PROVO, Utah — In August 2021, then-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who now serves as acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, pleaded with Brigham Young University faculty and staff to defend the university’s unique mission.
In his BYU University Conference address titled “The Second Half of the Second Century of Brigham Young University,” Elder Holland asked the BYU community to “keep [BYU] not only standing but standing for what she uniquely and prophetically was meant to be.”
In speaking at the same University Conference four years later, Elder Clark G. Gilbert, a General Authority Seventy and the commissioner of Church education, both thanked faculty and staff for their efforts in that endeavor and charged them to continue to be deliberate in furthering the mission of BYU.
“May we be more deliberate in that mission as we embark on the second half of the second century of Brigham Young University,” said Elder Gilbert during the 2025 University Conference held in the Marriott Center on Monday, Aug. 25.
BYU’s unique mission
Elder Gilbert began his remarks to the roughly 3,500 faculty and employees gathered in the Marriott Center roughly a week before BYU’s fall semester begins by highlighting the school’s unique mission.
The title of Elder Holland’s 2021 address references a 1976 talk given at BYU by Church President Spencer W. Kimball; in that address, titled “Second Century Address,” President Kimball urged the BYU community to be “unique” and “special.”
BYU is unique among the secular academy but also within the Church Educational System, Elder Gilbert observed. “As the flagship of the Church Educational System, BYU has a distinctive responsibility to engage the world without being defined by the world.”
Or, as President Kimball described, BYU must “speak with authority and excellence … in the language of scholarship” while still being “literate in the language of spiritual things.”
Bumper lanes vs. bowling for a strike
Five years ago, Elder Holland spoke with Elder Gilbert about whether BYU was realizing its prophetic potential.
Elder Gilbert said he noted to Elder Holland that the university had “bumper lanes” — such as the honor code, academic freedom policy, religion classes and devotionals — to protect the school from getting too far off spiritually.
Elder Holland quickly responded, “Bumper lanes are very different than bowling for a strike.”
In speaking to faculty on Monday, Elder Gilbert explained that “bowling for a strike” means moving past guidelines and choosing to be more deliberate in one’s stewardship. “How does our mission shape the way we prepare and mentor incoming students, design our general education curriculum, inspire research and teaching, shape distinctive research questions and construct proprietary data sets? How does our mission shape the way we engage in public scholarship and communicate our impact to the world?” he asked.
Over the summer, Elder Gilbert said, he has reviewed prophetic messages given at BYU since he became commissioner. In messages from President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, and President Holland, as well as Elder David A. Bednar, Elder D. Todd Christofferson and Elder Ronald A. Rasband, all of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Gilbert said he noticed two recurring themes:
- “BYU needs to be increasingly deliberate about its distinctive mission.
- “The Lord will use this university in preparation for His return.”
He added, “The consistent nature of these messages should be a witness not only of prophetic inspiration but also of the importance of this university to the work of the Lord.”
Prophetic direction
An important way to “bowl for a strike” is to deliberately point students to prophetic counsel, said Elder Gilbert, particularly what President Russell M. Nelson has taught young adults.
The counsel the Prophet has given to young adults is designed to help them prepare for the return of the Savior, Elder Gilbert observed. “To apply President Nelson’s words to this university, I believe the Lord will use BYU to ‘help prepare a people who will help prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord’ (”The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again," October 2024 general conference). In many ways, this is the mission of BYU.”
BYU celebrations
Also attending the 2025 University Conference — during which awards and recognitions were given to several BYU faculty and staff members — were Sister Christine Gilbert and BYU President C. Shane Reese and his wife, Sister Wendy Reese.
President Reese acknowledged the university’s upcoming milestone — its 150th anniversary. He highlighted a smattering of the myriad celebrations — including events, service opportunities and a new ice cream flavor at the BYU Creamery — planned for the coming year.
“These celebrations aim to highlight the ‘gifts of light given to us and gifts of light we can share with others’ that ‘all may be edified of all,’” said President Reese.
Previously, President Reese has spoken of expanding mission-inspired scholarship, specifically in areas related to religion, the family, human flourishing and religious freedom. During his address to faculty on Monday, the university president announced another area of focus: poverty alleviation.
“Together, these — and many other projects — reflect BYU’s mission to combine learning and Christlike service. And as our campus becomes more organized and coordinated in the months and years ahead, we anticipate the impact for good will only increase,” said President Reese.
