Good afternoon students, faculty members and friends.
I am highly honored to have been asked to address you in this devotional. I have great respect for this University; participating, even in a small way, in the process of helping young men and women take their place in society is exciting and challenging. As you know I'm the Managing Director of the Perpetual Education Fund. I have been in this position since I was released as a General Authority and it's so satisfying because, like this University, the Perpetual Education Fund is engaged in preparing young men and women for their life's work.
I worked for Ford Motor Company for thirty-five years before I retired. During my career with Ford Motor Company, I saw hundreds of young people come into the company from virtually all the great universities in this nation. In those days, Ford hired about one out of every fifteen students we interviewed on college campuses. In a year, we would talk to several thousand young people as we searched for employees that we believed could contribute to the success of the Company. I was closely associated with this process and I think I have some understanding of students, how they think, their aspirations and their concerns. I think I understand, too, some of the qualities it will take to be successful member of society and that's what I want to talk about today.
When I was a senior at BYU, I enrolled in a religion class taught by William F. Edwards, the Dean of the College of Business. Professor Edwards had retired early from a very successful career on Wall Street. He left that career to come to BYU to do what he enjoyed most-participate in the process of educating young people. Professor Edward's class was not an easy one. It consisted of lectures on 15 different subjects. These were subjects on which he had strong views, which he believed had contributed importantly to his success. We were expected to do research and submit a paper each week on our interpretation of the assigned subjects. These papers were graded and returned to us promptly. At the end of the course we were given a small three-ring binder to hold our papers-I've brought with me the very binder from that class. Inside there is a title page that reads: "fifteen Points on the Compass of Life."
It was a great class. Over the years, I've read and re-read sections of this loose leaf. Let me share with you the titles of these 15 papers. I think you'll find them interesting and some a little unusual for a religion class:
- Church Standards and a Way of Life
- The Easy Way to Success
- Time Must Work in My Favor
- Judgment vs. Policy
- My Job
- Marriage and Family
- Living Economically
- Living More Abundantly
- The Home
- Church and Government
- Debts that Breed Either Happiness or Sorrow
- Insurance
- Savings
- Retirement
- My Joy Account
I have cherished the advice given to me by Professor Edwards. I have come to realize how incredibly wise his words were. His counsel has made a difference in my life and the life of my family. For example, a few weeks ago, my eldest daughter suggested that I teach a lesson on budgeting at Family Home Evening to our college-enrolled grandchildren living in Utah. I used many of the thoughts in this book in my remarks.
As I indicated, I should like to leave with you some thoughts on which I have strong views based on my life's experiences. I've called it, "Four Points on Your Compass of Life." I hope you'll find it useful; I'd love to think that in fifty years you'd remember even one of these points. They are:
- Chart your life's course now.
- "Get all the education you can."
- Live a seamless life.
- Learn and master the power of love.
The First Point for Your Compass: Chart Your Life's Course NowLet me explain what charting is: When mariners started a voyage they used a chart or map to lay out a course to ensure they wouldn't get lost.
At this point, you're feeling pretty good about what you've accomplished. You should. Up to now you have prepared yourself well. You're on your way and when you graduate you'll be in an elite group of the nation's population.
It is my belief, however, that in 10 to 15 years, if you don't chart your life's course, many of you will have varying degrees of unhappiness with what you have accomplished. To help you avoid these disappointments, you need to define now what you want to achieve in life and what actions are necessary to get you there and commit these actions to writing.
You've got to decide whether you want to partake of the fruit of the "tree of life" or whether you want to view the world from the "great and spacious building." I assume your goal is the fruit of the tree of life. If it isn't, I advise you to make a course correction.
I am an optimist. I am a firm believer that you can control your destiny. Fulfillment of your dreams is not so much a matter of intelligence or good fortune as it is a combination of establishing sound goals, focusing, taking action and being willing to sacrifice.
I suggest that before you start your charting work, you read President Kimball's "The Miracle of Forgiveness," Chapter 17, "Charting a Safe Course." If I were President of this University for a day, I would make this chapter required reading for every student.
