settled in Arizona.
After fleeing Mexico, Camilla accepted an invitation to live with her uncle, BYU Professor Carl Eyring, and his family in Provo at no financial cost. Camilla packed peaches to make a few dollars per week while completing her senior year of high school and concurrently taking college-level home economics.
Following high school graduation, Camilla began teaching home economics at Millard Academy, a rural prep school. She attended summer classes at the University of California, Berkeley and then attended Utah Agricultural College. In the summer of 1917, Camilla took a teaching position at Gila Academy in Thatcher, Arizona, close to home.
By the time Camilla was almost twenty-three, she wanted to marry. But she also had plans to become a hospital dietitian and was saving her money for the sake of attending Johns Hopkins University.
Providentially, Camilla met Spencer Kimball again. This time it was on Thatcher’s Main Street as she was waiting for a bus. They became better friends in the two weeks before he left for school in Provo.
But when Spencer was drafted into the military, he returned home briefly in October and their relationship intensified. They decided to marry before he went into the military. The contract with Gila Academy wouldn’t allow Camilla enough time off to travel to the Salt Lake Temple where they could be wed for time and eternity. Thus, they were married initially on November 16, 1917 in Pima, Arizona.
Heaven’s Help
As it turned out, Spencer didn’t have to report for military duty. Thus, as soon as Camilla’s commitment to the academy was concluded, she and Spencer drove to Salt Lake to be sealed. By this time, she was pregnant with their first child. They settled in Safford, Arizona and eventually had four children.
Camilla continued to take college classes every year until their Church-related travel schedule made it impossible. Spencer worked hard, too. And in 1943, during the height of World War II, Spencer was sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Moving to Utah was difficult for Camilla. Arizona had been their only home and she was suffering with an illness. But they were devoted to serving the Lord. He became president of the Church in December of 1973.
Camilla continued to learn throughout her life. She lived by this statement:
We need to be always learning. A person keeps from getting stale by having some objective, by reading, writing and talking in pursuit of a plan.
Camilla’s husband, Spencer, shared her devotion for learning. As president of the Church, he encouraged women to become “full contributing partners” in their marriages.4
Camilla earned Exemplary Womanhood awards from both Brigham Young University and Ricks College. She is remembered for her motto, “Never suppress a generous thought.”5
Camilla passed away on September 20, 1987. Her husband, Spencer, died two years earlier on November 5, 1985. Her biography includes this passage written by him:
We have wept together, and we have laughed together. We have seen the sublime and have suffered the grotesque. Our life has been full of fun in spite of all the sad and serious things. We have danced; we have sung; we have entertained; we have loved and been loved. With a wife like Camilla Eyring, life becomes inclusive, full, and abundant.6
Expecting the Unexpected
I, like you, am grateful to have learned some of the story of Spencer and Camilla Kimball. Perhaps more insightful than any episode was the premature death of then-President Harold B. Lee.
President Lee was younger than Spencer. He was also physically healthier presumably. But after just 18 months as president of the Church, President Lee died suddenly. Spencer was distraught, having expected that President Lee would certainly outlive him.
Yet the mantle of the president of the Church was palpable, as could be seen at Ricks College in 1975 when the Kimballs came. At that time, President Kimball was ministering across the globe and the Church was growing as never before.
But the Prophet had paid a high price for his wisdom and testimony. That can be seen in a book titled One Silent Sleepless Night. It tells the poignant story of Spencer’s harrowing experience during a long, painful night following throat surgery. I now quote:
This is a record of one silent, sleepless night which I spent in 1957 in a bedroom on the third floor of the Mission Home in New York City following major surgery in which I lost one vocal cord and part of another and then had staph infection following the surgery.
The night is long when sleep refuses to come. Concern, worry, apprehension—these fill the dark hours with spectres enough. But what when, added to these, the demon Pain enters with his armory of torments?7
With President Lee’s passing, the Kimballs were ready. Spencer humbly declared, “I had hoped this day would never come because of my [physical] limitation.”
Though Spencer was 78 years old with a checkered health profile, he was nonetheless ready to lead. And the time was right for the Church and its members to “lengthen [their] stride,” a phrase that stuck for the next dozen years and even beyond.
