Your Ensign Moment: Preparing to Serve Through Learning and Discipleship

Good morning. When you all held up your booklets or phones, I was ready to hold this up (handkerchief) to see if I could get through this talk with you guys. I am really grateful, and I’m humbled that I can be here and share a few words with you today.

President Kusch isn’t here today, but I get to meet with him occasionally—probably not often enough. He’s a really good man, and he prays for you. I can tell you he prays for you, because I’m in the room, and we’re saying those prayers. Brother Sloan also—along with all the leaders here at the college—are prayerful for you. And we learn from each other. I know I learn from him and from Tim.

I want to start by sharing with you that I admire your dedicated efforts to achieve your academic goals.

When I would stand at other colleges where I worked, I was humbled by the students there as well. You go through so many sacrifices, and I respect what you go through to be a student. It's not easy to be here today at Ensign College.

I had students I met on campus who were homeless. They were living in their car, and yet they were somehow students. We had a food bank on campus, and we’d try to help them find support while they were studying. I had students who were beaten in their homes because their families were afraid of them going to school—just that connection. Hopefully, you don’t experience those challenges.

But I would share with students at those schools—and I’ll share with you today—that you are my heroes because of what you sacrifice and what you do to overcome so many obstacles on your path to success here. It’s not easy.

Many of you began your studies at Ensign College and weren’t sure if you could succeed. I felt the same. Every time I went into a new school, I wasn’t sure if I was going to succeed. I was scared to death. I didn’t know how to do anything. Many of you did not know what would be required of you as a student. You’d not tried this kind of thing before. All of you have had challenges outside of your college studies that you had to balance with your studies. Most of you are away from your homes. Many of you came from other countries to be here—and you’re now in a different culture with a different language. And yet, you’re here. You’re still here. You have grit. You come with hope. You prayerfully embarked on this journey with the faith that the Lord would assist you and help you find your way. I know the Lord has been by your side in your academic and life journeys, and He will always be by your side to help you. I'd like to share a little about why—or how—I know this.

I've been on a journey too, with challenges that have also seemed too difficult to overcome. I've been afraid. I've been confused. I've been homesick. I've lacked confidence. I've wondered what to do with my life. I’ve wondered if I would be alone. I’ve wondered if there is a God, and if there is a purpose for this life.

I was not raised in the Church—nor was I raised in any other church. I'm from Texas. Well—I didn’t grow up in Texas. I moved around a lot. My father was in the energy business, and we moved around maybe 17 or 18 times before I graduated from high school. That was in Oklahoma. So I also didn’t grow up rooted in one place, with friends whom I’d known since kindergarten.

But I do have wonderful parents. They cared for me and my siblings. They believed in the importance of family, and they were deliberate in creating family vacations and memories that gave us roots with our extended families. They also understood the importance of education, and they nurtured us by ensuring we could attend good schools wherever we moved and lived.

During my junior year in high school, I had a crisis of self or identity. I didn’t know who I was. I didn’t know what I stood for. I was sad. I didn’t have that anchor. I didn’t feel connected to others or like I belonged anywhere. I felt alone and lost. But I had a wonderful English teacher. She sensed this in me, and I was able to confide in her. She coached me through my struggle.

So I’ll pause a moment—this is a shout-out to all the faculty. All the faculty who go beyond what’s in the textbook and try to connect to students and help them. This teacher did that for me in my junior year.

With her help, and with some reading she recommended, I learned about the concept of agency—that I had agency to decide who I was and what I thought. And there was power in using that agency. I needed to figure out what I stood for, and once I figured that out, I needed to be consistent with my values, regardless of my situation.
Sidebar: at that time, I would try to be whoever the group I was with thought I needed to be. I didn’t have an anchor in my own standards or thoughts. I could no longer let my desire to belong sway me to be someone I wasn’t just to gain acceptance.

Then came my senior year—spring semester. Another crisis. I was scared. I wasn’t sure what I’d do after school. I didn’t know what career to pursue. I didn’t know where I’d go. I was a good student—I had good grades—and I intended to go to college. But I didn’t know what to study or where to go. I’d reached a point where I needed to know: Why should I care about doing anything with my life? Why should I decide if anything in this life was important? Why should I adhere to any principle, value, or standard—as if it really mattered? Was all this worth the effort? I was asking life’s fundamental questions. Maybe you’ve been there, too. I wanted to understand the purpose of life—why I’m here. I needed to figure out what would motivate me to work hard and overcome the challenges, hardships, fears, and uncertainties that lay ahead.

Then I had a friend. He was a member of the Church. He listened to my life’s questions and shared what he understood about the Church and the gospel of Jesus Christ. While I was learning about the Church, I was invited to a youth conference. I still remember—it was $33 to attend. Can you imagine that? We rode on a bus for several hours from Oklahoma City to what is now called Emporia State University in Kansas. There, I experienced something new.

