Quotes From BYU Presidents
Karl G. Maeser 1876-1892
I should be ungrateful if I did not place myself on record as being conscious that the Brigham Young Academy has been a chosen instrument in the hands of the Lord God of Israel, to plant the seed for an educational system that will spread its ramifications throughout all the borders of Zion, penetrating with its benign influence every fireside of the Saints, and opening to our youth the avenues to all intelligence, knowledge, and power. [Quoted in Reinhard Maeser, Karl G. Maeser (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 1928), pp. 125-126.]
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There is one thing, Pres. Taylor, I will guarantee, that is, that no infidels will go from my school. (JD 20:48)
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Wilkinson, Ernest L. (Ed.) Brigham Young University: The First One Hundred Years, Vol. I (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1975).
Maeser the Master Teacher
Maeser loved aphorisms, and he was a genius at making them fit the lives of his students. A review of some of his favorite sayings gives good insight into his philosophy of life in general and education in particular. He expressed his empathy for students and his confidence in their inherent goodness in the following saying:
There is a Mt. Sinai for every child of God, if he only knows how to climb it.
The good angels never lose an opportunity of calling attention to something good in everybody.
He constantly admonished his students to live close to the Lord and to be guided by His spirit:
A true Latter-day Saint is one who has dedicated himself soul and body to God, in all things spiritual and temporal.
There is no truth that has not its source in the Author of all truth.
You can pray best when you feel most like praying, but you should pray most when you feel least like it.
He advised parents and hundreds of his students who aspired to be teachers that "I would rather trust my child to a serpent than to a teacher who does not believe in God."
Maeser gave his students cogent advice as they prepared to face the challenges of life:
Our patriarchal blessings are paragraphs from the book of our own possibilities.
The Lord had unconditionally declared the triumph of His Church, but His promises to me are all conditional. My concern therefore is about myself.
School is a drill in the battle of life; if you fail in the drill you fail in the battle.
A being without an aim in life, or not possessing the requisite concentration of purpose to assist him in resisting temptation, is like a cork floating upon the water, driven hither and thither by every wind that blows.
Maeser exhorted his students to be faithful to the moral principles of their religion:
Everyone of you, sooner or later, must stand at the forks of the road, and choose between personal interests and some principles of right.
A man without character is like a ship without a rudder.
No righteous rules, however rigid, are too stringent for me; I will live above them.
No man shall be more exacting of me or my conduct than I am of myself.
He who deceives others is a knave, but he who deceives himself is a fool.
Everyone's life is an object lesson to others.
Two months before he died, Karl Maeser visited the Academy and left a short message with the students. On the board of one of the classrooms, he wrote four short thoughts--inspirational thoughts which, coming from a man who spent his lifetime inspiring, contained the wisdom that can come only after a full, devoted life in the service of one's fellow men. The thoughts were:
1. The fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom. 2. This life is one great assignment, and that is to become absorbed with the principles of immortality and eternal life. 3. Man grows only with his higher goals. 4. Never let anything impure enter here. (pp. 202-204)
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At one time during these financial crises [of Brigham Young Academy], Karl G. Maeser informed his wife and daughter that because of lack of sufficient money on which to live, he was going to accept a position at the University of Deseret. Accordingly, his wife and daughter got things packed and sat on their trunks. When the daughter finally mustered enough courage to ask her father when they were moving, his response was, "I have changed my mind. I have had a dream--I have seen Temple Hill filled with buildings--great temples of learning, and I have decided to remain and do my part in contributing to the fulfillment of that dream." (p. 400)
Benjamin Cluff, Jr. 1892-1903
One evening while returning from a walk down town and while studying deeply over the future of the Academy, the thought came to me like an inspiration: "give the school to the Church." Immediately my mind was at rest. I knew that it was the right thing to do." [Quoted in Brigham Young University: The First One Hundred Years Vol. 1 (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1975-1976), p. 243.]
George H. Brimhall 1904-1921
The school depends not on man, or any set of man. God planted it and we are but gardeners to take care of it." (George H. Brimhall to Benjamin Cluff, Jr., 13 December 1902, Cluff Presidential Papers, BYU Archives.) [In 1912, during the administration of George Brimhall, Brigham Young Academy graduated its first four-year graduating class, with eighteen members. The president of the class was B. F. Larsen. The students of the class choose Alfred Kelly to give the graduation speech. Fifty year later, B. F. Larsen related that when Kelly was introduced, he rose and stood in silence for a moment. Some thought he had lost his power of speech. When he gained his composure, he explained that he had been much concerned over his speech, that he had written and discarded it several times. Larsen explained:]
Finally one morning with a feeling of desperation [Kelly] walked toward Temple Hill. He stopped to rest and think when he reached the hill top.
He looked at the incomplete Maeser Building in front of him, hoping that inspiration would come from this intimate view, but he felt only grim disappointment. The sky was radiant with the morning light but the silhouetted building seemed dark and a symbol of gloom.
