Fun, family, future and faith.
Each word plays an important part in the approach students at Brigham Young University need to take toward their education and toward the lives they are developing and deciding today, said President Thomas S. Monson, second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.President Monson was speaking at a devotional Tuesday in the BYU Marriot Center.
"You might think it strange to have one of your Board of Trustees talk about fun, but one of the great opportunities at BYU is to have fun. I mean the proper fun," President Monson said.
Students should enjoy the time they are young and make sure they create friendships that include everybody. No one should be left out and without a friend.
"As we have fun, it can be a time of tragedy or a time of destiny with a glorious future," he said.
President Monson also told the students to involve their families in their lives and to remember that they are an example to brothers and sisters who might follow them to BYU.
"I feel that your conduct on this campus is a reflection of your family training. Your principles are on trial," President Monson said.
The future should also be a factor in the way students approach their academic careers.
"When the time for decision arrives, the time for preparation is past," he said.
Some of the steps President Monson counseled the students to take are:
"Be the very best at whatever you pursue as your life's work or career. . . . Study something that you like to do and something that will enable you to make a living. Egyptian pottery may be fun, but there are not too many positions for people who know Egyptian pottery around. . . . When you marry, marry in the house of the Lord. . . . And always be active in the church. A formula to guarantee success in fulfilling activity is to pay your tithing."
President Monson also said that faith has an important part in the students' even being able to attend BYU.
"Someone had to have faith in you, someone had to have faith in the process to get you here," President Monson said.
He also told the students that knowledge of their parents' hopes, aspirations and dreams for their futures should affect their attitudes and activities while at school.
"This is your time to prepare," he said.