I observed a large crowd of youth who were kind. They were friendly. They were happy. It’s like you could feel the love of the Lord. There’s a verse: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” But there’s also, “If ye love me, love one another.” I sensed they had direction. They knew what they stood for. They knew their Heavenly Father. I felt the Spirit there. I felt the love of Heavenly Father. I remember sitting alone—look it up on the map—I was on campus, near a pond. It was getting dark, and I was pondering what I had experienced. At the end of the conference, they held a testimony meeting. I don’t remember all the specific things that were said, but I’ve never forgotten the strong Spirit that was there. I can still picture sitting on a small stage in an auditorium on campus.

The insight I want to share is this: here was a group of youth who brought the Spirit of the Lord with them to a secular college campus. And they helped me feel it. They helped me feel the love of Heavenly Father—and to begin to believe that He was real. Through those youth and that experience, I began to learn that Heavenly Father could impact my life if I would seek to learn from Him. While I had just recently been learning from my friend about the Church and about basic principles of the gospel, this experience at youth conference was the first time I received a spiritual prompting—showing me that learning about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ could help me answer my questions. I had learned in school all about lots of academic subjects—but not about Heavenly Father. I learned what was missing at that conference. That experience started me on a path toward eventually understanding an eternal perspective—and gaining a spiritual foundation for the purpose of all my prior education, and for all the purposes of my potential college education.

Like the Spirit I felt at that youth conference in Kansas years ago, the Spirit you feel within the walls of Ensign College is from the Lord. And you—individually and collectively—help to sustain that Spirit at Ensign College. Through the gospel principles you follow, and the teachings of Jesus Christ that you put into practice, you can be—and are now—a strength to one another by keeping a balanced focus on the gospel while also pursuing your academic learning. That’s a hard word—“secular” learning. I guess I shouldn’t say secular learning because I don’t think that at any of the Church schools we really think we provide secular learning. We provide gospel-focused learning. But for me in Oklahoma, there were two types of things I needed to balance, just like the youth did at that youth conference. And they were a strength to me because they did that.

The Lord has taught us through the scriptures and through His prophets about the importance of what is happening here at Ensign College, as you combine your academic learning with gospel learning—to further know your Heavenly Father, while also gaining an education that will prepare and enable you to serve your family and society.

In Doctrine and Covenants 88:77–80, the Lord instructs:

77.And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom.
78.Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine…
79.Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms—
80. That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you.

Each of you have that calling and commission. The mission of Ensign College is to help each of you prepare for and magnify the calling and the mission with which you have been commissioned, and to help you become capable and trusted disciple leaders in your home, in the Church, and in the community.

Our Church leaders teach us how the mission of Ensign College is an application of gospel principles.

In 1989, as a member of the First Presidency, President Gordon B. Hinckley stated, “You belong to a Church which espouses education… Train yourselves to make a contribution to the society in which you… live.” (“Rise to the Stature of the Divine within You,” Ensign, Nov. 1989, 96).

In 1992, President Nelson, then an apostle, gave a conference address where he taught the importance of education as an enabler to serve your family and society. Same theme. He said, “…we consider the obtaining of an education to be a religious responsibility.”

You've probably heard that recently. He continued: “Our Creator expects His children everywhere to educate themselves.”

He quoted from Doctrine and Covenants 88:118:“Seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” (D&C 88:118)

Then he counseled, “…continue your education wherever you are, whatever your interest and opportunity, however you determine that you can best serve your family and society.”

As an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, Elder Henry B. Eyring gave a talk at a Church Educational System fireside in May 2001 in Moscow, Idaho. It was the 75th anniversary of the Institute of Religion program. His talk was later published in the October 2002 Ensign. He said,“ The Lord and His Church have always encouraged education to increase our ability to serve Him and our Heavenly Father’s children. For each of us, whatever our talents, He has service for us to give. And to do it well always involves learning—not once or for a limited time, but continually.”

Elder Eyring continues,…“We will have to make some hard choices of how we use our time. …. But remember, you are interested in education not just for mortal life, but for eternal life. When you see that reality clearly with spiritual sight, you will put spiritual learning first, and yet not slight secular learning.” (Henry B. Eyring, “Education for Real Life,” Ensign, Oct. 2002, 17, 18, 19).

In 2009, Elder Dallin H. Oaks shared the following: “As Latter-day Saints, we believe in education. We have a philosophy about how and why we should pursue it. Our religious faith teaches us that we should seek learning by the Spirit and that we have a stewardship to use our knowledge for the benefit of mankind.” (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Learning and Latter-day Saints,” Ensign, Apr. 2009, 22-27).

