Faith

President C. Shane Reese and Sister Wendy Reese welcomed students back to campus with the first devotional of the fall 2023 semester on Tuesday at the BYU Marriott Center.

Observation and reason are not opposed to faith, but work synergistically with faith, taught Elder Dale G. Renlund, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Tuesday’s Education Week devotional.

Despite the rising costs, wholehearted Christian discipleship brings immeasurable blessings, said Reid Neilson, assistant academic vice president for religious scholarly publications, during his Tuesday devotional address.

The best way to participate in the gathering of Israel is by actively being involved in our communities, said Kevin Utt, director of the Honor Code Office, during Tuesday's devotional address.

“When my parents told me to follow the prophet, do you think they fathomed the day when I would interpret that to mean follow the prophet’s social media account?” asked Pamela Jo Brubaker during her Tuesday morning devotional address.

In her devotional address at the Marriott Center, Barbara Morgan Gardner began by sharing a few personal stories about her mom and her own life. She wanted the audience to see how “individuals can uniquely walk the covenant path and be leaders in God’s kingdom.”

Chip Oscarson, an associate dean in Undergraduate Education at Brigham Young University, expressed the importance of obtaining a transformative education, including spiritual and secure knowledge.

Gus Hart, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, delivered Tuesday’s devotional address. He shared six core beliefs he gained through his life experiences.

In a world in which so many view religion as a burden, it can be easy to be consumed by the message that by abandoning religion you can live a better, freer and more “advanced” life, taught Justin Dyer.

Melissa Larson, a teaching professor in the School of Accountancy at BYU Marriott School of Business, delivered Tuesday's devotional address. She testified that while transforming moments can often be difficult, they are essential in order to become more like the Savior.

Delivering the first devotional address of the spring term, Brooke Robertson, a policy manager and analyst for BYU’s Integrity and Compliance Office, shared several personal experiences and testified that by binding herself to Jesus Christ, she has been able to navigate the unexpected.

The theme for the entire conference came from D&C 68:6: “Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you.”

“Over the years, I have been intrigued by connections that transform our physical world,” Elder Gerrit W. Gong acknowledged during his Tuesday devotional address at Brigham Young University. “For each of us, connection and transformation are also at the heart of our own best story.”

Loreen Allphin, an associate dean in the College of Life Sciences, found solace in nature during a traumatic event in her life, and that experience taught her the power of gaining an eternal perspective from Heavenly Father's creations.

Elder Johnson, a member of the Presidency of the Seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told the devotional audience that the Lord sent them to the earth for specific reasons, and for this specific time.

After 25 years of producing content for television, Andra Duke has come to realize that the creation process is godly and is an opportunity to share gospel truths. As she delivered Tuesday’s devotional at Brigham Young University, she focused her remarks on the spiritual potential we each have to be the creators of our own lives.

“Have you ever had an experience where you notice a particular make, model, or color of a car on the road, and then it seems like you can’t escape seeing it all over the place?” asked Sister Tracy Y. Browning. In her devotional address at BYU on Tuesday, Sister Browning, the second counselor in the Primary General Presidency, said that this phenomenon is known as “frequency illusion.”

"Follow Him. Lead like He leads. Bless as He blesses. Lift as He lifts. Love as He loves."