'Measure up,' BYU graduates told
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Elder W. Rolfe Kerr offered 2,643 BYU graduates simple advice Aug. 17: Measure up.
"Measuring up to the mission of this special university is a sacred obligation that you cannot ignore," said Elder Kerr of the Seventy and commissioner of Church Education. "You do not have the luxury of walking off this campus, driving out of Provo, and just simply turning your backs and leaving all this behind."
Elder Kerr offered the keynote address at BYU's August commencement ceremonies, held in the BYU Marriott Center. BYU President Cecil O. Samuelson of the Seventy conducted the convocation proceedings and addressed the graduates — who completed bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees this summer.
Speaking to the graduates, Elder Kerr asked them if they were prepared for the reality that awaits them. "Have you equipped yourselves to succeed in every aspect of your lives — at home, in the Church, in the workplace, and in the communities where you will live?"
Each graduate, he continued, should have come to BYU "with the expectation that you would receive a quality education that would equip you with sacred and secular learning that would sustain you spiritually and temporally through the future opportunities and challenges of life."
Quoting Brigham Young, Elder Kerr said that education gives a person the power to think clearly, act well and appreciate life.
"As you graduate today, I hope your BYU education has empowered you to think clearly, has prepared you to obtain meaningful and productive employment in the world of work, and has enhanced your ability to appreciate the opportunities and beauties of life. I hope you have learned how to learn. I hope that you love learning, and that you will continue to seek learning by study and also by faith the rest of your lives."
Elder Kerr noted that during the past school year, BYU completed an accreditation review conducted by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Such reviews, he said, occur periodically to ensure the viability of every aspect of a university's operations. As part of the accreditation process, BYU was given the opportunity to clearly state, and update if necessary, the mission of the university.
The mission statement of BYU, he said, declares that students at BYU should "be taught the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, receive a broad university education, and receive instruction in the special fields of their choice. Scholarly research and creative endeavor among both faculty and students are also affirmed as essential to the university's mission."
The mission of BYU is further explained in a statement of institutional objectives, he said.
First, the university intends to "educate the minds and spirits of students within a learning environment that increases faith in God and the restored gospel, is intellectually enlarging, is character building and leads to a life of learning and service." Second, the university intends to "advance truth and knowledge to enhance the education of students, enrich the quality of life, and contribute to a resolution of world problems." Third, the university intends to "extend the blessing of learning to members of the Church in all parts of the world." And fourth, the university intends to "develop friends for the university and the Church."
Elder Kerr said the mission statement, as well as the institutional objects that accompany it, are an expression of the university's expectations for its graduates, because graduates "become the fulfillment of the vision inspired leaders have for this university."
"In very significant ways, the university must measure itself and its accomplishments through you," he told the graduates.
From the results of the recent accreditation review and from all that he has come to know about BYU, Elder Kerr said he can state with confidence that BYU is measuring up to its mission. However, he added, the key question for the graduates is this: "How well have you graduates measured up to the mission of BYU?"
The university was established under the influence of divine inspiration and revelation, he noted. Its board of trustees is comprised of prophets, seers and revelators and other General Authorities and general officers of the Church, and the members of the board of trustees, the administration, and the faculty feel a great sense of accountability for the outcomes of all that transpires at BYU. An equally great sense of accountability "must be felt by every student."
"The university has rendered a current accounting of its stewardship in time through the recent accreditation process," he said. "However, the accounting of the university's stewardship in eternity will most likely be rendered through you, your lives, your achievements and, most especially, through your faithfulness."
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