Taran K. Chun encouraged BYUH students and faculty to find ways to hear the Lord’s voice and receive personal revelation.
Chun, po‘o kula (head of school) for Kamehameha Schools Kapālama and the Honolulu Hawaii West Stake president, was the speaker at the BYU–Hawaii devotional on April 6, 2021.
Chun’s talk focused on how to listen to the messages of the Holy Ghost. He shared, “The Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit. As a spirit, the Holy Ghost can dwell in each of us.”
He explained the Holy Ghost communicates with people through feelings and promptings they get in their hearts.
Growing up, he said he attended the Wahiawa Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, adding, “I felt feelings of love, joy and peace as I attended church meetings with my family. These feelings from the Holy Ghost confirmed [to] me that this Church was God’s true church.” He also said the feelings of the Holy Ghost are different for everyone.
Sydney Stewart, a sophomore from California studying psychology, said, “Brother Chun said often he hears different voices that could be a voice from Heavenly Father or sometimes his own voice." But he explained people "can differentiate that as long as you’re worthy and paying attention to those different voices.”
Chun shared how he gained his testimony of the Book of Mormon, saying he was in high school when he heard the voice of the Holy Ghost confirming that what he read was true.
“I never needed to ask God if it was true because its truthfulness was revealed to me each time I read from its pages, and that was all the witness I needed. I hear His voice when I read from the scriptures,” he testified.
Alyssa Wilson, a sophomore from Oregon studying peacebuilding, said she enjoyed the devotional and Chun’s simple, yet detailed experiences hearing the Spirit.
“He hears words or there are thoughts that come to his mind accompanied by a feeling of peace and clarity. I loved that because it describes how I hear the Spirit, and it’s good to recognize that,” she shared.
Chun advised students to surround themselves with others who are in tune with the Spirit. He explained being with his wife makes him want to be better, which in turn makes listening to the Spirit easier. He said he always asks Heavenly Father to have the Spirit with him to improve their relationship.
He shared when they were dating, he was not worried about whether his wife was the right woman for him, but instead said he was more worried about how he would convince someone like her to marry him.
“My prayers were probably something like, ‘Please Lord, help me to look better in her eyes than I really am.’ I thank my Father in Heaven every day that I was able to marry Sister Chun, and I’m glad she said yes,” he commented.
Wilson said she enjoyed the messages and the atmosphere of the George Q. Cannon Activities Center. She said, “People should know that the devotionals are still happening. We can actually go in person to watch it at the CAC on Tuesdays, which I like a lot better than watching online. It's a good little break, and I can feel the Spirit.”
Stewart added, “I really enjoyed him as a speaker because he was very energetic. You could tell he is very intelligent, which made it easy to listen to his words. I respect what he was saying because of his demeanor that allowed me to receive more out of the devotional.”
His wife, Nizhoni Chun, introduced him briefly before his speech. She said brother Chun grew up on Oahu, then attended BYU in Provo where they met. She loves her in-laws and the values that her husband was raised with, she added. His parents named all of their children after good values to remind them of Christlike attributes, according to sister Chun.
She also shared the meaning behind his name, Taran Ke Alaka'i Chun, and said when his parents were expecting him, they visited the BYUH campus and saw the campus magazine, Ke Alaka’i, which means the leader in Hawaiian. She said his name has been fulfilled through his many callings and leadership roles throughout his life.