Last Tuesday, September 23rd, Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of The Twelve Apostles delivered a powerful devotional address on “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” Students were excited and filled the Marriott Center to the brim as they awaited his apostolic message. Elder Rasband did not just reaffirm the principles and teachings of the Family Proclamation, which he stated are based on the doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but he also repeated the commitment for members everywhere to be peacemakers, especially with the assassination of Charlie Kirk at UVU, which he had addressed briefly.
He began by recollecting his experience in preparing the dedicatory prayer for the Bangkok Thailand Temple. Elder Rasband needed to change the dedicatory prayer last minute, after it had already been translated in multiple different languages. He recalled this experience in his April 2024 General Conference talk titled “Words Matter”. In this talk, just as during the address this week, he emphasized following the Prophet Russell M. Nelson: “I inserted these words in the prayer near the end: ‘May we think celestial, letting Thy Spirit prevail in our lives, and strive to be peacemakers always.’”
Elder Rasband took five words as the keynote of his address, all found within the Family Proclamation: family, creator, eternal destiny, children, and happiness. Where do our priorities lie? Elder Rasband instructed students to “not let the pursuit of building a career take over the pursuit of building a family.” This shows the unique mission of Brigham Young University. BYU is a place that enables its students to be spiritually strengthened and intellectually engaged. They carry with them more than secular knowledge, but also the Honor Code, scriptures, a temple recommend, and The Holy Ghost. This ability to bridge the secular and sacred in an academic environment prepares students to follow their Savior and Redeemer.
When concluding his address, Elder Rasband emphasized our divine identity as children of God, a God who knows us personally and individually. He talked of his inclusion in the process of giving the Restoration Proclamation to the world, and that the hand of the Lord is in each and every proclamation announced by The First Presidency and the Quorum of The Twelve Apostles. He gave an apostolic blessing and in it admonished the audience to strengthen their testimonies of The Family Proclamation, and to know that the family is ordained of God. Students leaving the Marriott Center commented that the address was impactful and the recollected on when Elder Rasband was ordained as an apostle just ten years ago.
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
Cover Photo Source: https://www.deseret.com/faith/2025/05/25/elder-ronald-rasband-dedicates-abidjan-ivory-coast-temple/
