BYU Speeches

[Tuly]

There have been some incredible speeches given at BYU Provo and I am learning also at BYU Idaho. I would like to start a collection of some these memorable speeches. I will start with a talk by Elder Jeffrey Holland given 1999. The talk is called "Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence" - I'm seriously considering making a sign for me to remind me of this scripture found in Hebrews 10. The link is here (please read the whole talk, you will be grateful you read it!) -

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/jeffrey- ... onfidence/

Here is a quote from it -

Lesson number two is closely related to it. It is that in the process of revelation and in making important decisions, fear almost always plays a destructive, sometimes paralyzing role. To Oliver Cowdery, who missed the opportunity of a lifetime because he didn't seize it in the lifetime of the opportunity, the Lord said, "You did not continue as you commenced." Does that sound familiar to those who have been illuminated and then knuckled under to second thoughts and returning doubts? "It is not expedient that you should translate now," the Lord said in language that must have been very hard for Oliver to hear. "Behold, it was expedient when you commenced; but you feared, and the time is past, and it is not expedient now" (D&C 9:5, 10–11; emphasis added).

Every one of us runs the risk of fear. You do, and I do. Did you catch the line I tried to emphasize as I read the account from the Pearl of Great Price? For a moment in that confrontation, "Moses began to fear exceedingly; and as he began to fear, he saw the bitterness of hell" (Moses 1:20). That's when you see it--when you are afraid.

That is exactly the problem that beset the children of Israel at the edge of the Red Sea. That is lesson number two. It has everything to do with holding fast to earlier illumination. The record says, "And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid."

Some, just like those Paul had described earlier, said, "Let's go back. This isn't worth it. We must have been wrong. That probably wasn't the right spirit telling us to leave Egypt." What they actually said to Moses was, "Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? . . . It had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness" (Exodus 14:10–12).

And I have to say, "What about that which has already happened? What about the miracles that got you here? What about the frogs and the lice? What about the rod and the serpent, the river and the blood? What about the hail, the locusts, the fire, and the firstborn sons?"

How soon we forget. It would not have been better to stay and serve the Egyptians, and it is not better to remain outside the Church nor to reject a mission call nor to put off marriage and so on and so on forever. Of course our faith will be tested as we fight through these self-doubts and second thoughts. Some days we will be miraculously led out of Egypt--seemingly free, seemingly on our way--only to come to yet another confrontation, like all that water lying before us. At those times we must resist the temptation to panic and to give up. At those times fear will be the strongest of the adversary's weapons against us.

"And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. . . . The Lord shall fight for you."

In confirmation the great Jehovah said to Moses, "Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward" (Exodus 14:13–15; emphasis added).

That is the second lesson of the spirit of revelation. After you have gotten the message, after you have paid the price to feel his love and hear the word of the Lord, "go forward." Don't fear, don't vacillate, don't quibble, don't whine. You may, like Alma going to Ammonihah, have to find a route that leads an unusual way, but that is exactly what the Lord was doing here for the children of Israel. Nobody had ever crossed the Red Sea this way, but so what? There's always a first time. With the spirit of revelation, dismiss your fears and wade in with both feet. In the words of Joseph Smith, "Brethren [and, I would add, sisters], shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory!" (D&C 128:22).

[Tuly]

This talk was given by Ann Madsen wife of Truman Madsen. This was given at BYU-I March 29th 2011. "Stand in a Holy Place: Sanctify Your Own Space"

http://www.byui.edu/Presentations/Trans ... Madsen.htm

Here is a quote from her talk.

Picture a conduit of light with you in it, sitting silently during the sacrament, with head bowed, asking, “How holy am I? Why do I promise to remember Christ? What is the exchange that is taking place? I sacrifice [all] my sins and ask with all my heart each week, ‘What lack I yet? What are my sins?” When the answer comes, I write it down. In 1995 I wrote down these impressions and I keep a copy in my scriptures to refer to during the sacrament:



* Know when to speak and when to keep silent.
* Keep sacred things in my heart
* Give myself to Truman every day
* Process pain through love. Metabolize hurt by charity
* Restraint



During the sacrament, I take into myself the symbols of a perfect life, a life which becomes my everlasting example of goodness and decency. And I do it with others, sitting side by side, that through this ordinance we may be “partakers of the divine nature.” “By partaking, accompanied by the Spirit of God, we are preparing ourselves to be sufficiently pure to enter His presence . . . the Spirit is invited in and comes to stay.”



We partake of a tiny piece of bread, which has been blessed and sanctified to our souls’ good, a tiny piece of bread, symbolizing the resplendent, resurrected body of Him who redeems us. We drink a single swallow of water in the smallest of cups, symbolizing His blood, which cleanses our inner vessel and washes clean our souls.