Elder Russell M. Nelson repeated his counsel from 1992 at a January 2010 devotional address at BYU–Idaho, when he stated:

“The glory of God is intelligence.” (D&C 93)
“…Your mind is precious! It is sacred. Therefore, the education of one’s mind is also sacred. Indeed, education is a religious responsibility.”

And he urged:“…continue your education, wherever you are, whatever your interest and opportunity may be. Determine how you can best serve your family and society, and prepare well.”(Elder Russell M. Nelson, “Education – A Religious Responsibility,” BYU-Idaho Speeches, Jan. 2010).

In 2011, in an address given to youth in Nairobi, Kenya (published in the New Era in 2013), Elder Nelson taught, “In the Church, obtaining an education and getting knowledge are religious responsibilities. We educate our minds so that one day we can render service of worth to somebody else.” And I love this sentence: “Being educated is the difference between wishing you could do some good and being able to do some good.”(Elder Russell M. Nelson, “Focus on Values,” New Era, Feb. 2013)

In May 2022, our prophet, President Nelson, during the worldwide devotional for young adults, again stated: “Education is very important [and]… a religious responsibility.” (President Russell M. Nelson, “Choices for Eternity,” Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults with President Nelson, May 2022)

And as we've learned from President Nelson and other Church leaders, our continued efforts to gain education will prepare and enable us to serve our families and society. We can use our learning to bless others and help build God’s kingdom—to help gather Israel. This is where it gets personal for me again. This “gathering of Israel”—this relies on your strength as a disciple leader, following the covenant path wherever you are in the world.

In June 2018, in the Worldwide Youth Devotional, President Nelson taught: “My dear young brothers and sisters, these surely are the latter days, and the Lord is hastening His work to gather Israel. That gathering is the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude. Nothing else compares in importance. Nothing else compares in majesty. And if you choose to, if you want to, you can be a big part of it. You can be a big part of something big, something grand, something majestic!”(President Russell M. Nelson, “Hope of Israel,” Worldwide Youth Devotional, June. 2018)

Then in May 2022, in that same worldwide devotional, President Nelson also taught:

“…the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil is the most important cause on earth today. You, my dear colleagues in this holy work, have an essential role in this gathering—and I thank you for it.” (President Russell M. Nelson, “Choices for Eternity,” Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults with President Nelson, May 2022)

President Nelson repeated this message again a few months later in the October 2022 General Conference. He said:
“As I’ve stated before, the gathering of Israel is the most important work taking place on earth today. One crucial element of this gathering is preparing a people who are able, ready, and worthy to receive the Lord when He comes again—a people who have already chosen Jesus Christ over this fallen world, a people who rejoice in their agency to live the higher, holier laws of Jesus Christ. I call upon you, my dear brothers and sisters, to become this righteous people.”(President Russell M. Nelson, “Overcome the World and Find Rest,” October 2022 General Conference)

The gathering of Israel requires disciple leaders throughout the world.”

To be a disciple leader requires preparation, time, and effort.

And as we read earlier in the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord has taught that we should be educated so that we may be prepared to serve. That preparation includes seeking the Lord’s guidance so that we can place ourselves in a temporal and spiritual circumstance where we have the time and the capacity to magnify our calling and mission.

Education, both spiritual and temporal, is required for our preparation to serve and to participate as disciple leaders. We each need to obtain the necessary education based on our interests and opportunities that will allow us to sufficiently provide spiritually and temporally for our families and ourselves. Not so that we can obtain the riches of the earth—but so that we may obtain the time, and the capacity, both mentally and spiritually, that is required for us to provide service to others.

Our current and future education enables continued service and disciple leadership.
Your inspired and consecrated work to educate yourselves—both spiritually and temporally—will help you have the capacity to serve in whatever way the Lord asks of you.

And as we serve, we also follow President Nelson’s charge to “think celestial,” to stay on the covenant path of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to be part of the gathering of Israel.

As you pursue your studies at Ensign College and strive to stay on the covenant path, I encourage you to follow the teachings of our prophets and apostles. Devote sufficient time for your individual spiritual path of learning and discipleship, so that each of you can serve and be a strength to others—like those youth were for me.

In his 2023 General Conference talk, Elder David A. Bednar quoted from several scriptures as he described this path of learning and discipleship that Ensign College students—and all of us—can seek to follow. He said:

“Behold that the more part of them are in the path of their duty, and they do walk circumspectly before God, and they do observe to keep His commandments and His statutes.” (Helaman 5:5)

“They consistently strive to comfort those that stand in need of comfort.” (Mosiah 18:9)

“They press forward with faith and weary not in well-doing, they are laying the foundation of a great work in their individual lives,” to all generations and for eternity.” (Doctrine and Covenants 64:33)

“They “wait upon the Lord” and do not demand that He meet their mortal deadlines. (Isaiah 40:31)

And then Elder Bednar summarizes, “You who today are pressing forward in the path of your duty are the strength of the Savior’s restored Church.”

