Five apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints headline the winter semester list of devotional and forum speakers at the four colleges and universities sponsored by the church.
Elder Gary E. Stevenson and Elder Ulisses Soares will speak at BYU and Ensign College, respectively, in January. (Elder Stevenson had been scheduled to speak at BYU in September, but his appearance was postponed.)
A former BYU-Idaho president, Elder David A. Bednar, will return for a devotional on March 9, the same day Elder Gerrit W. Gong will deliver a Sunday devotional at BYU-Hawaii.
And Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf will speak at BYU on April 15.
The Deseret News has integrated the speaker calendars for the four schools below. The list includes some surprises.
BYU football coach Kalani Sitake will deliver a campus devotional in Provo on March 11, smack dab in the middle of the traditional schedule for spring football practices. He will be the first active BYU football coach to deliver a campus devotional since 1976, when LaVell Edwards spoke at a devotional after the first four seasons of his Hall of Fame career.
University of Utah President Taylor Randall will travel down from Salt Lake City’s mountain foothills to the valley floor to speak at Ensign College on Feb. 18.
BYU’s schedule, as usual, includes three dates for forums, which are not devotional in nature. One of those speakers will be announced later. The other two have high profiles in academic circles.
George Washington University law professor, Jeffrey Rosen, a contributing editor of The Atlantic, will speak at BYU on Jan. 28. Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, where he hosts, “We the People,” a weekly podcast of constitutional debate.
Rosen’s new book is “The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America.”
The other BYU forum speaker will be Ilana M. Horwitz on March 25. Horwitz holds a chair at the Center for the American Jewish Experience at Tulane University. Oxford University Press published her first book, “God Grades, and Graduation: Religion’s Surprising Impact on Academic Success,” which demonstrated a strong linkage between religious community and academic persistence.
Her second book is scheduled for release the same month she speaks at BYU: “The Entrepreneurial Scholar: A New Mindset for Success in Academia and Beyond,” from Princeton University Press.
Horwitz wrote a piece on the benefits of faith-based institutions for Deseret Magazine in September 2023.
Of course, the integrated calendar shows that the first devotional of the winter semester at each Latter-day Saint school will be delivered by the university or college president and spouse.
Here’s the quick-read, integrated calendar of all the scheduled devotional and forum speakers for BYU, BYU-Idaho, BYU-Hawaii and Ensign College. Information on how to watch, listen or read the talks is included below the calendar.
January
7 —
- Ensign College: President Bruce Kusch and Sister Alynda Kusch, Ensign College.
14 —
- BYU: President C. Shane Reese and Sister Wendy Reese, BYU.
- BYU-Idaho: President Alvin F. Meredith III and Sister Jennifer Meredith, BYU-Idaho.
- BYU–Hawaii: John S.K. Kauwe III and Sister Monica S. Kauwe, BYU–Hawaii.
- Ensign College: Joe Kerry, faculty, Department of Education, and member of the Utah State Board of Education.
21 —
- BYU: Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
- BYU-Idaho: Josh Figueira, university deputy general counsel and managing director of the Office of Compliance, Risk and Legal Affairs.
- BYU–Hawaii: Heina Hanohano, university budget director.
- Ensign College: Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
28 —
- BYU Forum: Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center and host of the “We the People” podcast.
- BYU-Idaho: Sister Kristin M. Yee, second counselor, Relief Society General Presidency.
- BYU-Hawaii: Panel of the executive committee of the BYU–Hawaii Board of Trustees.
- Ensign College: Matt Driggs, associate registrar.
February
4 —
- BYU: Elder Kevin R. Duncan, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- BYU-Idaho: Jason Reeder, chair, BYU-Idaho Communication Department.
- BYU-Hawaii: Hawaii Honolulu Mission President Dean Andersen and Sister Colleen Andersen.
- Ensign College: Kevin Hallstrom, Institute instructor.