Kelly turned to view the valley which was still in shadow. He gazed at the building with the hope that this intimate view would give direction to the solution of his problem. But no inspiration came. Then he turned toward the valley which was in shadow.
Suddently the light from the rising sun illuminated the western hills with an unusual golden glow. The light gradually descended from the hill tops and slowly advanced to the spot where Kelly stood.
He partially closed his eyes and was startled. He stood as if transformed. The advancing sunlight suddenly assumed the appearance of people. The trees, the bushes, the ripples on the surface of Utah lake, everything in the valley disappeared. Only people were there, young people moving toward Temple Hill. Hundreds of people thousands of young people came into view advancing with the warm sunlight to the place where this campus is now built.
Finally when his apparition reached Kelly, Temple Hill was bathed in sunlight. The whole of the present campus was illumined beyond the power of description and Kelly saw buildings here, not homes but temples of learning, large buildings, beautiful buildings, buildings which covered the top of this hill.
The people who came with the sunlight from the valley below and from the far places beyond were students. They carried books in their arms.
They entered these many temples of learning and when they came out again they raised their eyes heavenward; their faces were toward the east. Their countenances bore a smile of hope, of faith. They were cheerful and confident. Their walk was light but firm as they again became a part of the sunlight as it moved to the top of Y mountain and disappeared from view. [Quoted in Brigham Young University: The First One Hundred Years Vol. 4 (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1975-1976), p. 405-406.]
Franklin S. Harris 1921-1945
Maiden Speech to the BYU Student Body, 28 April 1921, Franklin S. Harris biographical file, BYU Archives.
This institution will become the greatest on earth, as it now is in many respects. This is the Temple of Learning and it is to be pre-eminent in scholarship and leadership."
"Inaugural Address of F. S. Harris as President of BYU, 1921." Delivered at the inauguration of Franklin S. Harris, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, October 17 1921. In BYU Inaugural Speeches and Responses, Brigham Young University Archives.
Fortunately when Brigham Young University was founded there were not limitations placed upon it, and none have since been imposed. It stands with open arms to receive truth from whatever source it may come, and it does not dictate to the giver of all as to the way in which He shall reveal his truth. It is willing with Cowper to say "God is His own interpreter and He will make it plain." We have here an institution which acknowledges no limitations, but goes out boldly with the statement that if there is anything lovely or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." (p. 4)
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There has grown out of the history of the institution a particular mandate that must be respected--a certain fire that must be kept burning. This has been peculiar to the institution ever since President Young sent Doctor Maeser here to open its doors. It is difficult to define just what that something is, but it has to do with the lives of students apart from their regular school work. It establishes in their minds wholesome ideals and gives them a respect for proper living. It helps them to form good habits and to throw off bad ones. It teaches them to enjoy uplifting amusements rather than to seek corrupt diversions. It teaches them the sacredness of the family as a unit in society, and it imparts to them a particular responsibility as a citizen. It has nothing to do with long-faced sanctimoniousness, but is rather that quality of high spirituality that teaches wisdom and moderation in all of the activities of life.
The first task of the future is to preserve at the institution this spirit that comes to us from the past--the true spirit of the Brigham Young University. This spirit places character above learning and indelibly burns into the consciousness of the student the fact that the most enduring joy is dependent on spiritual growth which looks toward eternal progression. (p. 60)
Howard S. McDonald 1945-1949
"Response and Acceptance of the Charge." Inauguration Services of Howard S. McDonald as President of Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, November 14, 1945. In BYU Inaugural Speeches and Responses, Brigham Young University Archives.
The responsibility placed upon my shoulders is to teach those who come to this University the fact that God lives, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He came upon this earth for the redemption of mankind, that He laid down a plan which if men will follow, they will gain exaltation in the Kingdom of God. . . . I humbly accept these charges, and pray that God will give me the strength and the wisdom to discharge those responsibilities. (p. 19)
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May we implore the assistance of God in seeking truth in the classroom, the laboratory, and in understanding human relationships, that we might live together. (p. 24)
"The Future of Brigham Young University," speech given about 1947, Howard S. McDonald Presidential Papers, BYU Archives.
[Brigham Young University] has been organized not only to teach the academic learning of the world, but also to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If faculty and students grasp the significance of these great aims and strive to accomplish them this University will grow into a mighty institution of learning.
Ernest L. Wilkinson 1951-1971
"Inaugural Address." Addresses delivered at the inauguration of Ernest Wilkinson, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, October 8, 1951, pp. 17-24. In BYU Inaugural Speeches and Responses, Brigham Young University Archives.
