“My message to you today could be rephrased this way: Don’t be a squiggle. Be a spectacularly disciplined line,” said university President John S. Tanner in a devotional on Sept. 18 at the Cannon Activities Center.
President Tanner explained the origins of the words discipline and disciple. He said each word comes from Latin origins meaning to learn and be instructed. “When I use the term disciplined disciple, I do so with these original meanings in mind. A disciplined disciple follows the master with exactness and honor, like Helaman’s Stripling Warriors.”
“What matters most in this life, brothers and sisters, is not who we are, but whose we are. What matters most is whose we are. What ultimately matters is: are we faithful disciples of Jesus Christ? Have we taken his name upon us? Do we follow him? Are we trying to become like him? President Nelson has reminded us that we are not Mormons, we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
In showing students how discipline will increase their freedom, President Tanner read a picture book entitled “The Dot and The Line.” The story describes a line who is hopelessly in love with a dot. The dot finds the line boring and goes off with a wild squiggle. Willing to do whatever it takes to win the dot’s affection, the line learns to bend himself into various angles. He begins forming shapes so complex that he needed to number his sides to keep track of them.
At this point, the line goes to the dot and squiggle and shows what he has disciplined himself to do. The dot, realizing that the freedom she thought she saw in the squiggle was actually chaos, leaves with the line.
Jess Harris, a freshman from Utah majoring in English, said she felt particularly inspired by the idea that the line had a goal and stopped at nothing to achieve his goal. “I liked the feeling of inspiration that came from the idea that if you try your hardest to reach a goal, if it’s the right goal, God will make it possible.”
President Tanner expanded on the words spoken by David O. McKay at the dedication of BYUH concerning the preparation of disciple leaders. President McKay singled out the three disciplines in which these leaders would be prepared: testimony, character, and intellect.
Beginning with testimony and character, President Tanner explained how at the core of becoming a disciple leader is a testimony. He expressed how it is not enough to just know the gospel, but one must also live it. He emphasized the words of the apostle Paul, saying, “Fallen angels understand and believe. Only disciples follow the Savior.”
He then described the importance of education by using Doctrine and Covenants Section 88, which talks about the importance of gaining an education. He followed this by quoting part of President McKay’s dedicatory prayer, which highlighted the importance of being able to share the gospel in an intelligent manner. This allowed those who hear it to be led onto the path of righteousness. He finished this thought by saying, “The purpose of education is to train the intellect so we may be better able to fulfill our mission to serve and to save the world.”
President Tanner urged students to take advantage of the opportunity they have to learn. “This will expand the scope of your service and allow God to use you in ways He otherwise could not. It will enable you to make greater contributions to the kingdom and to the world, to enjoy a more abundant life, and to experience greater freedom than you otherwise would had you not acquired self-discipline and academic discipline.”
He also stressed the importance of daily scripture study, an area that especially touched Elise Miller, an exercise science freshman from Oregon. “I loved how he emphasized the importance of daily scripture study and spiritual moments... Before the devotional, I knew I should’ve been reading my scriptures but I wasn’t. Ever since that devotional, I was inspired to read them, and I have kept up on it every day so far. I plan on continuing this routine.”
President Tanner went on to describe a higher order of freedom that can be obtained from true discipline. He explained how there is a distinction between license and liberty. He said, “Liberty refers to morally-grounded freedom... license by contrast refers to irresponsible freedom.”
To illustrate the difference between the negative freedom “from” and the positive freedom “to,” President Tanner made his way to the piano with Jennifer Duerden, a special instructor in the Music and Theater Department. He showed how he was unable to perform the Rachmaninoff piece sitting at the piano because he said he had never had the discipline to take more than one piano lesson. He then invited Duerden to play the piece, which she did with ease.
“With respect to the piano, I am a squiggle and she is a line,” he explained. “I am an undisciplined disciple. She is a disciplined disciple. I haven’t paid the price to enjoy the positive freedom of playing the piano.”
President Tanner then listed areas in which students may want to increase their discipleship. They included prayer, fasting, language, and music. In reference to study habits, he quoted President Dallin H. Oaks’ wwadvice to students at BYU in Provo saying, “Work first, then play.” He urged students to use play as a reward for completing their work.
He followed with asking students to remember their commitment to the Honor Code. He explained how the Honor Code is more than just a list of rules. It is about being true to one’s word. He showed how the higher standard at BYUH is similar to that of the Missionary Training Center and how both groups are representing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “I’m less concerned about the failure to be neat and modest than I am about failure to keep your word… The purpose of that is to help us develop disciplined disciples.”
President Tanner concluded by giving the example of President Russell M. Nelson. He described how President Nelson not only had the discipline to become a surgeon, but he also chose to discipline himself to have neat handwriting that could easily be read by his patients. During his time as a surgeon, President Nelson also felt he should learn to play the organ, as well as learning multiple languages. He managed his time so well that he was able to serve as a stake president while he was a physician.
President Tanner challenged students to write down promptings they may have felt during the devotional. He said he wants students to create a “to become” list because “true discipleship is not just about acting like a disciple, it is about becoming a disciple.”
Writer: Haeley van der Werf