Becoming a Student of BYU

Welcome back to campus! From wherever you have come—perhaps from a summer internship, from a study abroad program, or coming as a new freshman starting your first semester—we are so excited to see you!

And you have come at the right time. What a historic moment—we’re celebrating 150 years at BYU! And I have to say, 150 looks really good on you. In fact, you don’t look a day over 22!

With this special celebration in mind, let me repeat something my husband said during his inaugural address as university president:

Our task is to become the university that prophets have foretold—to become the world’s “greatest institution of learning” and “the fully anointed university of the Lord about which so much has been spoken in the past.” ¹

In order to fulfill this charge, it will require each and every one of us. Let me ask you to think about a question: Are you a student at BYU? Or are you becoming a student of BYU?

Becoming a student of BYU takes more than attending classes by day and cheering on the mighty Cougars by night. It takes more than sampling every ice cream flavor at the Creamery or walking up the Richards Building stairs without passing out!

Becoming a student of BYU means showing up as our best self and putting more focus and energy on things that really matter.

Becoming a student of BYU means service, study, and discipleship. Of course meeting the challenge to “become” can sometimes feel overwhelming. But we are reminded in the scriptures that we “can do all things through Christ.”² He is our source of strength. The process of becoming through Christ will help you develop confidence in yourself and, most importantly, “confidence before the Lord,” as our prophet President Russell M. Nelson has promised.³

We are not alone in this journey of discipleship!

Fortunately we have many role models from the past and present to whom we can look in our quest to become. Today I am looking forward to highlighting a few of these role models who are near and dear to my heart—in particular, the women of BYU.

Founding Mothers

From its start, BYU has been a school unlike any other, in large part because of women of faith who have exemplified vision, devotion, and disci-pleship of Jesus Christ.

Martha Jane Knowlton Coray

In 1875, the first year of the Brigham Young Academy, Martha Jane Knowlton Coray joined the academy’s first board of trustees. That was an unusual position for a woman in that day.

Martha was a convert to the early Church who traveled across the plains to be with the Saints. Part of her responsibility on the board of trustees was to support and mentor the female students. Martha added many meaningful contributions alongside her fellow trustees.⁴ Her qualities as a woman, an educator, and an administrator bring to mind the words of Elder Boyd K. Packer:

We need women with executive ability who can plan and direct and administer; women who can teach, women who can speak out. . . .

We need women with the gift of discernment who can view the trends in the world and detect those that, however popular, are shallow or dangerous.⁵

I love how even in those early days Martha captured the vision of a teaching institution that had a dual mission as a place of spiritual growth and of secular learning. In a letter to Brigham Young, she explained her view of education, which included putting God and religion first and then attaining science and learning.⁶

Martha understood the value of a full, Christ-focused education.

She was a woman of vision.

Martha was a woman of BYU.

Alice Louise Reynolds

Another early role model was Alice Louise Reynolds. Alice was a true scholar. In 1886 she enrolled in Brigham Young Academy at the age of 12. She eventually gained her teaching credentials and became a faculty member. Her studies took her around the globe.

But even after seeing the wonders of the world, it was learning and teaching at BYU that Alice truly loved. For 19 years she served as the chair of BYU’s faculty library committee, and she was instrumental in helping double the number of books in the library from 50,000 to 100,000. She even contributed 1,000 books of her own to reach the goal.⁷

When Alice died in 1938, Parley A. Christensen, who was head of the BYU English Department at the time, said:

Her loyal devotion was nowhere better shown than in her relations with Brigham Young University. For more than forty years the life of this school was her life; its problems, her problems; its triumphs, her triumphs.⁸

I love how Alice was personally invested in BYU. She sacrificed her time and resources because she loved the school and its students.

She was a woman of devotion.

Alice was a woman of BYU.

Women of BYU Today

Today we are surrounded by countless inspiring women who are addressing BYU’s current challenges and opportunities.

I’m grateful to have women continuing to guide us at BYU. Camille N. Johnson, the Relief Society general president, and Emily Belle Freeman, the Young Women general president, sit on BYU’s board of trustees today and help guide the priorities of the university. I’ve personally seen how their faith and commitment are invaluable to this university. All of these women follow in the footsteps of the Savior.

On a personal note, I have been blessed by the love and examples of the women who have stood where I now stand. President and Sister Worthen are dear friends. And Shane and I cherish our relationships with all of the former presidents and their incredible spouses. We will be forever grateful for their inspiring examples.

One of the great women of BYU who has had a profound influence on me is Sister Patricia T. Holland. Following the announcement of Shane as the next president of BYU, we accompanied then-Elder and Sister Holland to their car.

As we walked, I turned to Sister Holland and asked if she had any advice for me.

She put her hand on my arm, smiled, and said, “Enjoy the ride!”

It was a sweet experience.

I share that simple advice with each of you today as you begin a new semester at BYU. Enjoy the ride!

What I love about Sister Holland is how she cared deeply about the students and had incredible sensitivity to the troubles they faced. Listen to these encouraging words she once spoke to the student body:

In a motherly sort of way, I plead with each one of you to understand that your opportunity to learn can greatly magnify your faith—faith in yourself, faith in your future, faith in a God who is your father and who loves you.⁹

Sister Holland was a woman of discipleship.

She was a woman of BYU.

Becoming Students of BYU

With an exciting year ahead, we have a choice: We can be students at BYU, or we can draw on the heritage of the faithful women and men before us and become students of BYU. We can become divine children of heavenly parents and disciples of Christ who stand apart from the world. We can become students who take seriously our coursework and our covenants. We can become students who take notes and take charge. We can become students who know external persuasions cannot compete with eternal peace.

I hope you never forget how much you matter to God and also how much you matter to us. It’s said of Sister Holland that of the many contributions she made to BYU, the one she wanted to be remembered for most was her love of the students. She “wanted desperately for them to know that the Lord loved them and that if they lived the gospel all things would work together for their good.”¹⁰

I feel the same! I love each of you! I love your courage to come study at BYU, to be different, and to stand for Christ. I love your enthusiasm for learning. I love your excitement at sporting events. It goes unmatched. I love it when you come say hi and talk to me about what’s going on in your life. I love your examples of faith and your desire to serve and follow Jesus Christ.

I hope that each of you this year will work hard to become a student of BYU, that you will shine your light for the world to see—for “that light groweth brighter and brighter” so “that all may be edified of all.”¹¹ And I pray that your time here will shape you into covenant-keeping disciples. I testify that you are at a university of promise, led by living prophets and our Savior Jesus Christ.

I share this testimony and my love with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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