I consider it a great privilege to speak at this global young adult devotional. In the over thirty years that I have served as a General Authority I have been blessed to visit most of the countries where you live. The islands of the sea are specifically mentioned in the first verse in the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants. [1] I love the islands of the sea. As a young man I served a mission in the British Isles. As a new General Authority, I served in the Philippine Islands and then New Zealand where I was Area President of the islands in the South and North Pacific.
In addition, I have had assignments on the major continents and all fifty states in the United States. I have visited and had assignments in almost all the places where you marvelous young adults live. In my mind’s eye, I can imagine you watching this event across the entire world.
This devotional is originating in Hawaii on the BYU–Hawaii campus and it is a great pleasure for me and my wife, Mary, and Elder James R. Rasband and his wife, Mary to join with students here, your marvelous president, John (Keoni) S.K. Kauwe, III, his wife, Monica, and your talented faculty. We are grateful for President Kauwe’s remarkable service and his renewed health. Elder Rasband is the Commissioner of Education. He is an exceptionally capable leader. I’m grateful for the consultation and assistance he has provided to me.
I first visited BYU–Hawaii sixty-seven years ago in the fall of 1959 when I was 19 years old. Hawaii had just been admitted as a new state in the United States of America on August 21, 1959. As part of that celebration, Utah State University had been invited to play the University of Hawaii in American football. I was a student body officer at Utah State University, and we student officers paid our own way and accompanied the football team to Hawaii.
President David O. McKay, who was then the president and prophet of the Church, learned of our trip and invited us to meet with him at Church headquarters. [2] It was the first time I had personally met and spoken to a prophet, and I was deeply impressed with his countenance and spirit. He was warm and gracious to us. President McKay spoke about this institution, here in Hawaii, with great enthusiasm.
President McKay had dedicated the first permanent building for this institution the previous year. [3] He asked if we would meet with the students, faculty, and administrators; give them his love and blessing; and encourage them in every possible way.
I can remember to this day the feelings of awe that I experienced when I first saw this beautiful setting—the ocean, the mountains, the temple. The magnificent vistas. They are as inspiring today as they were then. As part of that trip, we also met with the first governor of Hawaii, William F. Quinn. [4]
In this picture I am the one on the far left and Rolfe Kerr is next to me. Elder Kerr and I became General Authorities on the same day in 1996. He served as Commissioner of Education for the Church and is now an emeritus General Authority. We are dear friends.
Let me share what President McKay said in his dedicatory prayer one year before our visit:
“May there radiate from these buildings an aura of light as tangible as personality radiates from each individual, influencing all to live clean and upright lives, to seek truth diligently, to be inspired so to live that others seeing their good deeds may live to glorify Thee, our Creator, our Father, our God.” [5]
Although President McKay was speaking about BYU–Hawaii, his beautiful words should resonate with each of us who have been commanded by the Savior to let our “light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” [6] Standing today on a campus with a prophetic mandate to be a light and speaking to young adults all around the world who have been given the same charge by the Savior Jesus Christ, I have titled my talk, “Be a Light.”
As a prelude to the significance of “being a light” let me share one of the most inspiring talks I ever heard. It occurred when I was a relatively new missionary in the British mission in 1960.
The meeting included twelve missionaries—ten elders and two sisters—gathered for our regular Bristol District and testimony meeting. Each missionary shared a brief message and bore a testimony. Because our group was small it was relatively informal. When one of the sisters stood to speak, she carried a tray holding twelve glasses and a pitcher of water. She had the glasses upside-down on purpose. With an easy manner, she began pouring the water over the glasses. Because the glasses were upside down the water splashed everywhere.
She paused, smiled, and said, “These glasses are like us at times. They are upside-down, and not able to have water poured into them.” She then made a profound analogy: the flowing water represents blessings, guidance, and inspiration the Lord showers down upon us.
At times, we may be like the upside-down glasses—not spiritually prepared to receive the blessings, guidance, and inspiration that are always available for our benefit.
She then turned the glasses upright and prayed that we would have the humility and spirituality to receive the light, guidance, and blessings that a loving Father in Heaven and our Savior, Jesus Christ are prepared to bestow upon us.