Of course, Spencer was blessed with the world’s best healthcare providers. In particular, he had the rapt attention of surgeon and now Prophet Russell M. Nelson. With that team on the job, Spencer literally went to the world.
In the 12 years of his presidency, the number of operating temples doubled. The number of missionaries increased by 50 percent. The priesthood was extended to all worthy male members. And the Church became truly global.
Through the righteous persistence of President and Sister Kimball, we have been blessed individually and as a Church.
I have invited two members of our campus community to share a message of what persistence has meant in their lives. I now invite one of our students, Julia Vivas, to share her thoughts. She will be followed by our dear friend and long-time faculty member, Brother Greg Palmer.
Julia Vivas
I would like to share an example from my life where righteous persistence yielded eternal blessings and happiness.
I met my best friend in high school. He was agnostic and I was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Despite these differences, we respected each other’s beliefs and personal journeys. On my mission during COVID, I began formally teaching him the gospel. The adversary knew the righteous path my friend was on and put great effort into misdirecting him. This led to delays, confusion, and hesitation towards learning. I pleaded with the Lord to help my best friend build a relationship with God like he wanted.
After returning home, I encouraged him to talk to the missionaries, and continue reading the Book of Mormon and attending church. 18 months after I came home, my best friend was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church. I’m grateful that I didn’t give up on my friend, just as Christ never gave up on me.
But the blessings didn’t stop with his baptism. I enjoyed further blessings one week ago today when I participated in proxy temple baptisms with my best friend. He was able to perform the baptisms. The reward of seeing him enjoy the eternal blessings of the temple and the priesthood overcame any difficulty we faced in the previous years.
My fellow students and friends, it is through Christ that we can have living hope. He promises “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”8 I invite you to pray and ask God what you need to do to persevere through this new semester. I promise it is worth it. You will finish. You will be blessed for your efforts, and you will find rest.
Greg Palmer
I am grateful for this opportunity to be with you, a singular and remarkable group, in this place where the Father has done so much work.
President Eyring recognizes the power in story. I recommend that you listen carefully to his messages and teachings, seeking for the meaning for you during your time at BYU-Idaho and beyond. I urge you to listen in an especially attentive and guided way to those with priesthood keys—your good bishops, stake presidents, quorum presidents, and the prophets—promising you that will bless your life.
I am grateful for President Eyring’s reminder of President and Sister Kimball. Their example of persistence in becoming better educated, more faithful servants, and dedicated disciples inspires me. As I was “coming to myself,” to quote the parable of the prodigal son, President Kimball was the president of the Church and he changed my life. Certainly, his counsel had a great impact on my serving a mission, a decision that has blessed every day of my life in the decades that followed that decision. His counsel to “lengthen our stride” and “do it” (President Kimball said it before Nike) changed the Church, changed the world.
I delivered a devotional address some years ago; let’s just say I have pretty much the same wardrobe but a much different face. . . it happens. In that devotional, I referred to hobbits, so I will make that a tradition and hopefully make a point.
In The Lord of the Rings, Galadriel says, “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.”9 Of course, the Book of Mormon says it better in Alma 37:6: “By small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.”10
That was President Kimball. He stood 5’ 6”, faced a history of health challenges, one of which left him with the raspy voice you heard. But through him, we learned that God can speak, and speak powerfully, through such a voice. God seems to love to be able to work with and help the seemingly ordinary, the seemingly weak and simple.
And in Lord of the Rings, Gandalf says, “Hobbits really are amazing creatures. . . . You can learn all that there is to know about their ways in a month, and yet after a hundred years they can still surprise you.”11
That was President Kimball. As mentioned, it was a surprise when he became president of the Church, and perhaps even more of a surprise was his dynamic, world-changing leadership.
It’s been my enormous privilege to teach the Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel course. One of the richest experiences has been a study of His titles that reveal much about His nature and His roles.
This is not a title we studied, but I think it’s evident throughout His ministry whether mortal or beyond that: I like the title the God of Surprises. As you study, look at how often He takes His Apostles and others by surprise.