Our coming out of sacrament meeting should be like Joseph F. Smith’s coming out of that bath-house, fresh and clean. That is the exchange, His love for us; a pure love that never fails; an Atonement that is infinite and eternal in exchange for our growing love for Him, which enables our changing. We remember Him, we promise again and again to always remember Him so that we may become like Him, not His everlasting inferior, but like Him in every way we have learned to observe and feel in our hearts.

[Tuly]

This is another BYU -I speech, that I enjoyed reading. "Spirituality"

http://www.byui.edu/Presentations/Trans ... 8_Lant.htm

Highlights from the talk:

"Spirituality"
Cheryl C. Lant
Former Primary General President

To me this is what spirituality really is. It is having our lives, our center, anchored to the Savior. It is living our lives in a “Christ” centered world rather than a “me” centered world. Spirituality is focusing our lives on Christ because we love Him, and then, we can have His Spirit, the Holy Ghost, with us constantly to help us. He has promised in 3 Nephi 18:11: “…and if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.”



In Mormon Doctrine, it states: “Spirituality is that state which enables men to enjoy the near-constant companionship of the Lord’s Spirit.”



So, we might ask, how does the Holy Ghost help us to be more spiritual? Well, he draws us back to the Savior and Heavenly Father. He is their messenger to us. It is through him that they answer our prayers. He testifies of truth. He is a protector and comforter. He is a teacher. But he does much more. Listen to the insight given us by Parley P. Pratt:

“The Holy Ghost quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges, expands and purifies all the natural passions and affections; and adapts them, by the gift of wisdom, to their lawful use. It inspires, develops, cultivates and matures all the fine-toned sympathies, joys, tastes, kindred feelings and affections of our nature. It inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness and charity. It develops beauty of person, form and features. It tends to health, vigor, animation and social feeling. It invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual man. It strengthens, and gives tone to the nerves. In short, it is as it were, marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears, and life to the whole being.”

The Holy Ghost not only draws us closer to our Savior as we center our life on Him, he helps us become more like Him. Spirituality is strengthened in the process.

[Tuly]

This is a talk by Elder Oaks called "Criticism"
http://lds.org/ensign/1987/02/criticism ... uery=music
Highlights from it:

Elder George Albert Smith said this about criticism: “Aren’t we rather prone to see the limitations and the weaknesses of our neighbors? Yet that is contrary to the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is a class of people who find fault and criticize always in a destructive way. There is a difference in criticism. If we can criticize constructively under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord, we may change beneficially and properly some of the things that are being done. But if we have the spirit of faultfinding, of pointing out the weaknesses and failings of others in a destructive manner, that never comes as the result of the companionship of the Spirit of our Heavenly Father and is always harmful.” (In Conference Report, Oct. 1934, p. 50.)

More recently, President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “I am not asking that all criticism be silenced. Growth comes of correction. Strength comes of repentance. Wise is the man who can acknowledge mistakes pointed out by others and change his course.

“What I am suggesting is that each of us turn from the negativism that so permeates our society and look for the remarkable good among those with whom we associate, that we speak of one another’s virtues more than we speak of one another’s faults.” (Ensign, Apr. 1986, pp. 3–4.)

Does this counsel to avoid faultfinding and personal criticism apply only to statements that are false? Doesn’t it also apply to statements that are true? In a talk I recently gave to Church Educational System teachers, I urged that “the fact that something is true is not always a justification for communicating it.” A letter published in the New York Times Magazine described my counsel as “contempt for the truth.” (Feb. 9, 1986, p. 86.) I disagree. I rely on the teaching in Ecclesiastes: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” (Eccl. 3:1.) Specifically, there is “a time to speak,” and there is also “a time to keep silence.” (Eccl. 3:7.)

[Tuly]

Here is a really good one on music by Elder Russell Nelson - The Power and Protection of Worthy Music
This is actually from a CES Fireside.
http://lds.org/ensign/2009/12/the-power ... c?lang=eng

Highlights:

The Protection of Music

Worthy music is not only a source of power but also of protection. For many years President Boyd K. Packer, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has taught this concept. He has often quoted a statement issued by the First Presidency many years ago: “Music can be used to exalt and inspire or to carry messages of degradation and destruction. It is therefore important that as Latter-day Saints we at all times apply the principles of the gospel and seek the guidance of the Spirit in selecting the music with which we surround ourselves.”

Wherever we are we should carefully choose what we see and hear. We would not knowingly tolerate pornography in our homes, but if we are not careful, we may allow music into our lives that can be just as devastating.

Many youth listen to music that can be described as loud and fast, becoming louder and faster. It aims to agitate, not to pacify; to excite more than to calm. Beware of that kind of music.

As you know, continued exposure to loud sounds will, in time, damage delicate organs of hearing. In like manner, if you overindulge in loud music, you will more likely become spiritually deaf, unable to hear the still, small voice. A scripture states, “The Lord your God … hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words” (1 Nephi 17:45).