This nation will be well advised if it relies more upon spiritual obedience to the commandments of the Lord than upon the atomic bomb. . . . It shall be the objective of this University to teach its students that security will come by losing themselves in the service of mankind--rather than by placing primary emphasis upon security for themselves. (p. 23)
"The Return of Full Value." Faculty Workshop, Brigham Young University, September 21, 1959
The view has sometimes been expressed that B.Y.U. can never be a great university because we cannot have freedom of expression in postulating religious truths. Those who hold to that view, by their very statement, admit either that they do not accept in entirety the Restored Gospel as interpreted by its leaders, or that they think man may improve upon it. (p. 14)
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A teacher is obligated to bring his spiritual insight to bear upon the subject matter of every course he teaches.
I realize that some may declare such an approach appropriate to only certain subjects and not to all. I strongly disagree with this evaluation. If the teacher has a firm grasp of the fundamental of his subject and also is blessed with a strong testimony of the Gospel, he cannot fail to see the golden bridge which links the two categories. And he will sense a spirit of noble purpose as he brings his reconciliation and vision to the minds and hearts of his students. No teacher could ever receive greater satisfaction than this!
And no student could ever be inspired more than this, as has often been brought to my attention by students who have transferred to this institution from secular institutions of higher learning. I remember one young man bursting into my office without even knocking on the door. He was still under the spell of a very rich and rewarding spiritual and intellectual experience. Without waiting for any introduction, he exclaimed, "This is the greatest university in the world. I just came from a class in chemistry where the teacher took time out to explain a principle of the Gospel. I have never heard anything like that before in any other university." I hope that young man's ecstasy will be the experience of thousands of students on this campus. I need not point out to you that a principle of theology is often accepted with better grace when it is taught in mathematics and chemistry then when it is taught in a course in religion.
I know from many comments he has made in meetings of the Board of Trustees that President McKay feels that this opportunity and practice, namely, to teach the Gospel in any class in the curriculum, is one of the most important reasons, if not the most important, for the continued existence of this university (pp. 16-17)
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The dichotomy between sacred and secular knowledge, now extant in the world, is a false and deceptive notion. True, such separatism serves the purpose of convenience, but it has also led men--some of great promise--into paths of confusion. The division of God's truth into sacred and secular channels is purely arbitrary and artificial. Our society has been cursed by this tragic dualism. We have been tempted to reject the basic truth of the divine root of all knowledge by grasping at the straw of mere convenience. We have become so wedded to certain scientific advances that we have forgotten the Sermon on the Mount. Men struggle against the reality of God's existence by insisting upon secular, or non-spiritual, standards for the measures of all things. (pp. 17-18)
Wilkinson, Ernest L. "The Unique Role of BYU Among Universities of America." BYU Devotional Address, February 5, 1970.
I propose to tell you this morning why I think certain institutions have abandoned the faith of their fathers and why, because Brigham Young University has not abandoned that faith, it will have the great future which President McKay predicted. (p. 4)
Brigham Young University: The First One Hundred Years (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1975-1976).
In each stage of development of the University, the Church has sought to maintain a faculty which would be at once a congregation of disciples and a community of scholars. Whether in science, the humanities and arts, or religion, teachers would be imbued by the spirit of God in all their instruction. This has been accompanied by a faith on the part of the Church that the students could accept moral direction without sacrificing intellectual vitality; that explicit, demanding religious commitments could be at the base of a genuine educational achievement; and that dedication to spiritual objectives could be combined with the pursuit of scientific, intellectual, and artistic excellence without detriment to either. (pp. viii-ix)
Dallin H. Oaks 1971-1980
Inaugural Addresses [Delivered at the inauguration of Dallin H. Oaks, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, November 12, 1971] (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 1971), pp. 17-24.
Our reason for being is to be a university. But our reason for being a university is to encourage and prepare young men and women to rise to their full spiritual potential as sons and daughters of God. We seek to prepare them to live and serve in the world, but we encourage them not to be of the world. The enormous resources devoted to this institution could not be justified if we did not provide a unique educational experience. What makes us unique is the spiritual dimension we provide. By spiritual dimension, I mean our faith in God the Eternal Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, and our devotion to the principles of the restored gospel, our concern with personal behavior, and our commitment to the essential harmony of secular learning and the spiritual values that embody all truth. (p. 18)
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Brigham Young University is concerned with teaching the fundamentals of spiritual and secular knowledge and with bringing those teachings into harmony in the lives of men and women in order to prepare them for a balanced and full life of service to God and fellowman. (p. 18)
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What I have referred to as the spiritual challenge is vital to our theory of education for four reasons. First, our doctrine provides the key to what motivates us in the acquisition of knowledge. Second, our faith enlightens us on the means by which knowledge can be obtained. Third, our religion instructs us on the principles by which knowledge can be translated into proper behavior. Fourth, spiritual values supply the sense of direction that we believe to be lacking in our society today. (pp. 19-20)
"Annual Report to the Faculty," A Wise Steward (Brigham Young University, 1974).