Now, I promise you that I will not pour water on you here! I do pray that each of us will remain open and prepared to receive spiritual impressions here today. With the anger, contention, and division that exists in our day we must never forget the blessings that are available to us.
My primary message to you young adults is to “Be a Light” in these difficult times.
When Mary and I were still in our twenties in the 1960s, the turbulence, anger, and social unrest was similar to what we have experienced recently. We lived in the San Francisco California Bay Area.
I think most people comparing our current period to the 1960s would agree that period was even more toxic, violent, and contentious than our own day.
In 1963, I was in the Stanford Law Library when I learned that President John F. Kennedy had been shot and assassinated and that was followed over the next few years with the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.
Riots, especially over the war in Vietnam were extensive. A drug culture exploded. The drug culture that began in the Haight-Ashbury District in San Francisco soon was prevalent across many areas of the country and the world.
Students occupied university buildings and refused to allow college presidents to even enter their own offices on campus. The combination of these events was destabilizing.
It was so serious that our stake president asked the Quorum of the Twelve whether members would be wise to stay in the California Bay Area. Elder Harold B. Lee responded to this challenge and met with us. We were blessed to receive counsel from Elder Lee; who was a senior leader in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and later President of the Church. We appreciated his counsel then and I cherish it now.
Elder Lee’s counsel was to always follow the prophet. He then assured us that we would be guided and blessed if we followed three additional principles.
First, build Zion in our hearts and in our homes.
Second, be a light and an example in your community.
And third, focus our vision and goals on the ordinances and principles taught and performed in the temple. [7]
Elder Lee promised that we would be protected if we followed these principles, and we could live anywhere in the world and raise our families in the gospel.
In my view, these principles are as relevant today as they were over fifty years ago. They apply not just to San Francisco but to all the countries and cities around the world where those of you listening live. If you follow these principles, you can build Zion wherever you live.
I want to emphasize today primarily the second principle: “Be a Light and an example in your community.”
Elder Lee’s second principle was a reminder of the Savior’s teaching as part of the Sermon on the Mount, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” [8]
What does it mean to be a light unto the world?
The Savior made it clear that part of being a light was to let others “see your good works.” [9]
Sometimes in our efforts to be humble we do not appropriately let people know that we are members of the Lord’s Church and follow His teachings.
There are many ways to do this. As I taught at the last general conference, living lives of integrity and virtue will be most important. [10] Who you are is the key. An old adage declares, “What you do speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you are saying.” [11]
How you spend your time and the service you render will be important. Strive to spend some time in service to the community in addition to your service to members. [12]
It is important to be a light on the hill and be an example of a committed disciple of Jesus Christ. When you do this, you will help others to see their potential in a world where they might feel alone, unseen or spiritually disoriented. Light is most powerful when it is consistent and reliable; such as a lighthouse or a candle in a dark room.
We are not the source of light. Our hope is to reflect the light of the Savior, not to shine a light on ourselves.
Former President Russell M. Nelson taught, “...the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.” [13]
By being a light on the hill—by speaking normally and naturally about the gospel and Church—you can help to gather Israel.
It does not matter if your light feels small. “Out of small things proceedeth that which is great.” [14]
Remember light not only illuminates but it warms and comforts.
Elder Lee in his guidance to be a light and an example in our community was also challenging us to act with character and integrity. If we are to be a light, we should never seek to diminish the light of another. Hiding in the darkness of anonymity to say unkind or cruel things about another individual is incompatible with being a light. It is the opposite of letting your light shine. It is in a sense hiding your light.
One of the reasons we have so much contention in our day is that many people can easily wear camouflage in ways that did not exist in the past. Enhanced technology and the internet have allowed people to communicate using false identities. Because they are anonymous, they say and do things that in the past they would not have done if their true identity had been known. As a result, many people have abandoned the “high road.” This has coarsened society.
The issues around hiding one’s identity —wearing a “mask of anonymity” so to speak—and the temptation to act unkindly when acting anonymously are not new, but the ease of doing so and a societal willingness to allow it has had terrible consequences.
