Brother Gabriel W. Reed, second counselor in the Sunday School general presidency, offered a heartfelt “congratulations” to the largest graduating class in Ensign College history.
“You didn’t just earn a degree. You proved you can do difficult things. You learned to adapt, adjust, and never give up. You learned to follow through,” Brother Reed said.
These lessons were repeated to Brother Reed by his teenage son Adney, who accompanied him and his wife to Australia when he was called as a missionary leader.
Adney quickly realized that Australians don’t play American football. It was his great passion. Instead, they play rugby. So Adney decided to try out for the rugby team.
In the first game, Adney dropped a pass and caused a knock-on, or turnover. The Reed brothers said that on the drive home, they asked Adney how he felt because he knew it wasn’t the best performance of his competitive career.
he told his father: “I really loved it. I kept coming to the game. I got involved. And then I finished it.”
Brother Reed told the graduates, asking them to remember, “Stay in the game and go all the way.”
The Reed brothers were featured speakers at Ensign College’s 2026 Winter Commencement on Friday, April 17th. On a chilly but sunny spring morning, graduates and their loved ones from 114 countries gathered at the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City or watched a livestream of the event online.
Brother Reed encouraged graduates to root their careers, families, leadership, opportunities, and adventures in Jesus Christ as they move forward.
“Stay connected as you build, stay grounded as you rise, and stay faithful as you lead,” he said.
secret of success
When the Reed brothers walked into their first biology class on their first day at BYU in Provo, Utah, they noticed that there was enough room for the entire high school in a village in American Samoa to fit inside the classroom. He thought, “I can’t do that.”
But he stayed and graduated.
“Continuing to complete this lesson does not just apply in the fields of sports or education; it applies at every stage of life and in every future endeavor and success,” Brother Reed told the graduates.
Reflecting on his graduation, Brother Reed said all of the success he has experienced has come directly from one source: “My discipleship and relationship with Jesus Christ.”
In the Book of Mormon, Ammon describes the difficulty of his mission: “Now when our hearts were depressed and we were turning back, behold, the Lord comforted us and said, “Go among the brethren…and endure your affliction with patience, and I will give you success” (Alma 26:27).
“When we turn to the Lord, He comforts us. He strengthens us to endure hardship with patience, and in His own way and timing He gives us the successes He desires for us,” Brother Reed said.
stay in god
The Savior invites His disciples to abide in Him (John 15:4), Brother Reed said.
Just like the loaves and fishes, “the Lord wants to take what you have and multiply it beyond what we can accomplish on our own. That is the promise of remaining with Him,” Brother Reed taught.
Jesus Christ set the perfect example. He remained in Gethsemane. Jesus completed the process on the cross. “Move forward knowing that you do not walk alone. When life reaches its limits, you stay. When your faith is tested, you stay. When the outcome is uncertain, you stay.”
“Your future is bright not because it will be easy, but because it will be purposeful,” Brother Reed promised.
Thanks to Jesus Christ, there is hope ahead. There is an opportunity ahead. There is a purpose beyond that. There is light ahead, he testified. “So stay in the game. Stay with him and go all the way.”
In his speech, Ensign College President Bruce C. Kush quoted the lyrics of the popular hymn “Put Your Shoulders on the Wheel” (Hymns, no. 252). Although graduates may not push the wagons or pull the wheelbarrows of pioneers, “the Lord needs men and women willing to advance the cause of the gospel, and the world desperately needs you to be lights of faith and integrity,” President Kush said. “You can extend your helping hand to uplift God’s children. You can extend your helping hand to support those who are called to serve,” he added.
In addition to Michael J. Christensen, senior director of the Church Education Commission, two Ensign College alumni, Barbara Alves and Cameron Koftek, also spoke.
