President Alvin F. Meredith III was sworn in as the 18 president of BYU-Idaho, in front of students and faculty, inside of the BYU-Idaho Center on Oct. 10.
Attendees heard talks from President Meredith and Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
In his address, Elder Christofferson expounded upon a prophecy from a previous school president, President Henry B. Eyring.
“BYU-I graduates will become legendary for their capacity to build the people around them and to add value wherever they serve,” President Eyring said.
This prophecy became a theme of the ceremony, and it proved to be powerful to those who attended as it reminded them of the mission of BYU-I.
“Education isn’t the endpoint,” said Jason Williams, dean of the College of Language and Letters. “Your degree isn’t the endpoint. Maybe even our testimonies aren’t the endpoint. It’s what we do with those things to serve other people.”
Elder Christofferson helped the audience learn more about President Meredith, and he helped them see that the Lord is in charge of BYU-I.
“The Lord will have you go where he needs,” said Diana Clarkson, a senior studying exercise physiology. “He’s here because this is where the Lord needs him to be, and that gives me confidence to know that I’m going to end up with the Lord’s blessing wherever the Lord needs me in life.”
The crowd got to know President Meredith better in his response to Elder Christofferson’s charge.
“There’s a lot of love between the past president and President Meredith,” said Kalob Devries, a BYU-I student. “President Meredith talked about President Henry J. Eyring and that just shows his humility.”
President Meredith speaking at inauguration. Photo credit: Chester Chan
President Meredith focused his response on four ways that BYU-I will continue to honor the spirit of Ricks.
“President Meredith said that we need to remain Christ-focused and to me, that just means always trying to grow our testimonies and trying to become disciples,” said Luke Tendick, a student at BYU-I. “This school is, like we’re taught, a disciple preparation center and we’re trying to become like Jesus Christ and serve him within our communities.”
A choir and orchestra performed multiple songs during the ceremony and had a strong impact on those who attended.
“The choir was amazing,” said Dani Andrade, a student at BYU-I. “It felt like I was in a movie, they did really good.”
Among other songs, the choir and orchestra performed renditions of “Savior Redeemer of My Soul” and “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”
To read more about what took place at the inauguration, visit here.
To read more about President and Sister Meredith, visit here.