Do not harm or diminish anyone else physically, spiritually or reputationally. Do not dim their light.
Let me share a little history to help you better understand what I am saying.
A friend of mine, Abe Foxman, passed away in May of this year. [15] For many years, he was the national director of the Anti-Defamation League. He dealt primarily with antisemitism. He was a baby in Poland during the Holocaust in the early 1940’s and his Jewish parents placed him with a non-Jewish caretaker because their situation was so precarious.
On one occasion I asked him for counsel on how to avoid the terrible acts that some people commit. He thought for a minute and then explained the importance of not hiding their identity in any fashion. He described the Ku Klux Klan—it was an organization that was very influential and quite frightening to most Americans in the first part of the 1900’s. With identical robes and masks they made it impossible to identify the participants, they burned crosses on the lawns of those they targeted and appointed themselves as so called moral watch dogs. Among those most targeted were African Americans, but Catholics, Jews, and immigrants were as well. He noted that the majority of them without the mask were usually normal people, including businessmen and church goers. He pointed out that hiding their identity and wearing a mask enabled them to participate in activities that they would have normally avoided. Mr. Foxman’s counsel was to stress the importance of people avoiding masks that hide their true identity. [16]
His message reminded me of our Church’s experience with several acts of severe discrimination.
One example: In our early Church history, on March 24, 1832, the Prophet Joseph, Emma, and their 11-month-old adopted twins, Joseph and Julia were in Hiram, Ohio at the John and Elsa Johnson farmhouse. Both children were suffering from measles. Joseph and his little son were sleeping on a trundle bed near the front door.
During the night, a group of men with soot covering their faces burst through the door and dragged the Prophet outside where they beat him and threw hot tar on him and Sidney Rigdon.
When Emma saw the beaten and tarred Joseph approaching the door, she fainted. The Prophet was hardly recognizable—he had his clothes torn off of him, a chipped tooth, lacerations across his body, was missing a patch of hair, and covered in tar. Throughout the night, Emma and Elsa Johnson did their best to remove the tar from Joseph’s skin and hair. That morning, Joseph preached a sermon at the usual Sunday worship service and recognized several of the men from the mob in the congregation.
Beyond the aches and scars, the most tragic part of this mobbing was that little Joseph was exposed to the cold night air when his father was dragged away. He caught a severe cold and died later that week. [17]
A few years later those who participated in the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph and his brother, Hyrum, also painted their faces in an effort to hide their true identities. [18]
Those who camouflage their identity and enter into secret combinations are of particular concern. We learn in the Book of Mormon that Lucifer, “…stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.” [19]
Now, I am not suggesting that any of you would be involved in the kind of terrible events I have just described. I do believe, in our day, being anonymous and hiding one’s identity is easier than ever. Please do not hide in anonymity to say unkind or cruel things. Please be a light in every interaction.
One of your greatest protections about making bad choices is to not put on any mask of anonymity. If you ever find yourself wanting to do so, please know it is a serious sign of danger and one of the adversary’s tools to get you to do something you should not do. One of the reasons we advise missionaries to dress conservatively and wear a missionary badge is so that there will be no question as to who they are and how they should act.
Some will question: Isn’t that just superficial? I do not think so. In our day our manner of dress and adornment can be an indication of rebellion or lack of adherence to moral standards and negatively impact the moral standards of others.
Let me be clear, I am not criticizing modern technology and the blessings it provides. I have been talking about the misuse of modern technology. I am grateful that so many modern inventions relating to technology are blessing and protecting us and enhancing the Lord’s work.
Modern technology is allowing us to expand the family history tree and find our ancestors. Technology is also allowing seekers of truth and faith across the world to find the gospel of Jesus Christ on the internet.
In this self-centered age, social media can easily be used for self-promotion. It has never been more important to be both humble and grateful. Those who possess these attributes express appreciation for their blessings as they follow the Savior’s example.
In addition, I pray that you will each be a “beacon of light.”
A beacon of light is one who offers hope, guidance, and inspiration during dark, difficult, or uncertain times. One of the ways you can do this and bless the community where you choose to live is by being a “beacon light.”
