Arapata Meha, dean of Admissions at BYUH, encourages students to trust in the Lord. Photo by Ryan Bagley.

Meha shared five principles that he said can help people gain the assurance and knowledge that Heavenly Father is there for His children and with Him, all things are possible.

The five principles include:

1. Believe in God, that He loves you and has a perfect plan
2. Fulfill all that He requires of you
3. Take Him at His word
4. Endure the daily challenges of life
5. Look to God and live

Toya Tumurgev, a BYUH student who is a Buddhist and an English teacher from Mongolia, attended the devotional. He said he “liked the talk very much. Brother Meha told us very interesting experiences from his family. I remember the five principles. I liked how the young people were listening and taking notes. Everything was so interesting and useful for young people to follow.”

Tumurgev continued, “You have to believe in God, do your best for God. The talk was very interesting.”

Having shared her impression on the devotional, Tumurgev added, “I’m a Buddhist, but I attend the church here. I just listen to them. The principles are almost the same. You are close to your family, and you support them.”

Another principle of the gospel Meha talked about during his devotional address is that people can discover what is expected of them by reading the scriptures and through sincere prayer.

“I cannot recall every passage I have read, but I will always cherish the feelings of gratitude and peace that confirm to my soul that Heavenly Father loves me,” said Meha.

Geralyn Ty Chico, sophomore in IBM from the Philippines, said she met Meha before coming to Hawaii, Meha was one of the individuals who encouraged her to attend BYUH.

“I know Brother Meha,” Chico said, adding that originally she “didn’t want to go to BYU at all.” But four months before the end of her mission, she said she talked with Meha and “received the strong prompting that I needed to go to BYUH.”

“In his talk, he talked a lot about trusting Heavenly Father,” said Chico. “In the devotional, I felt like I was at the [Missionary Training Center again] because the spirit was the same. It’s the same trust,” she commented.

“I have come across many people who hesitate to talk about that we are children of Heavenly Father,” Meha continued, “there’s nothing impossible because of that. We are not allowed to fear because we’re here doing what we’re supposed to do. We’re not going to fail. To see everyone as Heavenly Father’s child is something that I want to learn at BYUH.”

Bobure Borerei, sophomore in TESOL Education from Kiribati, said, “I liked it. I was not going to go to the devotional, but it was something that I really needed today. Just the whole message that with God nothing is impossible. It made me think that whatever trials I went through, God was with me, you know.”

Explaining how Lehi’s family journeyed in the Book of Mormon, Meha said, “Certainly one of the lessons we learn from Nephi, Laman, and Lemuel, as is evident from Nephi that the Lord may not always lighten our load. But if we trust God, He will increase our capacity to carry our burdens.”

Mingshan Wu, sophomore in accounting from Taiwan, said, “I really liked the topic today. Brother Meha said that with God nothing is impossible. I could feel he has a really strong faith in Heavenly Father. I always sleep in devotional, but I was awake the whole time today. If you feel stressful and you always believe in Heavenly Father, you can overcome it if you have faith.”

Hersshy Tapia Martinez, freshman in accounting from Mexico, said, “I liked how he explained about the five steps. He [shared] his beliefs in God, and supported his examples using the Book of Mormon. I liked that he shared his Dad’s example.”

During his devotional address, Meha told a story about his father volunteering to be go on a dangerous mission with a bomber squadron during a war. The spirit had prompted his father to raise his hand to volunteer, said Meha, a decision that ended up saving his life.

To read or watch Arapata Meha's address, click here.  

Comments (1)

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Correction
written by Drew , June 19, 2008

Nice story. But the caption says that he is "dead" of Admissions. :eek Cool! A resurrected administrative leader!

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