Do not degrade yourself with the numbing shabbiness and irreverence of music that is not worthy of you. Delete the rubbish from your minds and your MP3 players. Protect your personal standards! Be selective! Be wise!

Do not allow unworthy, raucous music to enter your life. It is not harmless. It can weaken your defense and allow unworthy thoughts into your mind and pave the way to unworthy acts. Please remember:

“That which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness.

That which is of God is light” (D&C 50:23–24).

[Tuly]

I hope that when you see a post on this thread that it wont be ignored. This next speech by President Monson - Guideposts for Life's Journey at BYU 2007 is wonderful.
https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/thomas-s ... s-journey/

Here then are some highlights:

Whatever your future pathway may be, may I suggest to you today four guideposts to assist in your respective journeys through school and through life itself.
First: Glance backward.
Second: Look heavenward.
Third: Reach outward.
Fourth: Press onward.
...I have suggested merely a glance at the past, for it is not practical to think we can return.

Looking heavenward should be our lifelong endeavor. Some foolish persons turn their backs on the wisdom of God and follow the allurement of fickle fashion, the attraction of false popularity, and the thrill of the moment. Their course of conduct resembles the disastrous experience of Esau, who exchanged his birthright for a mess of pottage.
And what are the results of such action? I testify to you today that turning away from God brings broken covenants, shattered dreams, and crushed hopes. Such a quagmire of quicksand I plead with you to avoid. You are of a noble birthright. Eternal life in the kingdom of our Father is your goal.
Such a goal is not achieved in one glorious attempt, but rather is the result of a lifetime of righteousness, an accumulation of wise choices, even a constancy of purpose and lofty ideals.

Remember that faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other.
Should doubt knock at your doorway
, just say to those skeptical, disturbing, rebellious thoughts: “I propose to stay with my faith, with the faith of my people. I know that happiness and contentment are there, and I forbid you agnostic, doubting thoughts to destroy the house of my faith. I acknowledge that I do not understand the processes of creation, but I accept the fact of it. I grant that I cannot explain the miracles of the Bible, and I do not attempt to do so, but I accept God’s word. I wasn’t with Joseph, but I believe him. My faith did not come to me through science, and I will not permit so-called science to destroy it.”

As we look heavenward, we inevitably learn of our responsibility to reach outward.
To find real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man. Service to others is akin to duty—the fulfillment of which brings true joy.

Let us shed any thought of failure. Let us discard any habit or trait that may hinder. Let us ever press onward. Let us seek; let us obtain the prize prepared for all—even exaltation in the celestial kingdom of God.
Your future is bright. It is challenging. It awaits you. Do not venture forth alone. Minnie Louise Haskins counseled:
I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, “Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown.” And he replied, “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than a light and safer than a known way.”

[John]

brilliant.
timely.
essential.

[Tuly]

This talk is by Jeffery Thompson it is called What Is Your Calling in Life?.

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/jeffrey- ... g-in-life/

Here are some highlights: ( sorry for the page set up)

Now, here’s the part you may not have
thought about—I certainly hadn’t until a few
years ago: After the Lord charges us to anxiously
pursue good causes, the next verse
begins: “For the power is in them” (D&C 58:28).
Think about that. The Lord hasn’t just told you
to pursue good causes, He has equipped you
with power to do so. You—you personally—are
full of divine capacities to do good that you
probably don’t even fully appreciate.
These verses testify that you are not part of
a lottery system for life callings. You have a
calling in life: to pursue good causes. And you
have been given power to do just that.

In fact, finding our calling in life involves
the same process as discovering our spiritual
gifts. Elder Robert D. Hales has provided some
insight on this process:
To find the gifts we have been given, we must
pray and fast. . . . I urge you each to discover your
gifts and to seek after those that will bring direction
to your life’s work and that will further the work of
heaven. [Robert D. Hales, “Gifts of the Spirit,”
Ensign, February 2002, 16]

You may even suffer joblessness for a time.
Research shows that unemployment can have
a devastating long-term impact on self-confidence,
on health, and on happiness. I submit
that having a sense of calling is part of your
inoculation against the vicissitudes of the job
market. Know yourself. Know what your gifts
are. And define yourself by your gifts—not by
your lack of a job. Contrary to what the world
might tell you, you don’t have to have a job to
express your calling in life.

