My dear brothers and sisters, do you remember those days of long ago when you read a book just for the pure pleasure of reading, rather than as a class assignment and for the inevitable report your studies required?
When I was a boy I enjoyed reading Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. I also saw adventure movies where several individuals had separate pieces of a well-worn map that led the way to buried treasure if only the pieces could be found and put together.
I recall listening to a 15-minute radio program each weekday afternoon. It followed another program called "Little Orphan Annie." The program of which I speak was "Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy." It began with the jingle "Have you tried Wheaties, the best breakfast food in the land?" Then, in a voice filled with mystery, there emanated from the radio this message, "We now join Jack and Betty as they approach the fabulous secret entry to the elephants' burial ground. A treasure awaits. But wait! Danger lurks on the path ahead."
Nothing could tear me away from this program. It was as though I were leading the search for the hidden treasure of precious ivory.
Yes, I ate Wheaties, still do--but I never could stand Ovaltine, as recommended by Little Orphan Annie!
At another time and in a different setting, the Savior of the world spoke of treasure. In His Sermon on the Mount, He declared:
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. [Matthew 6:1921]
The promised reward was not a treasure of ivory, gold, or silver. Neither did it consist of acres of land or a portfolio of stocks and bonds. The Master spoke of riches within the grasp of all--even joy unspeakable here and eternal happiness hereafter.
Today I have chosen to provide you three pieces of your treasure map to guide you to your eternal happiness. They are:
1. Learn from the past.
2. Prepare for the future.
3. Live in the present.
Let us consider each segment of the map.
Learn from the Past
In this, the sesquicentennial year of the arrival of the pioneers, we will hear much about devotion, faith in action, heartbreak, suffering, and blessings from on high. Two words that will be heard repeatedly are heritage and legacy. Legacy also calls our attention to the inspiring film shown several times per day at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Every viewer is richer for having seen this film classic.
You have a heritage--whether from pioneer forebears or later converts. This heritage, you usually discover, provides a foundation built of sacrifice and faith. Ours is the privilege and responsibility to build on such firm and stable footings.
Right here at BYU there is an element of sacrifice--if not on your part then certainly on the part of your parents. The new car, the more comfortable home, the new dress or suit are postponed so that you may attend this hallowed house of learning. Let us not forget that the tithes of the faithful--even the widow's mite--underwrite your studies here.
For many, particularly the young men and some young women, there is the anticipation of a mission call with its attendant element of sacrifice and commitment. Let me share with you a true pioneer account as an example.
In 1888 Benjamin Landart was 15 years old and an accomplished violinist. Living on a farm in northern Utah with his mother and seven brothers and sisters was sometimes a challenge to Benjamin, because he had less time than he would have liked to play his violin. At times his mother would lock the violin up until he had his farm chores done, so great was the temptation for Benjamin to play it.
In late 1892 Benjamin was asked to travel to Salt Lake City to audition for a place with the territorial orchestra. For him this was a dream come true. After several weeks of practicing and prayers, he went to Salt Lake in March of 1893 for the much-anticipated audition. When he heard Benjamin play, the conductor, a Mr. Dean, told Benjamin he was the most accomplished violinist he had heard west of Denver. He was told to report to Denver for rehearsals in the fall and learned that he would be earning enough money to keep himself, with some left over to send home.
A week after Benjamin received the good news, however, his bishop called him into his office and asked if he couldn't put off playing with the orchestra for a couple of years. He told Benjamin that before he started earning money there was something he owed the Lord. He then asked Benjamin to accept a mission call.
Benjamin felt that giving up his chance to play in the territorial orchestra would be almost more than he could bear, but he also knew what his decision should be. He promised the bishop that if there were any way to raise the money for him to serve, he would accept the call.
When Benjamin told his mother about the call, she was overjoyed. She told him that his father had always wanted to serve a mission but had been killed before that opportunity had come to him. Now Benjamin could go in his place. However, when they discussed the financing of the mission, her face clouded over. Benjamin told her he would not allow her to sell any more of their land.
She studied his face for a moment and then said, "Ben, there is a way we can raise the money. This family has one thing that is of great enough value to send you on your mission. You will have to sell your violin."
Ten days later, on March 23, 1893, Benjamin wrote in his journal:
I awoke this morning and took my violin from its case. All day long I played the music I love. In the evening when the light grew dim and I could see to play no longer, I placed the instrument in its case. It will be enough. Tomorrow I leave for my mission.
Forty-five years later, on June 23, 1938, Benjamin wrote in his journal:
The greatest decision I ever made in my life was to give up something I dearly loved to the God I loved even more. He has never forgotten me for it.
Learn from the past.
Prepare for the Future
We live in a changing world. Technology has altered almost every vocation: farming, engineering, architecture, medicine, teaching, business--to name but a few. We must cope with these advances--even these cataclysmic changes--in a world our parents never dreamed of and on a playing field we can scarcely comprehend.
A gentle nudge reminds us that there will be intense competition in the workplace of tomorrow. What you do now may well determine how well you will fare upon graduation.
Remember the promise of the Lord: "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear" (D&C 38:30). Fear is a deadly enemy of progress. Our journey into the future will not be a smooth highway that stretches from here to eternity. Rather, there will be forks and turnings in the road, to say nothing of the unanticipated bumps. Pray daily to a loving Heavenly Father who wants you to succeed in life. In so doing, remember the advice given by Lavern Watts Parmley, a former general president of the Primary Association: "We cannot ask God to guide our footsteps if we are not willing to move our feet."
