‘A different, more fractious world’: The warning an apostle sounded at BYU
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Latter-day Saint leaders have addressed political polarization and other growing societal obstacles frequently in recent years.
For example, two years ago at a general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Russell M. Nelson said, “One of the plagues of our day is that too few people know where to turn for truth.”
Earlier this month, in an address many church members may have missed, Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said church leaders face new challenges because of “the many uncertainties of our times.”
“Can mutual respect amid disagreement be re-enthroned? Can it be sustained?” he said at the inauguration of new BYU President Shane Reese.
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Elder Christofferson noted, with four past BYU presidents present, that Reese faces unprecedented tests.
“Going forward it appears we’ll be living in a different, more fractious world than any of us have experienced personally, heretofor,” the apostle said. “The leadership of Brigham Young University, the leadership of the church and all of us individually will need to navigate and make decisions in the presence of uncertainty.”
He listed some of the issues he saw ahead.
“There’s widespread disagreement in our society about the value of longstanding institutions such as religion, marriage and family, constitutional government and even higher education,” he said. “There is as you know, a sustained and passionate debate about political questions, and somehow everything seems to have devolved into a polarizing political question.”
Elder Christofferson said President Nelson’s April general conference talk was timely.
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“As disciples of Jesus Christ, we’re to be examples of how to interact with others, especially when we have differences of opinion,” President Nelson said. “One of the easiest ways to identify a true follower of Jesus Christ is how compassionately that person treats other people.”
Elder Christofferson praised Reese for saying that BYU will foster “a unique learning environment that will empower us to be peacemakers in an ever more divisive society.”
The apostle said he was part of the search committee — with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve and Elder Clark G. Gilbert, the church commissioner of education and a General Authority Seventy — for a new BYU president.
He described how they considered many qualified, impressive women and men.
“(President Reese) has more than justified his appointment,” Elder Christofferson said.
“In the coming months and years, all of us in the BYU community will see President Reese filled with the light, strength and authority that will be required to lead this university into the second half of its second century,” he added.
Elder Christofferson said Reese presented one key for navigating the future.
“It is,” he said, “in the midst of uncertainty, to focus on what is certain, to maintain the eternal verities.”
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