"The ideal professorial model . . . is someone introspective and disciplined enough to find great psychic satisfaction in the lonely pursuit of new knowledge, someone secure enough to work effectively with others in team research and academic committees, someone gregarious enough to love students, someone articulate enough to do inspired teaching, and someone concerned enough to indulge in a variety of public services." . . . To that last prescription for the ideal professorial model at BYU I would add: someone worthy enough and faithful enough to enjoy the continuous companionship of the Holy Ghost in all teaching and other activities. (p. 23)
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We need to take care that we are not misunderstood as abandoning the spiritual values that make us unique. We risk this misunderstanding not only with our alumni and other friends who view us from afar, but even within the University family and among the ranks of our own faculty. Some who do not want to participate in the extraordinary effort necessary to be unarguably good in our various disciplines may accuse us of abandoning our unique values in order to reach for values recognizable by the world.
We are all agreed that the price of achievement under standards recognizable by the world is too high if it uproots us from our own standards. Let us acknowledge candidly that this could happen, or could be thought to have happened, and use that knowledge as a means of guarding against the result or the misunderstanding. Far from abandoning our standards, I believe . . . that this is a time when we should reaffirm them and be more candid in expressing them. I believe, in short, that we can both hold to our traditional values and successfully attain accomplishments more understandable to people who do not share these values. (p. 21)
"Accomplishments, Prospects, and Problems in the Centennial Year," 1975 Fall Faculty Conference, BYU Archives. [Quoted in Ernest Wilkinson, Brigham Young University: The First One Hundred Years, Vol. 4, p. 422.]
I must not leave this review of creative activities without reemphasizing my conviction that our most important creative activity is one that strengthens our effectiveness as a teaching institution. Indeed, this is the principal justification for all our research and our other creative activities. The writing of more effective textbooks is, in my view, a creative activity of vital importance, and one that has been neglected in some of our departments. I echo here and underline my total agreement with President Ezra Taft Benson's remarks last December that "on this campus, in due time, there will be an increasing number of textbooks written by inspired men of the Church. There will be less and less a tendency to subscribe to the false teachings of men." Where the textbooks available for teaching in a particular area do not measure up to the standards we desire, whether because of inadequate professional content, values inferior to our own, or because of failure to treat matters of value that we believe to be relevant for that subject matter, I urge the colleges and departments to manage their resources so that this significant omission can be repaired as soon as possible by our own scholars. Until I am formally advised to the contrary, I will assume that every academic department at BYU has both the resources and the professional qualifications to prepare its own texts where necessary.
"A House of Faith." Address given at the Annual University Conference, Brigham Young University, August 1977, pp. 8-15.
How are we to achieve that prophetic destiny as "the fully anointed university of the Lord"? (1) We must understand the University's role in the kingdom of God; (2) we must be worthy in our individual lives; (3) we must be fearless in proclaiming the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ; (4) we must be exemplary in efforts understandable to the world; and (5) we must seek and heed the inspiration of God in the performance of our individual responsibilities. (p. 8)
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All who study, teach, or work in a "house of faith" should be fearless in proclaiming the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit we should testify of God the Father and his son Jesus Christ. That faith and testimony should be paramount in our lives and in our teachings. We must be more explicit about our religious faith and our commitment to it. (p. 11)
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Each teacher must decide how gospel values will be made explicit in his or her own teaching. Some subjects can be permeated with gospel truths and values. In other subjects reference to the gospel is more difficult. But in every class in this University a teacher can at least begin the teaching effort by bearing testimony of God, by expressing love and support for his servants, and by explaining the importance of the gospel truths in his or her life. And it would always be desirable for a teacher at BYU to affirm publicly the great truth expressed by President Joseph Fielding Smith that "knowledge comes both by reason and by revelation." (p. 12)
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We cannot expect to be instruments in advancing the truth in our individual disciplines merely through studying theology and living righteous lives. When the Lord sends us to spread the gospel in all parts of the world, he expects us to use modern technology in transportation and communication. He has revealed these for our use. But isn't it significant that he revealed these scientific wonders through natural channels, to persons who were pursuing learning by secular means and for secular purposes.
There have been inspired men and women in every discipline. The Lord expects us to learn what we can from what he has previously revealed. We do not begin by rejecting what we sometimes call "the learning of men." The learning of men, when it is true, is inspired of God. We must put our own efforts into paying the price of learning, of degrees, and of all intermediate steps necessary to acquire depth in our individual disciplines and skills. Future revelation in a particular discipline or skill is most likely to come to one who has paid the price of learning all that has previously been revealed. A lawyer is not likely to be inspired with the key to the energy crisis, nor a physicist with new truths about the science of government. (pp. 13-14)
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When we in the "household of faith" have paid the price of excellence in our preparation and in our individual efforts, when we have become thoroughly schooled in the gospel, when we have qualified by worthiness and spirituality, and when we are seeking for his guidance continually, as he chooses to speak, and fully qualified to press on with demonstrable excellence when he leaves us to our own best judgment, we will be making the progress we must make in order to become "the fully anointed university of the Lord." Let us reach upward for this higher plane, and let us do so proudly, confidently, and speedily, taking heart in the question and promise of the apostle: "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) May God help us to do what I believe he would have us do, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. (p. 15)
"Challenges to BYU in the Eighties." 1980 Summer Commencement Exercises, Brigham Young University. Published in The Bond of Charity, August 1980, pp. 32-38.