President Kimball points out that we can't foresee every circumstance in life, but we can see most of the important decisions that we need to make, decisions that, if made correctly now, will ensure happiness and success. These decisions are straightforward and uncomplicated. President Kimball calls for driving down "stakes." The "stakes" are of two kinds. "This I will do" and "This I will not do." These "stakes" involve such things as dating, temple marriage, the family and time for gospel living, honoring church covenants, honoring marriage covenants, etc. Read this chapter in preparation for charting your life's course. Drive down some "stakes" of your own. It won't give you answers for all the issues you will face but it will give you a solid foundation for beginning the charting process.
For all other charting issues, use all the help you can get in defining your goals. Get "buy in" where it's appropriate. Consult with others-your spouse (if you're married), your parents, a respected friend, a member of the faculty-someone you trust. And, by all means, seek divine help through fasting and prayer.
While the issues mentioned by President Kimball, hopefully are cast in stone, others are not. Many of them will change with time and insight. It would not be wise to commit yourself to a course of action and make no changes despite receiving information that suggests a change is highly appropriate.
Something else to consider on setting goals: It has been my experience that our greatest regrets come from not challenging ourselves sufficiently rather than from setting goals that are too aggressive.
Preparing your life's goals will put you in another select group; very few people commit their objectives to writing. Keep in mind, however, committing them to writing is the easy part. The difficult part is getting yourself to take the action necessary to achieve them.
Anthony Robbins has written an interesting book entitled "Unlimited Power." In the book it says:
"Often we get caught in the mental trap of seeing enormously successful people and thinking they are where they are because they have some special gift. Yet a closer look shows that the greatest gift that extraordinarily successful people have over the average person is their ability to get themselves to take action. It's a gift that any of us can develop within ourselves."[1]
My Professor Edwards' counsel, was that at your age, your life's goals should be concerned with filling your "Joy Account." What's a "Joy Account?" Here's what I said 55 years ago. I haven't changed my mind:
"Early in life each individual should decide for himself the true measure of success. We must remember that the true measure of success is not worldly goods but rather those intangible assets that have eternal value; you cannot take worldly goods with you, therefore, if you're to enjoy yourself in the world to come you must create for yourself a joy account. This leads to the true measure of success which consists in such things as charity, missionary work, paying tithing, living the word of wisdom, keeping the Sabbath day holy and many others. These represent assets that have eternal value, assets that can be used both in this life and the life to come. By accumulating these assets of this side we can build up our joy account to consist of the money that they use on the other side."
I want to close my remarks on this point by sharing with you what President Kimball said about those who move through life without a plan:
Like a mariner without stars, like a traveler without a compass, is the person who moves along through life without a plan. The assurance of supreme happiness, the certainty of a successful life here and of exaltation and eternal life hereafter, come to those who plan to live their lives in complete harmony with the gospel of Jesus Christ-and then consistently follow the course they have set."
I testify to you that President Kimball's counsel about charting your life's course is true.
The Second Point for your Compass of Life: "Get all the Education You Can."[3]
It is a tough old world out there. As Robert Fulghum says: "Life is lumpy!"[4] It may surprise you, but what most of you will be doing for many years after you graduate will be selling yourselves. It doesn't take a genius to understand that the better educated you are, the better prepared you are, the more likely it will be that you will achieve your goals.
President Gordon B. Hinckley has taught us about many subjects in the years that he has been a member of the First Presidency. Few, however, have been taught as regularly and with as much passion as education.
Education is more than just important, he says, "It is incumbent upon every member of the Church, as a mandate from the Lord, to get all the education you can get."[5]
President Hinckley has taught this subject to men and to women, to young people and to parents. His statements clearly "raise the bar" on educational attainment. Consider this small sample of his teachings on this subject:
"Now is the great day of preparation for each of you. If it means sacrifice, then sacrifice. That sacrifice will become the best investment you have ever made, for you will reap returns from it all the days of your lives....Do the very best you can. Maybe you are not an 'A' student. Maybe you are not a 'B' student. Maybe you are not a genius; most of us are not. In fact, the majority of us are not.... I have concluded that the work of the world is done by ordinary people who learned to work in an extraordinary way."[6]
"Education becomes the key of opportunity for everyone in this life. It may involve sacrifice, it may involve unusual effort, but with the help of heaven, it can be had."[7]
"The Lord has enjoined upon this people the responsibility to train their minds that they may be equipped to serve in the society of which they will become a part. The Church will be blessed by reason of their excellence. Furthermore, they will be amply rewarded for the effort they make."[8]
Speaking of rewards, "Consider these data taken from the College Board's "Education Pays" 2007 report:[9]
- Typical college graduate can expect to earn 62% more than the typical worker who has only a high school diploma.
