I would like to start by talking about what this university and the Laie community mean to me and the difference they have made in my life. My first visit here was also my longest. It occurred when I was a freshly minted missionary. I attended the Hawaii Language Training Mission (LTM) in Hale 2 to learn Japanese in the fall of 1970.
I can’t explain what it was like to see Oahu for the first time. I was called from the Boston, Massachusetts Stake, where my family lived, so I had lived close to the ocean. The ocean of Boston Harbor or Cape Cod, however, was not at all like the ocean surrounding the Hawaiian Islands. They were completely different colors—one a brownish-gray and the other a greenish-blue. I must admit that it was terribly difficult to be a newly called missionary and live for two months in this place. A couple of times, my little district of four missionaries went right up to the water’s edge on Laie Point, but I am happy to report that none of us even dipped a toe into the beautiful ocean.
It was very early in my two-month stay in Hawaii that President and Sister Joseph Fielding Smith visited the campus. They came to Laie to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Church College of Hawaii and visit the Polynesian Cultural Center. This was the first time I had ever been in the presence of a living prophet of God, and, as you can see, when a group picture was taken, I moved in very close to the Smiths.
I was able to return to Laie in November of 1974. I accompanied my father, who at the time was the most recently called apostle. He and I were on our way to Japan. He had an assignment to tour my former mission (the Japan West Mission), the Japan East Mission, and divide the Tokyo Stake. I was his companion, instead of my mother, who was forced to stay home because she was in the late stages of her four-year battle with cancer. She died approximately a month and a half after we returned home from our trip.
The one thing I remember most vividly from my second visit to Laie was being made an honorary chief at the Polynesian Cultural Center. I think the Center’s leaders concluded that it would be very difficult for my father to live with me if I were a chief and he wasn’t, so he was also made an honorary chief.
It was a long time before I visited Hawaii again. As a family, we vacationed in Laie during the Christmas season of 1997, and we stayed long enough to celebrate the new year of 1998. A faculty member from BYU–Hawaii, Professor Randy Allred, was on leave and living in my ward in Orem, Utah for a year while I served as the bishop, and the Allreds arranged with a friend for us to rent her condominium for two weeks while she was visiting the mainland. I’m pretty certain my wife and children would rank that vacation to Hawaii at the top of their fond memory list. The problem for all of us since then is nothing else has quite measured up. Once you’ve been to paradise, you’re far less impressed with anywhere else.
Fortunately for me, only a few years later, I was given a very special assignment. While I was serving as an associate dean at the Marriott School, I was asked by President Merrill Bateman to chair the BYU–Hawaii Futures Committee and also serve as his liaison to the university here. At the time, the president of BYU–Hawaii actually reported directly to the president of BYU–Provo. I was privileged to serve in this role for approximately two years, and it offered me the opportunity to make several trips to Laie. I developed some choice friendships over that period of time, especially with President Eric Shumway and Vice President Keith Roberts. Everyone I worked with at BYU–Hawaii was extraordinarily kind to me, and the concentrated dose of the spirit of Aloha I received during that period of my life has been a blessing to me ever since.
What differences has BYU–Hawaii made in my life? The most obvious difference is I have a deeper appreciation for natural beauty and the variety as well as the intricacy of God’s creations. There are few places in the world where the majesty of His creative hands is more evident. I have also gained a greater appreciation for multi-cultural differences and some of the blessings and challenges that inevitably come when people with a broad range of backgrounds try to knit their hearts together in Christ. This place has been, is, and will continue to be a grand experiment in bringing together all of God’s children. It is its own united nations. I have also learned how thoughtful, kind, accommodating, and self-sacrificing people can be when they are deeply committed to the kind of grand vision that guides BYU–Hawaii. I am so honored to join you again after far too many years of being away, to be changed in new ways simply because I’m here sharing the spirit of this campus with each of you. Aloha!
