At this long awaited and very important rite of passage in your life, Sister Clark and I extend to you our congratulations and our love.
My purpose today is to look ahead briefly at the opportunities before you and to give you three very specific and practical things you can do to realize the great promises that are yours.
Brothers and sisters, because you live in the dispensation of the fullness of times, you will have many wonderful and many very challenging experiences. With that future in mind, we have sought to prepare you to become disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ and leaders in your families, in the Church, and in the world around you. There is a familiar hymn that captures much of the hope that is in you. The hymn is “True to the Faith”:
True to the faith that our parents have cherished,
True to truth for which martyrs have perished,
To God’s command,
Soul, heart, and hand,
Faithful and true we will ever stand.[1]
Being a disciple of the Savior and a leader in the kingdom is all about standing. Indeed, it is about standing in holy places. Speaking of His disciples in the last days, the Lord said:
But my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be moved; but among the wicked, men shall lift up their voices and curse God and die.[2]
The stakes of Zion, the temples of the Lord, our chapels, and our homes are the holy places in which the Lord commands us to stand. Today I would like to emphasize three ways in which we must stand if we are to be disciple-leaders in the kingdom of God:
- Stand Fast
- Stand Up
- Stand Together
Stand Fast
In the years ahead we will live in a world of increasing turmoil, growing temptation, and gathering wickedness. Some of what challenges us will be very subtle; some will be very direct and immediate. But no matter the challenge, the disciples of the Savior will be steadfast and immovable in their commitment to Him. This is what Paul meant when he admonished the Corinthian Saints to “stand fast in the faith,”3 and the Saints in Philippi to “stand fast in the Lord.”[4] To stand in this sense is to resist, to not fall, to not succumb to the wiles of the devil nor his fiery darts. The Lord’s disciples in the latter-days will be true and faithful to the covenants they have made. They will stand fast.
Here is something very concrete and practical you can do to stand fast in holy places: Every Sunday as you partake of the sacrament, prayerfully renew your commitment to “always remember him” and “keep his commandments.”[5] Reflect on your gratitude for the Atonement, on its power in your life, and your need for the blessings and strength that are in the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, if you live close to a temple, go often and participate in the sacred covenants and ordinances of the house of the Lord. If you do these things, the Lord will bless you with His Spirit. Your strength will be in the Lord. Your house will be built on the rock of Christ. And you will stand fast in holy places.
Stand Up
Disciples built on the rock of Christ will stand when the storms come. But they must also be active and engaged in bearing testimony of the gospel. In short, they must stand up for truth and righteousness. Alma declared that one of the great responsibilities of discipleship is:
. . . to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death . . . .[6]
You can stand as a witness of God through the way you live your life and through the words you speak. The Lord has given his disciples this great commandment with a promise:
“lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts . . . .
For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say.”[7]
Here are some practical steps you can take to lift up your voice: First, be prepared to share the message of the Restoration with the people you meet. Study and learn the first discussion in Preach My Gospel. Make sure you know the five-minute version very well. Second, ask the Lord to put people in your path, and promise Him that you will speak to them. When He does, share your love of the Church and the gospel. Learn to say something like, “I love the way my church gives meaning to my life or brings me closer to God” or whatever the Spirit directs. Teach the principles of the first discussion if the opportunity comes. Invite those you meet to read the Book of Mormon, to come to Church, and to visit with the missionaries in your home.
If you will pray for opportunities and prepare yourself to share and invite, you will have many wonderful experiences as a witness of God. You will stand up in holy places.
Stand Together
In the Lord’s kingdom we do not stand alone. Indeed, we are under command of the Lord to stand with our brothers and sisters:
Behold, it is my will, that all they who call on my name, and worship me according to mine everlasting gospel, should gather together, and stand in holy places . . .[8]
We gather and stand together in our families and in our wards and stakes. It is in our families that we forge bonds of charity and lay the foundation for eternal life with our Heavenly Father. In our wards and stakes we build faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen families. We teach and serve one another and “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.”[9]
So, here are two very practical things you can do to stand together:
First, memorize the proclamation on the family and live its principles. Always hold family home evening; always pray together as a family morning and night; always read and study the scriptures together as a family, especially the Book of Mormon; and always work together and have fun together.
Second, always accept and always magnify callings in the Church, and always volunteer to be of service in the kingdom. If your bishop calls you to be the nursery leader, or the Scoutmaster, or anything else, accept and magnify. When opportunities come to volunteer for service, be the first person with your hand in the air, the first person with your name on the sign-up sheet. When the call goes out to shovel the sidewalks, or visit someone less active, or take a meal to a ward member, be the first one to stand up and say, “Here am I; send me.”[10]
If you do these things, you will stand together in holy places.
In conclusion, I would like to leave you with a request and my testimony.
Here is the request: When you leave here today, please take the Spirit of Ricks with you. Please take BYU–Idaho and what it means and what it stands for with you. You now represent the university. I hope and pray that wherever you go, whatever you do, you will act in such a way that people around you will see in you the principles, the purposes, and the spirit of BYU–Idaho.
My dear brothers and sisters, this is the work of our loving Heavenly Father. His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. This is His Church and kingdom. We have the great privilege to stand as His disciples in the dispensation of the fullness of times, ushered in through the ministry of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I bear witness that Thomas S. Monson stands where Joseph stood. He is the prophet of God. Your future is bright and glorious. May you stand fast, and stand up, and stand together in holy places and be not moved. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Evan Stephens, “True to the Faith,” Hymns, p. 254
[2] D&C 45:32 (emphasis added)
[3] 1 Corinthians 16:13
[4] Philippians 4:1
[5] D&C 20:77
[6] Mosiah 18:9
[7] D&C 100:5-6
[8] D&C 101:22 (emphasis added)
[9] D&C 81:5
[10] 2 Nephi 16:8