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 responsibilities before you and to give you three very specific and practical things you can do to realize the great promise that is yours.
Brothers and sisters, because we 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 each of you to become a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ and a leader 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. I thought about singing the hymn for you, but decided that it would be best just to say the words. Let the melody play in your mind as I speak. The hymn is True to the Faith:
Shall the youth of Zion falter
In defending truth and right?
While the enemy assaileth,
Shall we shrink or shun the fight?
No!
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. Listen to the words of the Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants about His disciples:
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]
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.[3]
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. But what does it mean to “stand in holy places?”
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. In Ephesians, chapter 6, Paul admonishes the Saints to arm themselves with the gospel of Christ in the battle against evil “. . . and having done all, to stand.”[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. This is what that great Apostle meant when he admonished the Corinthian Saints to “. . . stand fast in the faith . . .” [5] and the Saints in Philippi to “. . . stand fast in the Lord . . . ” [6] 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. 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, follow the example of President Heber J. Grant[7] and go to the temple every week where you can participate once again in the 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.
Disciples built on the rock of Christ will stand when the storms come. But they must also be active and engaged in standing for truth and righteousness and bearing testimony of the truth. 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 . . .”[8]
You can stand as a witness of God 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.[9]
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 missionary 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 and teach the principles of the first discussion if the opportunity comes. Invite them to read the Book of Mormon, to come to Church, and to meet with the missionaries. If you will pray for opportunities and prepare yourself to share and invite, you will have many wonderful experiences as a witness of God.
Standing as a witness of God also comes from what you do. When you live the fullness of the gospel, your actions illuminate and reflect your faith in Christ and your love of His gospel and His church. As the Savior proclaimed in the Sermon on the Mount and in the revelations of the Restoration, you become the light of the world:
And also unto my faithful servants . . . and unto all the elders and people of my Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, scattered abroad in all the world;
Verily I say unto you all: Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations.[10]
Letting your light shine is all about standing in holy places. Here the Lord commands His disciples to arise—to stand up—and having stood, to shine forth, to stand as a witness in word and deed. The Lord taught the Nephites about light and the standard to the nations when He said: “Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up—that which ye have seen me do.” [11]
The standard is Christ. He is the light and the life of the world. The people of the world see that standard through the lives of His disciples who stand in holy places. In your life, they will see the light that is in Christ in your homes, in your wards, in your stakes, and in your service in the temples of the Lord. They will see and feel the light that is in Christ because they will see it in you.
Here is a practical suggestion to help you arise and shine forth: no matter where you go, no matter what you do, let the principles of the gospel guide your actions. It does not matter if you are working on a farm or in a hospital, a school, a business, an office, or at home. It does not matter if you are at church, or at work, or out in your neighborhood. Put true principles into action. Live your life whole; be the same person wherever you are. When you have opportunities to teach, teach true principles—no matter what. The light that is in you will shine through true principles in action. You will be a light to the world, and you will stand in holy places.
In conclusion, I would like to leave you with a summary, a request, and my testimony. By way of summary, I hope you will always remember to renew your covenants in the sacrament and in the temple, faithfully, every week; be a great missionary—prepare, pray, share and invite; and let your light shine by putting true principles into action in everything you do.
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 this the dispensation of the fullness of times, ushered in through the ministry of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I bear witness that Gordon B. Hinckley stands where Joseph stood. He is the prophet of God. Your future is bright and glorious. May the Lord bless you and keep you all the days of your life. And may you stand in holy places and be not moved. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Evan Stephens, True to the Faith, Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 254
[2] Doctrine and Covenants 45:32, emphasis added
[3] Doctrine and Covenants 101:22, emphasis added
[4] Ephesians 6:13
[5] 1 Corinthians 16:13
[6] Philippians 4:1
[7] Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, pp. 54-55
[8] Mosiah 18:9
[9] Doctrine and Covenants 100:5-6
[10] Doctrine and Covenants 115:3, 5
[11] 3 Nephi 18:24