BYU Speeches

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Tuly
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Grounded, Rooted, Established, and Settled (Ephesians 3:17, 1 Peter 5:10) by Neal A. Maxwell - September 15, 1981

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/neal-a-m ... d-settled/
Indeed it is in the context of such pleasing but challenging growth that the theme for today will be addressed—from the words of Paul and Peter, "grounded, rooted, established, and settled." This is a vital objective for all members of the Church, but especially for your generation because of the special circumstances which will confront you. In fact, you may be the first generation in Church history, because of lamentably changing conditions in the world, who will be asked to believe and to behave "because of the word" and not circumstances. In varying degrees, you will not have the same affirmative influence of societal institutions which once strongly supported the family and principles such as chastity and fidelity. Those supporting influences, in many respects, will, unfortunately fall away like so much scaffolding. Then we will see who stands, both on holy ground and on holy principles!
How often have you and I really pondered just what it is, therefore, that will rise with us in the resurrection? Our intelligence will rise with us, meaning not simply our I.Q., but our capacity to receive and to apply truth. Our talents, attributes, and skills will rise with us, certainly also our capacity to learn, our degree of self-discipline, and our capacity to work. Note that I said "our capacity to work" because the precise form of our work here may have no counterpart there, but the capacity to work will never be obsolete. To be sure, we cannot, while here, entirely avoid contact with the obsolescent and the irrelevant. It is all around us. But one can be around irrelevancy without becoming attached to it, and certainly we should not become preoccupied with obsolete things.
May I note in closing how much needed the perspective is which goes with being established and settled as we contemplate our varied circumstances. Some in the Church are divorced; some are unmarried but yearn to be and are worthy to be married. Some are widowers, and some are widows; others are blessed to be in traditional intact families. Some are healthy; others are ill, some seriously and terminally ill. Some members are struggling economically, but a few are quite comfortable economically. Some are lonely, and others have almost more friends than they can manage. Our immediate circumstances surely differ, but these circumstances will pass away soon enough, though at times it may seem otherwise.

Notice in contrast how our basic circumstances and eternal opportunities are strikingly similar. Each of us is a child of God. Each of us agreed to pass through this mortal experience with its common temptations and seeming ordinariness. Eventually each of us can have the privilege of receiving all the gospel ordinances. Each of us is accountable for our thoughts and actions. Each of us is loved perfectly by a Heavenly Father who knows us and our needs perfectly. Each of us has the same commandments to keep and must walk the same straight and narrow path in order to have happiness here and there. Each of us has the same eternal attributes to develop. So our fundamental circumstances are the same.

A hundred years from now, today's seeming deprivations and tribulations will not matter then unless we let them matter too much now. A hundred years from now, today's serious physical ailment will be but a fleeting memory.
Last edited by Tuly on Sun Aug 11, 2019 12:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
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Re: BYU Speeches

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This is a great talk by President Boyd K. Packer - I Say Unto You, Be One - given at BYU Provo 1991. He talks about BYU Provo, it's beginnings and how the BYU Board of Trustees make a decision. Also why church-sponsored universities have disappeared.

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/boyd-k-p ... -unto-one/
Now listen carefully! It is crucial that you understand what I tell you now. There is danger! Church-sponsored universities are an endangered species—nearly extinct now. Recently the administration of Baylor University announced that it was severing ties with the Baptist Church, which founded it 145 years ago. Other Baptist schools—Furman, Mercer, and Wake Forest—are going through the same process. They join Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Chicago, Columbia, and a long, long list of others—other universities that have severed ties from the churches that founded and financed them.

Last month's journal of the New York-based Institute on Religion in Public Life was devoted to the de-Christianizing of American universities. I quote from their editorial entitled "The Death of Religious Higher Education."