11 —
- BYU: Elder Ricardo P. Giménez, General Authority Seventy.
- BYU-Idaho: Jenet Erickson, Family Fellow, BYU Wheatley Institute.
- BYU-Hawaii David O. McKay Lecture: Georgi Lukov, professor, Faculty of Sciences.
- Ensign College: Julie Franklin, BYU Vice President of Student Life.
18 —
- BYU: No devotional, Monday schedule.
- BYU-Idaho: No devotional, Monday schedule.
- BYU-Hawaii: Laie Hawaii Temple President Billy Casey and Sister Kanani Casey, temple matron.
- Ensign College: University of Utah President Taylor Randall.
25 —
- BYU Forum: TBA
- BYU-Idaho: Diantha Hopkins, faculty member, English Department.
- BYU-Hawaii: Sister Andrea M. Spannaus, second counselor, Young Women General Presidency.
- Ensign College: Utah Salt Lake City Headquarters Mission President Philip and Sister Judith Howes.
March
4 —
- BYU: Elder Michael A. Dunn, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- BYU-Idaho: Elder Lance B. Wickman, Emeritus General Authority Seventy.
- BYU-Hawaii: Morgan Jones Pearson, “All In” podcast host and producer.
- Ensign College: Elder David F. Evans, Emeritus General Authority.
6 —
- BYU-Idaho Forum: Melissa Russell, associate dean of Student Success, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences.
9 –
- BYU-Idaho Sunday Devotional: Elder David A. Bednar, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
- BYU-Hawaii Sunday Devotional: Elder Gerrit W. Gong, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
11 —
- BYU: Kalani Sitake, head coach, BYU football.
- Ensign College: Elder Marcus B. Nash, General Authority Seventy.
18 —
- BYU: Brother Gabriel W. Reid, second counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency.
- BYU-Idaho: Elder Jorge M. Alvarado, General Authority Seventy.
- BYU-Hawaii: Elder Hans T. Boom, General Authority Seventy.
- Ensign College: Elder Massimo De Feo, General Authority Seventy.
25 —
- BYU Forum: Ilana M. Horwitz, Center for the American Jewish Experience at Tulane University.
- BYU-Idaho: Scott Burton, faculty member, Computer Science and Engineering Department.
- BYU-Hawaii: Charles Bradshaw, dean, Faculty of Arts & Letters.
- Ensign College: Emily Reynolds, assistant director, BYU Wheatley Institute.
April
1 —
- BYU: Teresa Bell, faculty member, College of Humanities.
- BYU-Idaho: Max Bartschi, coordinator, Construction Projects.
- BYU-Hawaii: Scott Stiles, chief of staff.
- Ensign College: Elder Rob Gibbon, Senior Missionary.
8 —
- BYU: Unforum.
- BYU-Hawaii: Elder Bun Huoch Eng, Area Seventy, Asia Area.
11 —
- BYU-Idaho Winter Commencement: Elder John C. Pingree Jr., General Authority Seventy.
15 —
- BYU: Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
BYU devotionals and forum are held on Tuesdays at 11:05 a.m MT in the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. They are broadcast on BYUtv and archived on the BYU Speeches website.
BYU-Idaho devotionals and forums begin at 11:30 a.m. each Tuesday, with some exceptions, in the BYU-Idaho Center in Rexburg, Idaho. They are broadcast live on www.byui.edu/devotionals, BYU-Idaho Speeches and BYU-Idaho Radio.
Ensign College devotionals are held on Tuesdays at 11:10 a.m. at the Conference Center Little Theater in Salt Lake City. Devotionals are archived online at www.ensign.edu/devotionals.
BYU-Hawaii devotionals begin at 11 a.m. Hawaii Time (3 p.m. MT) in the Cannon Activities Center in Laie, Hawaii. Devotionals can be viewed live on www.byuh.edu/live-stream and archived on the BYU–Hawaii Speeches website.
All devotionals and forums are free and open to the public.