How beautiful are they?: The testimony

I would like to start this by saying I am not one of those BYU people who says that BYU is "the Lord's chosen school" and and every good Mormon should go there. Admittedly I tease about it sometimes, but it is only in jest. Really.

That being said, there are many opportunities and experiences I had here that I could have had at any university I attended. But there are also many experiences I have had that could have only happened at BYU. But that's not what this post is about.

This post is based on a scripture and a visiting teaching experience early in my time at BYU. The scripture was read to me by  my Relief Society president during a visiting teaching interview at the end of my first semester. The scripture she shared with me was Mosiah 18:30

"And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest of that was near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever."

There are a couple of things that strike me in this verse. The first is the amount of times they say "Mormon", it almost seems as though they are obsessed with it. But when something, someone, or some place has been incredibly influential in your life, has fundamentally changed the way you think and live in certain aspects, or perhaps all aspects, don't you feel the same way?When I hear other people talk about Dance Excellence, or BYU folk dance, or Freshman Academy/Mentoring, I can't get enough of talking about them, mentioning them, bringing them up in conversations. Because these experiences have fundamentally changed the way I thought about something, and changed some aspect of my life. Dance Excellence changed the way I thought about dance, folk dance changed the way I thought about other people and cultures, and Freshman Academy/Mentoring changed the way I thought about learning. 

But my experiences at BYU, they changed the way I thought about the Gospel, the Gospel which is fundamentally about my Redeemer and His sacrifice for me. The things I learned at BYU, sometimes because of my classes, ward experiences, roommates, friends, etc., and sometimes in spite of them, have made me consider everything differently. It was a subtle change, unnoticed while I was at BYU, but it becomes more noticeable as I have moved back home to the space I inhabited for the first 19 years of my life. I begin to revert to the person I was then. Now, don't get me wrong, I was not a bad person as a teenager. In fact I was a pretty good teenager (I think...). I was generally kind and hardworking, and I really did have a testimony of the Gospel, my own strong testimony. Perhaps because I already had that testimony it was even harder to see the change while at BYU. 

But change my testimony did. It strengthened exponentially. It created hallways, new rooms, new levels that I couldn't have even imagined as a 19 year old living in my parent's house. There's no telling exactly why this happened. Living on my own? Experiencing new wards? Religion classes? Friends? Leaders? Folk dance? Classes and teachers? BYU in and of itself? Surely it's all of those and more things I maybe can't even remember. 

So I can't say that I have a testimony of BYU, but I have a testimony that my experiences at BYU changed me. I have a surer testimony of my Savior, who died for the sins of the world out of pure love and obedience to our Father's will. I have a testimony of the concept of Zion, of its importance and its manifestations in doctrines of wards, stakes, and families. I have a clearer view of charity, of what it entails and of my capacity for it. I have a greater love of people, and a testimony of their divinity through our Savior. I know more assuredly of the modern history of this Church, of its difficulties, of its failings, and of how those things contribute instead of detract from its mission and its responsibility as the house of Truth. I have a more rigorous understanding of the scriptures, both ancient and latter day. And I know that I have miles to go and many more "blessed" places to encounter in my life. 

And so ends the BYU chapter of my life. The first half of my title has been fulfilled. Now comes "Beyond".