The beginning of wisdom on this subject is to recognize that the road to the unhappy present was indeed paved with good intentions. To be sure, there were relevant parties who made no secret of their hostility to religion. But, for the most part, the schools that lost, or are losing, their sense of religious purpose, sincerely sought nothing more than a greater measure of "excellence." The problem is that they accepted, uncritically, definitions of excellence that were indifferent to, or even implicitly hostile to, the great concerns of religion. Few university presidents or department chairmen up and decided one day that they wanted to rid their institutions of the embarrassment of religion. It may reasonably be surmised that most believed that they were advancing a religious mission by helping their schools become like other schools—or at least more like the "best" of other schools. The language of academic excellence is powerfully seductive. ["The Death of Religious Higher Education," First Things, January 1991, p. 8]
The ties between universities and the churches that founded them have been severed because of constantly recurring contention between the spiritual and the temporal; the never-ending controversy between a narrow view of science and religion; the ancient conflict between reason and revelation.

There are two opposing convictions in the university environment. On the one hand, "seeing is believing." On the other, "believing is seeing." Both are true! Each in its place. The combining of the two individually or institutionally is the challenge of life. Neither influence will easily surrender to the other. They may function for a time under some sort of a truce, but the subtle discord is ever present.
Some have envisioned BYU as a great graduate research university as opposed to an undergraduate teaching university. A few years ago the term "the Harvard of the West" was tossed about, and moves were made to recast BYU in that image. But that transformation was not initiated by the board of trustees.

Recently, lengthy discussions on the future role of BYU have been held between the board of trustees and the administration. They have led in the direction of defining BYU as an "academically selective, teaching-oriented, undergraduate university, offering both liberal arts and occupational degrees, with sufficiently strong graduate programs and research work to be a major university" (Minutes of the Church Board of Education, 7 June 1990).

Steve, I would love to know if that last quote still applies to today at BYU.
Last edited by Tuly on Sun Aug 11, 2019 12:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
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Re: BYU Speeches

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Wow, I was really impressed by the words of President Packer. I have saved the reference and will be looking at this devotional address a little closer. When I submitted a proposal to the president's council earlier this year, one of my suggestions was that we turn our attention from research and instead focus our energies on teaching. I argued that we were working too hard to mimic other prestigious institutions and not staying grounded on our founding missions. I have seen with my own eyes what President Packer is describing in his address. So yes, in answer to your question, the quote certainly applies in that I sense we are drifting toward worldly pursuits again.

As a sidenote, I'll mention that many of the professors I've spoken with have tried to push me to pursue a doctorate so I could become one of them. When I explained that I didn't want to be like them (in polite, though no uncertain terms), they frowned and asked how I could serve the Lord and His children without claiming the credentials available to me. After all, I was supposed to get all the education I could! I responded then, and continue to attest now, that there is more than one way to seek education, and more sources for learning than a university lecture hall. I still believe our "Enter to learn, go forth to serve" motto is slightly flawed in its current interpretation by the generations passing through these days. Translated to account for the current view of "learning" as something we get/take for ourselves, I think it should be clarified to read "Enter to learn, serve, love, and teach, go forth to do it again."

Degrees and prestige are not my interests. I see them as money. Some think you can buy happiness with them. I see them merely as a way to provide sufficiently for our needs, and the needs of those I come in contact with. I side with President Packer: "If career or secular experience is considered to be essential, and I admit it has a place, ... we are not altogether lacking in such qualification. However, we may not put quite the premium on them as others do." I sincerely hope that BYU continues to fight against the powers that would lead it to an improper place. I love this university and the men and women who have contributed to its countless admirable qualities.