We know from the revelations of God and from personal experience that the most effective learning, teaching, and scholarly inquiry can only be achieved when our searchings are not only disciplined by human reason but also enlightened by divine revelation. The objects of a university dedicated to that dual type of inquiry will necessarily be moral as well as intellectual.
The decade of the eighties will be an especially challenging time for BYU's dual approach to learning. Because of its current level of maturity, the Church university is now likely to be expected to demonstrate a combination of spiritual and secular knowledge more significant than the token use of gospel insights implied in the phrase "philosophies of men, mingled with scripture." During the decade of the eighties BYU professors will be looked to for examples of teaching and research that treat the truth as completely as it can be perceived with the full combination of our scholarly and spiritual senses. Only by this means can we help mankind through the use of what President Kimball called "gospel methodology, concepts, and insights [that] can help us do what the world cannot do in its own frame of reference."
Most of this audience will agree that it is desirable to seek learning by reason and by revelation, but many of us could underestimate the difficult challenges posed by that approach.
To begin with, it requires us to be bilingual. As President Kimball reminded us in his Second Century Address, we must speak both "the language of scholarship" and "the language of spiritual things."
There is also the matter of divided loyalties. A scholar who pursues the tenets of his scholarly field while also seeking the illumination of divine revelation must sometime demonstrate which system will be given primacy if conflicts arise. Such conflicts do not arise when faith and reason are compartmentalized, after the fashion of the metaphoric "wall between church and state, high and impregnable." Elder Neal A. Maxwell, then commissioner of the Church Educational System, gave the best analysis of the academic's divided loyalties in his unforgettable metaphor of the passport: "The LDS scholar has his citizenship in the Kingdom, but carries his passport into the professional world--not the other way around." (Address at BYU College of Social Sciences Symposium on the Behavioral Sciences, Feb. 1976)
A great difficulty is found in the significant risk that our efforts to end the separation between scientific scholarship and religion will merely produce a substandard level of performance, where religion dilutes scholarship instead of enlightening it, or where scholarship replaces religion instead of extending its impact. By this means an attempt to mingle reason and faith could result in irrational scholarship or phony religion, either condition demonstrably worse than the present separation. (p. 37)
Jeffrey R. Holland 1980-1989
"The Bond of Charity." Address given at the Annual University Conference, Brigham Young University, August 1980, pp. 2-12.
If we are an agency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and, if we take millions and millions of donated dollars that might be spent in other worthy programs, surely our integrity would demand that this university must be absolutely consistent with and characteristic of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. That does not mean that I or anyone else here have the truest and only vision of that gospel message and will somehow judge everyone accordingly. I do not mean that there will not be honest differences of opinion over some doctrines not yet fully unfolded. Until we come to the unity of the faith and to the complete truth individually and collectively, I assume there must always be a brotherhood and sisterhood that charitably allows room for growth and new knowledge and continuing revelation.
What I do emphasize is belief in a very basic premise--that this is the Lord's university, and that you and I are paid from his treasury, a treasury filled by many, including the believing widows and fatherless. So if anyone employed at this school is uneasy with our being a conspicuously Latter-day Saint school, with all that implies, you will be very uneasy about my administration here. I hasten to say that I know of no such person here. Furthermore, I acknowledge in this setting today that we are blessed with several members of our faculty who are not even members of the Church. We love you. We welcome you and consider ourselves better for your presence. But of you also I ask instruction that is consistent with faith in God and love of eternal truth, even the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I just ask from faculty, staff, student, and administrator to acknowledge in word and deed whose university this is and what our integrity demands if we come here to enjoy its blessings. (p. 8)
"The Idea of Brigham Young University." Addresses delivered at the inauguration of Jeffrey R. Holland, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, November 14, 1980, pp. 11-15. In BYU Inaugural Speeches and Responses, Brigham Young University Archives.
We gather today to declare our love of truth--all truth, truth in which "knowledge of things as they are and as they were and as they are to come" is circumscribed by the compass of the Almighty into one great whole. To seek the truth and to love it and to live it is our goal. We affirm that all men and women are the spiritual sons and daughters of God and that we rightly call Him Father. It is that inheritance with its responsibilities as well as its possibilities that we seek. Claiming intelligence to be His very essence, we strive to take our own place in the celestial circle of God's glory. We have an unquenchable thirst to know.
