EDITORIAL: Stop skipping devotional
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July 9, 2019
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July 9, 2019
Cars sit bumper to bumper on the streets, waiting to file into parking lots across campus. Students are dressed in their best, flooding into the BYU-Idaho Center as soon as the doors open. 15,000 seats are ready to be filled. Friends and family save seats for one another, waving hands and making phone calls. An apostle has come to visit. Thousands stand as the speaker enters the auditorium, eagerly awaiting the message about to be shared and hoping for spiritual guidance as they listen. Almost every single seat is filled.
Why isn’t every devotional like this?
At the Scroll, we believe that all students should make devotional a regular part of their week.
It’s a sad sight to see when one of our own BYU-I professors, employees or administrators stands to speak at devotional, having prepared and counseled with the Lord for hours upon hours, only to be confronted by a sparsely filled auditorium with students sitting on their phones, having private conversations and finishing homework for their upcoming class.
We should give the same respect to our teachers who care for us, our school administrators who love and pray for us and other campus employees who make it possible for us to attend and learn at this university as we would a general authority.
They are the people that devote their lives and careers to us, the students. They know us personally and interact with us on a daily basis.
Every devotional speaker has something to offer and all deserve to be heard.
The Spirit can be felt and revelation received at every devotional address.
On June 4, BYU-Idaho released a statement to students regarding the upcoming change in the devotional schedule. According to the BYU-Idaho student advisory, “Starting Summer Session 2019, the weekly BYU-Idaho Devotional will start at 11:30 a.m. instead of 2:10 p.m.”
Trish Gannaway, guest housing and institutional events coordinator, made a few statements regarding the devotional schedule change.
She shared that devotional speakers usually put in over 100 hours of work prior to giving their devotional address to students, listening closely to the Spirit in order to know what to share.
“If students were to take to heart the things that they heard and what they were taught by the Spirit at devotionals, their lives would improve so much,” Gannaway said.
According to the BYU-Idaho website, “Devotionals offer the entire BYU-Idaho community an opportunity to rest from the cares of everyday life. When we gather together—whether on campus or online—we may receive significant spiritual blessings.”
Let us gather together every Tuesday and listen to the words so intricately prepared and inspired by each devotional speaker. Let us show that we love and respect them and their efforts.
While visiting campus in 2006, Elder David A. Bednar said, “The gathering of the Lord’s people brings blessings of edification, preservation, and strength … You are richly blessed to be students gathered together on the campus of BYU-Idaho.”
Now, let’s reverently show that we are prepared to be taught.
13 Comments
You shouldn’t judge what people do with their time or who they choose to listen or not listen to. I listen to Devo on the podcast the day after. Am I not going to get blessing for not showing up to the physical location on a specific day at a specific time? Most of us who don’t live in the bubble don’t have the privilege to listen to a prophet speak in our lifetime, it makes more sense to see a Prophet of God in person rather than a professor from Rexburg. You ought not to judge what YOU think OTHER people should do.
I’m afraid you’ve missed the point of the article completely. If you’re listening to devotional, no matter the time or place, you are benefiting from the message. Be kind. There are people behind these articles.
I have not missed the point. I understand it just fine. I am concerned for the people that are being harassed and shamed because of the people behind these articles. I said nothing unkind.
This article is…not good. I really hope the author will re-think her approach to subjects like this. What you’ve done here is guilt shaming, not uplifting and encouraging. All that is going to do is 1) contribute to the already very real problem of shame culture at BYU-Idaho and 2) drive people who already have no interest in going to devotional further away. Newsflash: when Devo hour on Tuesday is literally the only break in class schedules that people have to eat, practice, and study, then they are going to make the choice that is best for them in their own lives. Really disappointed in you guys for putting this out.
This is mainly pointing out that there is a clear correlation of people only going to devotional for certain apostles and not at all for others like the faculty here at BYU-I. That does not push others away but reveals to the students here that there are men and women who put time and effort into bringing the spirit. Great article and to those criticizing; take time to re-read and think about the true message
You should re-read it to
I re-read it twice and I still stand by what I said. I think he author needs to apologize for their choice of wording and tactics.
Hey Scroll.
You suck and you should feel bad for your manipulative shaming.
That is all.
Oh, so you’re the worst.
This is a great OPINION PIECE. This is an editorial. Obviously the negative comments posted on here are from either those who are too immature to handle an opinion of someone or too pathetic to be able to comment anything worthwhile or any sort of meaningful idea. I think this is a great article, if people have an issue with devo they should not attend this great school. There is no shaming in voicing an opinion in favor of something we are asked to do as BYUI students. Don’t apologize.
It is an opinion piece, the author has the right to give her opinion. People who read the article also have the right to agree or disagree and state their opinions. This is not immature or pathetic. At this age, you should be able to handle the concept that people are allowed to have opinions different than your own. Also, I don’t remember the section of the honor code that states devotionals are required? But by all means, continue calling people with different opinions than your own belittling names. I’m sure that’ll work out great for you in the long run.
Question, is there any voice of shaming in your comment? Is it Christlike to call others pathetic? Is your comment worthwhile? What makes this school great? Conformity or respect? Those are different. The article pleads for respect, your comment was the exact opposite of that.
This article does seem to be trying to elicit guilt. The fact that someone worked hard on a talk and is speaking doesnt mean people are obligated to listen. Shaming people who do come and criticizing them for not paying enough attention or not being dressed in their Sunday best honestly comes accross as a bit entitled. BYUI can require people to do certain things, but they cant require people to want to do or care about certain things. BYUI loves to micromanage. There are so many things they’re pushing on us. There’s church, fhe, ward activities, temple trips, private scripture study, apartment prayer, personal prayer, devotional, callings, and on top of all of that we still have class, homework, and we still need to find time to exercise, buy groceries, have a social life, and possibly work. What did they honestly expect when implementing a weekly devotional? Not everyone’s going to have the time or desire to attend, especially when someone’s trying to guilt them into it. Give the students less responsibilities or make the devotional topics more interesting, it’s as simple as that. You’re entitled to your own opinion, but students, as adults, are entitled to make their own decisions. If you enjoy devotional, go ahead and go, but stop trying to shame people who have already made their choice into going. The real world’s going to be a rude awakening if you think you can shame people into doing and acting in ways you deem acceptable.
Thank you for encouraging students to attend devotional. It’s a great reminder of how hard the staff works on these super important messages. I appreciate the awesome reminder!