As is tradition at Brigham Young University Hawaii, President Steven C. Wheelwright is scheduled to usher in the upcoming semester at the first campus devotional scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 2. Speaking in the Cannon Activities Center, Wheelwright will address new and returning students, faculty, and staff with a message of inspiration and encouragement as they embark on a new school year.
President Wheelwright entitled his devotional discourse "Devoted Disciples of Jesus Christ" in which he intends to utilize scriptural references to outline what it takes to develop the qualities essential to this aptitude of personal development. "The Lord has invited us all to become His devoted disciples," said Wheelwright. Focusing on three areas or aspects of discipleship, Wheelwright said he hopes to inspire listeners to increase their spirituality, build integrity of character, and promote unity.
"My hope is to invite people to do a personal assessment of where they are in the process of becoming a disciple to the Lord," he said, "but then to take it to the next step and find out some of the things that you can do to quicken that process to make it so that you become a disciple at a faster rate, at a more consistent pace, so it becomes more pervasive in terms of who you are."
"I think all our apostles are great examples of what it means to become a devoted disciple," said Wheelwright. "Our goal is to bring ourselves into harmony with what the Lord would have us do because He promises us that we can be better at whatever we do if we do it with His help than if we do it on our own. That’s the great blessing of being devoted to His cause."
In introducing a new campus campaign focused toward the development of greater devotion at BYUH, President Wheelwright invites the BYUH ohana to come to devotionals and to develop daily habits, including scripture study and prayer, which will help them along the path of discipleship. "We’d really like to build an even stronger commitment to the Savior among our students," he said.
President Wheelwright also welcomes the students as they arrive or return to campus. "We’re delighted that the new students have chosen to be here, to have more experienced students returning and we look forward to a great year," he said.
— Photo by Monique Saenz