- If you have a master's degree you can expect to earn twice as much; if you have a professional degree you can expect to earn three times as much as a high school graduate.
- The typical college graduate who enrolled at age 18, can, by the age of 33, expect to recover all of his tuition and fees, interest on student loans and earnings lost while he was in college.
- For both men and women, a higher level of education corresponds to higher income.
- At every age, higher levels of education correlate with better health.
- The more education you have:
- The less likely you are to smoke.
- The more likely you are to engage in leisure time exercise
- The better you will prepare your children for their schooling.
- The more likely you are to participate in volunteer community activities.
- The more likely you are to vote.
The prophet said that education benefits the Church. Indeed it does: The Church Research Department surveyed that issue and found that the more education you have the more likely a person is to have a testimony, give significant service to the Lord and the Church, and hold responsible callings.
That's one of the reasons the Prophet established the Perpetual Education Fund. We presently have over 29,000 young people in forty different countries obtaining an education, getting better jobs, and becoming self-reliant members. These all contribute importantly to leadership in the Church.
We meet with Area Presidencies when they are in Salt Lake for Conference. Recently the President of one of our Areas reported that 5-10% of his bishops and stake presidents are graduates of the PEF program.
We receive hundreds of letters each year from students telling us what a blessing their education has been and how grateful they are for the opportunity that has been given to them to study.
Here is a letter from the Maracaibo Venezuela Stake that is illustrative of what education is doing for our young people around the world.
"Dear Elder Pino,
It is my pleasure to write to you; I want to share the following event. On May 15, 2007 I defended my thesis to aspire to the title of Attorney. It was presented before a jury of experts in the subject matter, all Jurist Doctors. The thesis was approved with 20 points, which brought great joy to me and my family. I will receive my title on July 28.
I want to express my gratitude to the brethren of the First Presidency, the Area Presidency, and to those in charge of the Perpetual Education Fund. Many thanks!!! It allowed me to receive an academic level, and above all to become self-reliant, along with my precious metals skill which I learned through observation from my father. The secular studies were not easy, but I can testify that it can be done.
I have experienced the blessings from my Heavenly Father and greatly value the privilege of serving in the Church. While I studied I served as a Bishop, Stake Presidency Counselor and Stake President. I learned that balance in our activities can be obtained, as our Prophet, President Hinckley has taught. With the help of my wife and my daughters we maintain that equilibrium to cover all our activities. I remember that my study companions learned that on Sundays we would not study together because it was the day of rest.
We continue to work hard, with enthusiasm, motivating the returned missionaries and the leaders to use the Perpetual Education Fund because yes, there is time for everything!
Thank you brethren of the Area Presidency for all that you do; your good example always inspires us to move onward.
Sincerely,
President Ruben Llontop Leon
Maracaibo Venezuela Centro Stake"
Now some of you are saying---Elder Cook, You're preaching to the choir. We are already enrolled in college. Yes, I know that, but data from the last five years suggests that almost 40% of you, for one reason or another will not complete your education here.
I have told my children that they can do any reasonable thing in this life if they are prepared to sacrifice to achieve it. I say to you that if you want to graduate, then do it! In the words of the prophet: "If it means sacrifice, then sacrifice."
Now the Third Point for your Compass of Life: Live a Seamless Life
You're saying, "What in the world is a seamless life?" It's this: Learn to live your religion without embarrassment and without apology 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. That ought to be one of your "stakes" in the ground that President Kimball talked about.
This fabric has two sides: One side is seamed, the other is seamless.
Don't be one person at Church and another at home, at work or with your friends.
Be the same person every day of the week, whether you are at Church, at work, at home or enjoying yourself with your friends.