Our scriptures speak of Jesus Christ as the light and life of the world. [20] His light is the “true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” [21] Beacon lights have most often been seen as a light on the shore that allow ships in dangerous weather conditions to find a safe harbor. In an October 2012 general conference talk President Boyd K. Packer described a terrifying personal experience in Samoa where those responsible for the lower beacon light had not kept it lighted and thus not provided a safe harbor during a ferocious tropical storm. [22]
Many people are experiencing all kinds of storms in their lives. You, young people, can be a beacon light to them through your example. It is important that you are not in camouflage.
During the 33 years I lived and worked in the San Francisco area, young adults, who decided to be in camouflage and did not let people know who they were and what they believed, were often exposed to difficult and challenging circumstances. They were offered alcohol and invited to events that were inconsistent with being a faithful member of the Church.
Those who were beacon lights, not in camouflage and let people know who they were and what they believed were not exposed to the same temptations. So, they were not only a blessing to others but also blessed and protected themselves. My counsel to you is to be a beacon light and make a positive contribution to the communities where you live.
President Russell M. Nelson and President Dallin H. Oaks have encouraged us to be beacons of light by being peacemakers.
President Oaks as the new prophet addressed this in his April 2026 conference talk. [23] He taught:
- Peacemakers love their adversaries.
- Peacemakers forego harsh and hurtful words in all their communications.
- Peacemakers “involve themselves in service projects and other acts of kindness.” [24]
- Sharing the gospel of peace is peacemaking.
- Being a peacemaker “does not mean surrendering our values.” [25]
President David O. McKay when he was counseling us about our trip to this institution emphasized how this college, like the Church, would create belonging despite many differences. He told us that BYU–Hawaii would be a melting pot of people from different cultures and races around the entire Pacific Rim. It would be a laboratory for learning peacemaking.
In President McKay’s dedicatory prayer, he taught a related principle that applies to each of us, no matter where we are across the world. Praying to Heavenly Father, he said, “Thou hast emphasized the responsibility [which] rests upon Thy people to carry the message of the Restoration of the Gospel to all nations. Thus, dost Thou emphasize the fact that it is not sufficient merely to testify to the world of the Restoration but to present the principles of the gospel in an intelligent manner that the honest in heart may be convinced of the truth and may be led … into the way of righteousness.” [26]
We cannot carry the message of the Restoration to all the world—we cannot be the light the Lord wants us to be—if we are not peacemakers. Part of being a light is being a peacemaker and seeking unity. We live in a moment of particularly strong divisions. However, the millions who have accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ have committed themselves to achieving both righteousness and unity.
President Nelson asked us, “to demonstrate greater civility, racial and ethnic harmony and mutual respect.” [27] “This means loving each other and God and accepting everyone as brothers and sisters and truly being a Zion people.” [28]
The following statement of the Prophet Joseph Smith is an example of being both a beacon of light and an example of being a light on the hill. He said, “I am bold to declare before Heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of any other denomination; for the same principle which would trample upon the rights of the Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of the Roman Catholics, or of any other denomination who may be unpopular and too weak to defend themselves. It is a love of liberty which inspires my Soul, civil and religious liberty to the whole of the human race...” [29]
As we consider how to be a light, there is one path that is most sure. It is to learn of the Savior and strive to become like Him. My counsel to you is to focus on Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. He is the ‘Light of the World,’ [30] the true source of Light and Peace. He has declared: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” [31]
In a time when contention and controversy are so dominate, we should follow the Savior’s admonition to be a light. There are many ways to follow this counsel. I have reviewed four:
First, be a light on the hill by being an example as the Lord taught in the Sermon on the Mount.
Second, part of being a light is not diminishing the light of others or engaging in conduct that condones contention and controversy.
Third, be a beacon light—one who offers hope, guidance, and inspiration during dark, difficult, or uncertain times. Let your true identity be known and your faith shine.
Finally, recognize that Jesus Christ is the light, and the Savior of the world. We should promulgate principles that respect agency for all and use our light to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Because the Lord provides blessings, guidance, and inspiration—if we use that to live the principles of the gospel then we can receive the wonderful blessings promised by King Benjamin in Mosiah 2:41.