But while moving toward that ideal, faith must ever be the scholar's hallmark here, including of course faith fostered by diligent study "out of the best books." (D&C 88:118) Faith in friends, faith in facts, faith in the future, above all faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Secularism will be shunned as a callous compromise with shallow society. Mere utilitarianism will be shunned as an unworthy expediency falling short of eternal consequence. With this vision the idea of Brigham Young University is to succeed at that great and abiding Christian challenge--to be in the world and to indeed bless the world but ultimately never to be of it. (p. 13)
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I recall for you that "Deep water is what I am wont to swim in," (D&C 127:2) said the Prophet Joseph Smith. And so too must every young Latter-day Saint eventually swim. Obviously then they are not well served by a university that restricts them to wading in the shallows. But they are fatally served by a university that would sportingly throw them into turbulent academic tides for which a young man or a young woman is not prepared. Swimming is not one of those pursuits where it is best to start at the bottom and work up. Swimming instructors in this country must continually certify and re-certify their lifesaving credentials. In a spiritual sense that sustaining safety is far more important in the academy than ever it was in a pool. So the ideal university will be a pastoral, nurturing institution where those older and wiser cautiously lead out into deep waters, stroking briskly enough to strengthen but never too far away to extend the always firm hand of faith when fear strikes a floundering freshman. "Deep academic water" is what we, too, are "wont to swim in" but at BYU the faith of our faculty must never be difficult to detect. (p. 14)
"The Bond of Peace." Address given at the Annual University Conference, Brigham Young University, August 1981, pp. 5-15.
The secularization of the Western world has robbed education of what was once its chiefest and most important characteristic. "Education in virtue," said Plato in his Laws, 2,400 years ago, "is the only education which deserves the name." Dallin Oaks fought to keep our institutional independence intact. If I am equally free to pick my battle, then I wish to fight to keep our institutional virtue intact. There are schools enough that haven't. I want us value laden and moral. I want us a veritable rod of iron in what is too often a dark and misty academic void. (p. 12)
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We are almost painfully unaware, it seems to me, of what BYU could say to a world of higher education floundering in the six-inch shallows of secularism. This place is a gem, a jewel, a veritable pearl of great price for which those seeking hidden treasures would sell all that they have to obtain it. (p. 14)
"Unto Whom Much is Given." Address given at the Annual University Conference, Brigham Young University, August 1982, pp. 1-10.
When we speak of doing better the things we do, we are not yearning for some kind of haughty, self-serving, academic elitism at the BYU of the future. I have spoken personally and plainly about my distaste for phrases like "the Harvard or the Yale or the Princeton of the West." We are simply on a different track. But we are committed to the idea of improvement, committed to a desire to work harder and accomplish more.
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As he came to the presidency of the Church in 1974, President Kimball said quietly and without arrogant intention:
So much depends on our willingness to make up our minds, collectively and individually, that present levels of performance are not acceptable either to ourselves or to the Lord. In saying that, I am not calling for flashy, temporary difference in performance levels but a quiet resolve to do a better job--to lengthen our stride. [Regional Representatives Seminar, 3 October 1974; "In the News," Ensign, November 1974]
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No flashy temporary sunspots that flare up and die away but "a quiet resolve to do a better job." (p. 4)
"The Place of Understanding." Address given at the Annual University Conference, Brigham Young University, August, 1987, pp. 21-36.
I have said before that BYU is one of the few experiments in Zion-like living that the modern Church is able to undertake. This university is the only community of its size I know where so many people have chosen to live together for the common good, with the principles of the gospel and the religious covenants they have made as the ordering principles of their lives. If that is not an advantage to us in academic life, I do not know what is! I spend a great deal of my time with other university presidents who lament openly and with painful candor their inability to cross departmental or college lines or to break down the barriers of academic disciplines, or simply to get people to be civil with one another within their areas of university labor. What an advantage we have at BYU just in our brotherhood and sisterhood! And our efforts to use those advantages properly have us on our way toward becoming what I believe we will one day be in response to President Kimball's charge: one of the great universities of the world, an educational Mt. Everest. But we must have everyone's loyalty and contribution to succeed. I don't know much about mountain climbing, but I do know that we are roped together and that we have to climb with every other member of the team in mind.
We need each other at BYU if we are to be a true community, academic or otherwise. But we need all of each other if we ever wish to speak seriously of Zion. In those early efforts toward consecration and stewardship, the key was universal participation, and it broke down when universal participation was lost. "This is what the Lord requires of every man in his stewardship," the scripture says. "None are exempt from this law who belong to the church of the living God" (D&C 70:9-10). For a truly profound and powerful university community, obviously a great deal more is required of us than those isolated tasks that can too easily be labeled simply as "teaching" or "research" or "cooking" or "computing." (p. 28)
Rex E. Lee 1989-1995
"Inaugural Response." Addresses delivered at the inauguration of President Rex Edwin Lee, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, October 27, 1989 (Provo, Utah : Brigham Young University, 1989), pp. 7-11.
