Devotionals and Speeches

This Devotional address with Brian Christensen was delivered on July 1st at 11:30 AM MST in the BYU-Idaho I-Center. Brian Christensen is the oldest of nine children and served as a missionary in the Chile Santiago South mission. He has lived in various parts of the U.S., including Utah, Maine, Maryland, Colorado, Massachusetts, Texas, California, Wisconsin, and Idaho. Brian graduated with a degree...

This Devotional address with Elder I. Raymond Egbo was delivered on June 24th at 11:30 AM MST in the BYU-Idaho I-Center. Elder Egbo was sustained as a General Authority Seventy at the April 2024 general conference. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a member of the Third Quorum of the Seventy in the Africa West Area. Elder Egbo has served in a number of Church callings, including full...

This Devotional address with Alicia Willis was delivered on June 17th at 11:30 AM MST in the BYU-Idaho I-Center. In her address, Sister Willis draws from personal experiences with family scripture study and rich personal insights to show how faith, repentance, covenants, and the guidance of the Holy Ghost form a continuous, Christ-centered pattern for life. Through examples from ancient and modern...

This Devotional address with Casey Puzey was delivered on June 10th at 11:30 AM MST in the BYU-Idaho I-Center. Casey was raised in Sugar City, Idaho, and served a mission in Busan, South Korea. He received his associate degree in psychology from Ricks College, a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Idaho State University, and a master’s degree in counseling from Idaho State University. Casey has w...

This Devotional address with Jenifer Craner was delivered on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, at 11:30 AM MST in the BYU-Idaho I-Center. Jenifer Craner began working at BYU-Idaho in 2013 as the IT Office Assistant. In 2018, she moved to the Human Resources department and currently fills the position of HR Coordinator for Temporary Employment. Jenifer has been married for almost 31 years to Cary Craner, who...

This Devotional address with Jim Lawrence was delivered on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, at 11:30 AM MST in the BYU-Idaho I-Center. Jim grew up in Tooele, Utah, and served in the Canada Calgary Mission. He attended Utah State University and earned a bachelor of science in civil engineering. Jim worked for Utah Department of Transportation for six years before taking a position as the Director of Engineer...

This Devotional address with Sister Nancy Dransfield Homer was delivered on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at 11:30 AM MST in the BYU-Idaho I-Center. Sister Homer was born in Seattle, Washington, to Howard Eugene and JoyeAnn Shurtleff Dransfield. Sister Homer met her husband after graduating from Brigham Young University and while working in Salt Lake City and attending the University of Utah. Elder and S...

This Devotional address with Elder David P. Homer was delivered on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at 11:45 AM MST in the BYU-Idaho I-Center. Elder Homer was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on March 31, 2018. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a member of the Third Quorum of the Seventy in the Europe Area. He previously served as a member of the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy in the Nort...

This Devotional address with Elder Kevin G. Brown was delivered on May 13, 2025, at 11:30 AM MST in the BYU-Idaho I-Center. Elder Kevin G. Brown was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on April 5, 2025. At the time of his call, he had been serving as an Area Seventy in the Utah Area. Elder Brown received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Technology, Jamaica, in 2008. He received a ma...

This Devotional address with Cindy Goodwill was delivered on May 6, 2025, at 11:30 AM MST in the BYU-Idaho I-Center. Cindy Goodwill is the Worldwide Online Curriculum and Instruction Director at BYU-Idaho and also teaches a math class as an adjunct—just for fun. A native Californian and longtime Upstate New Yorker, she moved to Rexburg in 2018 with her husband, Tim, and their six children. Cindy h...

Elder Ulisses Soares was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on March 31, 2018. Elder Soares was born in São Paulo, Brazil, on October 2, 1958. He married Rosana Fernandes in October 1982. They are the parents of three children and five grandchildren. Elder Soares received a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting and economics from the São Paulo Pontifical Catholic University...

Alvin F. Meredith III became the 18th president of Brigham Young University-Idaho on August 1, 2023. He was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on April 3, 2021, and continues to serve in that role today. Prior to his call as a General Authority, President Meredith served as president of the Utah Salt Lake City South Mission. He also served as an Area Seventy in the North America Southeast an...

