BYU graduates challenged to be a ‘light to the world’ in 2025 commencement
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- Graduates walk to commencement at Brigham Young University on Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Provo.
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- Elder Clark G. Gilbert speaks at Brigham Young University’s commencement Thursday, April 24, 2025, at the Marriott Center in Provo.
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- Judge J. Clifford Wallace speaks at Brigham Young University’s commencement Thursday, April 24, 2025, at the Marriott Center in Provo.
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- People pack the Marriott Center for Brigham Young University’s commencement Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Provo.
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- Graduates walk to commencement at Brigham Young University on Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Provo.
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- President Dallin H. Oaks speaks at Brigham Young University’s commencement Thursday, April 24, 2025, at the Marriott Center in Provo.
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- Graduates walk to commencement at Brigham Young University on Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Provo.
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- Brigham Young University quarterback Jake Retzlaff takes part in commencement ceremonies Thursday, April 24, 2025, at the Marriott Center in Provo.
Several of the 7,194 students receiving higher education degrees from Brigham Young University packed the Marriott Center on Thursday morning alongside friends and family for the 2025 commencement.
The graduates were offered advice throughout the 90-minute ceremony, hearing messages centered around service and balancing work responsibilities with greater priorities.
BYU President Shane Reese, BYU Alumni Association President Hillary Nielsen, 2025 graduate Amy Ortiz Sanchez, honorary graduate Judge J. Clifford Wallace, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Dallin H. Oaks and Church Education System Coordinator Elder Clark G. Gilbert offered remarks.
In his commencement address, Gilbert said 45% of BYU undergraduates will go on to get masters and doctorate degrees and issued a challenge to those embarking on new journeys.
“As you leave BYU today, have the courage to stand up and be that light to the world,” Gilbert said. “Maintain your spiritual integrity even as you engage as an ambassador and peacemaker. Remember the Lord’s promise for those who are on His errand: ‘I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you to bear you up.'”
Gilbert warned graduates not to become “isolators” after college, or individuals who stay strong in their faith yet limit their social circle to fellow church members and don’t extend their skills and services to the outside world.
He additionally challenged graduates not to become “apologizers” of their faith, who fail to stand up for their beliefs in work and social situations and embrace “secular agendas.”
“If you let the call for excellence supersede your call to discipleship, you will risk mimicking the world and eventually apologizing for your faith.” Gilbert said. “If you let the call for faithfulness cause you to isolate yourself from the secular world, you may preserve your faith, but you will miss the opportunity to be a light to the world.”
Gilbert recalled when he moved to Palo Alto, California, after graduating from BYU to attend a Stanford graduate program. While there, he was mentored by two church leaders, Hank Taylor and Peter Giles, who taught him how to magnify his calling as an assistant young men’s leader despite his other obligations.
He said their example prepared him for a later calling in an inner-city Boston ward, where he helped a group of young men prepare to serve missions and go to college.
His message was echoed by Wallace, the longest serving United States federal judge, who received his honorary doctorate in law and public service.
Wallace spoke further on balancing life’s responsibilities.
When beginning his career as a trial lawyer, Wallace said he felt overwhelmed with career pressures. While in a church meeting, Elder LeGrand Richards of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles noticed his bewilderment and offered him some advice.
“He studied me briefly, and these were his words: ‘Well, Brother Wallace, your first responsibility is to your family, the second to the church, and if you have any time left over, you can earn a living.’ He expected me to be successful in all these endeavors, but priority was essential.”
Wallace heeded that advice, he said, making it a priority to attend family dinner throughout his career and never saying no to a church calling.
He also said he was never unprepared to help a client.
“As you graduate from this institution on this day, I suggest you take time to plan for your own growth experience and adopt and implement Elder LeGrand Richards’ key to having a successful life. It has worked for me,” Wallace said.
The 2025 BYU graduates will join an alumni association of nearly 460,000 individuals. That group is statistically twice as likely as the average person to donate to charity and four times more likely to volunteer, according to Reese.
The school president encouraged graduates to pursue service opportunities.
“You will have more opportunities to lift others around you, to serve your neighbors and to influence the world for the better,” Reese said. “Embrace those opportunities. To paraphrase a sign on the corner of Cougar Boulevard: You entered to learn, now go forth to serve.”
