The Tuesday after April 2023 general conference, Elder Alvin F. Meredith III received a phone call from Elder Brooke P. Hales, the secretary to the First Presidency, saying the First Presidency would like to meet with him and his wife, Sister Jennifer Meredith, in three weeks.
At the time, Elder Meredith, a General Authority Seventy, was serving in the Middle East/Africa North Area presidency, which was based out of Salt Lake City. As he and Sister Meredith pondered the possibilities, they wondered if maybe they were going to be asked to move their family to the Middle East to open up the area office.
Instead, Elder Meredith received his assignment to be the next president of Brigham Young University–Idaho. “We walked into this meeting with the First Presidency thinking we might be moving to Dubai, and we walked out with an assignment to go to Rexburg, Idaho,” Elder Meredith said.
The announcement of Elder Meredith’s appointment was made during a devotional on May 16, 2023, and he was officially inaugurated as the 18th president of BYU–Idaho on Aug. 1, 2023.
It would be an understatement to say the call was a surprise, said now-President Meredith. But “it’s just been a sweet journey since then.”
The Church News recently sat down with President and Sister Meredith, who shared their thoughts and perspective about education, the mission of BYU–Idaho and three lessons they’ve learned over the past year and a half.
1. The Lord will ‘help us get through the hard things’
Between President Meredith’s career as an executive at a global technology firm and his Church assignments, their family — including their six children — have had to relocate to Tennessee, Hong Kong, Singapore, Utah and now Idaho.
Sister Meredith recalled the experience of one of their daughters who was struggling following the move from Singapore to West Jordan, Utah, during her sophomore year of high school.
One day, Sister Meredith had a meeting and asked this daughter if she would pick up her younger brothers from school, not knowing that her daughter had an exam to study for and a big assignment to finish.
However, the daughter said “yes” and later told her mom, “I knew that you were serving the Lord full time, and I knew that if you needed my help, that the Lord would help me.”
That’s a lesson they’ve learned as a family, said Sister Meredith. “If we are where the Lord wants us to be, doing what He wants us to do, He will help us. He’ll help us get through the hard things.”
2. The strength of the rising generation
A common narrative today is that young people are less faithful or less interested in religion than previous generations.
That has not been the Merediths’ experience. Their time as mission leaders and now as university leaders has been inspiring, Sister Meredith said. “I think the thing that has been so amazing with these young adults is that they’re not the future leaders; they are leading now. We have so much hope and optimism in this generation that is preparing the world for the Savior’s Second Coming.”
The increase in seminary and institute attendance and enrollment at Church schools, as well as the number of missionaries and young people’s greater involvement in the temple, “suggests that there’s lots to be hopeful about,” said President Meredith.
Besides the empirical data, the Merediths also have frequent anecdotal evidence as they rub shoulders with students. “They’re not perfect. They’re carrying their own crosses, like we all do, but they are striving to be disciples,” President Meredith said. “They embrace the mission of BYU–Idaho to develop as disciples of Christ, and they’re growing in their discipleship.”
3. The strengths of BYU–Idaho
Bucking recent trends in higher education in the United States, BYU–Idaho has continued to grow. The university recently welcomed the largest class in its history last semester.
That is driven by three things, said President Meredith: cost, jobs and values. BYU–Idaho’s tuition is less than half the cost of a typical four-year public institution, with very strong job-placement rates.
The Merediths also mentioned the school’s teachers, who help prepare students for real-world jobs, in addition to the university’s Learning Model, which invites students to be active, prepared participants in the learning process, not just passive listeners.
President Meredith called the university’s continued growth a “wonderful convergence” of a greater recognition in the membership of the Church, including nontraditional students, who are seeking for something that’s uniquely provided at BYU–Idaho, “which is an institution that’s resolutely focused on its mission to develop disciples of Christ, provide a great education that prepares one for their life’s work at a very affordable cost and a very fun and vibrant environment.”