EDIT: Just to clarify, I don't want anyone to assume I am saying that a doctorate is not good, or that these professors were lacking noble motives. There are already plenty of voices supporting pursuit of postgraduate education, and I just wanted to voice a belief that seeking degrees is not the scope of education. Like a man or woman who desires wealth to be able to "pay more tithing" or "feed more hungry children," there are men and women who pursue more and more academic honors for similar reasons only to find themselves entangled in scholarly webs. I am grateful for all of the opportunities we are given daily to learn and grow, both in and out of formal institutions, and I hope we always use our learning for good.
When God can do what he will with a man, the man may do what he will with the world.     ~George MacDonald
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Steve, I have always admired your choices including the wonderful person you married. :wink:
Here is a list of the top ten most viewed speeches from BYU - I think we have most of them. I will get all of them.
With the fourth-generation speeches.byu.edu website, which launched in July 2012, it is now easier than ever to find the text, video, and audio of devotionals, forums, and commencement addresses, with archives reaching back more than 50 years. Go online to find 1,500-plus addresses, from more than 650 speakers, available for free. Don’t know where to start? Try the 10 most-viewed speeches of all time.

10. THE SEVEN DEADLY HERESIES, Bruce R. McConkie, June 1, 1980

9. “REMEMBER LOT’S WIFE,” Jeffrey R. Holland, Jan. 13, 2009

8. THE CONSTITUTION—A HEAVENLY BANNER, Ezra Taft Benson, Sept. 16, 1986

7. QUICK TO OBSERVE, David A. Bednar, May 10, 2005

6. THE INCONVENIENT MESSIAH, Jeffrey R. Holland, Feb. 15, 1982

5. A VISION AND A HOPE FOR THE YOUTH OF ZION, Ezra Taft Benson, April 12, 1977

4. OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD, Bruce R. McConkie, March 2, 1982

3. IN THE STRENGTH OF THE LORD, David A. Bednar, Oct. 23, 2001

2. “CAST NOT AWAY THEREFORE YOUR CONFIDENCE,” Jeffrey R. Holland, March 2, 1999

1. “HOW DO I LOVE THEE?,” Jeffrey R. Holland, Feb. 15, 2000
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
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Re: BYU Speeches

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This was a commencement address delivered on April 10, 2009 by Elder Neil L. Andersen. January's Ensign had a portion of that address -
Reverence For God is The Beginning of Wisdom.
Here is the complete address -
Wisdom, with a Large W -
I highly recommend reading this address. Actually it reminds a lot of President Lorenzo Snow's lesson #1 - Learning by Faith

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

More importantly, the wisdom that brings success in the world must be willing to step behind the wisdom of God and not think that it can substitute for it. The wisdom of God is wisdom with a large W.



Remember: All wisdom is not created equal.



The Psalmist said, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." What the scripture means is that a "profound reverence" for the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (See Marion G. Romney, "Converting Knowledge into Wisdom," Ensign, Jul 1983, 2). That profound reverence comes because our Heavenly Father, "has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth" His wisdom is perfect. It is pure, it is unselfish. It is wisdom with a large W.



This wisdom, at times, will be opposite the wisdom of the world, meaning the wisdom of God and the wisdom of the world will come in direct conflict one with another.



Remember the words of the Lord in Isaiah? "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."



The wisdom of God will not come to us by entitlement, we must be willing to seek after it. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
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Re: BYU Speeches

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This is a BYU Hawaii speech by Elder David Bednar on December 15, 2012 - Fear Not, I Am With Thee

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/stu ... e?lang=eng

https://scottwoodward.org/Talks/html/Be ... hThee.html
My graduation gift to you is a shorter-than-you-probably-expect commencement message that focuses upon a simple and profound principle—a principle I will introduce by relating a true story from the American Civil war.

Stonewall Jackson was a general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Many military historians consider General Jackson to be one of the most gifted tactical commanders in U.S. history. As a young man he fought in the Mexican American war, and during the Civil War he served with General Robert E. Lee and commanded confederate troops in a number of key battles with Union forces.

Once as General Jackson was discussing strategic options with his associates, a commander began his recommendation with the statement, “I fear we will not find our wagons tonight.”

