Introduction and Congratulations
Brother and Sister Wilcox, President and Sister Eyring, faculty, family, friends, welcome! And graduates, good evening! You look absolutely stunning and we’re thrilled for you!
Connie and I were here on a recent December morning, and we saw one of you . . . jogging . . . in the snow. We actually turned to each other and said, “He’s gotta be crazy!” Then we realized, “No wait, it’s 7:57 am. He’s not crazy; his alarm just went off and he’s timed exactly how long it takes to get from his bed to his 8:00 class.” Welcome to college in Rexburg!
The DNA of BYU-Idaho
But aside from those frantic winter mornings scraping your car to get to campus, there have been other quiet moments when you’ve walked across this campus and were struck with a deep feeling of gratitude. This is a special place; it’s been a great blessing to attend this university, and right next to the house of the Lord!
BYU-Idaho has a sacred history, with something deep down in its DNA that makes it unique. For one, this university has a laser focus on students. Everything here, every building, every decision, every everything has you in mind. That focus even determines the professors who are hired here, professors who are among the most committed teachers on the planet.
An irreplaceable part of the DNA here is that President and Sister Eyring, and everyone on this campus, are entirely committed to your becoming lifelong, deeply converted, happy disciples of Jesus Christ. Wherever you go in the world, from a small flat in a big city, to a noisy apartment with young children, to executive meetings with world leaders, be courageous in sharing your testimony of the Savior and His restored gospel as the reason behind your hope and happiness.
May I mention just one more element of the DNA of BYU-Idaho. It comes to you as a legacy-with-a-responsibility.
The BYU-Idaho Board of Trustees
It is my tremendous privilege to represent BYU-Idaho’s Board of Trustees today.
Colleges and universities are governed by boards of trustees. Sometimes board members are selected because of their leadership ability or experience in generating financial success. Sometimes members bring an ability to raise the public profile of the university. Although BYU-Idaho has former doctors, lawyers, professors, university presidents, and business leaders serving on its board, BYU-Idaho is one of only four universities and one college in the entire world whose board is led by prophets, seers, and revelators. For Brigham Young University-Idaho, these men serve as the officers, the presidency if you will, of the board of trustees.
When your own President Eyring and I meet with our board, we don’t have to guess if their guidance will lead to success. There’s no debate about whether their direction is informed or enlightened. We know with perfect assurance that BYU-Idaho’s success, and the blessings which will come to you, are directly tied to aligning with them, because—and this is really important—because by aligning with them, we are aligning with the Savior.
That is part of your education here. That is the deoxyribonucleic acid which is down deep in the culture of this university, down deep in its leaders, and now down deep in you.
You can be assured that they are closely and directly aware of your hopes and your concerns and this university’s ongoing needs. With only a slight adaptation, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland recently described it this way: “President Nelson [who chairs] our board of trustees, hold[s] our purse strings, and [has] the final ‘yea’ or ‘nay’ on every proposal we might make—from [authorizing the construction of this breathtaking ‘I-Center’] to approving a new pickup truck for the physical facilities staff!” Elder Holland concluded, “Russell M. Nelson is very, very good at listening to us. We who sit with him every day have learned the value of listening carefully to him.”1
I testify of these men and pray that listening to them is now down deep in our DNA!
Conclusion and Testimony
So, today is commencement! It’s filled with excitement and congratulations. Graduating is a tremendous accomplishment! It’s also filled with a bit of anxiousness because tomorrow you’ll wake up to new adventures and even some tests. President Henry B. Eyring, one of the officers of the board, revealed something about tomorrow to you with a promise and a prophecy.
The graduates [of BYU-Idaho] will be at personal peace by having kept the commandments. [You] will be natural leaders. . . . [You] will become—and this is a prophecy that I am prepared to make and make solemnly—[you] will become legendary for [your] capacity to build the people around [you].
I hope I live long enough to someday meet some employer who employed one of you and says, “Where did that come from? I’ve never had such a person. Why people just flock around that person. And they want to follow. They don’t have to be led; they’re seeking to go where that person wants to go. . . . I can’t understand it.” And I’ll smile and say, “Well, come with me to Rexburg.”2
My graduating friends, after coming to Rexburg, you now prepare to leave for tomorrow! Will you please commit to fulfill that prophecy everywhere you go for the rest of your lives!
I testify of Him who stands at the head of this Church and who is the Tender Mercy3 of God. I pray for His greatest blessings in every part of your lives and for you and me to share His name, and His hope, and His peace with the entire world. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
- Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Second Half of the Second Century of Brigham Young University,” Brigham Young University, Aug. 23, 2021.
- Henry B. Eyring, “A Steady Upward Course,” Brigham Young University-Idaho, Sept. 18, 2001.
- Luke 1:76–80.