Classic BYU Speeches

Revelation serves many purposes necessary and beneficial: it testifies, prophesies, comforts, uplifts, informs, restrains, confirms, and impels.

Revelation serves many purposes necessary and beneficial: it testifies, prophesies, comforts, uplifts, informs, restrains, confirms, and impels.

Meekness does not oppose boldness. It means to speak up without speaking down. It means to depend upon the Lord. It means to become like the Savior.

I am so happy to be able to share some ideas with you today that I know have been directed by Heavenly Father. I pray that the Spirit of the Lord will help me communicate the thoughts I have received, according to the desire of the Lord. What a blessing this assignment has been to me. I want to borrow a term I first heard at a workshop conducted by the Franklin Institute, now Franklin Covey. They introduced me to the concept of the belief window, which I have identified with ever since. I can still visualize a clear window suspended in front of the eyes of a cartoon face, illustrating the idea that we see the world through our belief window. The beliefs that we have are the lenses of reality for each of us. I would like to expand upon this idea and talk about your spiritual eyeglasses and leave you with the notion that what you see is what you get or what you see is what you are, as far as eternity is concerned. It is very important that gospel truths make up our belief window so that we can see the celestial kingdom clearly. Let me illustrate. The world looks very different for me depending upon the lenses, or glasses, through which I look. For instance, this first pair of glasses I am putting on has very thick lenses, and they distort my view to the point that, if I wear them very long, I am frustrated and not able to clearly see the path before me. In fact, they give me a headache. This next pair of glasses, with the eyeballs on springs, changes my view with each movement of the springs. Once again the path before me is distorted and even comical. With this pair of sunglasses I am having a hard time seeing anything at all in this room. They shut out the light. This next pair of glasses doesn’t aid my vision at all, but they glow in the dark and draw attention to me and my eyes in a dark room. I have used them for effect several times when I wanted to solicit a reaction from people. They are a fun icebreaker, but that’s all. They don’t aid my vision. This final pair of glasses totally changes others’ perceptions of me. With these lenses I can create a fictitious image of who I am. I have created a distorted picture of myself and what my belief window contains. Thank goodness for my own prescription lenses. Now I can see you as well as the printed words before me and, I hope, the path to the celestial kingdom. It really is very important that we wear the proper pair of glasses—or, in other words, that our belief window is correct. The message that I am bringing today is that your beliefs are the lenses through which you see the world. What you believe determines your focus and in turn your actions. You are seeing things as you believe they are—not […]

The spiritual eyeglasses we view the world through define what we believe, where we focus, and how we act. Wearing an incorrect pair can distort our vision.

The happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others. Forget yourself and reach out. You will be happier when you do.

God will save our generation by sending Elijah, with priesthood sealing keys to connect us with our forefathers and our posterity.

I know that most of you who gathered tonight from across the United States and Canada come with a determination to do what is right. You have had those feelings in your heart to live worthily no matter what others may say. I speak also to others present who want to have such feelings. You are of the finest generation that has come to earth. You have prepared yourself well in the premortal existence and have been selected to come forth in this singularly important time in the unfolding of Father in Heaven’s plan. I am deeply moved to be in your presence. I realize that the majority of you do not have the slightest idea of how truly capable, noble, and wonderful you are. I have prayed about, pondered over, and worked on this message because each one of you is an exceptional daughter or son of our Father in Heaven and I want to help you. Early on, I strongly felt impressed to discuss with you how to make your noble dreams and aspirations a reality. I am sure that each one of you has treasured dreams of what you want your life to be. Having moved down the path of life ahead of you, I have learned that while there are growing challenges along the way, life is most beautiful. As you continue to exercise faith in the Master and are obedient to His commandments, you will receive magnificent blessings. Some of those blessings you will have dreamed about. Other blessings He plans for you are beyond anything you can conceive of now. My earnest desire is to help you live so that your worthy dreams become realities. I have wrestled with many different ways to communicate principles that I know—if understood and applied—would greatly help you. As this evening approached, I realized I did not yet have a satisfactory way to express what I know to be true. Then a peace enveloped me. I felt that if I strive the best I can to talk to you, and you listen with an open mind and heart with real intent, having faith in the Lord, then it won’t matter too much what I say. You will have impressions come to you that will be individually tailored to your needs. As you write those impressions down and follow them, they will be guidelines for your life and will help you realize your righteous dreams. You are at a time of life when there are many critically important decisions to be made, and you are understandably unsure of your capacity to make them. You live in a world where it is increasingly more difficult to assure that your worthy dreams and aspirations will come true by avoiding the allurements and temptations that Satan would put in your path to destroy you. You may have doubts about your own self-worth. You want to be accepted. You have questions about your future and about how to gain true and enduring friendships. […]

Richard G. Scott implores listeners to resolutely decide to keep the Lord's standards and live so that the Holy Ghost can inspire all to do what is right.

What a joyful noise comes from this congregation! It fills my heart with joy to be here with you, to sing the songs of Zion, and to hear your prayers and share in your spirit. How good you are! Your mothers probably tell you that, but I want to tell you, too. The members of the Church are blessed with the goodness of your generation. The opening hymn was so appropriate for the first of January: “Come, let us anew our journey pursue, Roll round with the year, And never stand still till the Master appear” (“Come, Let Us Anew,” Hymns, 1985, no. 217). As Latter-day Saints, those words have special meaning to us. They echo a theme about this journey of life that has characterized our entire dispensation: “No toil nor labor fear; But with joy wend your way” (“Come, Come, Ye Saints,” Hymns, 1985, no. 30). These stirring words inspired the early pioneer Saints who traveled west to find a sanctuary for religious freedom. This year, throughout the Church, we will observe the sesquicentennial of that great westward trek with a celebration that has been titled “Faith in Every Footstep.” Today the headquarters of the Church is in the desert valleys the pioneers settled. It is also the setting for the 2002 Olympics and home to Brigham Young University. The spirit that characterized the pioneer era is very much a part of our lives today. At the beginning of this new year, most of us have closed our journals on 1996 and opened new ones. Before us are blank pages to be filled in day by day as we each give shape to the year 1997. The first of January is usually marked by the tradition of making resolutions—the always well-intentioned list of what we are going to do differently in the months ahead. A scripture in 1 Thessalonians can be a good guide for us in this process. In verse 3 the apostle Paul praises the Saints of Thessalonica: “Remembering without ceasing [their] work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in [the] Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 1:3). I like Paul’s choice of words in commending those Saints. To me they speak as a powerful reminder of our need to set priorities and to center our work, labor, and patience of hope in Jesus Christ, to believe in him and in his ways enough to abandon selfish inclinations and develop direction in our spiritual journey. This scripture makes some interesting connections. Work is tied to faith, labor is associated with love, and patience is woven in with hope. This juxtaposition points out that what we do is balanced by how we do it. The ordinary tasks of work, labor, and patience are transformed into faith, love, and hope in Jesus Christ when we realize that it is through these seemingly commonplace tasks that we bring glory to our Father. In my message tonight I want to focus on the quality of patience. What kind of patience was […]