Envisioning BYU: BYU Speeches

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Going Forward in the Second Century | Dallin H. Oaks | September 2022 Sep 05, 2024

Show notes

Dallin H. Oaks was serving as first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when he delivered this address. As BYU approached its sesquicentennial, President Oaks and a number of BYU devotional speakers reflected on President Spencer W. Kimball’s challenge to “become a unique university in all of the world.” President Oaks’s counsel was born of long and deep observation of BYU and the American academy generally. He spoke of an experience in the 1970s when BYU broke with the educational establishment in order to assert eternal principles. He also challenged students to “dare to be different” from the world when the world does not follow the Lord’s way, emphasizing the principle that the second commandment (love of neighbor) does not come ahead of the first great commandment (love of God). You can access the full talk here.

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Dare to Be Different: Preserving the Distinctive Light of Religious Universities | Clark G. Gilbert | February 2022 Aug 29, 2024

Show notes

Clark G. Gilbert, serving as commissioner of the Church Educational System, published this essay on the fate of the religious university a few months after he gave a BYU devotional address that touched on the same topic. In both pieces, he reminded BYU to hold fast to its unique mission, as so many initially religious universities have failed to do. Elder Gilbert calls for “courageous leadership” at religiously aligned colleges and universities to maintain their religious identity. His is a clarion call not only to BYU but to all “religious universities and faith-oriented faculty to deepen their confidence in the power of religious strength identity,” which “is not only important to a religious community, but it strengthens the academy and society more generally.” Therefore, he concludes, “Do not hide your light under a bushel. . . . Dare to be different in ways that are true to your distinctive light.” You can access the full talk here.

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On the Uniqueness of BYU | C. Shane Reese | August 2021 Aug 22, 2024

Show notes

C. Shane Reese was BYU academic vice president when he delivered this address to faculty members, building on an admonition given to the university only months earlier by Elder David A. Bednar. Elder Bednar had challenged university leadership to take to heart President Spencer W. Kimball’s admonitions for BYU to remain unique as it pursued academic distinction in its second century. Focusing on what makes BYU unique, Vice President Reese stressed the importance of using gospel methodologies to address university problems, of honing research mentoring at the university, and of applying “mission-fit” criteria when making hiring decisions. You can access the full talk here.

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An Obligation to the World | Kevin J Worthen | August 2021 Aug 15, 2024

Show notes

Kevin J Worthen was serving as president of the university when he delivered this address and introduced the BYU Statement on Belonging and the creation of the Office of Belonging. He reminded the campus community of Elder David A. Bednar’s invitation to hearken to President Spencer W. Kimball’s admonition to use “gospel methodology, concepts, and insights . . . to do what the world cannot do in its own frame of reference.” President Worthen explained how both the substance of the BYU Statement on Belonging and the process of arriving at it through counseling in councils draw on gospel methodology, concepts, and insights. He also reflected on President Kimball’s prophetic expectations for BYU to “remain a unique university in all the world.” You can access the full talk here.

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“Look unto Me in Every Thought; Doubt Not, Fear Not” | David A. Bednar | April 2021 Aug 08, 2024

Show notes

David A. Bednar was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles when he delivered this address and spoke of Joseph Smith’s promise that the work of the Lord will go forward. Elder Bednar encouraged BYU’s leaders to “look unto [the Savior] in every thought; doubt not, fear not” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:36). He emphasized that looking without fear to God rather than to the world means heeding President Spencer W. Kimball’s repeated warnings to “resist anything that would rob BYU of its basic uniqueness in its second century” (“The Second Century of Brigham Young University”). Elder Bednar invited the campus community to remember and apply President Kimball’s counsel. You can access the full talk here.

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BYU: A Unique Kind of Education | Kevin J Worthen | August 2017 Jul 25, 2024

Show notes

As president of Brigham Young University, Kevin J Worthen explained to faculty and staff how BYU offers a unique kind of education by linking “faith-based teaching and student-centered research.” Building on then Elder Dallin H. Oaks’s address “Challenges to the Mission of Brigham Young University”, given earlier that year, President Worthen articulated how BYU can achieve its “prophetically proclaimed destiny... in a way that is different from that by which other universities have achieved their greatness.” You can access the full talk here.

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Challenges to the Mission of Brigham Young University | Dallin H. Oaks | April 2017 Jul 18, 2024

Show notes

Dallin H. Oaks was serving as chair of the executive committee of the BYU Board of Trustees and as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles when he delivered this address. He spoke of the challenges BYU faces in becoming a “great university of the Lord—not in the world’s way but in the Lord’s way.” This talk figured prominently in a speech given a few months later by President Kevin J Worthen, titled “BYU: A Unique Kind of Education.” You can access the full talk here.

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Installation of and Charge to the President | Spencer W. Kimball | November 1980 Jul 11, 2024

Show notes

Spencer W. Kimball was president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when he delivered this charge to new BYU president Jeffrey R. Holland. He repeated many key points from his address “The Second Century of Brigham Young University,” thus fixing his prophetic expectations about BYU’s mission even more deeply into the university. In one paragraph of particular note, President Kimball altered slightly the language from his second-century address, changing become unique to remain unique. You can access the full talk here.

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Why a University in the Kingdom? | Neal A. Maxwell | October 1975 Jun 27, 2024

Show notes

As Church commissioner of education during BYU’s centennial year (1975), Neal A. Maxwell wrote an article for the Ensign magazine explaining why The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would have a university like BYU. In it he touched on many of the same themes President Spencer W. Kimball articulated in his address “The Second Century of Brigham Young University,” emphasizing the need for BYU to remain “deliberately different,” even unique, in “meeting its rendezvous with destiny.” This text has been excerpted. The talk can be accessed here.

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The Church University | David O. McKay | October 1937 Jun 20, 2024

Show notes

David O. McKay was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles when he authored this article. Elder McKay believed deeply in the value of Church schools, where students could study all subjects in the light of the gospel, deepen their testimonies, and develop noble character traits. He helped preserve Brigham Young University as an exception to the Church’s general policy of divesting itself of Church schools. Later, as Church president, he founded BYU–Hawaii and the Church College of New Zealand. You can access the full talk here.

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