That is how God has often chosen to work. Through fishermen, shepherds, obscure farm boys. Of the Son Himself, Isaiah said, “And he had not form nor comeliness that we should desire him.”12 The idea being that He might have seemed pretty average (though I trust you would have seen something desirable, even magnificent about Him).
History has marveled and will continue to marvel at what God has, is, and will do through a little school on a hill once known as Ricks College.
And if you allow, God can work through you in ways that may surprise but certainly will thrill you. He will do that here if you take the ear buds out between classes and look for those whose day you can make brighter. He is preparing the way now to use you in remarkable and needed ways if you will just “hear Him.”
I will close quoting a president and two prophets with statements spoken on this campus that certainly, prophetically apply to you. A former President, John L. Clarke, said "[BYU-Idaho] was founded upon the firm belief there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people." President Gordon B Hinckley said, “The work of the Lord is done by ordinary people who work in an extraordinary way.”
And probably no one knows this place better than President Henry B. Eyring who said, “You have people walking on this campus for whom God has plans beyond anything you can imagine.”
I know that it is no coincidence that you are here, but as part of a great, divine design—both for you and the Church and kingdom in these latter days.
I invite you to enjoy but take seriously now your quest. I invite you to lean in and have the whole experience—take hard classes and get the most out of this amazing educational opportunity, attend devotional, and be a blessing to your ward.
I invite you to step out of the boat, onto your seas, and keep your eye on your Savior.
President Henry J. Eyring
Thank you, Julia and Greg. You have reminded us of how each member of the BYU-Idaho community can be a light to the world through faithful persistence.
President Nelson also provided us with a poignant reminder to be persistent. He said:
Keep at it, even when things get difficult. Push through the tough times and realize that even small victories mean you are having success. The Savior “waxed strong in spirit” (Luke 2:40) as He grew older. We too can wax strong in spirit and in our talents and habits if we persevere.13
Closing
In closing, I am grateful for the opportunity to have explored and been lifted by the story of Spencer and Camilla Kimball. After the 1975 devotional, my father and mother drove the Kimballs from Rexburg to Idaho Falls, where they would fly back to Salt Lake City. I was invited to come.
I quietly listened to their conversation. The Kimballs praised the college, including its students, employees, and townspeople. I feel certain that they would feel the same today.
I would like to close by playing another passage of the audio from President Kimball’s devotional talk on this campus in 1975.
Now my young friends, where do you stand? Each of you is heir to a fortune for eternal life is the greatest gift. What will you do with it? You’re entitled to a kingdom or a queendom. You are princes and princesses. Do you prize your inheritance when you abdicate your throne by unworthiness or by failing to meet the requirements of being married in the holy temple? Do you realize what the Lord has in store for you?14
I hope you will join me in continuing to persist in faith through the trials and challenges of mortality. As we press forward, trusting in our Savior’s redeeming love and heeding the counsel of prophets and apostles, we will be prepared to receive all that our Father in Heaven has in store for us. May we do so together, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
- See Genesis 25:30-34.
- Spencer W. Kimball, “Homecoming Devotional,” BYU-Idaho Devotional, Oct. 14, 1975.
- Robert D. Hales, “Examples from the Life of a Prophet,” Ensign, Nov. 1981.
- See Spencer W. Kimball, “Privileges and Responsibilities of Sisters,” Ensign, Nov. 1978.
- Bonnie D. Parkin, “Personal Ministry: Sacred and Precious,” BYU Devotional, Feb. 13, 2007.
- Camilla: A Biography of Camilla Eyring Kimball, Deseret Book Company, 1980.
- Spencer W. Kimball, One Silent Sleepless Night, Bookcraft, 1975.
- John 16:33
- J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, George Allen and Unwin, 1954.
- Alma 37:6.
- J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, George Allen and Unwin, 1954.
- Isaiah 53:2.
- Russell M. Nelson, New Year’s message on social media, Jan. 1, 2023, https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/prophet-new-year-message-2023.
- Spencer W. Kimball, “Homecoming Devotional,” BYU-Idaho Devotional, Oct. 14, 1975.