On October 10, 1975, President Spencer W. Kimball, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, visited the campus of Brigham Young University.
His purpose was twofold. One is to address students, faculty, staff, and administrators as part of the school’s 100th anniversary celebration, and the other is to dedicate the BYU Centennial Carillon Tower.
This day will be historic for several reasons. First, President Kimball’s speech that day – titled “Two Centuries of Brigham Young University” – was a groundbreaking speech and a touchstone as the university celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.
At the same time, those familiar with the university’s campus in Provo, Utah, today are familiar with the 97-foot bell tower that has rang out the refrain of “Come, Come, Saint” and other hymns during the school year for 50 years.
On that day, President Kimball was hosted by BYU President Dallin H. Oaks, who called the bell tower’s dedication “a landmark that marks the end of our first century and reminds us of the lofty hopes that begin our second.”
In what could be described as a full-circle moment, President Oaks, the current President of the Church, visited BYU’s campus on Tuesday, February 10th, for two purposes. These include addressing students, faculty and staff at the 150th anniversary celebration, and participating in a special presentation in the Carillon Bell Tower.
Following a devotional address in which a prophet of the Lord told the audience how to draw closer to Jesus Christ, President Oaks attended the unveiling of two plaques that will be installed in the bell tower. One was engraved with a quote from him, and the other was engraved with a quote from his predecessor, President Kimball.
These words of President Oaks come from his godly words. During the event, President Oaks gestured to the BYU-150 pin pinned to the lapel of his suit jacket and referenced President Kimball’s Bicentennial Speech.
“I firmly believe that it is the destiny of Brigham Young University to become what prophets past and present predicted it would become. With the dedication and leadership of this community, BYU will be the Lord’s great university, not the world’s way, but the Lord’s way.”
Another quote from President Kimball when dedicating the bell tower was, “As these bells lift the hearts of their hearers as they hear the hymns and hymns played to your glory, so may the morals of the graduates of this university offer the music of hope to the inhabitants of this planet.”
President Oaks was accompanied at the devotion and subsequent plaque unveiling by his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, as well as Elder Clark G. Gilbert, then a General Authority Seventy and Commissioner of Church Education, and his wife, Sister Kristen Gilbert. and BYU President C. Shane Reese and his wife, Sister Wendy Reese. (On Thursday, February 12, it was announced that Elder Gilbert was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.)
President Oaks served as BYU’s president from 1971 to 1980. In a video released on November 9, 2025, President Oaks and the late President Jeffrey R. Holland, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, discussed BYU’s past half-century.
President Oaks hired President Holland as director of religious education six years earlier, when President Holland replaced him as president.
Reflecting on the past 50 years, President Oaks said, “We know that BYU is the Lord’s university, founded by a prophet. BYU continues to this day with prophetic leadership, making advancing the ideals, teachings, and values of the gospel of Jesus Christ a top priority for our students, faculty, administration, and community.”
“That’s what BYU means to me.”
According to BYU’s website, the carillon tower has 53 bells, all of which were cast in the Netherlands. The bells are rung by a player using a keyboard called a carilonur.
President Oaks rode a scraper and led a team of Clydesdale horses to the groundbreaking ceremony for the tower on February 13, 1975.
