Speeches by Topic Topics | Giving
A funny thing happened to me on the way to these services. Just to make sure I wasn’t late, I started out for Provo more than two weeks ago. And boy, is it a good thing I did. I am not sure where I made the wrong turn, but the next thing I knew I was seeing road signs that said Jerusalem, Nairobi, Bangalore, and Hong Kong! My goodness, it has taken me all I could do to finally get here.
And the unusual thing about this is that it was President Russell M. Nelson who was giving me advice on the route I should take. I wonder if that is the way he always gets people from Salt Lake to Pro
It’s an honor for me to be here at Brigham Young University, and it’s a delight for me to be here in beautiful Provo. The last time I was here was in the fall of 2007. I have happy memories of my last visit, and I have great anticipation of my next. I’m always delighted to be here, and I can see why statistics show that Utahns are some of the happiest people in the United States. It’s quite clear, just by looking around, why that would be so.
I’m going to talk to you today about something that you’ve probably given a lot of thought to: charity. But I want to talk about it in a way yo
My dear brothers and sisters, you have done it again. This is the 10th year that you have done so, and I congratulate you most warmly. I speak of the Princeton Review rankings, where you have come in first out of 366 colleges. You are the most “stone-cold sober” student body in America.
How proud you ought to feel about this designation—no smoking, no drinking, no drugs. You are living up to the Honor Code of this institution. You will be blessed for doing so.
Why would anyone on this campus, where education is heavily subsidized by the Church, have any desire to do anything l
My first memory of staring poverty in the face came about 1936, during the great economic depression. About that same time Maynard Dixon painted a poignant picture called Forgotten Man. This is a man with holes in his shoes, downcast eyes, and hands hanging down. He is without work or hope, sitting on the curb. Well-dressed men and women walk by, paying no more attention to him than to the fire hydrant next to him. The faces of the passersby are deliberately not shown—representing, I think, their lack of humanity and compassion. I hope this captures your full attention and introduces
The responsibility to care for the poor and needy lies at the very heart of the Christian gospel. The scriptures tell us that “pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). In addition to refraining from evil, true disciples of the Master wear out their lives in the service of others. It was Jesus Himself who said, “And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant” (Matthew 20:27). As always, Jesus, the Chosen Servant, showed us the way, capping
Robert K. Goodwin, president and CEO of the Points of Light Foundation, calls on the BYU community, along with people everywhere, to join in the nationwide effort to get people involved in service. This involvement is the antidote for many of society’s ills.
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President Harvey L. Taylor, faculty, and students—all of you being my brothers and sisters—I am grateful for the privilege of standing today in this great fieldhouse at your devotional assembly. I bring you nothing startling. I merely came to chat with the students for a little while this morning during this devotional hour.
The Time for Decision
You are living in a wonderful age; you are living in the wonderful time of your lives. I often think of our lives as being like the sun crossing the sky. The period around dawn represents the time of birth and childhood. You