Making a Difference
It is clear I am a different person from my association with your community and university. The communities and institutions in which we live, learn, worship, and work influence and change all of us in subtle but profound ways. Scholars often refer to this process as socialization or acculturation. Parents tell their children to choose their friends wisely because they know friends will influence their children for good or ill. Similarly, we must choose our communities and institutions wisely because they also influence us. Influence, however, is nearly always two-way. For example, when parents also instruct their children to be a positive influence within their circle of friends, they acknowledge that influence is two-way. The quality of a group of friends can be raised or lowered by the influence of a single member of the group, particularly a strong and influential member.
I want to focus my remarks today on the possibilities we have to make a positive and lasting difference together. Let’s start with the positive difference we can make as individuals. Pause for a moment to think about the difference Joseph made after he was sold into Egypt. Clearly, he was in a strange land, both socially and culturally. He had his ups and downs in Potiphar’s household, prison, and Pharaoh’s court, but no matter what his station in life, he found a way to make a difference. In Genesis 41 we read:
“And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
“And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:
“Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou” (Genesis 41:38-40).
It was Joseph who interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, offered a plan to store enough corn during seven years of plenty to endure seven years of famine, and implemented the plan so successfully that “all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands” (Genesis 41:57). Indeed, Joseph’s influence made a positive, profound, and lasting difference far beyond the borders of Egypt and ultimately reconnected him with his half-brothers, brother, and father.
Making a positive difference is the central theme of the well-known Frank Capra film It’s a Wonderful Life. George Bailey is on the verge of committing suicide because he is frantic about a large sum of money—his depositors’ money—that had been lost from the Bailey Brothers’ Building & Loan that George manages. He fears he will be arrested for his failures as a fiduciary, and just when George is ready to jump off a bridge into the freezing river that runs beneath it, Clarence, his guardian angel, rescues him by jumping into the river first. Clarence has his own back story—he is still an Angel Second-Class who hasn’t earned his wings, but in the case of George Bailey, Clarence proves himself and becomes a true difference-maker. He devises a simple, ingenious plan. He grants George’s wish that he had never been born and shows him the town of Bedford Falls (or should we call it Pottersville?) without him. The contrast is striking, and it shakes George out of the doldrums. He is willing to face even the prospect of jail because he is able to compare the world with and without him, and he realizes he has made a positive, profound difference.
I believe this movie offers a wonderful way to view our lives. What if each of us, in our mind’s eye, imagined two pictures that are essentially the same except in one of them we are missing and in the other we are present, and then we asked ourselves, “What’s the difference between the two pictures?”
The Motivation and Ability to Make a Difference
I can’t begin to count the number of times students have come to me over my 29 years at BYU and told me they want to make a difference in the world. Some of them have much larger aspirations to make a difference than capacity—they want to boil the ocean with a camping stove—but others have very clear and viable plans about how they want to add value. I think our basic Christian faith, which is only magnified by our experiences in the Church, expands these desires in all of us. For example, most of us try very hard to embody the lesson taught by the Parable of the Talents.
A man with three servants left on a journey, and before he left, he gave an allotment of talents to each of them based on his perception of their ability (and perhaps, their motivation). To one servant, he gave five talents, to another two talents, and only one talent to the third servant. After a long time, the man returned and asked each of his servants for an accounting. The first servant had turned five into ten talents, and his master congratulated and rewarded him. The second servant turned two into four talents, and his master honored him in exactly the same way as the first servant. When, however, the third servant reported that he had buried his talent, and he tried to justify doing nothing to increase it, his master reprimanded him and took his talent away from him and gave it to the first servant.
While the talent in the parable is a denomination of money, the lesson for most of us is we should use our God-given talents to make a difference in the world. We believe if we are faithful to that charge that we will receive the divine accolade: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (see Matthew 25:21, 23).
At the Marriott School, my academic home, we’ve conducted several studies about how our students are perceived, especially by recruiters from the companies that employ them after they graduate. One of the studies about Marriott School MBA graduates produced this summary Gap Analysis. Basically, recruiter impressions of our MBA graduates’ attributes are reported on a two-by-two matrix based on high/low perceived performance on the job and high/low perceived importance of those attributes.
