Quoting President Russell M. Nelson’s worldwide devotional in May, President John S.K. Kauwe III advised the June 2022 graduates to remember three fundamental truths: know the truth of who you are, what Heavenly Father and his Son have offered you and your conversion.
Kauwe encouraged graduates to remember their divine identity as children of God, children of the covenant and disciples of Jesus Christ. Quoting President Nelson again, Kauwe said by acknowledging these labels, graduates must not allow other labels to “displace, replace, or take priority over these enduring designations.”
Secondly, still quoting President Nelson, he explained how Christ and His Atonement allow people to overcome the world and will make “the impossible in your life possible.” The gospel has the power to unite people, he added, a power people should continue to use in building the kingdom of God.
For his third point, Kauwe told graduates to “make your testimony your highest priority” as President Nelson has said. Nelson also stated that by being true and faithful to gospel truths, students will be “anchored in eternal truth” and “become beacons of hope in a darkened world,” Kauwe emphasized.
By following these truths and keeping their covenants, Kauwe told graduates they would receive miracles in their lives.
Remembering your divine identity
R. Kelly Haws, assistant to the commissioner of the Church Educational System and secretary to the Board of Education and Board of Trustees, also spoke at the graduation and said there are many ways people label themselves and each other, by physical features, incomes, achievements and failures. He said these are “inconsequential labels” compared to people's eternal characteristics.
Although Jesus Christ was despised, rejected and raised by refugee parents, Haws said people can know him better as being the “Redeemer of the World” and other labels that emphasize his role as their Savior. Likewise, he said to not let secondary labels define who Christ is, nor let minor labels define who people are, which can limit the influence of the Holy Ghost in their lives.
Haws said remembering their identity as children of God can change who they are and how they carry and present themselves. Furthermore, he said it allows them to act by their own will, unaffected by the opinions and labels that are given by others. “The degree to which you and I focus on our primary and common identity will be a rock-solid foundation and will bring comfort and confidence.”
Haws referred to President Nelson’s promise when remembering these things. He said, “You will experience spiritual growth, freedom from fear and a confidence that you can scarcely imagine now.”
Never alone
Vaughn Curioso, a graphic design alumnus from the Philippines, said his family prioritized providing a quality education for him and his siblings. Curioso said his siblings and his father worked abroad, and later his father passed away. As a result, he felt he had lost his support system and mentor, he added.
Curioso said he always doubted the chances of ever attending BYU–Hawaii after returning home from his mission. He said he had given into his anxieties too easily and realized he truly wasn’t alone. Curisoso explained he learned to recognize “unseen spiritual forces” ready to aid him.
He told the graduates, it may feel as though we’ve “created our own monsters” and feel unprepared to take on the “uncertain future.” However, he added, students can rise up, face their fears and push through their challenges by accessing divine help to achieve their dreams. “As the saying from my favorite legend goes, ‘Rise and rise again until lambs become lions’. Even if we fail, these experiences will teach us to become stronger.”
In closing, Curioso said he became paralyzed by dwelling on thoughts and doubts of hopelessness. But, with hope, he said by acting to overcome his fear and seeking strength beyond his own, he was more capable of undertaking tasks that seemed insurmountable. “If I had given up, I never would have witnessed what greater things that lie ahead.”
Whatever is, is right
Elder Brook P. Hales, a General Authority Seventy, shared three insights for the graduates. First, whatever is, is right. Second, repentance should be sought, not avoided. Third, trust in the Lord for deliverance.
Alexander Pope once said, “Whatever is, is right,” Hales shared, which can be easily misunderstood as being powerless towards changing one’s circumstances. However, he explained he perceives the phrase as learning to accept and work through the obstacles people are given.
Hales shared the story of Thomas Edison’s storage battery that caused a massive explosion in December 1914. The explosion, he said, destroyed his life’s work and 10 buildings in his facility. He said Edison told his 24-year-old son, “It’s all right. We’ve just got rid of a lot of rubbish.”
Instead of dwelling on his ordeal, Hales said, Edison began reconstruction the next day without terminating any of his employees. Hales highlighted what Edison said in light of the disaster, "There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes [thereby] burned up. Thank [heaven], we can begin anew.”
Hales shared how Hellen Keller overcame her challenges of being blind and deaf by accepting and making the best of her situation. Keller stated she would attend college against all odds which led to her graduating with a bachelor's of arts with honors from Radcliffe College in 1904, he added.
Hales encouraged the graduates to acknowledge “whatever is, is right” and strive to improve what can be improved, accept what can’t be changed and make the most of their circumstances.
The second point Hales made was learning to embrace the repentance process and not avoid it. The Bible Dictionary defines repentance as denoting "a change of heart, a fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world … a turning of the heart and will to God, a renunciation of sin to which we are naturally inclined.”
Hales quoted President Nelson who said, “Nothing is more liberating, more ennobling, or more crucial to our individual progression than is a regular focus on repentance.” Hales said repentance can provide improvement and prepare us for eternal happiness. Through repentance, he added, we restore what we’re able to restore.
Hales continued telling graduates they must trust in the Lord to deliver them from their obstacles. Despite turmoil and distress in today’s world, he said they can still achieve peace in their homes and themselves by fostering faith and trust in the Lord.
Without faith and trust, Hales said, fear will spread amongst all people, and “men’s hearts shall fail them” [Doctrine & Covenants 88:91]. To develop faith and trust, he said graduates must learn of Christ, trust in Him and heed his teachings. By doing so, he explained they can receive guidance from the Holy Ghost.
In conclusion, Hales shared two scriptures summarizing the importance of the Lord’s goodness towards those that put their trust in Him:
First, he quoted Psalm 27:1. “The Lord is my Light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Second was Alma 39:5, “And now… I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up the last day.”
Statistics
Earlier this year, the school announced this would be the last graduation commencement to occur for a spring semester. Starting in 2023, those finishing in the spring will walk at the winter or fall semester commencement.
President Kauwe said there were 186 degrees awarded. Of those, there were 170 bachelor’s degrees, seven associate's degrees and one teaching certificate. He said 47 percent of the graduates are from countries outside of the United States while 53 percent are from the United States, he added.