As the fifth heresy suggests, we can indeed
find personal meaning in our work, but the
real point is that the Lord expects us to render
meaningful service through work. True meaning,
as always, comes from service.
Allow me to share a simple experience from
my mission. As I was nearing my release date,
I anticipated a sense of loss when I could no
longer give all my time to serving God. At a
zone conference, my mission president opened
the floor for Q&A on any topic. I raised my
hand and asked, “After our missions are over
and we are no longer full-time servants of God,
how can we keep a sense of purpose?” Before
the mission president could answer, his wife
leapt to her feet and, literally elbowing him
aside, said, “I’ll take this one.”
I will never forget her response. As near as
I can recall, she said, “When I do the laundry, I
am building the kingdom of God. When I scrub
the floors, I am serving the Lord. When I tidy
the clutter, I’m an instrument in His hands. I do
a lot of mundane jobs, but if my eye is single to
God and I’m trying to serve my family, then I
feel as much purpose in my work as a missionary
can.” Those words remind me of what King
Benjamin said about laboring in the fields to
support himself—a decidedly unkingly occupation.
He said, “I do not desire to boast, for I
have only been in the service of God” (Mosiah
2:16).

[Tuly]

I'm so glad I finally found this talk by Elder Jeffrey and Pat Holland - Some Things We Have Learned - Together

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/jeffrey- ... -together/
This is the quote I have loved from this speech (Please read the whole speech, It's wonderful!!):

Jeff: It would be worth our time with you today if we could impress upon you the sacred obligation a husband and wife have to each other when the fragility and vulnerability and delicacy of the partner's life is placed in the other's keeping. Pat and I have lived together for twenty-two years, as she said earlier--roughly the time that each of us had lived alone prior to the wedding day. I may not know everything about her, but I know twenty-two years' worth, and she knows that much of me. I know her likes and dislikes, and she knows mine. I know her tastes and interests and hopes and dreams, and she knows mine. As our love has grown and our relationship matured, we have been increasingly open with each other about all of that for twenty-two years now, and the result is that I know much more clearly how to help her and I know exactly how to hurt her. I may not know all the buttons to push, but I know most of them. And surely God will hold me accountable for any pain I cause her by intentionally pushing the hurtful ones when she has been so trusting of me. To toy with such a sacred trust--her body, her spirit, and her eternal future--and exploit those for my gain, even if only emotional gain, should disqualify me to be her husband and ought to consign my miserable soul to hell. To be that selfish would mean that I am a legal, live-in roommate who shares her company, but I am not her husband in any Christian sense of that word. I have not been as Christ is to the Church. We would not be bone of one bone, and flesh of one flesh.

[Tuly]

This BYU Hawaii talk is by Michael Wilcox. This talk called -
Bread or Stones: Understanding the God We Pray to - has some great insights to prayer.

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/705 ... ay-to.html

Now we need to understand something about our Father in Heaven, and that is that He is a fourth watch God.

The Hebrew night was divided into four watches. The first watch—six o’clock at night to nine [p.m.], second watch—nine to midnight, third watch—midnight to three in the morning, fourth watch—three in the morning to sunrise. Sometimes that creates a bit of a problem for us, certainly for me. I worship a fourth watch God. One who tends to feel that it is good to let His children toil in rowing against the wind to face a little opposition. My problem is that I am a first watch person. Now there is something inside of me that understands that it is good for me to toil in rowing against the wind. But certainly by the second watch He would come. And when the second watch has passed and He still has not come. Sometimes I forget that as Mark says, He is watching. He watched them toiling and rowing.

I began to make some assumptions that are often dangerous to make—maybe you make the same. We begin to assume that, number one, He is not there. That is why He’s not responding. And then we calm down and understand that He is there; He is always there. Then the second assumption is if He is there, He must not be listening. And then again, in calmer times—He always listens. Well then the third assumption is He must not care. No—He’s there, He listens, He cares. Maybe the most dangerous assumption, the fourth assumption is I must not be worthy. Now that fourth assumption we are probably correct on. But when has that ever stopped Him from responding; we are as worthy as we can be. We must assume that we have not yet reached the fourth watch; and He is a fourth watch God.

The scriptures are full of fourth watch stories: Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove—“At the very moment I was ready to sink into despair” (JSH 1:16). Do you ever feel that way? “Just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light” (JSH 1:16). It was when the widow of Zarephath was gathering two sticks to make a final meal for her and her son that Elijah came walking through the gate to save them from the famine (1 Kings 17). It was when the water was spent in the bottle and Hagar had placed Ishmael under a tree because she did not want to see his death, that the angel came to say, Hagar, what aileth thee? and showed her a source of water (Genesis 21:17).

We worship a fourth watch God. So when the trials aren’t over and the blessings don’t come, don’t assume that He is not there, or He is not listening, or He doesn’t care, or you’re not worthy. Always assume you have not yet reached the fourth watch.

[Tuly]

Here is another wonderful speech - Unleashing the Dormant Spirit by F. Enzio Busche.

https://kevinhinckley.com/UserFiles/fil ... 996_05.pdf

This my favorite part of the speech.

Therefore, I want to share with you a vehicle, an instrument, that I developed some time ago for myself and for my family. It can assist us to reach our focus as we read the suggested vision of true discipleship as a Latter-day Saint. It helps when, from time to time, we ponder and seek identification with the following thoughts:

* Embrace this day with an enthusiastic welcome, no matter how it looks. The covenant with God to which you are true enables you to become enlightened by him, and nothing is impossible for you.