Living a seamless life is a matter of integrity. I used to be asked often as I interviewed students if adhering to all the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ was a detriment to my career. The answer is a resounding NO!
The world is searching for people with integrity. We have no integrity if we espouse a set of values but we don't always adhere to them. Do not kid yourself; the lack of integrity will not go unnoticed.
Integrity and reliability are closely related. Years ago my Stake President in Michigan regularly claimed that Confucius said: "If you're not utterly reliable, you're utterly useless." That quote never left me.
Now for the Final Point for your Compass: Learn and Master the Power of Love
I wish I could tell you I am an expert on this subject. The fact is, I wish I could turn the clock back fifty years. I wish I were sitting in this audience as you are and someone next to me would say: "Richard, listen carefully to what this man has to say about the Power of Love." I promise you that it has the capacity to make your life and the lives of those you touch more meaningful, more enjoyable and more productive.
In October Conference in 2000, President Monson quoted Bernadine Healy, a physician, when she said in a commencement address:[10] "As a physician, who has been deeply privileged to share the most profound moments of people's lives including their final moments, let me tell you a secret. People facing death don't think about what degrees they have earned, what positions they have held, or how much wealth they have accumulated. At the end, what really matters is whom you loved and who loved you. That circle of love is everything, and is a good measure of a past life. It is the gift of greatest worth."[10]
What did Christ say about love? Let me quote from John 13:34-35:"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
The world generally defines charity as alms or benevolence. Our Bible Dictionary (page 632) defines charity as "The highest noblest, strongest kind of love, not merely affection; the pure love of Christ."
When I was a mission president, my missionaries would ask me what makes a good missionary? I gave them four things; The first on my list was "Love your companion with a Christ-like love." Why is this? Messengers need to match the message. A disciple of Christ needs to bring a message of love. How can he if he doesn't show that love for his companion? Investigators can detect love and respect between companions. When it is lacking, they are turned off. When they see it, it helps to invite the Spirit.
Think of the two or three people that you most admire. Think of the things that make them stand out-isn't it the love and respect they show to their fellow human beings? This love and respect will do the same for you. It is not just an attitude change but an attribute that you need to identify, refine and develop.
I promise you that if you can master this attribute:
- You will be concerned with the happiness of others.
- You will treat others for what they are-the children of a loving Father.
- You will avoid the feelings of anger, envy, lust and competitiveness.
- You will not say negative things about others.
- You will try to build others in any way you can especially when they are discouraged.
- You will be identified as a friend that can be turned to for advice and help and you will seek, not avoid, these opportunities.
This concept of the power of love is not to be defined narrowly. It goes well beyond your family. It truly applies to your neighbor, your fellow human beings.
It does have the capacity to define your life, to be the gift of greatest worth. It will draw people to you and not just your family. It will cement friendships that will nurture and strengthen you all your life. Importantly, it will be recognized by employers, customers, and associates and rewarded generously.
My prayer is the same as Moroni's:
"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love..." Moroni 7:48.
In summary, I leave with you, these four points on your Compass of Life:
First—Chart your life's course now. Decide what you want to achieve and what actions necessary to get there.
Second—Get all the education you can.
Third—Live a seamless life.
Fourth—Learn and master the power of love.
I would like to close by using the words of Professor Edwards wrote across the bottom of my Title Page--"May we endure in these ideals."
Testimony
Notes
[1] Unlimited power; the new Science of Personal Achievement/Anthony Robbins, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997
[2] Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803-1882, The complete writing of Ralph W. Emerson
[3] President Hinckley, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada 4 August 1998
[4] All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten: Uncommon thoughts on common things/ Robert Fulghum, New York: Rillard Books, 1988
[5] Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, p. 721-724
[6] Gordon B. Hinckley, Eugene, Oregon Regional Conference, Sept. 15, 1996
[7] Caring, Australia, 26 January. In Gordon B. Hinckley "Words of the Living Prophet," Liahona, Jan. 2001
[8] Gordon B. Hinckley, Liahona, Jan. 2001
[9] College Boards 2007 Report; Education Pays-The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society
[10] November 2000 Ensign, "Dedication Day," p. 64-66