Faith in Jesus Christ in the Information Age

I loved President Dallin H. Oaks’s prophetic message on February 10 here at BYU.¹ What a blessing to hear from a former BYU student who later served as president of Brigham Young University and who is now our prophet. His message was truly inspirational. I loved his counsel for you to strengthen your faith, increase your humility, seek help from others, and be patient.²

President Oaks also reiterated his profound message that BYU “will become the great university of the Lord—not in the world’s way but in the Lord’s way.”³

In preparation for this talk, I have been reflecting on the 150th anniversary of this marvelous university. I believe this is happening in a unique and powerful way.

One of the themes that BYU has developed is honoring 150 years of faith, leadership, and impact. This approach has inspired me to review some of the “big picture” periods that have impacted the world in the past 150 years.

In that 150-year period, the world went through an agricultural age, an industrial age, and then an information age that is now morphing into an artificial intelligence age.

I have decided to share both personal experiences and prophetic teachings that manifest the marvelous things that have occurred in the world over that 150-year period. To accomplish this, let me share observations that may help to put things in perspective.

“The Information Revolution”

In 1986, forty years ago this month, I listened to a highly acclaimed talk by George P. Shultz, who was then secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan. The title of his talk was “The Shape, Scope, and Consequences of the Age of Information.”⁴ The talk had been sponsored by Stanford University and was well received across the world and especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I lived.⁵

In his talk, George Shultz referenced both the agricultural age and the industrial age, noting that both were still productive. However, his emphasis was on “the information revolution.” He emphasized the “technological prowess—particularly in the development, storage, processing, and transfer of information.”⁶

One example he used for the information revolution was “the computer, which can hold all the information contained in the Library of Congress in a machine the size of a refrigerator.”⁷ Today something like that computer would be smaller than my iPhone. Shultz also noted that “an announcement made in the [White House] Rose Garden can be reflected 2 minutes later in the stock market in Singapore.”⁸

I was personally appreciative and inspired by his 1986 talk. I had practiced law since graduating from Stanford Law School in 1966 and had experienced continuous technological advances occurring at a rapid pace in Silicon Valley.

I reflected on the time that our law firm was representing a client in 1977. I was negotiating to sell or merge my client’s hard drive with Apple Computer, which had been founded one year earlier in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Jobs was 22 years old, and Wozniak was 27.⁹ I was only in my mid-30s, but both Jobs and Wozniak seemed very young to me.

Our client had informed me that the computer Wozniak had developed was exceptional. With my lack of knowledge about that kind of information technology, I had no idea how successful this new company would be. However, even some who were experienced in technology could not foresee Apple’s ultimate success.

Jobs and Wozniak had been employed by Atari, a pioneer in video-game technology that had released Pong in 1972.¹⁰ The founder of Atari, Nolan Bushnell, later acknowledged that Jobs and Wozniak had offered him a 33 percent stake in Apple for a $50,000 investment in 1976. An article in Fortune last August estimated that this investment would now be worth nearly $1 trillion.¹¹ Despite Atari’s employer experience, Bushnell declined the offer.

My client made the same decision, even though he thought the Apple computer was a good product. He did not think it was a good long-term alignment for him.

In the 1970s, a century-long manufacturing age was becoming less important, and computers had yet to transform the workplace.¹² By the mid-1980s, Silicon Valley was exploding. George Shultz’s talk factually described what was happening over a very short period of time.

Shultz was not just describing technology; he was forecasting a significant shift in how people live, learn, and earn their living. He stated, “The information revolution promises to change the routine of our planet as decisively as did the industrial revolution of the past century.”¹³

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and particularly you students at Brigham Young University, we see that the information age is now rapidly evolving. It appears that it will be shaped by

• artificial intelligence
• algorithms that can shape attention and belief
• automation of both physical and cognitive labor

The continuation of the information revolution will have significant implications on all our lives.