You are becoming an Ensign to others.”

In a 2002 fireside, Elder Eyring promised the following for those of us on this path:
“Your life is carefully watched over, as was mine. The Lord knows both what He will need you to do and what you will need to know. He is kind and He is all-knowing. So you can, with confidence, expect that He has prepared opportunities for you to learn in preparation for the service that you will give. You will not recognize those opportunities perfectly, as I did not. But when you put spiritual things first in your life, you will be blessed to feel directed toward certain learning, and you will be motivated to work harder. You will recognize later that your power to serve was increased...“

“…All we can learn that is true while we are in this life will rise with us in the resurrection. And all that we can learn will enhance our capacity to serve. That is a destiny reserved not for the brilliant, or the fast learners, or those in respected professions. It will be given to those who are humbly good, who love God, and who serve Him with all their capacities—however limited those capacities may be—because all our capacities are limited compared to the capacities of God.”(Henry B. Eyring, “Education for Real Life,” Ensign, Oct. 2002, 17.)

So I come back to my story—about that youth conference on that college campus in Kansas. Those youth were part of the gathering of Israel for me. I didn’t know this until Fay and I were married—but Fay was part of the gathering for me. She was at that youth conference. We didn’t know each other at the time, but she was part of that group that helped me feel the Spirit. The reason the Spirit was there is because they had been keeping their covenants. They were participating in early-morning seminary—in Oklahoma, that starts at 6:00 a.m.! They were attending Sunday School, Young Women, and Young Men together. I didn’t know anything about those programs at the time—but because those students were doing their part to learn spiritual things, to serve where they could, while also studying in school and managing other responsibilities—they were literally participating in the gathering, visibly, for me. They brought that Spirit there—for me. They helped me feel it. And they helped teach me in ways they didn’t even realize were happening.

I joined the Church after high school, so I wasn’t able to be a seminary student. But I became a student at Oklahoma State University. As a college student, I committed to balance my secular learning with spiritual learning by attending institute classes. I didn’t know how I was going to do it—but I trusted that the Lord would help me manage my responsibilities. I attended institute every semester that I was enrolled in a college class, but at a school like Oklahoma State, those institute classes didn’t count toward my degree. So I thought of it as “extra credit. ” In fact, I decided to think of my institute classes as a form of “educational tithing,” where I would dedicate a portion of my learning and time to learning the gospel and supporting the institute program that the Lord had established for my benefit in Oklahoma. It wasn’t always easy to find time for those classes—especially when they were at 7:00 a.m. so they wouldn’t conflict with college courses. I regularly had assignments and tests coming up that could have been easy excuses to dismiss my institute reading or other commitments. But I can testify—through my own experience as a student—that the Lord will help you achieve your academic learning when you balance your efforts to also maintain your spiritual learning.

I can also testify that institute—and now, Ensign College—can change your life. Oklahoma State wasn’t a gospel-focused Church school, so institute wasn’t just about classes—it was a place. It was my little ragtag group of institute friends. There were about 70 of us in a photo. When I first joined, there were only 20, meeting in a farmhouse. Eventually, we built an institute building. At a university of 27,000 students, it was a small group—but a powerful retreat. A peaceful, joyful place. A place to recharge, to share our struggles and successes.

And now—my institute friends and I remain in touch. We’ve got a Facebook page. We’ve had a few reunions. We look back on that time as a defining period in our lives. Full of testimony-building experiences that have stayed with me all my life.

My institute days were my Ensign moment.

Each of you are—and can continue to be—a strength to one another. You’re in this together, just like my little band of institute friends was for me. You are an Ensign to one another—and to the Savior’s Restored Church.

So I invite you to establish your Ensign moment here at Ensign College.

Encourage one another. Go forward in faith. Your time here will pass more quickly than you think. Conduct yourselves in a way that builds your spiritual and your temporal capacity to serve. I testify that our Heavenly Father will always be patient—and always by your side—as you stay on the covenant path. As you learn—with the help of the Holy Ghost—the things you need to know. He has been by my side. And He will be by yours. Do these things so you can complete your studies and better provide for yourself and your families. So that you can use your talents and your testimony to build and strengthen Zion—wherever you are, wherever you go, throughout the world.

Your Ensign moment can serve you throughout your life—like it has for me.

May your Heavenly Father continue to bless you in your inspired efforts to learn, in your honest efforts to follow our Savior, Jesus Christ, and in your opportunities to serve others.

I share that with you, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.