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Welcome to the Recent Speeches Podcast presented by BYU Speeches featuring inspiring new devotionals and forums given each week on BYU Campus. Be sure to check out our other podcasts by searching BYU Speeches wherever you get your podcasts or by visiting speeches BYU Edu Podcasts this devotional address entitled Jesus Christ the Master Teacher was given on May 20th of 2025 by Sarah K. Clark, then Dean of the McKay School of Education at Brigham Young University.

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It's an honor to stand before you today and to feel of your energy and spirit. Dear students, we love you deeply here at BYU and we are committed to your eternal success. We've eagerly awaited your arrival and we pray daily for each of you. We take seriously our responsibility to offer you a faith filled, Christ centered, prophetically guided education. Please know that when you step onto this campus you are stepping onto sacred ground. I also want to wish a very warm welcome to any new freshmen that might be here today. You hold a special place in my heart. I know this new chapter will bring challenges, but that's often when God shows up most clearly in our lives. Watch for him if you let Him. He will guide you throughout your journey. Here at byu. I vividly remember one experience from my own freshman year at the University of Arizona. It was a bright, sunny day and I was nervously preparing for my first finals. I stopped by the Institute of Religion to study and while walking down the hall, I ran into my friend and from my astronomy class. When I told him that I was studying for our final that day, he looked at me in shock and said, sarah, that final was Monday, two days ago. Panic set in. I grabbed my backpack and sprinted to my professor's office. Breathless and sweating, I knocked on his door. He confirmed the worst. The exam had passed and grades were due in 30 minutes. Yes, it's a true story. Shaking his head, he offered a last resort, an oral exam. For the next half hour, he grilled me on the material. When I would give a shaky answer, the wrinkles on his face hinted I was off track, silently urging me to keep going. I don't remember the grade I received, but I know I did not earn an A. But what I did gain was far more lastinga powerful lesson in responsibility, humility and grace. I will always be forever grateful to that professor's unexpected mercy. This story and experience has never left me. I have picked up this story again and again in my life. It is almost as if I have picked up a ball and turned it over and over in my hands to see if I can see something I may have missed before, could I have really been that unorganized and forgetful? And how was the professor that compassionate towards someone who decidedly deserved a failing grade? In fact, I've shared this story multiple times in myriad of college classrooms over the years in an attempt to help my students see that I truly understand the pressures of college life. As a literacy researcher who has studied the power that comes from being able to read, write, speak, and listen, I've seen evidence of how vitally important stories, and specifically our own stories are in helping us make sense of our lives. Storytelling isn't just a personal process, but a communal one. When we speak our truth, we often help others discover theirs. We revisit the Savior's parables often, over and over, always finding new layers of meaning. I remember when I realized that the five wise virgins didn't share their oil because it wasn't theirs to give. Only our own light, drawn from Christ, can be shared. Or when I realized I am the prodigal Son. Even in my worst moments, the Father celebrates my return with open arms and undeserved grace, and I continue to learn from the parables of workers paid equally despite unequal hours, a woman's tireless search for the lost coin, or the time an assumed enemy dropped everything to care for and show mercy to a wounded man on the roadside. Our Savior, the Master Teacher, knew the enduring power of story. But what about our own stories? How often do we revisit the chapters of our lives, seeking new insight? Our lives are full of stories, some messy, some redemptive. Over time, we become both author and reader. But what if we invited a co author in Hebrews 12:2, it reminds us of the importance of looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. What a powerful invitation to let him shape our storynot just edit it, but write it with us. Offering meaning, grace, and direction, President Camille N. Johnson described what it means to invite Jesus Christ to become the author and finisher of our story. Letting God prevail, she said, letting him be the author and finisher of our stories. It does require us to keep his commandments and the covenants we have made. It is our commandment and covenant keeping that will open the line of communication for us to receive revelation through the Holy Ghost. And it is through the manifestations of the Spirit that we will fill the Master's hand. Writing our stories with us Some stories from our lives may still feel too painful to revisit, but I encourage you to choose one to study anew. For me, that story is my mother's her father struggled with alcoholism and was largely absent, leaving his family without the support they needed. Given that history, you might expect my mother to view family life as frail, fragile and untrustworthy. Instead, she became the mother of 13 children. I heard her say more than once that she would take as