“On our voyage to fully become BYU, the Christ-centered, prophetically directed university of prophecy, we must be meek enough to be teachable while discerning, internalizing and sharing eternal truths,” taught Rick Gill, dean of Undergraduate Education, as he delivered Tuesday’s devotional address.
Gill focused his remarks on becoming disciple-scholars through integrating our religious, general and disciplinary education.
“Our scholarly, academic work will ultimately be judged by how it supported our journey of return to God,” He said.
Gill understood the importance of putting God first after serving a full-time mission in Auckland, New Zealand. While serving he developed a deep love for the Polynesian people and an even deeper desire to spend his life learning from and serving them. This experience encouraged him to study ancient and modern Polynesian voyagers which inspired him to draw many parallels between their craft and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“Being covenantal creates a unique type of acceptance and wonder along the voyage of discovery, inviting us to discover who God intends us to become,” Gill taught. “We’re invited to see our academic or scholarly work reflecting our willingness to serve God and neighbor.”
He extended an invitation to accomplish this goal by 1) being aware of how the Spirit is nudging you toward certain people or problems; 2) becoming a better disciple through discovering your unique spiritual gifts and 3) being aware of how God is blessing and guiding your life.
Gill advised students in the audience who might be on a path of discovering their major or career journey to be aware of spiritual promptings.
“Well before choosing a profession, we will feel the Spirit showing us individuals, communities, problems or issues that need our help,” Gill said. “I firmly believe that, for most of us, the discipline we choose is far less important than how we demonstrate our discipleship.”
Gill then explained that after you’re drawn towards a particular issue, God will bless you to develop and refine your unique spiritual gifts.
“Along our disciple-voyage, the most important observations to sustain and reassure us come from recognizing God’s guiding hand in our lives,” he said.
After getting hired at BYU, being involved in several research projects and raising a young family, Gill realized he was so enveloped with everything going on in his life that he could return home at the end of the day without ever taking time to reflect on spiritual matters. He was spiritually malnourished which led him to make important changes in his life and day to day habits.
“But a remarkable thing happened when I was deliberate in acknowledging God’s hand in my life. I began seeing my students differently. I see how you reflect and manifest God’s goodness. I see heavenly insights and appreciate the complexity of the creation through a beautifully designed experiment. These observations also reinforce where we can be of service,” Gill said.
He reoriented his approach to his discipline so that it was more seamlessly connected with his discipleship.
“This orientation to the mission in our work is the full manifestation of discipleship, where the work in our labs, offices, classrooms and studios reflects our love of God and love of neighbor,” Gill concluded.