The upper right-hand quadrant is where we find the good news of the study. In the upper corner, for example, we learn that Marriott School graduates: Look for ways to contribute. This confirms what we’ve assumed about our students, but it’s heartening to hear it from these key stakeholders.
In the lower right-hand corner of the matrix, however, is a result that quickly pops our bubble: Graduates can quickly contribute. Remember, this is in the high importance/low performance quadrant. Essentially, what we are being told is our graduates fail to contribute quickly in their jobs. They aren’t hitting the ground running, in other words. Given its importance, this is a big problem. How can our graduates be so good at looking for ways to contribute and, yet, be so bad at contributing quickly?
While both attributes address contributions, one focuses on the desire to make contributions, while the other focuses on our graduates’ ability. There is a clear distinction between their motivation and ability to contribute and make a difference, and both motivation and ability are essential to their success.
I have thought a lot about this issue, but my most valuable insight had nothing to do with the Marriott School’s curriculum and our preparation of students. One day, I wondered to myself what would impair me from contributing quickly in a new job? I realized it probably would have very little to do with my ability and preparation but everything to do with my confidence. Then, I asked myself, “What bolsters my confidence more than anything else, especially in situations that are new, challenging, and uncomfortable?” I do not want to pretend that I am completely absent of pride in my abilities. I’m not. Still, one lesson life has taught me is there are many times when I am plain and simply in over my head. At those times, I feel almost paralyzed until I remember there is another reservoir of talent and ability from which I can draw; there is someone else to whom I can turn. The greatest confidence-builder I know is my faith in Jesus Christ.
Every one of us has ability limits. I have them. You have them. We all have them. No matter how much one of us wants to contribute, there are physical, mental, and/or emotional limits to how much we can contribute. Education, for example, can increase our abilities by expanding our knowledge and skills, but it does not completely remove limits to our ability to contribute. No matter how well-trained or educated we are, at some point, all of us will fall short, our abilities will not carry us to the successful completion of a task, and we will fail unless we appeal to the Savior, the Deliverer of us all. And I don’t recommend we exhaust all other options before we appeal to Him. I suggest we continuously appeal to Him so much so that our confidence in Him changes our perspective about what is possible.
I firmly believe that this is where the gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us to focus—on Him. The gospel of Jesus Christ has always been more about motivation than ability, especially the idea of relying solely on one’s abilities. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is about adding to our limited abilities by accessing a higher power.
A father approached Jesus with his son, who suffered from convulsions. The convulsions left the young man with a foaming mouth, and on several occasions, he had fallen into fires or bodies of water as a result of the convulsions. The father did not have the ability to heal his son. In fact, he had already brought his son to Jesus’s disciples, and they had been unable to heal him. Jesus initially asked about how long the boy had been inflicted with the malady, and he was told since childhood. Then, Jesus taught the father a lesson in faith. He said to him, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” Then, the father cried out, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief” (see Mark 9:17-30).
A solution to the perceived problem that Marriott School graduates can’t quickly contribute may have a lot less to do with their training than their faith. This does not excuse the Marriott School from its obligation to offer the best education and training possible. It simply acknowledges that no matter what we do along this line, our graduates will inevitably fall short in some way unless they humble themselves and seek after a higher power. All things are possible to those who believe in Jesus Christ. If you can’t do something on your own, you can still do it but only when you rely on Him. A lesson that can never be taught often enough is that with God, all things are possible. Any level of contribution is available to us through our faith in Jesus Christ. My first lesson for today is this: It is through increased faith in Jesus Christ that we can make the greatest, positive difference.
Making a Difference Together
Please consider a story told by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf at the October 2008 General Conference ("Lift Where You Stand"):
“Some years ago in our meetinghouse in Darmstadt, Germany, a group of brethren was asked to move a grand piano from the chapel to the adjoining cultural hall, where it was needed for a musical event. . . . Everybody knew that this task required not only physical strength but also careful coordination. There were plenty of ideas, but not one could keep the piano balanced correctly. . . .
“As they stood around the piano, uncertain of what to do next, a good friend of mine, Brother Hanno Luschin, spoke up. He said, “Brethren, stand close together and lift where you stand.”
