In a few days you will face these students, the thousands upon thousands who will gather here from the distant places. I have met some of them recently--a shy girl from Nevada whose coming here represents the fulfillment of the hope of her life and the dream of her parents; a disillusioned girl from California, a little tarnished in her standards, whose presence on this campus is an answer to the pleadings, the anxious, tearful pleadings of her mother; a young man also from California, one of a handful chosen from hundreds of thousands of bright high school seniors, winner of a prized scholarship that might have taken him to any university in America, but who has come to B.Y.U. to refine his talents and increase his knowledge; a boy from the Orient, small and frail and frightened. All of his earnings, all of the hoarded savings of his parents have been gathered to send him here that you might teach him. I could go on at length concerning these young men and women who are coming to you--the spoiled son from the wealthy home; the occasional lad who is sent to be reformed; the eager, bright young men and women who have been out in the world as missionaries.
They have come to be taught. What will you teach them? (p. 2)
"What Shall You Teach?" Address to the Brigham Young University Faculty and Staff, September 17, 1963.
I give you these great words of Paul to Timothy: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord."
I wish every member of this institution would print that and put it on his mirror where he would see it every morning as he begins his day. "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord." (p. 8)
It goes without saying that the chief reason for the university is to train students--for the most part, young men and women. There is, of course, ancillary work that goes on in the nature of research and such matters, but the university was organized and has been continued through more than a century to equip those who come here to learn so that they may go forth to serve. I fear that sometimes in this great process some are prone to emphasize the shadow and lose sight of the real substance. We train students to take their places in the world, but, to quote the words of the Master, "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36).
I don't wish to touch on any sensitivities here, but I do raise these questions. Do we operate a law school with wonderful and costly facilities to train men and women to be clever in wrestling the law to gain selfish and unprincipled ends? Or is there an objective of greater substance, to train them not only to be able lawyers, but to use their skills in upholding justice, equity, freedom, and the principles of government which the Lord has set forth in his revealed words?
We have a great school of business, and we shall soon have a wonderful new facility in which to house it. Are we sometimes prone to emphasize the shadow of the creation and accumulation of wealth to please the vanity and satisfy the ambition of those who create and accumulate wealth only for selfish purposes? Or are we imparting the real substance of teaching that with wealth goes responsibility--responsibility to promote the common good, to conserve and enhance the environment as we utilize the resources of nature, and to nurture the spirit of the free enterprise system while at the same time cultivating a consideration and a balance that will bless not only the entrepreneurs and their stockholders, but also the much larger spectrum of society as a whole?
As we train engineers, do we kid ourselves in believing that we have done well if we simply qualify our graduates to be able to employ the technical skills of engineering? Is there not also needed a much greater substance in equipping those engineers with an appreciation for the great social qualities developed through the centuries which make life worthwhile in what otherwise would become a mechanistic society? (p. 28)
"Shadow and Substance." Address given at the Annual University Conference, Brigham Young University, August 1981, pp. 27-30.
We must never diminish that broad expanse of learning. We must constantly add to it as the knowledge of mankind increases across the world. This university must be in the forefront of such learning because the Lord himself has marked the breadth and depth of that field that is as vast as the universe and as complex as the human personality. (p. 49)
Are we not really boxing with shadows in any of our disciplines if we leave out of what we teach a recognition of God in the affairs of men and in the workings of the universe? The real substance which must be expected on this campus lies in bringing into the fabric of our teaching the recognition of God as Creator and Ruler and the recognition of the Light of Christ as that influence which has touched the minds and hearts of great men in all ages as they have sought for truth in the varied fields of their interests.
We must never forget, my beloved associates, that Brigham Young University is the university of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There must be in the very substance of our teaching recognition of God as our Eternal Father, of Jesus Christ as the Savior and Redeemer of mankind, and of the revealed word as divine wisdom.
Our students, with those who sacrifice to send them here, have the right to expect that they will leave not only with increased knowledge but with increased faith as well. If they leave only with knowledge, they will have lost the substance while grasping for the shadow. (pp. 28-29)
On this campus we must have the highest of academic standards. We must be second to none. That does not mean we are trying to copy some other great institution. It does mean that in the pursuit of our academic goals we must not be sullied by lack of integrity as scholars, but rather that we must pursue our quest for truth in a diligent and excellent way without forsaking the perspective that comes of recognition of God as the eventual source of all truth. We must acquire learning "by study and also by faith" as the Lord has instructed us. (D&C 88:11)
In speaking of the highest academic standards, has anyone a more inspiring yardstick by which to measure the acquisition of learning than that given by the Lord himself? "The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth." (D&C 93:36) Is not that what we are after? Light and truth become the summum bonum of all true learning. (p. 50)
I am confident that never in the history of this institution has there been a faculty better qualified professionally nor one more loyal and dedicated to the standards of its sponsoring institution. Likewise, I am satisfied that there has never been a student body better equipped to learn at the feet of this excellent faculty, nor one more prayerful and decent in attitude and action. (p. 22)
This institution is unique. It is remarkable. It is a continuing experiment on a great premise that a large and complex university can be first class academically while nurturing an environment of faith in God and the practice of Christian principles. You are testing whether academic excellence and belief in the Divine can walk hand in hand. And the wonderful thing is that you are succeeding in showing that this is possible--not only that it is possible, but that it is desirable, and that the products of this effort show in your lives qualities not otherwise attainable. (p. 22)
Every one of us who is here has accepted a sacred and compelling trust. With that trust, there must be accountability. That trust involves standards of behavior as well as standards of academic excellence. For each of us it carries with it a larger interest than our own interest. It carries with it the interest of the university, and the interest of the Church, which must be the interest of each and all of us. (p. 24)
We are, of course, properly concerned about you who teach at this great institution. You are the bone and sinew of the university. We are concerned that your academic credentials be the very best and that there be a quality of excellence in all you do. We are also concerned with your faith, your principles. I hope you will not regard us as being unduly cautious or unnecessarily critical. We act in the spirit spoken of by Alma concerning teachers in his day. Said he: "Trust no one to be your teacher . . . , except he be a man of God, walking in his ways and keeping his commandments." (Mosiah 23:14) (p. 25)
This is a world-class university, a great temple of learning where a highly qualified faculty instruct a large and eager body of students. These teachers impart with skill and dedication the accumulated secular knowledge of the centuries while also building faith in the eternal verities that are the foundation of civilization. (p. 26)