Stonewall responded to the words, “I fear,” in his colleague’s observation with a penetrating truth that ultimately became the general’s trademark: “Never take counsel from your fears” (Mary Anna Jackson, Memoirs of “Stonewall” Jackson, 1895, 264). That is the simple principle I want to discuss with you today: never taking counsel from your fears.
To not take counsel from our fears simply means that we do not permit fear and uncertainty to determine our course in life, to affect negatively our attitudes and behavior, to influence improperly our important decisions, or to divert or distract us from all in this world that is virtuous, lovely, or of good report. To not take counsel from our fears means that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ overrules our fears and that we press forward with a steadfastness in Him. To not take counsel from our fears means that we trust in God’s guidance, assurance, and timing in our lives. I promise each of us can and will be blessed with direction, protection, and lasting joy as we learn to not take counsel from our fears.
One of the leaders of the Church once related to a group of religion instructors that not long after he had been called as a general authority someone planted a bomb at the door of the Salt Lake Temple. The bomb had exploded and knocked the large, heavy door off its hinges. He commented that the episode was chilling to him and created an anxiety and discomfort, even a fear that lasted all day. To his utter surprise, he noticed that all through the day, in the many meetings he attended with other General Authorities, no mention was made of this scary incident. Finally, at the end of the day, he asked one of the senior Brethren about the temple door, only to have his colleague remark, “Yes, we need to get that fixed, don’t we.” Then he added this important principle, one that will help each of us to be steadfast and immovable as we move into ever more troublesome days ahead: “We do not take counsel from our fears.” (see Robert L. Millet, I Will Fear No Evil, 18).
Last edited by Tuly on Sun Aug 11, 2019 1:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
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Re: BYU Speeches

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Thank you for posting this—it's just the thing for someone I know who's currently taking counsel from fear.
When God can do what he will with a man, the man may do what he will with the world.     ~George MacDonald
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Happy first day of spring!! - Elder Tad R Callister gave this amazing talk August 2012 - Our Identity and Our Destiny

http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=2060

[quote] There is a sentiment among many in the world that we are the spirit creations of God, just as a building is the creation of its architect or a painting the creation of its painter or an invention the creation of its inventor. The scriptures teach, however, a much different doctrine. They teach that we are more than creations of God; they teach that we are the literal spirit offspring or children of God our Father. What difference does this doctrinal distinction make? The difference is monumental in its consequence because our identity determines in large measure our destiny. For example, can a mere creation ever become like its creator? Can a building ever become an architect? A painting a painter? Or an invention an inventor? If not, then those who believe we are creations of God, rather than His spirit offspring, reach the inevitable conclusion that we do not have the capacity to become like our creator, God. In essence, their doctrine of identity has defined and dictated a diminished destiny.
[/quote]
It is this doctrine of identity that defines our potential destiny of godhood. If one does not correctly understand his divine identity, then he will never correctly understand his divine destiny. They are, in truth, inseparable partners.

"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
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When Shall These
Things Be?
March 12, 1996

Elder M. Russell Ballard

http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=48
Two thousand years ago, Christ’s followers were concerned about that. Every generation of believers since then, I think, has been concerned about the last days to one degree or another. So the Lord’s response to His disciples is meaningful to all of us. To the first question—“When shall these things be?”—He said, “Take heed that no man deceive you” (see Matthew 24:3–4). That is very significant.

For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. [Matthew 24:5–7]

I want to pause here for a moment and suggest to you, if you haven’t been aware, that some of these things seem to be occurring with ever-increasing regularity. If you measured the natural disasters that have occurred in the world during the last ten years and plotted that year by year, you would see an acceleration.
You keep your eyes riveted on the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. We will not lead you astray. We cannot. Let me tell you why. Every week that I am in town, I attend a meeting of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve on the fourth floor of the Salt Lake Temple. If you could see the process by which decision and direction comes from that meeting, you would have a deep sense of confidence and comfort that the will of the Lord is being taught by the leaders of the Church. So keep your eyes riveted on the leadership of the Church. While individuals may falter, the body of general Church leadership will remain steadfast and true. If someone tells you that they have received revelation that the First Presidency and the Twelve have not received, run away from them.
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
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Women of Righteousness - By Elder M. Russell Ballard - From a devotional address given at Brigham Young University on 13 March 2001.