“It seemed too simple. Nevertheless, each lifted where he stood, and the piano rose from the ground and moved into the cultural hall as if on its own power. That was the answer to the challenge. They merely needed to stand close together and lift where they stood.”
Here is a wonderful example of making a difference together. With a strong assist from Brother Luschin, this group of brethren was able to accomplish something an individual could not accomplish on his own, unless, of course, you see no humor in this cartoon.
There is an interesting challenge associated with joining together to make a difference. For most kinds of tasks, the capacity of the group exceeds the capacity of any individual, but in the process, we lose individual accountability. To illustrate, let’s tell the Parable of the Talents in a slightly different way. What if the master gathered his servants together, gave them eight talents to share, and instructed them to work together to add further value? Even if together they succeeded spectacularly, wouldn’t it have been more difficult for the returning master to assess their individual contributions? Of course, it would have been. You all know from your experiences with group projects that the individual contributions of group members vary widely. It is frustrating but also a rich learning experience when one or two members do most of the work on a project, and they receive exactly the same grade as members who do very little.
Now consider this question. What bothers you more—the lack of motivation or the lack of ability of underperforming team members? Now, hold your answer for just a moment and let me share an experience. When I was a young faculty member at BYU, a well-known organizational scholar, Professor Jerry Harvey, was invited to speak to our faculty. Professor Harvey shared his research about high-performing work teams, and he disclosed a finding that totally surprised me. He told us that the highest performing work teams almost always have at least one weak member. Invariably, teams with at least one weak member even outperformed teams of all-stars. What was Professor Harvey’s explanation for this counterintuitive result? He concluded that a spirit of altruism, which only manifested itself when teams had at least one weak member, consistently improved team performance because it united and rallied the individual members of the team.
So, returning to my question, what bothers you more—a lack of motivation or a lack of ability of other team members? I’m sure you’ve guessed my answer—a lack of motivation bothers me a great deal more than a lack of ability. Let me argue using the Parable of the Talents that it is highly likely that my view reflects the Lord’s view. The parable teaches that the master allocated resources based on ability, but He rewarded his first two servants the same even when they performed differently. It did not matter that one had an increase of five talents and the other an increase of two talents; they both received the divine accolade and an eternal reward. It was the servant who did nothing and then tried to justify it that received the Master’s wrath and forfeited the talent he had buried. If we read between the lines, it is entirely plausible that if the third servant had tried, even if he had been less successful than the other servants or actually failed, he would have received his Master’s accolade and reward. And even if his reward had been less than the other servants received, he would have been far better off for having tried.
While we all enjoy working on teams with able people, few of us are bothered by underperforming team members when they are trying as hard as they can. In fact, more often than not, they inspire us. One of the beauties of working together to make a difference is we can’t measure our individual contributions with any precision, so we stop worrying about ourselves. We become lost in the joy of accomplishing something as a team.
There are many inspiring groups of people in the Book of Mormon, but I can’t think of a more inspiring image than the people of Alma when he commanded them that “they should look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another” (Mosiah 18:21). In my mind’s eye, what I see is a faithful people hoping together for better circumstances. They are both faithful and hopeful because, as Moroni later taught, these attributes are inseparable (Moroni 7:41-42). I suppose hope is magnified when it is shared, for it seems that common hope is far greater than the sum of individual hope. As the story of the people of Alma teaches, miracles happen and heavenly power descends when people’s hearts are knit together in unity, love, faith, and hope. Moreover, the difference they make together is magnified because they spread hopefulness through their inspiring examples. This is today’s second lesson: It is shared hope for something better that brings people together to make a difference.
Making a Lasting Difference
One of the great blessings of having faith in Jesus Christ is we believe in the promise of immortality and the blessing of eternal life. These beliefs certainly lengthen our perspective beyond day-to-day demands and even lead us to ponder events in the next life. Our belief in eternal life is perspective shifting, and hopefully, it also helps us focus more on making a lasting difference.