* When you are physically sick, tired, or in despair, steer your thoughts away from yourself and direct them, in gratitude and love, toward God.

* In your life there have to be challenges. They will either bring you closer to God and therefore make you stronger, or they can destroy you. But you make the decision of which road you take.

* First and foremost, you are a spirit child of God. If you neglect to feed your spirit, you will reap unhappiness. Don't permit anything to detract you from this awareness.

* You cannot communicate with God unless you have first sacrificed your self-oriented natural man and have brought yourself into the lower levels of meekness, to become acceptable for the Light of Christ.

* Put all frustrations, hurt feelings, and grumblings into the perspective of your eternal hope. Light will flow into your soul.

* Pause to ponder the suffering Christ felt in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the awareness of the depth of gratitude for him, you appreciate every opportunity to show your love for him by diligently serving in his Church.

* God knows that you are not perfect. As you suffer about your imperfections, he will give you comfort and suggestions of where to improve.

* God knows better than you what you need. He always attempts to speak to you. Listen, and follow the uncomfortable suggestions that he makes to us--everything will fall into its place.

* Avoid any fear like your worst enemy, but magnify your fear about the consequences of sin.

* When you cannot love someone, look into that person's eyes long enough to find the hidden rudiments of the child of God in him.

* Never judge anyone. When you accept this, you will be freed. In the case of your own children or subordinates, where you have the responsibility to judge, help them to become their own judges.

* If someone hurts you so much that your feelings seem to choke you, forgive and you will be free again.

* Avoid at all cost any pessimistic, negative, or criticizing thoughts. If you cannot cut them out, they will do you harm. On the road toward salvation, let questions arise but never doubts. If something is wrong, God will give you clarity but never doubts.

* Avoid rush and haste and uncontrolled words. Divine light develops in places of peace and quiet. Be aware of that as you enter places of worship.

* Be not so much concerned about what you do, but do what you do with all your heart, might, and strength. In thoroughness is satisfaction.

* You want to be good and to do good. That is commendable. But the greatest achievement that can be reached in our lives is to be under the complete influence of the Holy Ghost. Then he will teach us what is really good and necessary to do.

* The pain of sacrifice lasts only one moment. It is the fear of the pain of sacrifice that makes you hesitate to do it.

* Be grateful for every opportunity to serve. It helps you more than those you serve.

* And finally, when you are compelled to give up something or when things that are dear to you are withdrawn from you, know that this is your lesson to be learned right now. But know also that, as you are learning this lesson, God wants to give you something better.

[Tuly]

This is great talk by BYU-I President Clark's wife Sue L. Clark -
"Open Your Heart to the Spirit"

Brigham Young University-Idaho Devotional
January 10, 2012

"Open Your Heart to the Spirit"
Sue L. Clark
Brigham Young University-Idaho



It is a great blessing to be with you in devotional today. Most of you probably know that President Clark and I have been “off track” for a semester while he recovered from a kidney transplant. This is only the second semester of school he has missed in 41 years, so you know that school is where he likes to be! We are really glad to be back.



We hope that we won’t hurt your feelings by continuing to keep President at a safe distance during this season of colds and flu, but we have to keep him healthy to avoid any chance of rejecting his new kidney. He won’t be mingling much around campus; but if he does meet you one on one and he offers you an elbow touch or a gloved hand rather than a regular handshake, don’t take it personally and know that he loves you.



We have been so blessed by the support and prayers of all of you. For every sacrifice and extra effort made in President Clark’s absence and for every prayer that has been offered, we say: “thank you. Thank you so very much.” We have felt the power of those prayers.



This is a wonderful time in your lives. You have the great blessing to be at BYU-Idaho where the Lord has put in place for you an opportunity to gain a wonderful education while also becoming His disciple leaders. But you are going to have to work hard. You will need to be diligent in preparing for and participating in class and in doing your assignments.



Schoolwork is not the only hard thing you will face while you are here. Life is often hard. Challenges and trials will come that will also require hard work. But hard work alone, both in school and in dealing with trials, won’t get you where the Lord wants you to be. You will need to open your heart and mind to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.



I want to share with you today two principles that I know will help open your heart to the Spirit, deepen your faith, and strengthen your reliance on the Lord.



The first principle is: Embrace the experience.



If when you are facing something that is hard you feel fearful and discouraged, remember that we all have that natural reaction. But you can choose not to let fear and discouragement drive your actions. Instead, you can choose to act in faith to embrace the experience knowing that the Lord gives us hard experiences to help us grow and learn. You can embrace the learning and growth and rely on Him to help you through whatever it is you have to endure. Let me give you an example.