http://www.lds.org/ensign/2002/04/women ... s?lang=eng

My deep desire is to clarify how we in the presiding councils of the Church feel about the sisters of this Church, how our Heavenly Father feels about His daughters, and what He expects of them. My dear sisters, we believe in you. We believe in and are counting on your goodness and your strength, your propensity for virtue and valor, your kindness and courage, your strength and resilience. We believe in your mission as women of God. We realize that you are the emotional (and sometimes spiritual) glue that holds families and often ward families together. We believe that the Church simply will not accomplish what it must without your faith and faithfulness, your innate tendency to put the well-being of others ahead of your own, and your spiritual strength and tenacity. And we believe that God’s plan is for you to become queens and to receive the highest blessings any woman can receive in time or eternity. On the other hand, Satan’s plan is to get you so preoccupied with the world’s glitzy lie about women that you completely miss what you have come here to do and to become. Remember, he wants us to “be miserable like unto himself” (2 Ne. 2:27). Never lose your precious identity by doing anything that would jeopardize the promised eternal future your Heavenly Father has provided for you.


Every sister in this Church who has made covenants with the Lord has a divine mandate to help save souls, to lead the women of the world, to strengthen the homes of Zion, and to build the kingdom of God. Sister Eliza R. Snow (1804–87), the second general president of the Relief Society, said that “every sister in this church should be a preacher of righteousness … because we have greater and higher privileges than any other females upon the face of the earth” (“Great Indignation Meeting,” Deseret Evening News, 15 Jan. 1870, 2).

Every sister who stands for truth and righteousness diminishes the influence of evil. Every sister who strengthens and protects her family is doing the work of God. Every sister who lives as a woman of God becomes a beacon for others to follow and plants seeds of righteous influence that will be harvested for decades to come. Every sister who makes and keeps sacred covenants becomes an instrument in the hands of God.
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
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“The choices you make will make all of the difference in what you want to achieve,” Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve said during commencement exercises held in the Marriott Center at Brigham Young University on April 25.

“With all of these new decisions and challenges before you, … I encourage you to seek and find a balance in your future life,” said Elder Perry.

Sharing a family tradition, Elder Perry told of how his parents would put four objects—a baby bottle, a bank, a toy, and a Bible—in front of their child on the baby’s first birthday.

“Each item represented the different values each of us might have, our four basic needs in mortality,” he said. “Family tradition held that whichever item the baby chose, that would become their focus in life.”

Elder Perry shared how each child chose different objects, emulating the different results experienced in life.

“These four objects are representative of the different values that each of us have and you graduates have in your lives—your priorities and how you might understand how to find balance throughout mortality,” he said.

Elder Perry emphasized the importance of finding balance between the four specific priorities in life.

The Bottle


The bottle represented good physical health and emotional strength, he taught.

“Learn the value of maintaining good physical and emotional health throughout your life. You will not only live longer, but happier and more fulfilling lives.”

Drawing from his own good health he said, “I have been blessed throughout my life to have good health. It has allowed me to serve in many capacities. I never dreamed that I would live to be the age that I now am, but how grateful I am to be alive and able to do all that the Lord would still have me do. If you are going to continue to progress spiritually throughout your life, then you must be certain to take care of your physical and emotional needs.

“Eat right, exercise, pray daily, and keep your covenants, and you will be blessed with a productive life. Graduates, remember the health of this special body you have been blessed with and use it wisely.”

The Toy

“The toy my parents set out represented the need to take time out, to recognize your personal worth and to add to it,” he said. “Do things in your spare time that will add to your personal value. Nothing bothers me more than to see time wasted! Schedule your time wisely and make sure there is always time for family, work, relaxation, and reflection.”