Henry Ford of automotive fame gave this practical definition pertaining to education:
An educated man is not one whose memory is trained to carry a few dates in history. He is one who can accomplish things. A man who cannot think is not an educated man, however many college degrees he may have acquired. Thinking is the hardest work anyone can do, which is probably the reason why we have so few thinkers.
The three Rs--readin', 'ritin', and 'rithmetic--will continue to be essential in your future, but the wise traveler will add computer skills to his personal learning list. Prepare for the future.
Live in the Present
Daydreaming of the past and longing for the future may provide comfort but will not take the place of living in the present. This is the day of your opportunity; grasp it.
In tightly contested athletic games, whether basketball or other sports, you hear the coaches use the word focus. The team that loses laments, "We lost our focus."
The victorious team members will say, "We were focused throughout the entire game."
The same observation applies to your educational pursuits. Stay focused.
The air gets a little thinner and the competition more keen as you move from junior high school to high school and then to BYU. With the increased competition comes the need to focus on your objectives. Do not be deterred. Concentrate your efforts. Learn how to study and to achieve your maximum potential.
There are distractions, of course. If any of you participated in every activity that BYU offers, you would never go to class. You must learn to prioritize. Many classes are like college algebra: if you don't understand the subject, your life can be miserable--and so might be your grade at test-week time! But with some helpful coaching and practical application of concentrated thought, as you achieve a breakthrough and understand college algebra, you look forward to the final and eagerly await it like a runner preparing for a race. I testify that is true, as it was in my own case.
When my older sister, Marge, attended the university, she was heavily involved in extra-curricular activities. The final exam seemed a long way off--but eventually arrived. She was exhausted from dating, participating in theater, and all that goes with young adult years. One night she decided that rather than boning up for the final exam scheduled for the next day, she needed her sleep more than her studies. So sleep she did--with the expected result! One cannot afford to rationalize in this manner.
Maintain a healthy balance. This is not only the key to college life but also one of the keys to life in general. There is time for your studies, time for your social activities, time for yourself, and time for the Lord.
President N. Eldon Tanner, when he was president of the Edmonton Alberta Branch of the Church, shared some homespun and practical advice with the many young men and young women who came to Edmonton to attend the university. He gave much of himself, and he, in turn, expected much from the youth. He would call students into his office and talk about the purposes of education and the goals of the Church. He would make a promise to the students:
You want very much to pass your courses, don't you? If you will work hard on your studies during the week, live the principles of the gospel and attend to your Church duties on Sunday, I promise you that you will graduate from university. And what is more important, I promise you that you will be a better and happier person than if you don't attend Church.
Many students bear humble and grateful testimony that President Tanner's promises have literally and completely been fulfilled.
My brothers and sisters, don't cheat your way through school. Maintain your integrity. I shall never forget one with whom I studied business law. On the football field he was the Saturday hero; in the classroom he was just a phony. Oh, he was clever, all right--perhaps too clever. During the final examination all books were to be closed. Now was the moment of truth. My friend came to class that winter morning wearing sandals on his feet. As the examination began, he placed his open textbook on the floor, removed his bare feet from the sandals, and with toes saturated with glycerine opened his textbook. Skillfully, with those educated toes, he turned the pages so that he might find the answers to the questions asked. He received an A grade, as he did in other classes. Nominated for honors, praised for his intellectual acumen, he passed the examinations of school but failed the test of manhood. Don't be a cheater.
In a similar classification is the loafer or procrastinator. Content with mediocrity, he becomes an underachiever in life and loses perhaps forever that appreciation of excellence which, with concentrated effort, would have become his precious prize. As the apostle Paul admonished his beloved friend Timothy, "Neglect not the gift that is in thee" (1 Timothy 4:14). "Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12).
Your road map is now in place: Learn from the past, prepare for the future, live in the present.
I conclude where I began, from our Lord and Savior:
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. [Matthew 6:1921]
One who teaches this truth and lives as he teaches is our beloved brother and my friend, Elder Neal A. Maxwell. This noble and faithful apostle of the Lord declared:
We misread and misuse life--except with this plain and precious perspective of the gospel, which puts the things of the world in their lesser places. Then, on that essentially unchanging mortal stage, we can see things for what they really are, such as the demanding cadence called for by the cares of the world. ["God Will Yet Reveal," Ensign, November 1986, p. 54]
Brother Maxwell is seriously ill, but he is improving. Let the united prayer of this great assembly of precious young men and young women ascend to the Maker of us all in Brother Maxwell's behalf.
My brothers and sisters, from the depths of my soul I bear you my personal witness: God is our Father; His Son is our Savior and Redeemer; we are led by a prophet for our time, even President Gordon B. Hinckley.
Thanks be to God for this great institution of learning--Brigham Young University. I commend and praise your president, Merrill J. Bateman, and all members of the administration and faculty. I invoke heaven's blessings on each of you and on the noble students--those who have gone before, those who are here now, and those who will yet grace this campus of learning. I feel heaven is close to us this hour. I bear you that witness and seek your faith and prayers in our behalf and in behalf of Elder Maxwell and do so in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.