The most prominent fixed star in our BYU constellation has been our constant adherence to religious principles and values as an integral part of our total educational effort. . . . Though each stated it in different ways, every president from Warren Dusenberry to the present has affirmed, as I now reaffirm, that what sets us apart is that we are concerned here not just with the mind, but also with the complete soul, of which the mind is one integral part. (p. 8)
"What We Are and What We Can Become: A President's Perspective." Address given at the Annual University Conference, Brigham Young University, August 1993, pp. 12-20.
I recognize that the almost universal experience of religious universities has been that over time, they will abandon their spiritual component and concentrate solely on the academic. This reality serves only to strengthen our resolve that the same will not happen here.
The two structural protections that will best preserve our capacity to maintain our uniqueness in this respect are (a) a board of trustees composed of principally prophets, seers, and revelators and (b) a faculty composed dominantly of deeply committed members of the LDS Church. (p. 13)
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From time to time we hear statements to the effect, "BYU is going to have to decide what it really wants to be, a university or a seminary." Such a statement is borderline nonsense. The implication is that we must choose between the life of the mind and the life of the spirit, between faith and intellect, between what we can reason out for ourselves and what the Holy Ghost assures us is true.
That suggested dichotomy is not only a false one, but its underlying premise would deprive us of our uniqueness and our great strength. Our business is the business of learning. To paraphrase our commissioner, we have found a better way to do it, because of the companion processes by which learning can occur. And learning occurs most effectively when, to use Elder Maxwell's phrase, the scholarship of the spirit and the scholarship of the mind operate in tandem. It follows that when we emphasize the importance of solid, mainstream scholarship, both as a means of improving our teaching and also for other purposes, or when we stress the importance of building testimonies as part of our classroom efforts, neither should be take as a signal that the other is unimportant, because for us, the mind and the spirit are integral, inseparable parts of a single whole, mutually supportive and indeed synergistic. It is wrong, therefore, to think that an emphasis on one de-emphasizes the other. They are part of the same reservoir, and adding more water raises the level of the entire lake, regardless of whether it enters from the north shore or the south shore. BYU will remain firmly committed to excellence in both scholarship and faith. We will neither offer, nor will we accept, trade-offs or apologies. (pp. 13-14)
"Ascending Both Mt. Everest and Mt. Zion: BYU in the Final Decade of the 20th Century." Address given at the Annual University Conference, Brigham Young University, August 1994, pp. 10-18.
The first sentence of our mission statement proclaims that our mission is "to assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life." The second sentence further clarifies that "that assistance should provide a period of intensive learning in a stimulating setting where a commitment to excellence is expected and the full realization of human potential is pursued." I am convinced that our ability to accomplish these objectives and more generally to contribute to the building of the kingdom in ways that we are uniquely qualified to offer is directly proportionate to our establishing ourselves as an excellent university, measured by the same rigorous standards applicable to all good universities. And it is just as clear that if we concentrate only on those objectives important to other universities, we will have sacrificed our unique opportunity to contribute to the restored gospel and to American higher education and indeed will have given up our very reason for being. If we are to do our job right, we must be both competent and faithful. Neither alone is sufficient. (p. 17)
"BYU: Where We've Been, Where We Are, and Some Possibilities for the 21st Century." Address given at the Annual University Conference, Brigham Young University, August 1995, pp. 13-29.
I am convinced that the three keys to a religious university remaining a religious university (a rare occurrence, as demonstrated by our American experience of the past century or so) are (1) a governing board composed of members of the sponsoring church, preferably the same leaders who have authority and responsibility not only over the university but also for the larger church; (2) a faculty that is composed predominantly, though not exclusively, of church members; and (3) heavy and continuous church financial support. (p. 19)
Merrill J. Bateman 1996-2003
"Secular Learning in a Spiritual Environment." Proceedings of the Third Annual Laying the Foundations Symposium (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 1993), pp. 1-8.
Twenty-five years ago I arrived on this campus as a newly recruited economics professor . . . [An experience I had here] forced me to be more cognizant of the relationship between secular and sacred truths. I also noticed that I had compartmentalized my search for secular truth vis-a-vis the search for spiritual understanding. Until then, the processes seemed different--the one spiritual and the other intellectual. I had asked the Lord to help me master secular material as I approached examinations as a student and as I entered the classroom as a teacher; but I had never thought about receiving new economic insights as a result of combining scientific and spiritual methods of searching. Did the Lord's instructions to Oliver Cowdery to "study it out in your mind, then . . . ask me if it be right" (D&C 9:8) apply to secular as well as spiritual truth? Was it possible to interpret Alma's injunction to "cry over [your] flocks, . . . your fields" (Alma 34:25) as including economic knowledge? After all, economics was my field. Could a spiritual environment increase the rate of learning and the probability of discovering new secular truths? What constitutes a spiritual environment? Is it within each person? Could spiritual truth resolve secular paradoxes? (pp. 1-2)
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Given that learning can take place both through study and faith, we can ask, Is Brigham Young University destined to be a leader among the world's institutions of higher learning in discovering secular truth as well as disseminating sacred truth? To the extent that this institution lives up to its mandate of providing a spiritual environment in which learning can take place, the answer is yes.
