Honoring Judge J. Clifford Wallace: A Life of Law, Leadership, and Legacy

Brothers and sisters, I feel very privileged to be here at the Brigham Young University graduation of so many of you and particularly at the conferral of an honorary degree on our longtime friend J. Clifford Wallace. He has already been recognized in the beautiful citation. My purpose is to carry out an assignment to give him the congratulations of President Russell M. Nelson, whose recent one hundredth birthday gives him a unique perspective to view the longtime accomplishments of Judge Wallace.

We honor Judge Wallace as a person who has excelled in every important area of his life. All of this is evident from his remarks this morning. He is an exemplary patriarch in his family, a renowned teacher in all his Church assignments, and a person unequaled in his commitment to the legal profession and to the administration of justice.

In this praise of Judge Wallace, the leadership of BYU’s Board of Trustees—the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—are not distant observers. In our worldwide responsibilities, we are well-informed observers of J. Clifford Wallace’s powerful performance worldwide. He is universally respected for his leadership as well as for his unequaled longevity as a judge and a chief judge in the courts of the United States. Internationally, his leadership and teaching to advance the rule of law and the administration of justice in the legal systems of seventy-two nations are unique among the judges of the world.

Speaking from our commitment to the divinely inspired principles of the United States Constitution, which apply to all men, we believe in the rule of law. We honor Judge Wallace as a worthy example of that rule of law and commend his example to lawyers, judges, and citizens worldwide. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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