A little over a year ago President Clark and I were hoping for a miracle and trying to delay the deterioration of his kidneys by implementing diet and activity restrictions. But we came to understand that was not the Lord’s plan. Instead, we felt impressed that we should embrace a transplant. That was the Lord’s plan.



We knew there would be pain and suffering involved, not just for President but for our son Andrew who would be the donor. By embracing the whole experience, President could deal with the pain and suffering knowing it would be just for a while and then this wonderful gift would make new life possible for him.



This decision had a tremendous impact on us. It helped us to humble ourselves before the Lord. We felt Him closer to us, and we drew closer to each other. The Lord blessed us and Andrew and his family with positive attitudes and with many, many tender mercies.



When hard things come, embrace the experience. Ask the Lord what He wants you to learn, and then embrace the pathway to learning and growth.



The second principle is: Get outside yourself.



Another natural reaction you might have when things get hard is to withdraw inside yourself. In those times it is easy to become self-absorbed. But that is not the Lord’s way. He wants you to get outside yourself and get some help. There are people all around who can help you. It might be a roommate, a bishop, a classmate, one of your faculty, or someone in the Tutoring Center or Counseling Center.



And there are also people all around who you can help. You need to help others even when you are faced with hard things yourself. Reaching out to others opens your heart to the Spirit. It helps put your situation in perspective and keeps you from withdrawing. It keeps the spirit of entitlement out of your heart and helps keep gratitude in it. In short, helping others helps you humble yourself before the Lord.



Brothers and sisters, I hope and pray that you will work hard, embrace the experiences that come your way, and get outside yourself to serve others no matter what is happening in your life. I know if you do, you will open your heart and your mind to the Holy Ghost and the Lord will guide you in your experience here at BYU-Idaho. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

[Tuly]

I decided to put the complete talk by Bro. Robert Millet - A View on Interfaith Respect. When I was Mission Viejo's Stake Public Affairs director for 8 years. We were trained to understand the importance of interfaith respect. Indeed this mutual respect became very important during the help we need it to pass Proposition 8.

Dr. Robert L. Millet: A View on Interfaith Respect

The following is a devotional talk given on January 12, 2012 by Robert L. Millet, professor of religion and emeritus dean of Religious Education at Brigham Young University.

We are involved in Outreach. Outreach requires a broader perspective on how God is working throughout the earth through men and women of all types and attitudes and religious persuasions. Fifteen years ago I read the autobiography of Billy Graham, entitled Just As I Am. It was a life-changing experience for me. I had, of course, grown up in the South watching Billy Graham crusades and thus was not completely ignorant of his prominence in the religious world. But I was not prepared for what I learned in this book. His influence for good among rich and poor, black and white, high and low—including serving as spiritual adviser to several presidents of the United States—was almost overwhelming to me. The more I read, the more I became acquainted with a good man, a God-fearing man, a person who felt called of God to take the message of Christ to the ends of the earth. I remember sitting in my chair in the living room finishing the last page of the book. As I laid the book down I let out a rather loud “Wow!” My wife, Shauna, responded with, “What did you say?” I replied, “Wow! What a life!” I remember being very emotional at the time, sensing deep down that God had worked wonders through this simple but submissive North Carolina preacher.

Not long after reading the Graham autobiography, one of my faculty colleagues at Brigham Young University drew my attention to a general conference address by Elder Ezra Taft Benson, who was then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles but went on to serve as the thirteenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “God, the Father of us all,” Elder Benson said, “uses the men of the earth, especially good men, to accomplish his purposes. It has been true in the past, it is true today, it will be true in the future.” Elder Benson then quoted the following from a conference address delivered by Elder Orson F. Whitney in 1928: “God is using more than one people for the accomplishment of His great and marvelous work. The Latter-day Saints cannot do it all. It is too vast, too arduous for any one people. . . . We have no quarrel with [those of other faiths]. They are our partners in a certain sense.’”[1]

It is my conviction that God loves us, one and all. He is our Father in Heaven, and He has tender regard for us. In spite of growing wickedness, a surprising number of men and women throughout the earth are being led to greater light and knowledge, to the gradual realization of their own fallen nature, their need for spiritual change, for greater light and truth. C. S. Lewis once stated that there are people “who are slowly becoming Christians though they do not yet call themselves so. There are people who do not accept the full Christian doctrine about Christ but who are so strongly attracted by Him that they are His in a much deeper sense than they themselves understand.” Lewis went on to speak of people “who are being led by God’s secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity, and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it.”[2]

One of the cardinal principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the mind-expanding concept of Christ’s eternal gospel—that Christian prophets have declared Christian doctrines and officiated in Christian ordinances since the days of Adam and Eve. It is but reasonable, therefore, that elements of truth, pieces of a much larger mosaic, should be found throughout the world in varying cultures and among diverse religious groups. Further, as the world has passed through phases of apostasy and restoration, relics of revealed doctrine remain, albeit in some cases in altered or even convoluted forms. President Joseph F. Smith, sixth president of the Church, explained. “If we find truth in broken fragments through the ages,” he observed, “it may be set down as an incontrovertible fact that it originated at the fountain, and was given to philosophers, inventors, patriots, reformers, and prophets by the inspiration of God. It came from him through his Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost, in the first place, and from no other source. It is eternal.”[3]

