Mormon Apostle Delivers BYU Commencement Address

Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints delivered the spring commencement address at Brigham Young University on Thursday.

A former president of BYU, Elder Oaks addressed graduates and their families in the university’s Marriot Center in Provo, Utah.

In his remarks, Elder Oaks acknowledged both the opportunities and the challenges that graduates would soon face upon leaving school. “The answer to all of these challenges is the same as it has always been,” he said. “We have a Savior.”

Elder Oaks further declared, “I testify that His teachings are true and that the way He has marked out is the way to peace in this world and everlasting life in the world to come.”

In addition to these words of comfort and encouragement, Elder Oaks provided graduates with both practical and spiritual counsel by quoting the teachings of the second president of the Church, Brigham Young.

“In establishing the academy that was to grow into Brigham Young University, this great founder taught that education was an imperative in the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Elder Oaks said, adding these words from Brigham Young: “All our educational pursuits are in the service of God, for all these labors are to establish truth on the earth, and that we may increase knowledge, wisdom, [and] understanding.”

In addition to Elder Oaks’s service in the Quorum of Twelve Apostles and as a university president, he has served as a justice on the Utah Supreme Court, a law professor at the University of Chicago Law School and a law clerk to Chief Justice Earl Warren of the United States Supreme Court.

BYU’s commencement exercises were conducted by BYU president and emeritus General Authority of the Church Elder Cecil O. Samuelson. BYU is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Each year it grants nearly 8,500 degrees to students during commencements held in April and August.