many children as God would give her. How did that happen? Over the years, I watched her grapple with grief and try to define a relationship with a father who had caused so much hurt. But she didn't shy away from sharing the hard truths of her experience. She kept returning to her story again and again, this time with the Savior at her side. Slowly, fear and anger gave way to compassion, understanding, and even love. For someone who, by most standards, didn't deserve it, her story is a powerful example of what it means to rewrite pain into purpose. Through her, generations have felt the strength of a redefined legacy, one centered on eternal covenants, healing and joy in our Father's plan the other day, I pored through images of my childhood home. I grew up the eighth of 13 children on a farm in the dry desert of southern Arizona. I stumbled across the words my mother wrote to accompany these photographs. Dear ones, she said, home is where one starts from. There will be memories stirred by a bit of these pictures, mostly pleasant. We hope time will come when the house, the trees, the sheds, the fences will be no more. We'll all find ourselves a cemetery, residents. But lasting through all the ages to come will be our covenants that can make us an eternal family and an eternal home. Decades later, I found myself at her bedside, caring for her in the final stages of her life and her earthly story. One of the most sacred experiences I will ever have in this life was watching this mother say goodbye one by one to to each of her 13 children whom she so carefully raised and loved. This was a woman, a mother, a wife, a sister, a daughter who understood deeply, who was the author and finisher of her faith and story. In my own life, I've seen the power that sinks in when a story continues to be written over over time. Let me now share a story from my own life that surprisingly continues to be rewritten. At the age of 27, I gave birth to our second baby girl. At six weeks old, she entered the hospital for three days straight as she battled a respiratory virus. Simultaneous to this event, I had also been called to be a Relief Society president. I found myself overwhelmed, exhausted and worried sick about how I was going to fulfill my responsibilities in my church calling and motherhood. At the same time, my doctor had advised against making home visits with our sick infant. And I had a three year old daughter who also needed my care and attention. That evening I had a fitful night's rest and I felt engulfed by feelings of failure on all fronts. As I got up in the middle of the night, I sat in the rocking chair rocking this baby back and forth, back and forth. I poured my heart out to God. I was honest with him and in prayer during those wee hours of the morning, I explained my predicament and pled to God for direction on what to do. In that dark room, seven words came to my mind with more intensity than I had ever received before. Treat her like she's your last. I pondered what those words could mean. By morning I decided that God was encouraging me to pour my heart into caring for those two sweet daughters and rely more heavily on my counselors and secretary to fulfill my society responsibilities. And so I did. Over time, I would pick up that story again, pondering its message that I knew came directly from God. Five years later, my husband and I found ourselves unable to bring more children into our family. My heart ached as I recalled dreams of having a large family like my own mother. But as this story came to mind once again, those seven words took on new meaning. I remember shuddering at the realization of those words. Treat her like she's your last was actually God's way of preparing me for the reality that she would be my last baby. He didn't explain it to me that way at the time because he knew it would be far too painful and that I would have grieved and complained at my circumstance instead of truly enjoying that sweet baby. All these years later, I acknowledged and thanked God for His sweet and thoughtful care for me. Such a gift. And yet the ache of not having another child haunted me for years. I used to count each time I would see a family. I would silently count the number of children they had and I would use this as a measure of my own righteousness and worthiness in God's eyes. Over time, I worked my hardest to trust God's plan for me. I finally began to feel some peace as I studied again the parable of the talents where one was given five, another two, and yet another one talent. I committed then and there that I would take the number of children God had given to me and I would make the most of these incredible blessings and talents. Over time, my heart healed as I accepted the path that God had placed me on, even though it differed from my original plans. Fast forward a few decades. Did you hear that decades and I unexpectedly picked up this story again. This time I found myself in the office of the Academic Vice President at byu, where he was interviewing me about the possibility of becoming dean of the McKay School of Education. Never in my wildest dreams had I planned or sought for a position such as this, let alone becoming a professor. And yet, over time, this unimagined life has become my story. Academic Vice President Collins said, Tell me a little about yourself. Tell me your story of how you got to this place. Imagine my shock and surprise when the words that came tumbling first out of my mouth were the words that God had put on my heart decades earlier. Treat her like she's your last, I explained, While