Speeches by Topic Topics | Ordinances
Thank you all for coming. I feel the weight of saying something that will help you this morning. I want to share a message from my heart. I want to tell you some things that have helped me. Let me start with a story.
Although I grew up in Provo, right before my junior year of high school, my family moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. President Spencer W. Kimball, the prophet at the time, called my father to serve as a mission president, so my family packed up and off we went.
When I moved back to Provo for my freshman year of college, I came alone and saw the BYU campus through
Thank you, President Samuelson, for that kind introduction. And thank you, Brother Kooyman, for your prayer. Brother Kooyman and I first met in Athens, Ohio. We served together in a branch presidency there. Our families enjoyed many wonderful experiences together. We were fortunate enough to both receive offers to come to BYU in 1997. Each week Brother Kooyman and I come to the devotionals together. Attending the devotionals each week has provided the perfect opportunity for us to maintain our friendship and to be spiritually edified together. Brother Kooyman, I hope we enjoy this week’s ta
Brothers and sisters, I am humbled at the opportunity to be with you today. I express thanks for the music we have heard and hope my words will complement the spirit of worship it has brought to this setting.
Ever since I was a young man, music has played a central role in my life. As a composer I have spent countless hours in front of blank manuscript paper attempting to arrange collections of notes into musical expressions. Finding the right sequences of notes and chords does not come easily for me, as a quick glance through my sketchbooks will reveal. Lines, arrows, and numbers sh
The late Samuel Johnson once said, “There’s nothing like an imminent hanging to concentrate the mind upon a single idea!” For the past several weeks my mind has focused upon a central theme which I would like to share with you today. Inasmuch as speakers generally learn more than listeners, I need to improve my life in a number of ways, so I’ve chosen to speak to the topic “Having a Form of Godliness.”
Above the desk in my office are a number of photographs which are very significant to me. One of them is a picture of the Provo Temple taken at night. The illuminated golden spire of t
The responsibility involved in speaking to this large gathering of university students has been a matter of great concern to me since the invitation came. The music has helped a great deal. I am grateful for these lovely sisters, these missionaries, who have inspired us at the beginning of this meeting.
Do you remember how nervous and unsettled you felt when you were asked to give a two-and-a-half-minute talk or you were asked to give a Sunday School lesson? If you think those of us who are called to the presiding councils of the Church are free from that anxiety, you are misinformed
