PROVO, Utah — Within their circles of influence, Church members should follow the example of Jesus and reach out to others as tutors and mentors, said Elder Neal A. Maxwell Feb. 6.

"Isn't it interesting that Jesus was the great praise giver," said Elder Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve. "Much more often we can give others the garment of praise. There are so many people, brothers and sisters, with no such clothing in their wardrobes. . . . They shiver for want of a little praise. And, meanwhile, each of us has far more opportunities for bestowing deserved praise than we ever use."

Speaking at a Church Educational System fireside, Elder Maxwell addressed more than 20,000 college-age young adults gathered in the BYU Marriott Center. Thousands more heard the fireside address live, via satellite, throughout North, Central and South America. The broadcast, which was translated into 22 languages, will also be made available on videotape to institute students around the world.

During his address, Elder Maxwell told the young adults to liken themselves to the scriptures. "He who was the great Redeemer was fully qualified to become such because He was and is the great Emulator," he said. "We, in turn, must emulate Him."

Elder Maxwell said the ways in which Church members can stand as a witness of Christ are many; however, he focused on Christ as a "tutor and mentor of His disciples and followers."

"Each of us from time to time is mentored and has chances to mentor," he said. The scriptures teach that Jesus offered encouragement and perspective to others through searching questions, deserved commendation, truthful praise and occasional correction.

He told the young adults that a kind reproach could be necessary when friends or associates seek lower standards, and reminded them that encouragement and commendation are called for when good deeds and kind actions are noticed.

"By its very nature, mentoring is an exercise filled with hope," he said. "So it is your lives, your dates, your courtships, your marriages, your families, your residence halls, your apartments and your institute classes which constitute currently the sample of humanity which God has given you."

He asked the young people, whom he said live in a time when moral principles are in decay and targeted for ridicule, to reach out to each other — tutoring and being tutored, and mentoring and being mentored.

Then Elder Maxwell offered the young adults several "aphorisms," or concise statements of a principle, from which they might learn:

In times of darkness remember there is a difference between passing local cloud cover and general darkness.

Elder Maxwell explained that while serving in the military as an 18-year-old stationed on Okinawa, he found that despite the day-to-day struggles of war, things looked better when he tried to see the big picture. He shared with the congregation numerous letters that he wrote to his parents at that time, many of which focused on taking the sacrament and preparing for a mission.

"I have searched the letters carefully and there isn't anything profound or greatly wise in them," Elder Maxwell said. "Nevertheless, I express my gratitude to the Lord and to my parents for training that caused me to want to partake of the sacrament and begin to think firmly of a mission in my future."

Signs, if not supported by a righteous life and the continued influence of the Holy Ghost, have a short shelf life.

Indeed, said Elder Maxwell, "one of the repetitive ironies, brothers and sisters, of religious history is that those who are the first to demand signs are usually the first to discount or to forget them. Please cultivate the gift of the Holy Ghost and have it be constant with you."

Pure charity is most elegant when it is expressed personally and quietly and when it is not a ritual expression of an assignment.

Never mistake a fashionable tide for the sea itself.

"Though real and dangerous the gulf of misery is not the entire ocean," he said. ". . . He who created the vast oceans will help us to navigate all the tricky tides and gulfs."

Firmly determine the direction in which you will face, toward the Lord, and then let the secular spin masters do their thing.

"Your hearts and your heads will not be turned by their ceaseless and clever spinning however they may try, and try they will," said Elder Maxwell. "You must determine the direction in which you face."

"We cannot expect to live in a time when men's hearts will fail them, except the faithful experience a few fibrillations themselves."

Elder Maxwell told the young adults that no matter how faithful, they won't be immune from the trials of the world.

"Though our view of eternity is reasonably clear, it is often our view of the next mile which may be obscured."

Elder Maxwell said all Church members need to rely on the Holy Ghost on a daily basis.

"I think you will see this a number of times in your lives, where you have cast your minds forward and are fixed on the things of eternity . . . but there is some fog and obscurity in the next 100 yards. And you can make it through."

One can not expect to overcome the world if one is too insulated from its trials and challenges.

"This is going to mean that you are going to experience at times what is called some redemptive turbulence," said Elder Maxwell. "The sea may be roiling at times with waves of emotions, such as when one is offended or by billows of anger or more commonly by self-pity that threatens to swallow us up."

At these times, he said, the calming of the Master becomes crucial.

"As Elder Mark E. Petersen warned, 'Adulation can be our ruination,' " said Elder Maxwell.

He said one can look to Jesus as the perfect example. "There is no incident wherein Jesus ever played to the gallery or curried favor or praise. Neither did He ever take an indulgent dip in the pool of self-pity. . . . Nor did He ever know the intoxication that comes from recognition."

When people feel underappreciated, he said, they may be tempted to frequent the saloon of self-pity. "One of the great things we can do for each other is to stay away from that place."

Elder Maxwell told the young adults that their friendships with each other can be as bonfires that grow "warm and bright and glow against the horizon."

From these bonfires, he continued, will burn lasting memories of shared expressions, love and testimony. "Especially helpful . . . are the memories of those individuals and friends who have exemplified for you and for me by the way in which they strive so steadily to wear the whole armor of God."

Elder Maxwell told the youth that they can learn one bottom line from the teachings of Brigham Young: "That Latter-day Saints have got to learn that the interest of their brethren is their own interest or they never can be saved in the celestial kingdom of God."

He closed with an emotional tribute to a friend he met on Okinawa. The young man, a tutor and mentor to many, died during the war. However, years later, Elder Maxwell still remembers this young man's great influence for good.