“And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.” [32]
I am grateful for this precious promise. I testify of the divinity of the Savior and the reality of the Atonement. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes:
[1] Doctrine and Covenants 1:1
[2] Deseret News, November 28, 1959, 2. President David O. McKay met with Utah State University student body officers, Quentin L. Cook, Rolfe Kerr, student body president; Chuck Hyer, Alice Thorpe, and Dorothy Alleen, in the Church Office Building prior to them leaving. President McKay asked them to deliver a personal message to the University of Hawaii
[3] On July 2, 1954, President David O. McKay, announced the establishment of a college in Hawaii. The campus was dedicated on December 17, 1958. See https://about.byuh.edu/brief-history
[4] Photo from Elder Quentin L. Cook’s Utah State University 1960 Yearbook. The photo is of Utah State University student body officers and the first Hawaiian governor. Left to right: Quentin L. Cook, Rolfe Kerr, Governor William F. Quinn, Chuck Hyer, Alice Thorpe, and Dorothy Alleen
[5] David O. McKay, “Church College of Hawaii Dedicatory Address and Prayer,” [Brigham Young University–Hawaii dedication, December 16, 1958], speeches.byuh.edu
[6] Matthew 5:16
[7] Quentin L. Cook, “Great Expectations” [Brigham Young University devotional, November 10, 2020], speeches.byu.edu
[8] Matthew 5:14-16
[9] Matthew 5:16
[10] Quentin L. Cook, “Integrity and Virtue Lead to Happiness,” Liahona, November 2026
[11] In his 1876 essay collection Letters and Social Aims (in the essay "Social Aims"), Ralph Waldo Emerson actually wrote: "Don't say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary." https://medium.com/golden-eggs/what-you-do-speaks-so-loudly-i-cannot-hear-what-you-are-saying-92fbfdf52472/ Over the late 19th and 20th centuries, writers, speakers, and sermons streamlined and paraphrased Emerson's original thought into modern variations like "What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say." https://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/01/27/what-you-do-speaks/
[12] JustServe.org is a community service initiative to help people follow the Savior’s admonition to “love they neighbor as thyself.” (Matthew 22:39). See https://www.justserve.org/
[13] Russell M. Nelson, “Joy and Spiritual Survival,” Liahona or Ensign, November 2016, 82
[14] Doctrine and Covenants 64:33; See also, Alma 37:6
[15] https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/10/obituaries/abraham-foxman-dead; See also, https://www.adl.org/resources/press-release/adl-mourns-passing-national-director-emeritus-abraham-h-foxman
[16] Quentin L. Cook, “What E're Thou Art, Act Well Thy Part,” [CES Devotional for Young Adults, March 4, 2012], newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org
[17] Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, vol. 1, The Standard of Truth, 1815–1846 [2018], 150–153
[18] Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 24
[19] 2 Nephi 9:9; See also, 3 Nephi 6:27–30
[20] 3 Nephi 11:11
[21] Doctrine and Covenants 93:2
[22] Boyd K. Packer, “The Atonement,” Liahona or Ensign, November 2012
[23] Dallin H. Oaks, “Alive in Christ,” Liahona, May 2026
[24] Dallin H. Oaks, “Alive in Christ,” Liahona, May 2026
[25] Dallin H. Oaks, “Alive in Christ,” Liahona, May 2026
[26] David O. McKay, “Church College of Hawaii Dedicatory Address and Prayer,” [Brigham Young University–Hawaii dedication, December 16, 1958], speeches.byuh.edu
[27] Russell M. Nelson, “First Presidency and NAACP Leaders Call for Greater Civility, Racial Harmony,” [May 17, 2018], newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org; See also, “President Nelson Remarks at Worldwide Priesthood Celebration,” [June 1, 2018], newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org
[28] Quentin L. Cook, “Hearts Knit in Righteousness and Unity,” Liahona or Ensign, November 2020, 19
[29] Joseph Smith, History, 1838–1856, volume E-1, July 9, 1844, 1666, josephsmithpapers.org
[30] John 8:12
[31] John 14:27
[32] Mosiah 2:41