Elder Rowe Invites Ensign College Students to Act in Faith

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By Jackie Asher, Church News

Elder Edward B. Rowe, a General Authority Seventy, recently learned that Ensign College President Bruce C. Kusch teaches students at Ensign College not to say “I can’t do this,” but to instead say, “I can’t do this yet.” 

Elder Rowe said he’s thought a lot about the word “yet” after hearing that sentiment. 

“It acknowledges where you are, but it leaves room for the Lord to help you develop and grow,” said Elder Rowe. 

He said the word is filled with faith and is another way of expressing what the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” 

That, Elder Rowe said, was the heart of the message he shared with Ensign College students during the January 20 campus devotional at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. 

“By exercising faith in Jesus Christ, He will strengthen you to do things you simply cannot do on your own,” Elder Rowe told students. “He will enable you to do all that will be required of you.” 

Get Out of the Boat 

When Elder Rowe was serving as a mission president, he asked Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles how he could help his missionaries develop faith in Jesus Christ in order to receive His strengthening power. 

Referencing the story of Peter walking on the water, Elder Bednar replied that missionaries must be invited to “get out of the boat.” 

According to Elder Rowe, Elder Bednar explained that “the apostle Peter’s faith in Christ grew because the Savior invited him to do something he could not do on his own — to jump out of the boat and walk on water.” 

Elder Rowe said faith in Christ does not grow by doing what’s easy or familiar, and faith must precede the miracle. 

“Remember, what we call a problem the Lord often sees as an opportunity to increase our faith — an invitation to get out of the boat, an invitation to trust Him, an invitation to move beyond ‘yet,’” he said. 

Strength to Do What Seems Impossible 

Elder Rowe illustrated the power that comes from exercising faith in Jesus Christ with the story of one Ensign College graduate named Vicky Tadić Dean. 

Elder Rowe’s family met Tadić Dean while living in Bosnia for Elder Rowe’s job. She was one of the few English speakers in the area and became friends with Elder Rowe’s oldest son. Soon, Tadić Dean accepted an invitation to attend church with the Rowes, which they held in their home since they were the only Church members in the country. 

Over the next several months, Tadić Dean and her family became the first in Bosnia to be taught the restored gospel and join the Church. 

The family began to experience intense religious persecution, and in an effort to protect his family, Tadić Dean’s father stopped attending worship services and identifying as a member of the Church. 

Despite this, Tadić Dean remained faithful and refused to abandon her beliefs, metaphorically stepping out of the boat, said Elder Rowe. 

Eventually, Tadić Dean had the opportunity to study at Ensign College in Utah. She eventually married and moved away before graduating. 

After two children and five years of marriage, Tadić Dean found herself a single mother due to circumstances she never could have imagined, Elder Rowe said. She returned to school at Ensign College, where she completed 20 credit hours per semester while also working and raising a 1-year-old and 5-year-old. 

“It would have been easy for her to throw her hands up in despair and become bitter toward God for her life not turning out the way she had hoped and perhaps felt she deserved for being faithful, but she didn’t,” said Elder Rowe. “She stepped out of the boat again, to do what seemed impossible.” 

Tadić Dean graduated at the top of her class and secured a job at a hospital. She met and was sealed to a “wonderful man,” said Elder Rowe, and the couple welcomed a baby boy over the past summer. 

“Walking with the Savior, she received His strength and had blessings come her way,” said Elder Rowe. “Life still has its challenges, but she presses forward with faith in Jesus Christ.” 

A Handbook for Greater Faith 

Elder Rowe closed by inviting students to prayerfully read from the Book of Mormon every day and learn from individuals like Nephi, who acted in faith. 

“As you do, I promise you that the Book of Mormon will become your personal handbook for discovering how Christ can make you mighty through exercising faith in Him, just as He did for them.” 

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