Each year the presidency of the BYU–Hawaii Student Association gives a devotional message to all the students and faculty of BYUH. On November 30, Megan Weaver, Executive Vice President, Chase Carlston, Executive Vice President, and Nick Narayan, President, gave a message entitled “Tough Times Don’t Last, Tough People Do!”
Megan Weaver shared first an experience she had watching a baby named Addison with a malformation of the brain. She witnessed a miracle has she watched this baby turn from a baby into a toddler and be able to do things the doctors didn’t think she would be able to do.
“I told you of the many people that served Addison, but I would like to talk today about how serving her helped me in my own life. I saw Addison’s determination to do things her own way and to not let her disabilities stop her from what she wanted. Her disabilities chose her, but she did not let them stop her from developing and growing. As I saw her courage and strength, she strengthened me.,” said Weaver.
Weaver encouraged all to reach out to the many people we have from different walks of life here on our campus.
“We have such a profound influence on those around us, one that we may very well never comprehend fully in this life. May I be so bold as to say that it is the people and relationships in our life that matter more than the opportunities or circumstances that may come. The people who are within our influence may be struggling with something that we may not see. It is that much more important for us to have a good influence and reach out to those we come in contact with whether we are close friends or mere acquaintances,” said Weaver.
She also shared that Christ is the ultimate example of one who cared about others and so we should strive to be like him.
“We can become tough people as we help and serve those around us and as we become angels in other’s lives. As you are an instrument in the hands of God you will have strength to help you beyond what you think you are capable of doing. Reach outward,” concluded Weaver.
Chase Carlston started his message by posing the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” He said he was asked this a lot on his mission in Europe and told the story of a man he met named Bakari.
Bakari was a refuge in Switzerland separate from his wife and seven children at home in Sudan because a neighboring tribe was trying to kill the men in his tribe. While he was a refuge five of his children died because he could not work to provide money for the family and his wife didn’t make enough to support their children.
“He knew he would see his children again and he knew that someday, everything would work out. I felt the same way as Bakari. So my quest to answer the question why do bad things happen to good people like Bakari became increasingly important to me and I came across three answers,” said Carlston.
“The first answer is, we don’t know - yet. There are simply some things we just don’t have the answer to right now in this life.
“The second answer is the Lord is testing us. Throughout the holy scriptures, we can find many examples of people being tested.
“The third answer I found to the question… is the misuse of agency…Our Heavenly Father loves us and yet He doesn’t force us to do what he wants but he invites us and lets us choose,” said Carlston.
“I am sure there are people that are having trials even right now. My advice to you is to keep going. Understand that the Lord is giving you trials for a reason. It’s easy to become discouraged, but discouraging experiences give us the opportunity to call on the Lord and to discover that he is always aware of our struggles,” said Carlston.
“Brothers and Sisters, when times get tough, know that the Lord loves you and he is with you. Remember Joseph Smith’s experience when he asked, ‘O God, Where art thou.’ And when you are in the midst of your trials always respect God, others, and yourself. And I promise that if you do these this you will be happy and you will make everyone around you happy,” concluded Carlston.
President Nick Narayan started his message with an experience of when he was young and crashed his go-cart, which left him with 9 and 2/3 a finger.
“Sometimes we as students run into detours and trials that we do not want. Although it may be tough, we may not know what blessings we have or will receive until after the trial of faith,” said Narayan.
He focused on three lessons:
The first is preparing for trials. “We can grow into the person that He wants us to be, only when we exercise our faith by doing small and simple things such as daily scripture study, prayer, weekly church attendance, respecting others, through service and keeping covenants,” said Narayan.
Second, we must remember who we are. To illustrate this he said, “We remember our culture and heritage, especially on this campus. We remember the good and bad memories at school. However, we must ‘remember’ our covenants that we have made and will make with our Father in Heaven. In return He will honor these covenants with the blessings that he has promised.”
Third he taught we must act and trust in God that victory will come. “When we prepare ourselves diligently, we are able to place our trust in God and rely upon our faith for results. If we study for an exam faithfully, then we can truly ask for God’s help on the exam...This reminds me of the scripture, in D & C 38:30, ‘If ye are prepared ye shall not fear.’ When we act diligently, with prayer, we will achieve victory,” said Narayan.
To read a full transcript of the BYUHSA Devotional, click here.
Photos by Monique Saenz.