The Savior saw people deeply and did not shy away from an uncomfortable conversation or interaction, noted Brigham Young University President C. Shane Reese.
Instead, Jesus spoke to individuals. “He sat with the woman at the well. He broke bread and washed the feet of His disciples. He noticed those who were on the periphery; He blessed the children and the sick and afflicted when He visited the Nephites; He sensed when a woman merely touched the hem of His garment.
“Such profound individual ministering is rarely convenient by the world’s standards. But if such moments are important enough for God’s only Begotten Son, then they should be important for each of us,” President Reese declared.
Speaking to students gathered Tuesday, Sept. 8, in the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, for the opening devotional of the fall semester, President Reese encouraged listeners to similarly follow the example of the Savior.
“I beg you to sit a little longer with a friend in need. Give a few more smiles. Struggle a little harder together on that group project that’s already due two weeks into the semester. Start a conversation with someone you don’t know at the Cougareat.
“Hear God more and your earbuds less.”
‘Embrace the awkward’
As he was preparing to serve a full-time mission, President Reese had a stake president offer some advice: “Embrace the awkward.”
In other words, when doors slammed or he struggled with a foreign language or he didn’t know what to say, he needed to “get comfortable with the uncomfortable.”
A new semester can mean new friends, new professors, new roommates and possibly a new romance, President Reese noted. “All this newness invariably means plenty of awkward moments. And that’s great — fantastic even — because awkwardness in my experience is a sign of growth.”
No one can master anything by staying within the safety of what they already know. “There must be productive struggle and frequent failure,” President Reese told students. “So don’t be embarrassed by the stumbles. Champion them. They are badges of becoming.”
Even Jesus Christ grew from grace to grace. “So be patient. That’s not abandoning the quest for excellence, it’s charting the road map for achieving it.”
President Reese noted that modern technology, including artificial intelligence, is creating an “unrelenting push toward more convenience and less friction.”
As a campus and as individuals, “We can’t let technology’s endless march toward a frictionless society lead to what experts call cognitive offloading or moral atrophy by allowing algorithms to do the thinking for us,” said President Reese.
“So what actions can you take today? First, remove your earbuds on campus. Second, bury your phone deep in your backpack.”
Doing what’s harder but better
The easy move in almost any social setting is to scroll on a phone or turn on a podcast, said President Reese. “The harder but better move — the move where the magic comes in — is when you open your mouth and talk to the person sitting alone one table over, or when you strike up small talk while you’re standing in [a] long line.”
President Reese said he received a letter from BYU alums he identified as Mike and Carol. Mike came to BYU on a basketball scholarship and was not a member of the Church. While standing in the add/drop line, Carol struck up a conversation with Mike. They later went on a date. Thanks in part to Carol’s fellowship, Mike joined the Church and served a mission. Today, the two have five children, 17 grandchildren and have served two missions for the Church.
“What if Carol hadn’t talked to Mike, or what if Mike had earbuds in while standing in the add/drop line?” President Reese asked.
He added, “So embrace the awkward. Embrace the human. Say something to one of God’s children. Find some friction. Who knows, it might even generate some honor code appropriate sparks.”
Having a machine lift weight for you won’t build your muscles, said President Reese. “Having artificial intelligence write and think for you won’t develop your intellect, character or social skills. Taking up your cross so often requires first putting down your phone.”
Find ways to turn off screens and look to Jesus, he continued. “Christ could not have ministered to the woman taken in adultery had he avoided the uncomfortable conversation. The Savior would never have seen Zaccheaus up in a tree had he been staring down at a literal scroll.”
In her remarks, Sister Wendy Reese invited listeners at the outset of a new semester to develop “ears to hear” or “to really hear the instructions from heaven that God wants to give to you and then to have the faith to follow them. What I hope you feel today is a greater desire to turn to the Lord, to seek Him in your daily life and to let Him be the first one you turn to.”
