The Pursuit of Lifelong Discipleship

Three years ago, as part of my studies at the BYU Jerusalem Center, I had the opportunity to visit the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey. The Hagia Sophia was originally built as a Christian basilica between AD 532 and AD 537 and has been utilized as a place of worship for Christians and Muslims for almost 1,500 years. My experience visiting this incredible sacred site taught me something that forever altered how I perceive my role as a covenant child of God. In my journal I recorded:

The name Hagia Sophia means “holy wisdom.” It was certainly a holy pursuit to draw upon all the wisdom available at the time with the sole purpose of creating something to worship God and prompt others to worship as well. Standing there, I pledged that I would try my utmost to give the entirety of my life and intellect to glorify God.

Today is a day of celebration honoring the culmination of our BYU education. However, as lifelong disciple-scholars on the covenant path, we recognize that graduation is but a milestone in a much larger journey. Looking ahead to an expansive future, I wish to renew my pledge. In that spirit, I invite you to reflect with me on three transformative principles I have learned at BYU—principles that I believe will guide our path forward.

Principle Number 1: In our quest for holy wisdom, we must have the faith to lay our whole selves on the altar.

To echo the words of President Dieter F. Uchtdorf:

To sacrifice means to give something up in favor of something more valuable. . . .

. . . Our sacrifices show what we truly value.¹

My parents have acted as a powerful example of this principle. My family decided to immigrate to the United States when I was six years old. At the time, my father worked at an international law firm—which allowed him to practice law in the U.S. with his Australian law degree. Unfortunately, just a few months after we had moved to Utah, the firm was suddenly forced into bankruptcy.

Initially my parents saw this as God closing a door, signaling a return to stable work in Australia. However, after prayer and reflection, they felt guided to remain in Utah. This choice required uprooting our lives, including sending my father to law school for a second time to become eligible to practice in the United States.

Over the next three years, my parents raised five children in a cramped, three-room basement apartment, surviving on meals supplemented with one too many cans of beans. In choosing to follow God’s will, despite discomfort, my parents taught me that no cost is too high to pursue the Lord’s will.

Each of you has incorporated sacrifice into your BYU education, whether it was relinquishing your free hour to crochet hats with Y-Serve or deciding to enroll in a challenging major based solely on revelation. Your sacrifice, like that of my parents, has taught you to love the things the Lord loves. Your sacrifice has purified your hearts, fashioning you into worthy instruments in God’s hands and preparing you to go forth to serve.

Principle Number 2: Glorifying God requires us to consecrate our intellect to building His kingdom. When we do so, through the enabling power of Jesus Christ, our efforts will be multiplied.

In 2023, President Russell M. Nelson delivered his now-famous address “Peacemakers Needed.”² When my husband, Alexander, and I heard this prophetic message, we felt convicted to act. We had demanding work and school schedules, but we knew that our time was not our own—rather, it was a covenant gift from God. We felt inspired to create the Peacemaker Project, an academic student association dedicated to helping BYU students “engage in productive disagreement based on mutual respect and dignified dialogue.”³

Each of you has been given unique gifts, bestowed with the sacred purpose of building the kingdom of God. God Himself will accompany you in this pursuit. As Elder David A. Bednar taught, “The enabling power of the Atonement of Christ strengthens us to do things we could never do on our own.”⁴

I saw this miracle take place in my own life as I led the Peacemaker Project. The truth is, my husband and I are woefully unorganized, as the current sorry state of our apartment can attest. Despite our questionable abilities, the Peacemaker Project has reached thousands of students at BYU as well as students at 17 other campuses across the United States—a testament to God’s willingness to multiply our meager loaves and fishes.

As a graduate, you have the potential to draw on your BYU education and on Jesus Christ’s power to literally pull down from heaven the plays, the books, the music, and the scientific discoveries that President Spencer W. Kimball prophesied would be BYU’s heritage.⁵ You can bridge divides, as students with the BYU Interfaith Student Association have done. You can alleviate human suffering, as public health students working to reduce air pollution in Nepal have demonstrated. You can raise up families centered on the gospel, as the incredible student parents on campus exemplify. And you do it all as you allow Jesus Christ to live through your consecrated efforts.

Principle Number 3: As we use our intellect to reach new heights, we must forget ourselves in glorifying God.

Just a few months ago, from this very pulpit, President Dallin H. Oaks taught:

To have humility is one of the powerful commandments we have been given to guide us in our mortal journey. It prepares us for our appointed meeting with our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.⁶

Four months ago, thanks to BYU’s Arabic study abroad program, I had the opportunity to return to the Hagia Sophia. This visit came at the conclusion of my most discouraging year at BYU. After being rejected from 55 internships the previous summer, I also was denied admission to my dream graduate program. Truthfully, I was angry with God. I felt that I had worked hard, was qualified, and yet was facing refusal at every turn.

As I entered the Hagia Sophia, the memories from my previous visit flooded over me. In an instant I realized that I had forgotten the key element of my pledge: In my efforts to seek intellect, I had forgotten to seek God. In my focus on accomplishment, I saw the utility of my intellect as a tool to receive personal praise, not as a means to praise the Father.

As my focus returned to constructing a life glorifying God, following Him in faith became a joy despite the uncertainty. That is what makes a BYU education so unique. When we are sincerely dedicated to developing humility, our lives are one continuous song of praise, and those around us perceive not our status or accomplishments but rather the goodness and glory of God.

As we continue our journey on the covenant path beyond BYU, when we have the faith to sacrifice, to consecrate ourselves, and to bow in humility before the throne of God, we, like Ammon, can declare:

I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom. . . .

Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things.⁷

BYU class of 2026, thank you, and congratulations!

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