Speeches by Topic Topics | Technology
Good morning. I am honored to have the chance to speak to you today.
As you probably know, we are under attack by hackers and others seeking to steal our online identities or information. Some attacks in the news recently included Target, Home Depot, Sony, and the IRS. In one of the largest attacks, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management reported the theft of sensitive information from twenty-two million people—virtually anyone who had undergone a government background check in the last fifteen years. In addition, there are lots of online scams just waiting to trap us.
We are
To say that I am flattered to be standing at this podium would be a gross understatement. I consider this to be an honor of the highest order because of who you are and the enormous impact that this place has had on my life.
My relationship to this campus goes far beyond my current titles or even my degrees from this institution. The only word that is intimate enough yet broad enough to encompass my connection to BYU is the word home. BYU is my home. I have lived within walking distance of this very spot more than I have lived anywhere else in the world. I am a child of BYU, n
In June 1831 the Lord commanded the Prophet Joseph Smith to travel to Missouri. The Prophet records,
On the 19th of June, . . . I started from Kirtland, Ohio, for the land of Missouri, agreeable to the commandment before received, wherein it was promised that if we were faithful, the land of our inheritance, even the place for the city of the New Jerusalem, should be revealed.1
The group travelled about 870 miles—500 of it on foot. I’m not sure about you, but the last time I walked 500 miles was, well, I don’t believe I’ve ever walked 500 miles. The trip took
When Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” arrived at the empty tomb, they were greeted by an angel of the Lord who told them to “go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead.”1 Matthew, in chapter 28, goes on to state, “They departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.”2
Within a short period of time, we presume (remember, they were running), the message had been delivered, and the 11 disciples were again reunited with their Lord and Master. It was then that the Savior of the wor
I am honored to speak to you today. However, I am somewhat humbled by this opportunity. This reminds me of an instance about 20 years ago, when I responded to an editorial that I heard on WGN-Radio in Chicago. Shortly after sending a written response to the station, I received a call indicating that they would like me to come in and tape my response for broadcast. Luckily I wore a suit to the station, because when I arrived, I was informed that the taping would take place on the set for the evening news program, with a teleprompter. It hadn’t crossed my mind that WGN was both a radio and a
In my devotional address today I am going to take the dangerous tack of speaking on a subject that everyone in the audience is already thoroughly familiar with and may even dislike. I am going to talk about change and offer a few perspectives on coping with change as individuals and as a university community. Since I am a librarian, some of you probably came today expecting me to talk about books—and so I will, but perhaps not in the context you anticipated.
When I say that everyone in the audience is already familiar with change, I am referring to what each of us experiences as the
Thank you for coming out to hear me this morning. I appreciate your attendance, and I hope to make it worth your while. This is a marvelous setting—it makes me want to be reincarnated as a basketball player and hear the cheers of the crowd as I dunk the ball. But I’m afraid that wasn’t to be my lot.
I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and as a child you often wonder what adults do. You form opinions based on those adults you see around you. On my street—I lived on a dead-end street at the outskirts of the suburbs—they kept building new houses. I would see carpenters working, and w
President Kimball in an address delivered at a Regional Representatives Seminar on April 3, 1975, said:
I believe that the telephone and telegraph and other such conveniences were permitted by the Lord to be developed for the express purpose of building the kingdom. Others may use them for business, professional or other purposes, but basically they are to build the kingdom. [Typescript Copy, BYU Archives, p. 20]
The explosion of communications technology since 1975 has far exceeded President Kimball’s reference to telephones and telegraphs. We now have computers, laser