Elder Perry shared the words of President Thomas S. Monson emphasizing the need to provide time for family, time for work, time for study, time for service, time for recreation, time for self, and, above all, time for Christ.

The Bank

“The bank represented the importance of financial security,” Elder Perry said. “We live in a dangerously precarious time, financially.”

Financial independence is often talked about but rarely practiced, he said, pointing out that more and more households are living on borrowed funds to meet their daily needs and wants.

“One of the most important lessons you will ever learn is the security and peace that comes from living within your means. … If you are spending more than you take in, heartache and sorrow are sure to follow unless and until you learn how to live more providently,” he said. “Understand that you will not have all of the things in your home when you first start out. My heart aches when I see a young newlywed couple in a larger-than-they-can-afford home with the latest furnishings that borrowed money can buy. …

“You will not have, and you do not need, the new car, new couch, or the house with the latest and fanciest features money—borrowed money—can buy. Learn to accept a modest living and be okay with that.”

The Scriptures

“The Bible my parents laid out for their toddlers represented the need for individual spiritual strength,” he taught. “We teach spiritual strength in our children by offering father’s blessings, kneeling in daily family prayer, regularly attending the temple, regularly participating in Church meetings, and daily scripture study.”

A Christ-centered home will always be a safe haven for children, and parents need to teach faith in the Savior in all that they do, he said. “The scriptures teach us how to become closer to God and His Son, Jesus Christ,” he said. “They teach us how to live and how to repent when we make mistakes. They remind us of the value each of us has as a son or daughter or grandchild of God. We are His children. He loves us. He wants us to return to live with Him again. …

“Daily prayer and scripture study should be a part of every Latter-day Saint home. Ensure that as you leave this university and establish yourself, that wherever you may live, the gospel will always be part of your home. … Make the gospel of Jesus Christ a vital, active part of your life.”

But the duty a parent has to teach their children does not end at graduation, he said. Because of that, it is important for parents to communicate with their children.

“To both parents and graduates, I encourage you to stay on top of technology so that you can keep up with one another and understand one another throughout your lives. No one should go into technological retirement when their last child leaves the nest; that is when you should be alert and more mentally active—learning new things and preparing yourself for future opportunities to have input in the lives of your posterity.”
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
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"Did You Think to Pray?" - Bruce D. Porter - December 2012

http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=2087

Heartfelt prayer comes from the depths of the soul. Our mind and heart are directed toward God with full and complete attention. When we pray from the heart, we are not just saying words or “going through the motions”; we are seeking to draw nearer to our Father in Heaven, to commune with Him in a personal and intimate manner. Heartfelt prayer is the furthest thing from a memorized recitation. We do not simply talk at God; rather, we talk with Him.


When we truly pray from the heart, we open our innermost feelings to our Father in Heaven: we tell Him of our challenges, our feelings of inadequacy and weakness; we share our emotions and feelings about decisions that face us or trials and adversity we experience; we freely express our sorrows and joys. Now, God knows our innermost thoughts and feelings even better than we do, but as we learn to share them with Him, we make it possible for His Spirit to enter our souls and teach us more about our own selves and about the nature of God. By making ourselves totally honest, open, and submissive before God, our hearts become more receptive to His counsel and His will.

One great obstacle to receiving answers from God is fear, for fear is the opposite of faith. I have heard President Boyd K. Packer teach many times, “Brethren, do not take counsel from your fears.” If you are fearful about leaving Provo or the state of Utah, it will be difficult for the Lord to give you an answer to take a job elsewhere. If you are afraid of getting married, you will somehow never find the answers needed to get there. If we fear to act on the inspiration we receive, it will become more difficult in the future to receive answers. If we learn to move forward in faith as the Spirit guides, we will make progress in life and grow in the principle of revelation. Remember Paul’s great counsel to Timothy: “God hath not given us the spirit of fear” (2 Timothy 1:7).
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
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Re: BYU Speeches

