President C. Shane Reese and Sister Wendy Reese welcomed students and employees back to campus with the first devotional of the fall 2024 semester on Tuesday at the BYU Marriott Center.
Sister Reese focused her remarks on the life-changing effects of a positive outlook. President Reese spoke on the journey of becoming here at BYU.
SISTER REESE
Sister Reese encouraged students to approach the new semester with a positive attitude, emphasizing the benefits of positivity on health, stress and life as a whole. She offered two suggestions for harnessing the power of positivity: seek for good in our lives and turn our hearts to God.
Seeking for Good in Our Lives
“Those who look for the good are also able to find blessings in their trials and feel the peace that comes from the Savior,” Sister Reese taught. “When we actively seek for things that are good, the more good we will find.”
Sister Reese reflected on the influence that her mother’s inspiring outlook and positivity has had on her life. In 1994 she and President Reese received a message that her mom had a brain aneurysm and was going to soon be in emergency surgery. With tearful eyes and worried faces, President and Sister Reese arrived at the hospital. Despite the life-threatening situation, her mom said, “Now quit worrying about me — I'm going to be just fine. You just need to trust in the Lord.”
Ultimately, miracles occurred and Sister Reese’s mom recovered physically, inspiring those around her throughout the process.
“My mom is a reminder to me that we can be positive in good times and bad times,” Sister Reese said.
Turning our Hearts to God
“It is spiritually vital to have a strong relationship with the Savior,” Sister Reese explained. “We can do this by making and keeping our covenants, praying daily, reading our scriptures, attending the temple regularly, looking for miracles in our lives and ‘thinking celestial’ as our prophet President Russell M. Nelson powerfully taught.”
God wants us to be happy. He knows each individual and understands the challenges they face. He is the source of courage and strength in the face of adversity.
Sister Reese closed by expressing, “I pray that as you seek the good in life and turn your hearts to God, that you will develop positivity and come closer to Jesus Christ.”
PRESIDENT REESE
“As the flagship university of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this university invites all who enter BYU to become what God wants you to become.”
President Reese expressed his excitement at the start of a new school year and the promise of what lies ahead. President Kimball had an astonishing vision for BYU, one which is coming to fruition piece by piece with each individual on campus who embarks on the journey of fulfilling their divine potential.
“I want to invite you to embrace the process of going from here to there — the process called becoming,” he said.
A Vision for What We Want to Become
President Reese taught that “we won’t know how to become if we don’t first know what we want to become, or perhaps more importantly, who we may become.”
Becoming begins with the recognition of a need for growth and development. As this is realized, we can accept the challenge to become because we recognize that there is something more, something holier and something better.
“The first way we might see our divine potential is through the people God sends into our lives who see more in us than we see in ourselves,” President Reese said.
As a recently returned missionary and first-generation college student, young President Reese was struggling. Looking back, he expressed his gratitude for the department advisor who saw his divine potential and spiritual gifts, expressing that she could one day see him becoming a faculty member at BYU.
Many times, it is helpful to have someone who has a bold vision for the future and can offer a glimpse of a heavenly perspective.
Persistent and Consistent Effort
“None of us can avoid falling short, but we can all choose to give our best effort,” President Reese taught.
There are countless opportunities to embrace hard work and strive for excellence — not just for personal achievement but also to bless the lives of others. Persistent effort is an essential piece in this puzzle of becoming something more.
“Our ultimate example is Jesus Christ, who lifted his disciples and others around Him.”
Making and Honoring Covenants With God
Drawing from President Nelson’s teachings, President Reese emphasized the centrality of covenants in enhancing our ability to become.
“Making and keeping covenants with God accelerates the process of becoming thanks to that special gift of love and mercy afforded to children of the covenant,” President Reese taught.
The Savior’s perfect life served as a model for all, demonstrating the importance of having a vision, exerting effort and keeping covenants.
By embracing the journey of becoming, you can tap into your divine potential and experience the blessings associated with personal growth and spiritual development. BYU’s mission supports this aspiration and provides the resources to make it a reality.
“I want you to know that I see in each of you —individually and collectively — magnificent, divine potential,” President Reese concluded.