It is important to understand that the progression from a rural to an industrial and then to an information age is not haphazard. We live in the dispensation of the fulness of times, a period when knowledge has increased rapidly and the Lord’s work is being hastened and accelerated across the earth.

My purpose today is to explore with you what this special moment requires of you BYU students at the conclusion of the 150th anniversary of BYU. To do so, let me review what prophets and other religious leaders have taught and the continuity of doctrine from the agricultural age to the industrial age and to the now advanced information age.

The Agricultural Age

For most of human history, society was primarily agricultural. Sometimes we do not properly honor this great historical heritage. Much of our scriptural history is based on prophets who spoke of seeds, roots, and branches and of the law of the harvest.

After dedicating the Burley Idaho Temple in January this year, President Oaks mentioned to us how grounded the Saints have been in that part of the Lord’s Church. The members not only learned how to work hard but also learned to understand and appreciate the law of the harvest.

Throughout history, families worked together across generations, knowledge was obtained through experience and best practices, and life was defined and lived according to the seasons, not by some arbitrary or created schedule. Incremental improvements were continuously made. Alma taught, “By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.”¹⁴

A constant reality of agricultural life for the righteous was to depend on God, respect the reality of natural law, and be both patient and appreciative of divine blessings.

The Industrial Age

The industrial age represented a dramatic but gradual change. Its development spanned a good part of the history of the restored Church of Jesus Christ and of BYU. The history of railroad expansion is a good example.

Last summer, my wife, Mary, and I decided to retrace some of the early experiences of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the United Kingdom in 1840. The apostles were in England at the time of the Industrial Revolution and the birth of the railways. Paddington Station in London had been completed in 1838. In 1840, Heber C. Kimball, Wilford Woodruff, and George A. Smith traveled from Cheltenham, England, to London, arriving at Paddington Station by way of a newly completed railroad.¹⁵ They were the first apostles in this dispensation to visit London, and they arrived by train.¹⁶

In the United States, the completion of the coast-to-coast railroad system occurred in Utah in 1869. It marked a major move from the primarily agricultural world to the more industrial world.

The industrial age altered society in just a few generations. Machines provided not only transportation and products but also increased employment opportunities. Cities replaced villages. Education became more formalized and standardized. Productivity soared, and living standards in most places improved dramatically.

Yet with these blessings came some spiritual risks. President David O. McKay became the prophet in 1951. The conclusion of World War II had resulted in many industrial advancements. Many people were moving from agriculture to business, education, and governmental organizations. There were not as many intergenerational connections as there had been on farms when the entire family had to work together to provide a living.

Some people in these organizations had made occupational success and wealth their primary goals. President McKay powerfully taught that no success in life would “compensate for failure in the home.”¹⁷ He made it clear that occupational or financial success, essentially elevating “fame and fortune,” could not and should not replace faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the eternal role of the family as the primary aspirational goals of faithful members of the Lord’s Church.

President Oaks has over the years warned of the dangers of too much emphasis on wealth and position. He taught, “Our needed conversions are often achieved more readily by suffering and adversity than by comfort and [ease].”¹⁸

Now let me be clear: We want you to be successful in all aspects of your life, but not at the expense of faith and family.

Apostles and prophets have continuously taught that in using our moral agency, we also need to emphasize character, integrity, and accountability to God, which are all central to the plan of salvation.

The Information Age

The doctrine of the restored gospel is just as applicable to the information age as it was to the agricultural age or the industrial age. It will be even more important in the emerging artificial intelligence age.

In a world in which so much information is available, it is increasingly important to be certain that what we accept as truth is grounded in eternal principles. The Lord’s scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon, will be even more important in our day than they were for prior generations. Because the Book of Mormon is so powerful and so important, there will always be those who disparage or attack the Book of Mormon.

Some have used humor to disparage the Book of Mormon. I can remember before my mission when a university professor of American literature quoted Mark Twain’s pronouncement in Roughing It that if you took the phrase “and it came to pass” out of the Book of Mormon, the book “would have been only a pamphlet.”¹⁹ I could see that his comments concerned some of my classmates.

