Focusing on the phrase, “Thy will be done” and emphasizing the need to submit to the plans of the Lord, Debbie Hippolite Wright, Vice President of Student Services at BYU-Hawaii, was the devotional speaker January 27 in the Cannon Activities Center.
Sister Hippolite Wright, a graduate of BYU-Hawaii in 1978, attained her degree in social work before serving a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Philippines. Two years after her return, she received a master’s degree in social work at BYU in Provo. She also completed a doctorate degree and worked for more than a decade as a member of the BYUH faculty teaching social work courses. In 2008, she was named as one of BYU-Hawaii’s Genuine Gold alumni, for her efforts in social work, both here in Laie and in other parts of the country.
Sister Hippolite Wright began her address by sharing a story from her life when she learned to submit her will to the Lord’s will. When nearing the end of her mission, Sister Hippolite Wright said she felt inspired to go to BYU in Provo after her release. But she received a rejection letter from the school. As she pondered why she had felt prompted to plan on going to Provo when she would just be denied admission, she said she finally realized, “The Lord loves me. There was something else for me at this particular time in my life, and he wanted to give me the opportunity to be where I could learn what I needed to learn.”
Two years later, when she was accepted to Provo’s newly formed social work master’s program, she said she was able to see the things she had accomplished to build the kingdom between her mission and her return to university education. Her trust in the Lord’s plan was rewarded with experiences that promoted her faith and increased her abilities, Sister Hippolite Wright said. She then explored four insights she gained from this experience.
1. Submit Your Will to the Lord and be Strengthened by Him. She quoted Elder Neal A. Maxwell from the December 2008 Ensign: “Submissiveness to the Lord is not accomplished in an instant, but by the incremental improvements and by the successive use of stepping stones. Stepping stones are meant to be taken one at a time… eventually our wills can be swallowed up in the will of the Father as we are willing to submit.” She said submission to the Lord is not passive, but requires personal action to keep the Lord’s will in mind.
As an example, she told the story of a former BYUH student who, while training in the U.S. Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, spoke out about the swearing and profanity in the cadences they used while marching. Her actions were rewarded, and the platoon’s cadences immediately were free of profanity. After finishing the story, Sister Hippolite Wright rhetorically asked the group in attendance if their actions were stepping stones towards submission to the Lord’s will, as this young cadet’s were.
2. Faith Leads to Righteous Action, Which Increases Our Spiritual Capacity and Power. Sister Hippolite Wright’s next insight focused on the need for faith to feel the Spirit. She used the example of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who, by exercising great faith, called on the Lord for guidance in spiritual matters. After his prayer was answered, his ability to endure and his capacity for spiritual strength were increased. Sister Hippolite Wright quoted Elder Robert D. Hales’ counter advice to the phrase, “Eat, drink, and be merry.” Hales said, “As the Lord has taught us, wickedness - not even a little wickedness - never was happiness. And it never will be.” She then particularly encouraged the students to be mindful of loved ones who are struggling and suggested they strive to assist those loved ones through the promptings of the Spirit.
3. The Lord Keeps His Promises. Sister Hippolite Wright then spoke of King Mosiah in the Book of Mormon, and how he prayed for his sons’ safety on their mission to the Lamanites. The Lord’s promise of their safety was fulfilled. She also told of the thirsty Old Testament Israelites getting water out of a rock which Moses struck with his staff, and how the hungry Children of Israel also received manna in the morning and meat in the evening, as guaranteed by God. Sister Hippolite Wright quoted Alma 37:17: “For he will fulfill all his promises which he shall make unto you, for he has fulfilled his promises which he has made unto our fathers.” She returned to her post-mission experience, saying that she should have known the Lord would fulfill his promise to her that she would attend school again and just in the Lord’s time – not hers.
4. Live Worthy of Our Blessings. “May we see our time here [at BYUH] as a training ground for the eternities… As insignificant as it may seem to some, obeying university rules and regulations, adhering to the Honor Code and developing a love for people different from oneself is critical to this training. It is another stepping stone for living a life of submission to Our Lord. May we always be found trying to do our best to live worthy of our blessings by keeping our personal covenants and commitments. Let’s practice now being a people of one heart, unified in the Savior and our Heavenly Father.”
– Photo by Monique Saenz