Ensign-SAFE-Faith-1.jpg
Ensign College students gather in the multipurpose room of the Triad Center building in downtown Salt Lake City on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, for the first campus devotional of the spring semester with Ensign College President Bruce C. Kusch and his wife, Sister Alynda Kusch. Photo courtesy of Ensign College, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.
By Eastin Hartzell, Church News
Ensign College President Bruce C. Kusch invited students to be ‘SAFE’ in their faith as he spoke at the first campus devotional of the spring block on May 6, 2025.
He introduced four principles behind the SAFE acronym:
- “Seeking with faith.
- “Acting with faith.
- “Following with faith.
- “Expecting with faith that our faith will be tested.”
“I testify that these are true principles,” President Kusch said, “I know that trusting God, Jesus Christ, and those we sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators is ‘SAFE,’ and we will be blessed beyond measure as we do so.”
Seeking With Faith
“There is no better example in this dispensation of seeking with faith than that of the Prophet Joseph Smith,” President Kusch taught.
Joseph Smith understood that diligent study and meaningful prayer are foundational to seeking with faith.
“Joseph’s seeking led him to conclude that he must ask of God,” said President Kusch. “He would have to act. And once he knew which church was true, he was determined to act upon what he would learn.”
Although God’s answers may not always come in the ways one expects or hopes, President Kusch testified that God’s plan is always best.
He shared an experience from April 1988, when he felt a sense of “spiritual restlessness.” That impression led him to prepare to teach at Ricks College (now BYU–Idaho).
Ensign-SAFE-Faith-2.jpg
Ensign College President Bruce C. Kusch speaks during the first campus devotional of the spring block in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. Photo courtesy of Ensign College, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.Acting With Faith
“Don’t wait for God to reveal His entire plan for you. He won’t do that. But as you act, you will come to know,” President Kusch said.
Following the prompting he received, he enrolled in a part-time MBA program — despite working a demanding job that required frequent travel and serving in a stake presidency.
“There were moments when I wanted to give up, but I never lost sight of my goal and the powerful spiritual impressions that had come,” he said.
Following With Faith
While completing his final MBA course, President Kusch discovered a job opening at BYU–Idaho that “was as if it had been written with me in mind.”
As he pondered whether to apply, a distinct impression came to his heart and mind:
“Bruce, this is your window of opportunity; it is opening for you now. You can choose to proceed or not; it is your choice. But understand that if you don’t act now, the blessing will be someone else‘s, and the window of opportunity will never again open for you.”
Encouraged by his wife, he applied. After receiving an interview invitation President Kusch made the flight from San Jose, California to Idaho Falls, Idaho. While waiting for his shuttle, a car sped through a puddle and was drenched in mud and water. Miraculously, his suit was spotless the next day.
That boost of confidence helped him face seven interviews, a class of 100 students, and meeting with then-university president David A. Bednar, now of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
A few weeks later, President Kusch received a job offer from the dean of the College of Business and Communications.
“We knew then it was meant to be,” he said.
Ensign-SAFE-Faith-3.jpg
Ensign College President Bruce C. Kusch and his wife, Sister Alynda Kusch, greet students after speaking during the first campus devotional of the spring block in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. Photo courtesy of Ensign College, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.Expecting With Faith That Our Faith Will Be Tested
“We have to know that our faith will be tested,” President Kusch said. “I am confident that many here this morning could share tender personal experiences of their very personal trials and testing.”
Drawing on both his own experiences and scriptural truths, he reminded students that Jesus Christ understands every form of trial.
“No one endured more than the Savior,” he said. “None of us can fully comprehend the depth of His suffering, His agony in the Garden and His infinite and eternal testing and sacrifice.”
Because of Christ, all can turn to Him in their afflictions.
“As you endure with faith and show the Lord that you are firmly planted on His side,” President Kusch promised, “blessings you can hardly imagine will come.”
Ensign-SAFE-Faith-4.jpg
Sister Alynda Kusch, wife of Ensign College President Bruce C. Kusch, speaks during the first campus devotional of the spring block in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. Photo courtesy of Ensign College, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.Spiritual Staying Power
Just as President Kusch taught students to be firmly planted on the Lord’s side, Sister Kusch encouraged students to gain spiritual staying power.
“Spiritual staying power is the desire to worship with other Saints, to believe and follow Jesus Christ,” she taught.
Drawing on her experience surviving the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in Northern California, Sister Kusch testified that discipleship requires firm spiritual grounding. “Go where the ground is solid and stay there,” she said.
She invited students to “be securely bolted to the true foundation, even Jesus Christ.”
Ensign-SAFE-Faith-5.jpg
Ensign College students gather in the multipurpose room of the Triad Center building in downtown Salt Lake City on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, for the first campus devotional of the spring block with Ensign College President Bruce C. Kusch and his wife, Sister Alynda Kusch. Photo courtesy of Ensign College, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.Copyright 2025 Deseret News Publishing Company.