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One of my heroes Julie B. Beck spoke at BYU Idaho a few weeks ago - Be Fruitful

http://www2.byui.edu/Presentations/Tran ... 0_Beck.htm

We live today in a telestial world with a celestial obligation. So we have to adapt and we have to work hard to live the Lord’s covenant. We know that people, governments, cultures and civilizations that follow the adversary’s way of apathy, entitlement, and anger ultimately are destroyed. They’re living a life that leads them to extinction. Whereas those who make and keep a covenant with our Heavenly Father live a fruitful life of multiplying, replenishing, subduing and having dominion and dressing and keeping their lives.



Often our daily battle against opposition leaves us too exhausted to do the things in our lives and homes that would help us do all that is “praiseworthy and of good report” (Article of Faith 13).

Read with me in Moroni, chapter 7, this wonderful way to judge. Verse 16:



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 the perfect knowledge that is of God.



But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.


So we were sent here to earth to prove ourselves, to see if we would do those things that would help us have a fruitful life. This is not a concept of a sedimentary, static life. It connotes work and effort.

As we read in Moses, chapter 5, the beginning of that wonderful chapter, when Adam and Eve left the Garden after the Lord had driven them out:



Adam began to till the earth, and to have dominion over all of the beasts of the field, and to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow, as I the Lord had commanded him. And Eve, also his wife, did labor with him.



This idea of being fruitful took effort on the part of Adam and Eve.
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
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Tuly
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Re: BYU Speeches

Post by Tuly »

Messages of Love by Elder Patrick Kearon - February 14th, 2012.

http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=2018


We must each find and then guard a time each and every day to remember these words of the Lord: “All flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God” (D&C 101:16; emphasis added). A segment of time when we can be still, quiet, and removed from our busyness will help recenter us, refocus our priorities, and bring us back into a position in which we can receive and feel the messages our Heavenly Father wishes to send to us. Remember, if our hearts are preoccupied, we may not be able to feel Father’s messages.
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
User avatar
Tuly
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Joined: Tue Jun 06, 2006 9:16 pm

Re: BYU Speeches

Post by Tuly »

A Child of God by President Henry B. Eyring - October 21, 1997

http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=747

You are to pursue educational excellence while avoiding pride, the great spiritual destroyer. Most people would question whether it is possible to pursue excellence in anything without feeling some measure of pride.

A professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association sat next to me on a plane just after President Benson gave a talk warning about pride. In general conference President Benson had said that there was no such thing as righteous pride. My seatmate hadn’t heard the talk, so I told him about it and asked whether he could excel in the NBA down under the basket if he were stripped of all pride. His quiet answer was that he doubted that he could survive at all, let alone excel.

A Broadway star had a colorful way of expressing his opinion about the place of pride in his work. He had been hired to be the lead in a production of Fiddler on the Roof with a cast of college students. I was asked to give a prayer with the cast on opening night. The Broadway veteran, who had played the part hundreds of times, stood at the back of a ring of students gathered around me just before the curtain was to go up. He looked puzzled.

As I recall now, I prayed about the way you might have done. I pleaded with God that the members of the cast would be lifted above their natural abilities, that the stage equipment would function well, that the hearts of the audience would be softened, and that they would be touched. I can’t remember much else of the prayer, but I can remember what happened just after I said “Amen.”

The Broadway star jumped into the air, landed on the stage with the sound of an explosion coming from his heavy boots, slapped his hands to his sides, and then thrust them into the air and shouted, “Okay, now let’s go for it!” If the audience heard his bellow, and I can’t imagine that they didn’t, they must have expected the cast to come charging through the curtain out into the audience bent on some kind of mayhem.

I can only assume that he was determined to counteract the terrible mistake he had just witnessed. The last thing on earth he wanted was to go on a stage with a bunch of amateur actors who had been infected with humility.
"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection,... but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been." Mormon 9:31
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