In his devotional address on Tuesday, April 2nd, Rick Anderson, BYU’s University Librarian, encouraged students and faculty to courageously proclaim the truths of the Gospel.
Brother Anderson began his devotional, entitled “The Tree, the Fruit, and the Building,” by reminding his listeners of Lehi and Nephi’s vision of the Tree of Life. He reviewed the symbolism of the three titular aspects of the vision. “The tree, representing the love of God, and its joy-giving fruit are offered as an alternative to the world’s pride, vanity, and wisdom.”
He also reminded the audience of the story of Esau, drawing comparisons to us. He asked his listeners to imagine if Esau was always hungry and always sitting in front of a mess of pottage then suggested that we are all in the situation of being tempted to give up our birthright by the world’s mess of pottage.
As a librarian, Anderson made a distinction between the knowledge of the world and the wisdom of the word, noting that the world may learn true things by observation and other means and equating the wisdom of the world with the philosophies of men, which oftentimes are false.
Anderson went on further to testify of the reality of an eternal world that is apart from our temporal world, saying that many in the world today reject the existence of anything outside of what can be observed or measured. He affirmed that we do have access to knowledge of the non-temporal, eternal world, and that God makes eternity known to us in part through the power and influence of the Holy Ghost.
Anderson again reiterated the fact that knowledge of the temporal and eternal are not mutually exclusive and that we can hold a variety of views at the same time: some conservative, some liberal, and some moderate. He continued expressing that not all choices are fully bifurcated, but knowing divine truths will require us to accept certain propositions as true and certain other propositions as false.
Connecting President Reese’s inaugural acceptance and President Spencer W. Kimball’s Second Century address, Anderson said that if we are still trying to become what BYU ought to be, then BYU is not yet “the fully-anointed University of the Lord,” but something we must still strive for.
How can BYU do this? Anderson recommended that students and faculty need to overcome their intellectual vanity and desire to “be hip.” To do this, he suggested that his audience replace secular “first principles” with theological and Gospel “first principles” by unequivocally testifying of the reality of The Book of Mormon, The First Vision of Joseph Smith, God the Father and Jesus Christ, and other fundamentals of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Brother Anderson ended with his testimony of a great many doctrines, principles, and truths of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ including the following: “I testify that as we put our and our hearts to work in studying and applying the truths of eternity, miracles will happen for us and through us for others. If you are struggling, if you are in despair or confusion, please turn to Him who has promised not to leave you comfortless.”
In case anyone was unsure of his stance, his concluding statements were one last testimony of Christ and His Gospel: “The Gospel is true. The restoration is ongoing. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in God’s kingdom on Earth. We, everyone of you and I, are His children, and our exaltation is His work and His glory. Understanding only imperfectly the depth of what it means to do so, I nevertheless, bear this witness in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”
Written by: Jacob Fisher
Senior Contributor at the Cougar Chronicle
The Cougar Chronicle is an independent student-run newspaper and is not affiliated with Brigham Young University or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Photo Credit: @BYU