After Jesus fed the 5,000 at Tiberias, many people sought him, and they found Him in Capernaum. Jesus questioned why they were seeking Him. He said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled” (John 6:26). Then, Jesus tried to teach them to seek things of more lasting value that would help them gain eternal life, but they could not hear Him above the roars of their stomachs.
Since expectations were not met, there was dissent within the ranks of the followers of Jesus—many murmured and “walked no more with him.” And Jesus asked his Twelve Apostles, “Will ye also go away?” Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:67-69).
The Savior also taught about firm foundations that are resistant to erosion (see Matthew 7:24-25). Something I love about the leaders of our Church is they build buildings to last through the Millennium, and this always begins with a firm and sure foundation. In late 1861, leaders of the Church were devastated when they learned that the foundation stones that had been laid for the Salt Lake Temple were cracked. It was learned that the cause of the problem was too much mortar had been used to fill the gaps between stones. At the time, Brigham Young said, “There are nights when I lay awake for fear that I will never see this temple dedicated.” (When President Young died in 1877, the temple walls were only 20 feet high.) Seeking an answer, President Young went to the temple site, sat on one of the cracked foundation stones, and said, “I will not move from this spot until I know what to do.”
On January 1, 1862, President Young announced the solution—the inadequate foundation would be removed and replaced by one made entirely of granite. The footings would be sixteen feet thick. Brigham Young later said, “I want to see the Temple built in a manner that it will endure through the Millennium.”1
I think it’s helpful for all of us to think of ourselves as builders—builders of people. I like to say that the Church, in spite of all its complexity, is a human resources organization. Its mission is to assist in the Lord’s work and glory—bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:39). This is the only reason we build temples, chapels, and university buildings—to make a lasting difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters in the Gospel.
We consider our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to be the chief cornerstone or, according to Psalms and quoted in three of the four Gospels, the “headstone of the corner” (Psalms 118:22). As already discussed, faith in Jesus Christ and shared hope for a better world are other essential cornerstones for a foundation on which to build up others. And what is the final cornerstone for making a lasting difference in their lives? I believe it is charity, for as both the Apostle Paul and Moroni taught, “Charity never faileth” (1 Corinthians 13:8; Moroni 7:46). Moroni also taught that charity “endureth forever” (Moroni 7:47). Charity glues our focus on Jesus Christ because it is His pure love. Faith, hope, and charity are blended together as we exercise them through our service to others. This is how we lose our lives for His sake and find them (see Matthew 10:39).
In Matthew 25, where the Parable of the Talents is taught, Jesus also shares the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, like the Parable of the Talents, is about who will and will not receive an eternal reward. It seems clear that the sheep, or those who are set on the right hand of God, are those who have been charitable. Essentially, they are those who see God in the faces of the least of the children of God and then serve God by serving them. At the conclusion of this parable, the Savior taught, “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40). It is entirely possible that this central message of the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats overlaps with the message of the Parable of the Talents. In other words, the best way to increase our talents is to invest them in charity to others. The way to make the greatest, positive difference is to rescue those who need our help the most.
If we were to place charity with other attributes along a scale that measures their relative importance, it would always be the most important, exceeding even faith and hope, according to the Apostle Paul (see 1 Corinthians 13:13). And so today’s third lesson is the most important: Charity, reflecting the pure love of Christ, tightens our focus on making a lasting difference in others’ lives.
Conclusion
The three keys to making a positive and lasting difference together are three Christ-like attributes: faith in Jesus Christ, hope, and charity. I challenge you to continue to learn more about the Savior and to contemplate Him as the perfect role model of faith, hope, and charity. I promise you that if you truly desire to be like Him and to do His will that your faith in Him will increase, your hearts will be knit together with your brothers and sisters in hope, your capacity will increase to emulate Him and His pure and perfect charity, and, together with others who heed this challenge, you will make a positive and lasting difference. In His holy name, even the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
1. Richard O. Cowan, “The Design, Construction, and Role of the Salt Lake Temple,” in Salt Lake City: The Place Which God Prepared, ed. Scott C. Esplin and Kenneth L. Alford (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, 2011), 47–68.