I am immeasurably grateful for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but at the same time, I have found myself, more and more often, looking into the eyes of those of other faiths, sensing their goodness, perceiving their commitment, and realizing more surely that God knows them, loves them, and desires for me to love, respect, and better understand them. I have been moved and motivated by the following statement from the Book of Mormon: “For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore, ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God” (Moroni 7:16).

To be involved with outreach is to comply with what Elder M. Russell Ballard, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, called the “doctrine of inclusion.” “Our doctrines and beliefs are important to us,” he taught. “We embrace them and cherish them. I am not suggesting for a moment that we shouldn’t. On the contrary, our peculiarity and the uniqueness of the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ are indispensable elements in offering the people of the world a clear choice. Neither am I suggesting that we should associate in any relationship that would place us or our families at spiritual risk.” Quoting the First Presidency message from 1978, Elder Ballard reaffirmed: “Our message . . . is one of special love and concern for the eternal welfare of all men and women, regardless of religious belief, race, or nationality, knowing that we are truly brothers and sisters of the same Eternal Father.” “That is our doctrine,” Elder Ballard concluded, “a doctrine of inclusion. That is what we believe. That is what we have been taught. Of all people on this earth, we should be the most loving, the kindest, and the most tolerant because of that doctrine.”[4]

President Brigham Young explained that “we, the Latter-day Saints, take the liberty of believing more than our Christian brethren: we not only believe . . . the Bible, but . . . the whole of the plan of salvation that Jesus has given to us. Do we differ from others who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? No, only in believing more.”[5] It is, of course, the “more” that makes many in the Christian world very nervous and usually suspicious of us. But it is the “more” that allows us to make a meaningful contribution in the religious world.

The older I get, the less prone I am to believe in coincidence. Like you, I believe that God has an individualized divine plan for you and me. I gladly and eagerly acknowledge His hand in all things, including the orchestration of events in our lives and the interlacing of our daily associations. I believe He brings people into our path who can bless and enlighten us, and I know that He brings us into contact with people whose acquaintanceship will, down the road, open doors, dissolve barriers, and further the work of the Lord. Thus our charge, in the words of President Howard W. Hunter, the fourteenth president to the Church, is to “seek to enlarge the circle of love and understanding among all the people of the earth.”[6]

“If I esteem mankind to be in error,” Joseph Smith explained, “shall I bear them down? No. I will lift them up, and in their own way too, if I cannot persuade them my way is better; and I will not seek to compel any man to believe as I do, only by the force of reasoning, for truth will cut its own way. Do you believe in Jesus Christ and the Gospel of salvation which he revealed? So do I. Christians should cease wrangling and contending with each other, and cultivate the principles of union and friendship in their midst.”[7]



[1]In Conference Report, Apr. 1972, 49; citing Conference Report, Apr. 1928, 59.

[2]Mere Christianity(1996), 178.

[3] Gospel Doctrine (1971), 31, 395, 398–400; see also Journal of Discourses, 15:325.

[4]In Conference Report, Oct. 2001, 44–45.

[5]Journal of Discourses, 13:56; emphasis added.

[6]That We Might Have Joy (1994), 59.

[7]Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith (1976), 314.

[Tuly]

This speech was given at BYU-I by Sister Elaine Dalton -
October 11, 2011
"Dare Great Things"
Elaine S. Dalton
Young Women General President

http://www2.byui.edu/Presentations/Tran ... Dalton.htm

My husband had a lot of relatives that were in Nauvoo at that time. One of them was Zina Huntington who later became one of the general presidents of the Relief Society. She lived in upstate New York when the missionaries visited their home and left one copy of the Book of Mormon for the family to read. As a young woman, Zina held that book in her hands and said, “This is the truth, truth, truth.”15 She was converted to the gospel before she ever opened the book. She knew by the Spirit that the Book of Mormon was a true record and she made the transition from living in a beautiful two-story rock home on a farm in upstate New York, to going with the saints to Kirtland, Missouri, Nauvoo, and later traveling west. She had the confidence to leave her comfort zone, so to speak, because of her faith and testimony. As I go down Parley's Street and read those inscriptions, I weep because I feel the spirit of those men and women. I feel the sacrifices they made for us so we can be where we are now.