My definition of a spiritual environment is a place inhabited by people committed to living gospel truths. The community members are peculiar in that they are sensitive to spiritual things. They have access to the Holy Spirit because of their faith and works. Their faith is based on a spiritual witness that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and that he restored the Father's plan of salvation through the prophet Joseph Smith. Their faith is more than a testimony of belief, it is a force that propels them to action and provides them with power.
The members of this community are a consecrated people in that they bend their will to that of the Father's. There is little, if any, disputation among them. Unity exists. They understand that contention is not of Christ, but of Satan who uses it to stir men to anger, one with another. It is a place where respect for others is dominant, where people are honest, supportive, and slow to criticize, and scholars need not fear the motives of their colleagues. Because of faith, scholars do not fear the world. They want to learn from others--both inside and outside of the institution. However, their faith and knowledge of higher truths allow them to sift through men's ideas searching for consistency--for truth that embraces truth. Their faith also provides them with the patience to wait for additional knowledge when secular truth conflicts with eternal truths. The atmosphere that pervades the campus emanates from each individual. It originates within each person. It reflects the quality of life lived by each inhabitant. (p. 5)
"A Zion University." BYU Devotional given January 9, 1996.
Is the University apart from or a part of the Church? Following the announcement of my appointment as President of Brigham Young University, The Salt Lake Tribune carried an article on what it means to have a General Authority as the school's leader. The major point of the article concerned the University's relationship to the Church. The news reporter suggested that although some might have assumed prior to the announcement that the University was a secular institution distinct from but reporting to the Church, the call clearly indicates that the University is an integral part of the Kingdom. The article surprised me in that I had never thought of Brigham Young University separate from the Church. Prophet after prophet has stated clearly that Brigham Young University is a religious institution with a divine mission even though secular education is a key part of its purpose. Given the organizational structure by which the University is governed, it seems paradoxical that some might think that Brigham Young University is not an integral part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church, itself, is an educational institution and Brigham Young University is one of its key components. Thus, one might say that this institution is not only a university in Zion but is in the process of becoming a "Zion University."
. . .
Testimony and the Holy Spirit have as much to do with English and mathematics as with religion if we are diligent in scholarship and obedient to gospel principles. (D&C 130:18-19) Teachers and students in this community should understand that all truth is spiritual, and thus the so-called secular truths may be discovered by revelation as well as by reason.
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May I now say a few words to the faculty, staff and administration although I expect the students to listen as well because it has application in your lives. A Brigham Young University appointment is a sacred trust. More than 27,000 youth of the Church selected on the basis of gospel commitment and scholarship potential are under our stewardship. Consequently, we have responsibility to nurture their faith and improve their academic skills. The great majority of us are members of the LDS Church and the prime requisite for employment is a personal testimony of and behavior consistent with the restored gospel. Non-member faculty and staff are expected to live according to the light within them and standards agreed upon at the time of employment. Placing commitment to gospel truths first in the life of a faculty member does not demean the second requirement of academic excellence. If testimony and high personal standards are the foundation, outstanding scholarship which includes teaching ability is the capstone. Both testimony and scholarship are essential for this university to achieve its destiny. They are not competitive, but complementary. The new administration is committed to academic excellence. The desire for excellence covers graduate studies and research in selected areas as well as continued improvement of teaching at the undergraduate level. In particular, we believe that teaching quality must be improved in some key areas and will be working with the faculty to accomplish this.
A personal commitment to gospel standards by faculty members will increase, not decrease, academic freedom. If applied, the gospel framework will keep us from gathering like flies hovering over the dead carcasses of secular error. As a close faculty friend pointed out to me recently, the greatest limitation on academic freedom comes when faculty take for granted the assumptions employed by colleagues at other institutions in their development of secular theories. We will be more productive and enjoy more freedom if we examine and test secular assumptions under the lamp of gospel truth.
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A society that is in moral decline is also in intellectual decline; for the one surely follows the other and follows fast. The grass is not greener on the other side of the fence. . . . It is imperative that we not mimic the research and teaching choices of our colleagues at other universities without first using the measuring rod of the gospel.
I believe that we have the finest faculty and staff assembled in the world using the Lord's measuring stick. It is clearly the strongest faculty and staff ever assembled at Brigham Young University. I firmly believe that the Lord will strengthen the faculty in the process of time.
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I testify, brothers and sisters, that this institution will not fail. As Daniel prophesied, the kingdom will not be left to other people. Joseph's and Brigham's vision that the spiritual can be combined with the secular without the latter overcoming the former will prove true because of faith and priesthood power. Brigham Young University will be a light to the world dispensing truth for the public good and for individual happiness.
Inaugural Address. BYU Commencement & Inauguration Ceremony. April 25, 1996. Full Text.