Jennifer E. Meredith received a bachelor’s degree in communications from Brigham Young University. She worked in Human Resources for Franklin Covey. Sister Meredith served as a mission leader with her husband in the Utah Salt Lake City South Mission. She has served as a presidency member in multiple church organizations and as a full-time missionary in the Argentina Salta Mission. President and Si...

This Winter 2025 Commencement address with Elder John C. Pingree was delivered on Thursday, April 10th in the BYU-Idaho I-Center. Elder John C. Pingree Jr. was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on April 1, 2017. He is currently serving as the Executive Director of the Correlation Department. He previously served in the Mexico Area Presidency, the North America West Area Presidency, and the...

This Winter 2025 Commencement address with Brother R. Kelly Haws was delivered on Thursday, April 10th, in the BYU-Idaho I-Center. Brother R. Kelly Haws serves as the Secretary to the Church Educational System Board of Trustees. He received his associate's degree from Snow College, his bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University, and his master's degree from Utah Sta...

This Winter 2025 Commencement address with President Alvin F. Meredith III was delivered on Thursday, April 10th, in the BYU-Idaho I-Center. Alvin F. Meredith III became the 18th president of Brigham Young University-Idaho on August 1, 2023. He was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on April 3, 2021, and continues to serve in that role today.

This Devotional address with Max Bartschi was delivered on April 1st at 11:30 AM MST in the BYU-Idaho I-Center. Max Bartschi lives in Moody, Idaho. He has worked at BYU-Idaho for 23 years. Max and his wife, Marinda, have been married for 26 years. They have four children, one daughter-in-law, one son-in-law, and one granddaughter. Max enjoys spending time with family and being outdoors. He especia...

This Devotional address with Scott Burton was delivered on March 25th at 11:30 AM MST in the BYU-Idaho I-Center. Scott Burton is a computer science faculty member and the program director of the online software development program offered through BYU-Pathway Worldwide. He holds a Ph. D. in computer science from Brigham Young University, where his research combined machine learning and health scien...

This Devotional address with Elder Jorge M. Alvarado was delivered on March 18th at 11:30 AM MST in the BYU-Idaho I-Center. Elder Jorge M. Alvarado was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on April 6, 2019, at age 48. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a high councilor. He has served as a counselor in the Caribbean Area Presidency and is currently serving at Church Headquarters in...

This Devotional address with Elder David A. and Sister Susan K. Bednar was delivered on Sunday, March 9, 2025, at 5:00 PM MST in the BYU-Idaho I-Center. David A. Bednar was ordained and set apart as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 7, 2004. Prior to his call, Elder Bednar served as an Area Authority Seventy, as an Area Authority, as a Regional Representative, twice as a sta...

This University Forum address with Melissa Russell was delivered on March 6, 2025, at 11:30 AM MST in the Taylor Chapel. Melissa Russell is a dedicated faculty member in the Department of Human Performance and Recreation and an Associate Dean of Student Success in the Office of Academic Support and Interdisciplinary Studies. Melissa currently teaches in the Therapeutic Recreation, Recreation Manag...

This Devotional address with Elder Lance B. Wickman was delivered on March 4, 2025, at 11:30 AM MST in the BYU-Idaho I-Center. Elder Lance B. Wickman is the former General Counsel and an Emeritus General Authority of the Church. Elder Wickman served as a General Authority Seventy from April 1994 until October 2010. He served as General Counsel from January 1996 until November 2023. He attended the...

Diantha Smith Hopkins teaches English at BYU-Idaho, specializing in rhetoric and composition, rhetorical theory, and children’s literature. She is also fascinated by the history and politics of the Middle East and Asia. She lived and studied in Damascus, Syria and served a mission in Seoul, Korea. Diantha and her husband, Mark, have been married for almost five years. She is a stepmom to five chil...

Jenet Jacob Erickson is an associate professor in Religious Education at Brigham Young University, where she teaches the Eternal Family course as well as the Introduction to Family Process course for the School of Family Life. She received a PhD in family social science from the University of Minnesota, after completing a bachelor’s degree in nursing, and master’s degree in linguistics -TESOL at B...

Jason Reeder is from Idaho Falls and served in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida mission, speaking in the Spanish language. He graduated from BYU-Idaho in communication with an emphasis in advertising. He also has a master’s degree in integrated marketing communication from West Virginia University. Jason has held various marketing communication positions and has worked at BYU-Idaho for 14 years in Adm...