“Whence Then Cometh Wisdom? And Where Is the Place of Understanding?”

It hardly seems possible that a year ago as I greeted you, I knew and understood much less about BYU and the Church Educational System than I do today. I do not mean that I am now wise and understanding. Far from it. I have learned from 2 Nephi that answers may be had if we

do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor . . . labor for that which cannot satisfy. [And if we] hearken diligently . . . and remember the words which [the Lord has] spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can [we] be corrupted, and let [our] soul delight in fatness.¹

The “fatness” comes in feasting upon that which is needful. Being much in need, I sought for information to help me better understand the commissioner’s responsibilities and also to understand Brigham Young University.

I believe that you who are here today are prepared to direct the lives of students and that there is not a finer group gathered anywhere in the world. As I review your accomplishments as reported in the public press, in special communications to me, and in the monthly reports to the board of trustees, I think you may be without peer at any other institution. Some will receive special presentations today. President David O. McKay said:

What, then, is true education? It is an awakening of love for truth, a giving of a just sense of duty, an opening of the eyes of the soul to the great purpose of life. . . .

True education seeks to make men and women not only good mathematicians, proficient linguists, profound scientists, or brilliant literary lights, but also honest men with virtue, temperance, and brotherly love. It seeks to make men and women who prize truth, justice, wisdom, benevolence, and self-control as the choicest acquisitions of a successful life.²

Brigham Young, when discussing the objectives of the Latter-day Saints coming to these valleys, said:

We wish strangers to understand that we did not come here out of choice, but because we were obliged to go somewhere, and this was the best place we could find. It was impossible for any person to live here unless he labored hard and battled and fought against the elements, but it was a first-rate place to raise Latter-day Saints; and we shall be blessed in living here, and shall yet make it like the Garden of Eden; and the Lord Almighty will hedge about His Saints and will defend and preserve them if they will do His will. The only fear I have is that we will not do right; if we do, we will be like a city set on a hill, our light will not be hid.³

It is true that the Saints had to move because of the extermination order. They had no choice—it was stay and die or move and survive. They were not afraid to die, and many did, as we know—victims of that pioneer journey. But they had a mission to fulfill: they had “to raise Latter-day Saints,” and Brigham Young often warned them that it would be hard. Those Latter-day Saints would carry forth the kingdom of God upon the earth.

We are the Latter-day Saints about whom they were concerned, and we have the opportunity to raise up other Latter-day Saints who come here expecting a particular kind of education.

Brigham Young wanted people who would not be Latter-day Saints in name only. He wanted the faithful kind, the obedient kind—like those of pioneer days. He was grieved when people did not obey, just as prophets are grieved today.

Brigham Young said on one occasion, “I think I am safe in saying that there are many of the Latter-day Saints who are more willing to die for their religion than to faithfully live it.”⁴

Brigham Young hoped that people would be converted to the truth and learn to love it. He said, “Truth is obeyed when it is loved. Strict obedience to the truth will alone enable people to dwell in the presence of the Almighty.”⁵

If Brigham Young could speak to us today, he would undoubtedly say that same thing: “Raise Latter-day Saints”: teach them the truth and to love it, teach them obedience and repentance, teach unity, and advise them to put God first in their lives.

The idea of looking ahead—setting the goals, planning the trip, and anticipating the outcomes—is not new. The scriptures are full of examples—in some cases, specific treatments—of individuals and groups who have been curious, who have exercised faith, and who have envisioned future times and places.

God is responsible for His kingdom, including BYU. Through His chosen leaders He can counsel, exhort, and correct, but these leaders cannot do the work of the membership in this enterprise. It is the individual member—each with his or her gifts and training—who must establish the educational programs. The gift of faith supported by the spirit of obedience will be required if goals are to be achieved. The members must learn to feel and to think with the revealed principles that have been given, must appreciate and use them in every worthy discipline, and must pay the price to understand.

Although a diversity of educational enterprises in a variety of settings may be tolerated, this institution—and that means the people here—must generate and nurture educational thought and practice that transcend the telestial order. Here on this campus, and within the Church Educational System, we must create instructional environments that invite the Spirit of the Lord to be present to assist in the teaching and learning processes. These environments must reach beyond the discipline of religious education to the human sciences, languages and arts, physical and biological sciences, mathematics, and all disciplines.

Several observations among Latter-day Saint professionals have surfaced during this year:

1. Some individuals adopt the patterns of their profession and then use those patterns to select from the revelations the principles and scriptural justifications that support those patterns.
2. Some compartmentalize their personal and professional value structures. These individuals perceive their professions as essentially unrelatable to revelation and religious commitment. Their position is that being a good person, responding to Church callings, and striving to live gospel principles is separate and distinct from exercising the mental discipline of their chosen profession. They do not see that God’s revelations have any bearing upon their professional work.
3. Some decide what the revelations say about a specific discipline and then seek to impose this personal view upon others.
4. Some consider the revelations to be rich sources of divine insight on basic premises that bear directly on the assumptions underlying all worthy professional endeavors. They feel that the proper context and fundamental guidelines for acquiring and using knowledge in every field have been provided in revelation and will be expanded by revelation if the individual rigorously seeks such understanding by faith and by study. Their goal is to join with their peers in this search.

We have some individuals who fit in each of these categories.

Dr. Arthur Henry King, in an essay he wrote shortly after coming to this campus many years ago, wrote, “BYU has to be better than other universities by not being like them.” He further wrote, “An institution, however well planned, cannot become bad or good: it is the people in it who are bad or good or who become bad or good.” He referred to “the Lord’s university” in this essay and commented, “Whatever we teach on campus, we should be teaching the gospel; whatever we learn, we should be learning the gospel. However we administer, we should be administering gospel-wise.” Then he closed his essay with these words:

Let us realize that our first step towards being the Lord’s university on earth, our second, our third and so on, are steps away from the habits and customs of apostate universities. We do not need to catch up with the world, the flesh and the devil. If we are the Lord’s, we are not of this world. Our task is the difficult one of living in the world as the salt of the world, its true taste, its preservation and salvation.⁶

During this past summer I have again read the eleven memoranda to the faculty issued by President Jeffrey R. Holland and Vice President Jae R. Ballif. I noted that

• through administrative reviews, each of us is held responsible for our stewardship.
• a faculty member’s responsibility is not merely to do something but to be someone: mentor, example, guide, teacher, scholar, person of honor and integrity, one committed to scholarship and learning, and, at BYU, one committed to truth and virtue.
• memorandum number 11 sets forth the standards and assessment for teaching and scholarship and creative work.

Preaching from the pulpit does not make a great institution. It is the policies we develop, our personal conversion, and the administrators, faculty, and staff working together that bring the kind of education the faithful, trusting parents and students have come to expect when they arrive here.

“Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?”⁷ That is up to each of us, but the principles on which we build are clear.

My prayer is that we will follow the principles explicitly, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

© by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.