It was interesting to me that a few months later, while I was serving a mission in London, England, that another professor, a distinguished Oxford-educated teacher at London University, took exactly the opposite position. Dr. Ebeid Sarofim, an Egyptian by birth and an expert in Semitic languages, read a copy of the Book of Mormon that he had discovered by chance and sent a letter to President David O. McKay asking for permission to be baptized. President McKay referred him to the London mission home.

Dr. Sarofim met with the missionaries and said he had an intellectual testimony of the validity of the Book of Mormon because he was convinced that it was indeed a translation of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians for the periods described in the Book of Mormon. One of the many examples he used was the conjunctive phrase “and it came to pass,” which he said mirrored how he would translate phraseology used often in ancient Semitic writings.

The professor was informed that while his intellectual approach based on his profession had helped him, it was still essential to have a spiritual testimony. Through study, listening to prophetic messages, and prayer, he gained a spiritual witness and was baptized. So what one famous humorist saw as an object of ridicule, a scholar recognized as profound evidence of the truth of the Book of Mormon that was confirmed to him by the Spirit.²⁰

Dr. Sarofim’s true account is interesting, but I would suggest the best approach for both gaining and maintaining a testimony is to immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon so you can experience the ongoing witness of the Spirit.²¹

Choose Truth in the Artificial Intelligence Age

President Russell M. Nelson taught, “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”²²

In his February 2026 devotional here at BYU, President Oaks referenced this counsel from President Nelson²³ and encouraged you to seek truth. President Oaks noted:

We are grateful to know that there are two methods of gaining needed knowledge: (1) the evolving disclosures of man discovered by the scientific method and (2) the truths disclosed by the spiritual method, which begins with faith in God and relies on scriptures, inspired teaching, and personal revelation. There is no ultimate conflict between knowledge gained by these different methods because God, our omnipotent Eternal Father, knows all truth and beckons us to learn by both methods.²⁴

President Oaks then emphasized advice from Elder Richard L. Evans: “God has not told us all he knows.”²⁵

My challenge for you precious students is to choose truth when deception is easy. Slow down enough to listen to the Spirit and to allow Him to direct you. We must all learn to use technology as a servant, not as a master. The future of the Church and of our very civilization depends on members and individuals who have deep faith, moral courage, and the ability to navigate an increasingly complex world. Let me emphasize again that in the artificial intelligence age, you need to choose truth when deception is easy.

In addition to deception, available technology can lead to using social media primarily for “fun and games”—or, even worse, to absorbing and becoming addicted to evil visual content.

I promise you that throughout your life the Lord will provide prophets with the guidance necessary to allow you precious students to find truth and righteousness. Following and adhering to truth and righteousness will allow you to go forward and confidently assist the Lord in accomplishing His purpose “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of [men and women].”²⁶

Technology can be powerful in building faith and morality and in accomplishing the Lord’s purposes. It has been significant in assisting two of the Lord’s divinely appointed responsibilities: missionary work and temple work. Technology has supported the missionary effort to share the gospel and the gathering of ancestors for temple ordinances. The growth in both missionary work and temple work as a result of technology has been almost exponential.

While this is true, technology can also be a powerful force for deception and for destroying morality. The early stages of the film industry are an excellent example. While the movies had many uplifting themes, some themes were adverse to important principles of the gospel.

In the early movies, alcohol and cigarette use were presented in a normal, compelling, and sophisticated manner. This was of course in opposition to the revelations received by the Prophet Joseph Smith. To protect our members, our prophet Heber J. Grant often emphasized the Word of Wisdom and directed local leaders to require adherence to the Word of Wisdom in order to obtain a temple recommend.

President Grant’s prophetic guidance not only blessed members of the Church to live a healthy lifestyle, but it also set members apart as a people who lived the Word of Wisdom and who avoided the terrible health and moral impacts of both cigarettes and alcohol. His guidance blessed the community of faithful members and set an example of moral rectitude.

