At a BYU Devotional Sept. 17, President Gordon B. Hinckley pronounced it "an honor and a rare privilege to speak to this `stone-cold sober' gathering of university students."

Attending with his wife, Sister Marjorie Hinckley, he spoke to an audience of 22,343 people in the Marriott Center and overflow areas on campus.The "sober" comment was in reference to a national news report published two days previously.

"You have done it again," he exclaimed. "You have made the national news."

He went on to explain that while in Oregon, (please see article on page 4), he had read an Associated Press report of the Princeton Review's "Advantage Guide to the Best 310 Colleges." The guide listed the top "party schools" of the nation. Conversely, it named the top 10 "stone-cold sober" schools, listing BYU as number two, behind Deep Springs College in Dyer, Nev.

"What a significant honor this is," he exclaimed. "It says in effect that BYU is judged to be the number one large university in terms of sobriety and a no-nonsense attitude on the part of the student body on why they are going to a university, that is to gain an education or to prepare for constructive careers."

Expressing the wish that everyone who wanted to come to BYU might have the opportunity, President Hinckley repeated admonitions given before that students give their very best efforts while there and, through planning and consistent study, minimize the time they spend to earn a bachelor's degree. Thus, he said, they will make it possible "for more worthy young people to come here, thereby blessing their lives and the lives of others whom they will influence through the years."

Urging them, as he said, "with all the capacity that I have," President Hinckley told students to stand strong, "even to become a leader in speaking up in behalf of those causes which make our civilization shine and which give comfort and peace to our lives. You can be a leader. You must be a leader, as a member of this Church, in those causes for which the Church stands. . . . The adversary of all truth would put into your heart a reluctance to make an effort. Cast that fear aside and be valiant in the cause of truth and righteousness and faith. If you now decide that this will become the pattern of your life, you will not have to make that decision again."

Emphasizing the need for greatness and scarcity of it in society, President Hinckley declared: "You are good. But it is not enough just to be good. You must be good for something. You must contribute good to the world. The world must be a better place for your presence, and the good that is in you must be spread to others."

He added: "In this world so filled with problems, so constantly threatened by dark and evil challenges, you can and must rise above mediocrity, above indifference. You can become involved and speak with a strong voice for that which is right.

"You cannot simply sit in your laboratory, or your library," President Hinckley told the students, "and let the world drift along in its aimless way. It needs your strength, your courage, your voice in speaking up for those values which can save it.

"If this university is to meet the purpose for which it is maintained, then you must leave here not alone with secular knowledge, but, even more importantly, with a spiritual and moral foundation that will find expression to improve the family, the community, the nation, even the world of which you will be a part."

The "stone-cold sober" institution they attend is to prepare students not only for their chosen academic discipline, but in a larger and possibly more important sense, "to be a man or a woman who will rise above the mediocrity of his or her surroundings and stand up for what is good and decent and right," President Hinckley admonished.

Observing that the United States is in the midst of a political campaign, he said, "It is imperative that good people, men and women of principle, be involved in the political process, otherwise we abdicate power to those whose designs are almost entirely selfish."

He quoted Gov. John Engler of Michigan as saying: "The wisdom of the ages reveals that our moral compass cannot ultimately come from Lansing or from

another state capital, any more than it can come from the nation's capital, or Hollywood, or the United Nations, or some abstract liberal conception of the `Village.' It comes from deep within us - it comes from our character, which is forged in our families and our faith and tempered in the arena of decision making and action." (Imprimus, August 1996, Vol. 25, No. 8, p. 4.)

Encouraging his listeners to speak up for moral standards in a world of increasing filth and pornography, President Hinckley warned: "Not one of us, neither I nor any one of you, can become involved with such things as sleazy videotapes, suggestive television programs, debasing movies, sensual magazines, so-called `900 numbers,' or the kind of filth that evidently can be picked up on the Internet. Avoid them like the plague, for they are a serious and deadly disease."

Support the crusade against use of illegal drugs, he urged, noting that their use, particularly among youth, has doubled in the last four years. "Think of it! Doubled since 1992. Where are we going?"

Stand up for integrity in business, home and society, he counseled. "Again, it is not enough that you retreat to your private cloisters and pursue only your special private interests. Your strong voice is needed. The weight of your stance may be enough to tip the scales in the direction of truth."

Affairs in the home must not be neglected, President Hinckley said, noting that he deals frequently with cases of divorce and requests for cancellation of sealings. "Almost without exception, each case involves deception, dishonesty, broken promises, violated covenants, heartbreak and tragedy. Begin with your own home to preserve the sanctity of your marriage, the eternity of your covenants and the happiness which comes when there is love and security and trust in the family. Put the comfort of your companion and your children ahead of your own. And reach out with a helping hand to those whose marriages have become troubled."

Emphasizing the quality of loyalty, he applied it to the need for teamwork in life and in preserving one's family heritage.

"Be loyal to the Church. Stand up for it. Defend it. Speak no evil against it. It is the work of God. He who ridicules it or defames it offends Him whose church it is. It carries the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a wonderful mother to you, in whose arms you find shelter, warmth, comfort and security."

Latter-day Saint students, regardless of what they do in the future with the secular knowledge they gain, cannot escape the covenant they implicity made at baptism and which they have renewed each time they have partaken of the sacrament, President Hinckley admonished.

"You cannot simply take for granted this cause, which is the cause of Christ. You cannot simply stand on the sidelines and watch the play between the forces of good and evil. Said Nephi: `They who are not for me are against me, saith our God.' (2 Ne. 10:16.)"