On January 13, 2026, students gathered in the Marriott center to hear President C. Shane Reese and Sister Wendy Reese inaugurate the winter semester of BYU devotionals. In characteristically parental fashion, they warmly welcomed students back from Christmas break and offered inspiring instruction for the new year. Both sets of remarks followed a theme of helping students remove fear and doubt, understand their divine potential, and orient their lives with the help of inspiring examples.
Sister Reese’s remarks, titled “How to Follow Your Heavenly GPS,” centered on the feeling of being lost. While sharing a humorous experience about how a miscommunication with her husband led to frustration, doubt, and impatience, Sister Reese made connections to the experiences of students who may feel similarly when it comes to marriage, careers, and other important decisions.
From her experience, Sister Reese drew lessons which students could apply when feeling lost. She emphasized doubting our doubts before doubting our Heavenly Father’s plan for us. She counseled students not to get so lost in their plans and timelines that they forgot to meaningfully counsel with the Lord in prayer. She promised that when we are doing our best and keeping our covenants faithfully, God will illuminate our paths. Most of all, she instructed students to trust the plan.
President Reese’s remarks followed a theme of pointing to inspiring role-models BYU students can look to for guidance. Before diving into the main portion of his remarks, President Reese highlighted how BYU’s head football coach Kalani Sitake displayed his testimony of Jesus Christ on a national stage as BYU participated in the prestigious Poptarts Bowl. Calling Coach Sitake’s courage to be different “impressive and beautiful,” President Reese drew parallels to how BYU’s greatness doesn’t just come from our athletic, academic, or professional accomplishments, but from the light of Jesus Christ found in the hearts of the student body. Drawing from President Spencer W. Kimball’s prophetic remarks, President Reese reminded students that we are the “brilliant stars” that were foretold.
His main message, titled “A Sense of Prophetic Urgency,” focused on two individuals President Reese referred to as “the patron saints of BYU,” President Dallin H. Oaks, and the late President Jeffrey R. Holland. These two examples are of unique value to current students because, as President Reese pointed out, “They both sat where you sit, they walked where you walk; their paths, like yours, were not paved for them; their households were not picture perfect, but their faith in the Lord was extraordinary; they strive for educational and professional excellence, and they never deviated from the path of Christian discipleship. They’ve done it all, as will you, I contend … They entered this school to learn, they went forth to serve, and they never once stopped serving.”
Sharing examples from the lives of each prophet, President Reese invited students to follow their examples of being a witness, hastening the Lord’s work, having Christ-centered optimism about the future, and being diligent in learning. He stressed how President Oaks and President Holland were not just great men due to their academic and professional achievements, but, much like BYU students, their greatness came from the light of Jesus Christ within them. Quoting President Oaks, President Reese reiterated, “In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.”
President Reese concluded with a call for students to believe in themselves and believe in the Savior. He also invited students to ask themselves two questions:
- What is God revealing to you personally that asks for more urgency from you?
- What have prophets, seers, and revelators taught that invite you to act with an equal urgency.
In this opening devotional of winter semester, President and Sister Reese once again demonstrated their ability to share their incredible love for students while also helping them see the extent of their potential. As students filtered out of the Marriott Center it could be observed that this pattern of love and inspiring expectations, which have defined their relationship with students for their entire tenure, has earned the Reese’s the deep respect and admiration of campus.
Cover Photo Source: https://www.deseret.com/faith/2026/01/13/byu-president-asks-students-to-emulate-presidents-oaks-holland-and-kalani-sitake/
