A Welcome Letter from the Dean
Welcome to campus! We are so pleased that you are here at Brigham Young University and in the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences, where we strive to build the beloved community of Zion. This year is BYU’s 150th anniversary, and all year we will be focused on the theme of how we share the light of Jesus Christ with the world.
In Doctrine and Covenants 50:24 we are taught, “That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day."
It is clear from this scripture that we need to use our agency and actively choose to receive light from Christ, so that our light can keep growing. How will you use your agency this year to receive the Light of Christ?
In 2017, then President Uchtdorf said, “God is no respecter of persons. His light is available to all—great or small, rich or poor, privileged or disadvantaged. If you open your mind and heart to receive the Light of Christ and humbly follow the Savior, you will receive more light. Line upon line, here a little and there a little, you will gather more light and truth into your souls until darkness has been banished from your life.”
This quote suggests we, again, need to use our agency to open our mind and our heart, and a university is a great place to do that. We need to allow ourselves to be changed by what we learn on this special campus.
In the Orem temple, there is a stained-glass window in the baptistry that faces the southeast. As part of this beautiful glass image there is a dragonfly that gradually changes color as the sun rises in the morning. Just as this dragonfly transforms with the morning light, we too can be gradually transformed through the Light of Christ, as we open our minds and hearts, and receive.
My prayer is that you will choose to be transformed this year as the Lord’s light and truth enter your soul. Then I challenge you to share this light generously with one another.