Zina Huntington married and while living in Nauvoo she was expecting a baby. It was in that condition that she left her home, crossed the Mississippi River, got just a little further West and had the baby on the banks of a river. The river was named Chariton. So the baby was named Chariton. I think about those kinds of things, and then I think about what we've been asked to do. And I think, “Oh, what we're doing is easy compared to them.” But you know what? It's not. What we're doing now is pivotal and it's not easy. And it's not going to be easier. In fact, I think it may get harder for us. And I think that we are going to have to be very strong and firm, we're going to have to be like Zina and know—“It's the truth, truth, truth.” So as we think about making transitions and moving out of our comfort zones, think about those men and women. How did they do it? What helped them make the transition? I believe it's all about having a testimony of Jesus Christ. And that if you have a testimony of Jesus Christ, and His restored Gospel, you will be able to make any of life's transitions. They had a testimony, and they had a temple. They had covenants – so they had a focus and they knew exactly where they were headed. Nothing else really mattered.

I would like to close by sharing with you a memory of some young women in Africa when I last visited there. I asked to visit with some young women prior to training their leaders. The group of young women arrived at the church promptly at nine in the morning. I found out that the young women had gotten up, some of them at four o’clock in the morning, to go to the river and bath and get the water that was necessary for their mothers to do the cooking. And then they walked the distance that it took for them to get to the church by nine o'clock. They were radiant and beautiful when they arrived carrying their scriptures on their heads, in beautiful African dress, bare-footed, and with dust all over their legs. At the end of our time together I asked them to tell me what their typical day was like. They told me every morning they get up, go to the river to bath, and then carry a bucket of water home to the village where they make this mixture called gari which everyone eats either on a leaf or in a coconut. They just eat it with their fingers. The mothers usually make the gari in a pot, over a fire, out in the front of their little hut. After their trip to the river and their simple morning meal, the young women walk to seminary. In the middle of the visit I said, “You have told me what it's like to be a young woman in Africa. Now tell me, do you have many challenges?” They had been very talkative but suddenly the room became silent. They just sat there and so I tried to encourage them by saying, “Now you could tell me, I promise I won’t tell the Prophet.” They giggled but they still didn't say anything. Finally one young woman, her name was Vivian, stood regally in the back of the room and said in her beautiful British accent: “Sister Dalton, it is true. We young women here in Africa, we have many challenges but Sister Dalton, we have the gospel of Jesus Christ!”

[Tuly]

This speech by Elder Holland was given at BYU Provo - February 27th, 1982 - The Inconvenient Messiah - His wife Sister Patricia Holland speaks in the beginning. Elder Holland was BYU Provo president at this time.

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/jeffrey- ... t-messiah/

Sister Patricia Holland
I guess what I've come to you today to say is that God uses broken things—and I quote:

It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. . . . it is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever. ["Broken Things," an excerpt from Vance Havner, The Still Water (Old Tappan, NJ: Flemming H. Revell, 1934). Quoted in Guideposts, October 1981, p. 5]

Elder Holland -
But there is another, more subtle tactic used by the primeval turncoat which is not so violent, not so vengeful, and at first glance not so vicious. But, ah, there's the rub. Because Christ and his disciples—Satan's most important and necessary targets—would never seem to be attracted by flagrant, raging wrongdoing, this second approach becomes all the more sinister. It comes in the siren's song of convenience.

Elder Holland
And so I ask you to be patient in things of the spirit. Perhaps your life has been different from mine, but I doubt it. I have had to struggle to know my standing before God. As a teenager I found it hard to pray and harder to fast. My mission was not easy. I struggled as a student only to find that I had to struggle afterwards, too. In this present assignment I have wept and ached for guidance. It seems no worthy accomplishment has ever come easily for me, and maybe it won't for you—but I'm living long enough to be grateful for that.

It is ordained that we come to know our worth as children of God without something as dramatic as a leap from the pinnacle of the temple. All but a prophetic few must go about God's work in very quiet, very unspectacular ways. And as you labor to know him, and to know that he knows you; as you invest your time—and your convenience—in quiet, unassuming service, you will indeed find that "he shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up" (Matthew 4:6). It may not come quickly. It probably won't come quickly, but there is purpose in the time it takes. Cherish your spiritual burdens because God will converse with you through them and will use you to do his work if you carry them well.

Elder Holland
Should earning our place in the kingdom of God be so difficult as that? Surely there is an easier way? Can't we buy our way in? Every man or woman does have a price, don't they? Can't you buy anything in this world for money? Sometimes we wonder. I offer one sobering fact about our lives together. BYU is not here to help you make money. Any university in this land can do that. We hope your education brings income sufficient for your needs, but we have no mission at all if we are simply turning you out into the best current job market, whatever and wherever that may be. BYU has been established to extend to you the very glory of God, his intelligence, his light, and his truth. And that light and truth, by scriptural promise, is to forsake the evil one, your tempter. No, not everyone does have a price. Some things can't be purchased. Money and fame and earthly glory are not our eternal standard. Indeed these can, if we are not careful, lead to eternal torment.