Now I do not believe we have a particular problem living the Word of Wisdom at BYU. I am using the Word of Wisdom issue as a clear example of the necessity of following prophetic guidance. So please stay with me.

It is interesting that society, medical technology, and medical professionals were very slow to oppose the terrible health impacts of smoking and drinking. It was not until 1966 that the American Medical Association finally declared that any use of cigarettes was exceptionally detrimental to good health.²⁷

The impact of alcohol and drugs has also been terrible. Over many years I followed a research project that commenced in the 1940s.²⁸ I have reported on it over the years from time to time. The study followed Harvard students and then others for approximately 70 years. This longitudinal study found that alcohol abuse touches one American family in three, is involved in a quarter of all admissions to general hospitals, and plays a major role in death, divorce, bad health, and diminished accomplishment.

As I look back at my numerous associations in both California and Utah, this assessment is consistent for my generation. The impact of alcohol has been devastating.

A recently reported Gallup poll that was issued on August 13, 2025, had as its heading “U.S. Drinking Rate at New Low as Alcohol Concerns Surge.”²⁹ Gallup indicated that the percentage of adults in the United States who say they consume alcohol has fallen to 54 percent, the lowest by one percentage point in Gallup’s nearly 90-year trend reporting on this issue.³⁰

So it has taken almost 90 years for science and some of society to acknowledge what President Heber J. Grant gave as guidance more than 100 years ago³¹ as well as what we had been given in the revelation the Prophet Joseph Smith received from the Lord even earlier, in 1833.³² Be grateful for the guidance of prophets and follow their direction. Remember, spiritual guidance can help you overcome deception as you consume information old or new.

You are not here at BYU to merely obtain degrees or credentials. The Lord has declared, “Unto whom much is given much is required.”³³ You are also at BYU to become disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ and of His teachings and to build Zion in a complex world.

I pray that you will strive to be dedicated disciples of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has taught, “Discipleship is not a spectator sport.”³⁴

In addition to establishing doctrine and scriptural guidance, the Lord provides living prophets for specific guidance in our day. We have been blessed with inspired guidance from all the prophets in my lifetime.

The Lord will continue to provide prophets who will guide and focus you wonderful students on the most important principles. The Lord’s prophets will help your generation move forward and confidently accomplish His purposes.

President Russell M. Nelson taught so much, and we could spend all morning reviewing the marvelous guidance and instruction he provided. I treasure the fact that President Nelson has so beautifully defined the covenant path. The Lord has inspired His faithful Saints to provide the resources necessary to build temples across the earth and to participate in the ordinances of salvation and exaltation more fully for both the living and the dead.

President Dallin H. Oaks is the prophet the Lord has prepared for our day. Throughout his life, he has received preparation to be the Lord’s prophet.

President Oaks is an almost perfect example of something he has taught for many years: striving to become what we ought to become. He has taught:

The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts. . . . It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become.³⁵

My counsel to you is to listen to and follow the prophet, filter out the loud and confusing noise, and follow the Spirit. In this uniquely challenging time as we enter the artificial intelligence world, you would be wise to study the scriptures and follow the Lord’s prophet and follow Jesus Christ.

Please do not be discouraged, as we all face these unique challenges. You will be blessed.

I often contemplate the challenges that our early members in this dispensation faced in Kirtland, Missouri, and Nauvoo and while crossing the plains. More importantly, let us never forget that it was not easy for the Savior in the volatile world during His mortal sojourn—especially in His final hours as He accomplished the Atonement. I am grateful for our Savior’s ultimate sacrifice in our behalf. I am also grateful for living prophets who can provide us with the guidance we need in our day. President Dallin H. Oaks will provide that spiritually powerful legacy.

I testify of the reality of the Savior’s Atonement and of the divinity of Jesus Christ. I testify to you that I do know the Savior and I do know that He lives and guides His Church. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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