the astonishment of sharing that story didn't make much sense to him. Tears fell as I walked back to my office in a drizzling rain. In that moment, I realized that those seven words weren't just about healing my heart, but were now about realizing that God had a different plan for me. From the beginning, I realized that my life wasn't an alternative or a backup plan that I was living. No, this was his plan all along. Plan A. I felt a wave of his deep love for me, his daughter, wash over me, and I was reminded again of President Worthen's plea to all BYU students, please let him love you. Interestingly, you see, my story doesn't end there yet. A few weeks after my visit with Academic Vice President Collins, I was asked to give this devotional in preparation for this talk. I was struggling, like I think most do, with the stress of selecting a topic for this talk. I thought briefly of sharing the story of mine, but opted for a less personal story. That is, until one of my seven brothers sent me the following Sarah, I feel I should share some impressions I've had over the last couple of days. I know you would have liked to have had more children, but for whatever reason, it was not in the cards. I look at you kind of like Rachel, who also desperately wanted more children but likewise didn't get what she wanted. But look at the quality of her children. With your current job calling, the Lord has carefully prepared and called you, with your superb talents, to have a profound influence on literally thousands of youth and children. That is no mistake. Oftentimes it is not the path that we would choose that the Lord puts us on. But he's got you where he wants you, I have no doubt. I read his email and wept again, knowing that this email was God's way of reassuring me once again that my interpretation of this particular story for my life was accurate and that I was on the right path. His path for me specifically. Can you see how he also lets others write parts of your story? Do you see how God continues to teach and instruct using the same story over and over throughout your life, new ways of thinking and understanding using the exact same words and messages? The same has been true for my patriarchal blessing, as I'm sure it's been for your own blessing. This experience reminded me of the iconic sculpture that sits just outside the McKay building. The YA magazine shared the in 1975 for BYU Centennial, the university held a competition and Frank J. Nakos designed the winning Tree of Wisdom sculpture, of which he explained, my hope is viewers first enjoy the aesthetic beauty of its ever changing form when walking around the tree. But it's also my hope that they can see the duality of a tree form. When you look at the tree from one angle, you can only see the branches. When you look at the tree from another angle, you can only see the roots. In other words, when you look at your story from one angle, you may only see the branches, but looking at another angle you will begin to see the roots. What stories of yours might be a good one to revisit? Is there a story that the Master Teacher would love to help you unpack and rewrite? Sadly, we often see these stories of ours as some of our biggest mistakes or where things went wrong. By picking up these stories again and again, we allow the Savior to help us rewrite them in ways that can make us whole. As you ponder and reconsider one of your stories, let me share with you a framework that I learned when I came to BYU that has helped me, and I think it can help you make sense of your story too. This framework is officially known as the aims of a BYU education, but really, it's a set of four questions that can help you make sense of something you've learned after an experience. The four questions to ask when pondering a story in your life could include the what has been intellectually enlarging about this experience? What has been spiritually strengthening? What has been character building in this experience? And how can this experience lead me to lifelong learning and service? In other words, how does my mess become my message? Let me share with you an example of what this might look like. One of my favorite stories in the Book of Mormon is that of the brother of Jared. In Ether we read how the brother of Jared, under the direction of God, built eight barges so his people could travel across the ocean. And like most stories, there are problems and challenges. And one of the problems the brother of Jared was facing was that he needed to know how to get light into the barges as they traveled across the sea. In Ether 3, we read about his decision. In verse 4, he pleads with the Lord, touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness. And in verse five, he demonstrates his incredible faith in God. Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power. In verse 6 he says, Behold, the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. Next, the brother of Jared learns it is his faith that caused the veil to be lifted. And he was stunned to learn that the Savior's finger was as the finger of a man likened to flesh and blood. The brother of Jared falls to the ground. And the Lord says in verse seven, arise. Why hast thou fallen? The brother of Jared explains that he saw the Lord's finger. And then we see the miracle outlined in verses 11:13. And the Lord said unto him, believest thou the words which I shall speak? And he answered and said, yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth and canst not lie. And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him. Now those four questions what was intellectually enlarging? The brother of Jared learned how to build a vessel. He could definitely add boat builder to his resume. He also learned to problem solve when seeking the answers of how to obtain light and air while traveling in the ocean. And he certainly learned survival skills while on this impressive voyage. What was spiritually strengthening? We are taught in this miraculous experience that the brother of Jared not only saw the finger of the Lord, but also his full self. This experience alone is the ultimate in spiritually strengthening experiences, isn't it? But the brother of Jared also learns the important lesson that it was his faith that brought about these great miracles. And this faith is what enables us to draw closer to God than in any other way. So what was character building? There are many characteristics that come to mind when pondering those the brother of Jared developed in this experience, just to name a patience, creativity, hard work, persistence, responsibility, leadership, faithfulness and devotion. And how will this experience lead him to lifelong learning and service? The brother of Jared would go on to save his people as they traveled across the sea to a new land. I don't believe his understanding of the Savior stopped after standing in his presence. This spiritually strengthening experience would no doubt become a pivotal moment in his life, teaching others about God and serving God, his family and his people all the days of his life. As I have revisited the parables and stories in my own life, the more I start to see God in them. I begin to see what Samuel of the Old Testament taught in chapter 7, verse 12 and then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shem and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying hitherto hath the Lord helped us. The Ebenezer or Stone of Help are places in our story where we can see God's help. The more I see his role and involvement in my life, the greater I learn to trust him with my story. As President Nelson has taught, having confidence before God means having confidence in approaching God right now. It means praying with confidence that Heavenly Father is listening. It means having confidence that he loves his children, understands their needs, and yearns to help them reach their highest potential. There are so many great examples of students across campus who are choosing the Master Teacher and letting him into their stories. We see students using their talents in his light to create beauty. Isn't this rendering of the Provost by a student beyond amazing? And this picture of another student, like many others who set everything aside to serve him and to shout his name from the rooftops. Both of these stories come from my very own University 101 class. Students have given their pen to God and allowed him to write this important chapter of their lives. I know this act alone will make all the difference in their final story. Our Heavenly Father and the Savior Jesus Christ know our whole story. Not just this part, but the before, the middle, and the end. Whether we acknowledge it or not. The Master Teacher has already become a co author of our story. His atonement is the climax within all of our stories if we choose to accept his offering in our behalf. In my course, designed to equip future educators with the best practices for teaching children to read, I emphasized the power of graphic organizers, or tools proven by research, to significantly boost reading comprehension and retention. One of the graphic organizers I introduce is the classic story Map. You know the one. It has the designated spaces for the setting, time, main characters, supporting characters, problem rising, action, climax falling, action, and resolution. On one particular day, I invited my students to use this organizer to map the life story of the Savior. It's a story I knew we were familiar with, and they eagerly began filling in the boxes, discussing scenes and details with reverence and curiosity. As I walked from group to group, I noticed a common omission. Every group had left out one crucial main character of the Savior's story. I paused the class. You've done a great job identifying the main characters, but I can see you're missing someone who is essential. One student responded with confusion. But Professor Clark, you told us to include only the main characters. Another student added, yes, we've got them all. Mary, Joseph, Martha, the Apostles. Frustration was building in the room. I shook my head gently. No. You've overlooked someone very important. From the back of the room, a voice called out, nearly in a shout, who? Who did we forget? I smiled and said, you. You. You forgot to write your own name as a main character. A quiet stillness settled over the room. You are a main character in the Savior's story. Always have been, always will be. The only person who can remove your name from the most powerful and most loving story ever told is you. Yes, just as much as the Savior is an integral and key character in our own story, we too are a main character in his. It is his hope that we will remain forever a part of his story. Now let me share one final aspect of engaging with the stories in your life. My encouragement would be that we each learn to lean more deeply into our stories with more faith and power than we already do. The more we lean into him and learn from the Master teacher, the more amazing our story becomes. Here's an example of such a story shared by elder Jacob D. Jager. On one occasion he shares