LAIE, Hawaii — Elder D. Todd Christofferson reminded the 248 seniors who graduated June 18 from BYU-Hawaii — 50 years after Church President David O. McKay founded the school — that they are "the beneficiaries of prophetic vision, freely contributed labor, professional direction and instruction, and the tithes and sacrifices of millions."
"You cannot directly repay those whose service and contribution have blessed you with the capacities, talents, and opportunities that are now yours," Elder Christofferson of the Presidency of the Seventy told the graduates in the Cannon Activities Center. "But your life and your service and your contribution can bless others in the years ahead as you have been blessed. That will be a fitting expression of gratitude to all who have, directly and indirectly, helped you, and really, they ask no other reward."
In addressing the new graduates — approximately one-third of whom come from outside the United States — Elder Christofferson referred to three purposes President David O. McKay outlined in his December 1958 dedicatory prayer of the Church College of Hawaii campus (which became BYU-Hawaii in 1974): blessing students, advancing the Church, and blessing mankind.
"You have been blessed to learn in an environment that recognizes the value of both reason and faith," said Elder Christofferson. "I hope no one here ever seriously thought that graduation would represent the end of learning. You must stay up to date with the current fruits of science and reason, and you must pursue spiritual knowledge and understanding with even greater vigor.
"You graduates have been blessed with witnesses of enduring, unchanging truth, with sure standards of righteous conduct, with encouraging examples among professors and peers, with a knowledge of the great plan of happiness. Accordingly, you are men and women of great promise. Never let this blessing slip from your grasp by relaxing your devotion to the truths and standards of the gospel of Jesus Christ. . . .
"With the benefit of your BYU-Hawaii education, how can you use your experience to advance the Church and its work? I would suggest that your greatest contribution to the advancement of the Church, and the world, will be your witness of Jesus Christ, a witness that I am sure has been clarified and deepened by your experiences here."
Further, he said, "That we have a Redeemer makes all the difference here and hereafter. It is the work of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to proclaim this witness and to bring to all who will receive it the saving grace of the Son of God. Without your witness, people (including your own children) will not have faith in Him nor repent nor receive the covenants essential for salvation."
He also told the graduates that he believes the Lord expects them to become a blessing to the peoples and regions from which they came, citing several ways they can be of specific help. He spoke of the roles they can have in various professions, including business, government, agriculture, science and medicine, law, trades and technology. "You can and should be those who use your skills and talents, your mind and learning, to be of service to your fellowman, to bless as many in this world as your positive influence can possibly reach," he said.
"Remember that, above all else, it will be in the seemingly small things and in your own home and family where your life will have its greatest impact."
BYU-Hawaii presented its prestigious Distinguished Service Award to Dr. Dale A. Hammond, who started teaching at the university in 1959 when he established the first chemistry program and lab on campus, and retired in 2003.
Valedictorian Alisi Langi asked her fellow graduates if they had risen to a challenge delivered in a devotional last year by Elder David A. Bednar, now of the Quorum of the Twelve, in which he challenged the students who had been given much in the way of educational facilities and teachers, to do more.
Alumni Association President Les Steward urged the new graduates to "always remember those who made it possible for you to be here this day: Your parents, your family, your priesthood leaders, the labor missionaries, and the many wonderful individuals in and out of this great Church who have given generously of their means. . . ."
