Skip to main content
Intellect

Game plan for life has four essential strategies, says BYU devotional speaker

Comparing athletics to life, E. J. Caffaro, director of Brigham Young University's Student Athlete Academic Center, encouraged students to have a "personal game plan" for school and life at the first devotional of summer term Tuesday in the Joseph Smith Building.

"Both in athletics and in life, one of the most important things we can do is to acquire and learn our personal game plan," he said.

The devotional will be rebroadcast Sunday, June 29, on BYU-TV at 8 a.m. and 4 and 10 p.m. and on KBYU-TV at 6 and 11 a.m.

When learning our game plan for life, Caffaro said, it is important to know what our parents' plan is for us and, most importantly, what our Heavenly Father's plan is for us.

"Please acquire some strategies from those that love you," Caffaro said. "Those that love us are not perfect, but most times the advice they give us is."

Caffaro offered to students four essential strategies for a successful life game plan: commandments, prayer, scriptures and spiritual armor.

"Commandments are our map. They are what we must follow in this game of life. They give us directions, guidelines and a course of action," Caffaro said. "Obedience to this path will bring us to our eternal destination."

Prayer gives us immediate access to "the Head Coach, the Lord Jesus Christ," Caffaro said. The Lord will always be there to listen and give us answers and direction in our life.

The scriptures also give us guidance for our life's game plan.

"The scriptures are the greatest play books ever written," Caffaro said. "Just as a coach gives direction to his team, the scriptures warn us and motivate us to live our lives carefully and in harmony with gospel principles."

Finally, just like in any athletic competition, we need a uniform, gear or equipment. The uniform we must put on, Caffaro said, is the armor of God. Spiritual armor will protect us in our battle against the adversary.

Writer: Alexis Plowman

Caffaro, E.J. 002.jpg
Photo by Mark A. Philbrick/BYU Photo

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

Green-thumb dynasty: BYU landscaping wins fifth national championship in six years

March 27, 2024
For the fifth time in six years, BYU students dug, pruned and planted their way to the National Collegiate Landscaping Competition title, the March Madness of college landscaping teams. BYU bested 50 other universities in the four-day event, outscoring the second-place finisher by more than 358 points and breaking the 5000-point total for the first time in the 48-year history of the tournament.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Forum: How to be a confident pluralist

March 26, 2024
In a democracy where people hold many conflicting views, how do we each honor our own values while making decisions together? Grappling with that question in Tuesday’s forum address, Harvard professor Danielle Allen encouraged her audience to meet this challenge by becoming “confident pluralists.”
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

More than money, family and community bonds prep teens for college success

March 21, 2024
Family bonds make the difference in getting teens to college, BYU study says.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=