On Tuesday, June 5, hundreds of students at Brigham Young University-Hawaii sang the beloved hymn “In Faith in Truth” (Hymn No. 254) to welcome Elder James R. Rasband, a General Authority Seventy and Commissioner of Church Education, to the podium.
Elder Rasband, who spoke at the Canon Activities Center on the Laie, Hawaii, campus, centered on the famous words of John 8:32: “And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
Emphasizing a “very important” teaching, Elder Rasband explained to the students that this passage “helps explain part of why Heavenly Father is surely pleased that you are being educated.” “God wants you to learn the truth so that you can be free, be a powerful leader, and, in the words of Lehi, “have joy.”
Elder Rasband explained that while the scripture in John 8 is well known, its message of being set free by the truth is often misunderstood.
Education makes people free.
“When we talk about freedom, we sometimes think too narrowly about what it means,” he says. The freedom Elder Rasband was referring to is not so much the absence of bondage or restriction as the God-given freedom of choice to choose good from evil.
“If the only freedom we enjoy is the freedom from having someone else dictate our choices, then we are not very free,” he continued. “When the Savior spoke about being “free” in John 8, He was teaching a richer concept of freedom. ”
As an example, Elder Rasband encouraged his students to imagine themselves at Ehukai Beach, surfboards in hand, looking out at the Banzai Pipeline with big waves crashing against them. Although the elder Rasband himself is not a very experienced surfer, he asked his students to imagine a talented surfer standing next to them holding the same board.
Two surfers next to each other are both completely free to paddle out and surf the pipeline.
“But who is truly free?” Elder Rasband asked.
“In the abstract, I’m free. I can paddle out. No one restrains me. But in reality, surfing Pipeline isn’t really free. But expert surfers are free,” he explained. “Knowing all these truths is why he is free to ride Pipeline’s famous wave.”
Similarly, Elder Rasband taught that the educational truths students are learning at BYU, University of Hawaii, are meant to liberate them “to a life of joy and purpose.”
Education enables students to avoid deception, make wiser decisions, and serve others more effectively.
Gospel Knowledge Will Set You Free
Even less clear than the meaning of freedom is that the truths of the gospel, including the commandments of our Heavenly Father, function in the same way as worldly truths and “set you free.”
“The truth of the gospel is designed to make us free, powerful, and joyful,” Elder Rasband said.
He then invited the students to return to the Ehukai Beach scene. You and an experienced surfer are standing on the sand holding the same board. In this scenario, there are signs warning surfers about dangerous waves and currents. The elder Rasband carefully watched the highway, studied the trees across the street, looked up and down, then cautiously asked the other surfers, “Do you see the cops?”
“I’m sure you’re thinking, ‘Why on earth is Elder Rasband worried about the police? He should be worried about the waves,'” he taught.
Through this analogy, Elder Rasband explained to his students that commandments are not restrictions imposed by “cosmic police officers out to capture us and turn us into criminals.” More precisely, commandments are instituted by Heavenly Father to free His children from the consequences of sin.
“In short, just as the academic truths that you are learning will set you free, so will the gospel truths that you are learning through your experience in religion classes, scripture study, and striving to live the gospel.”
Elder Rasband concluded his remarks by encouraging students to be diligent in their search for truth through their studies in class, studying the scriptures, and striving to receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
“The truths you learn will set you free, and if you do not immediately see the blessings of some truths, I hope you will follow President (Dallin H.) Oaks’ counsel to wait patiently on the Lord, trusting that Heavenly Father’s plan is indeed a plan of happiness,” Elder Rasband testified.
In Elder Rasband’s final moments at the podium, he left his students with one truth: This truth, he says, needs to be understood above all other truths. “No matter how bound or imprisoned we may feel because of our ignorance or our own mistakes, we can indeed be free through the Savior and His atoning sacrifice,” he said. “I testify that this is true.”
Sister Mary W. Rasband preceded her husband in dedicated service and bore her testimony of a loving Heavenly Father and His selfless Son, Jesus Christ.
“Most importantly, I know that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us deeply and forever,” she said. “I believe that because of God’s love for us, He put us on this earth to live, learn, and become more like Him.”