During a severe storm, a fishing boat was in distress and a rowboat went out to rescue its crew. The waves were enormous, and each of the men at the oars had to use all his strength and energy to reach those unfortunate sailors. When the rowboat finally reached the fishing boat, one of the victims had to stay behind because the rescue boat was too small to carry everyone. The rescuers made it back to the beach, but the crew was too exhausted from their fight with the storm to make that second trip. The local captain of the Coast Guard asked for volunteers to make the second trip. Among those who stepped forward without hesitation was 19 year old Hans. When Hans stepped forward, his mother panicked and said, hans, please don't go. Your father died at sea when you were four years old, and your older brother Pete, has been reported missing at sea for more than three years. Now you are the only son left to me, but Hans said, mom, I feel I have to do it. It is my duty. Hans boarded the rowboat, took the oars, and disappeared into the night. After more than an hour, the rowboat came into sight again. When the rescuers approached the beach. The captain of the coast guard shouted vigorously, did you save him? Hans rose from his rowing bench and shouted with all his might and said, yes and tell Mother, it's my brother Pete. This story is the perfect example of what happens when we exercise faith and trust and trust God more fully with our story. Somehow, somehow our efforts and obedience become the greatest storyline ever and far exceed even our own expectations. We must remember that God's imagination and creativity is far beyond our own. So even in those moments when we lose all hope and we want to give up, we must continue to demonstrate our faith so that our story becomes one of beauty instead of ashes. Over the years I have taught our two daughters, Anne and Elise, and will continue to teach my adorable little grandsons, Jack and Henry, again and again. God is the grandest storyteller of them all. He hopes that we will surrender the pen to him so he can add his own words to our life story and into our hearts. Can you imagine just how your story changes when you invite the master teacher to write your story alongside you? Hans Georg Gadamer's epigraph translates Rainier Maria Rilke's poem in a way that captures this concept so perfectly. Catch only what you've thrown yourself. All is mere skill and little gain. But when you're suddenly the catcher of a ball thrown by an eternal partner with accurate and measured swing towards you to your center in an arc from the great bridge building of God, why catching them becomes a power not yours, a world's. As you realize the power that comes from leaning in more fully into the story you are creating, let me close with one final thought. Have you ever considered that you too can borrow the pen and write a chapter in God's story too? At first glance, this may seem to be a bold assertion, but I have found from my own experience that it is true. I love Sister Jennifer Kiran's powerful advice that she shared in a BYU devotional not long ago. Some of God's surprises are wonderful, some confusing, some difficult to navigate and some perfectly heartbreaking. But hold on to him through it all if you have eyes to see and if you choose faith, he will surprise you with his goodness and love. He will surprise you with his wisdom and foresight. He will surprise you with his miracles and his perfect divine design for your life. He really is that good. So surprise God right back. Surprise him with your faith. Surprise him with your loyalty to him and to his prophets. Surprise him with your worship privately at home, publicly at church and in his holy house as often as you can get there. Surprise him with your persistent repentance. Don't you give up. Surprise him with your joyful consecrated life. Surprise him with your choice to choose him always, because he always chooses you. Let me end this devotional in the same way I close the very last day of my classes each semester, I tell my students that I always end class with the same four words. My students then earnestly try to guess what these four words might be. Remember who you are. No. Rise and shout. The Cougars are out. I always say. No. That's seven words. After more guesses and laughs, I share the following four words with conviction. I'm not going anywhere. What I mean is, I'm telling my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ. I'm not going anywhere. I'm committed to them forever. No matter what happens in my life in the church or what happens in society. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here. I'm not going anywhere. Did you know? You can decide this today, too. This is how we can write our own chapter within God's story. It is through our commitment, testimony and covenant keeping we become a main character in his life. In his life as we demonstrate our eternal loyalty to our Heavenly Father and Our Savior, Jesus Christ. I love to include these four words in my personal prayers. They are some of the most powerful words I have ever said aloud and they have made all the difference in my story. Whenever my students and each of you think of me today, I hope you will remember my testimony. And I hope that you remember I am committed forever to this Gospel and to God, our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, no matter what. And I hope you might consider doing the same. I am not going anywhere. With humility and gratitude, I share these words in the name of Jesus Christ, the Master Teacher. Amen.