Brigham Young University - Banyan Yearbook (Provo, UT)

Page 26 text:

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This change in lnxlc was pcrhupx :Ilw l'L'HUClL'd in the grade :Iwrngm oi. xludcnlx. The :ncrugc grade :Iwrxlgc 0f froshnwn was 3.064 The grade :ncrngc of xcnim'x had rixcn lo 3.89. liilhcr xludonlx got hcllcr grmlcx m' the lcxx giflcd dropped nu! 0f xchnol. Tho mmc thing lmppcnml m llmw wlm didlfl cunfurm l0 drcxx xlundurdx. Tho lmwxl pcrccnlngc 0f derx-xlumlzlnlx x iolnlm'x was among wninrx and graduate xludcntx. Tho xmlixlicul xlmlcnl :H BYU lhcn hm n B :n'crugc. ix from lhc Mmmlnin Slulcx. :Ind chnngm hix lnxlc in muxic from ruck to more ll'ndilimml formx.

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THE CHURCH IN OUR LIVES A high school student came down one week to visit BYU. She was paraded through a series of activities that in- cluded special assemblies. plays. Church meetings. dorm activities. and dormitory food. On Saturday night. she went with her hostess to see the weekend movie offered at the Joseph Smith Building. When the opening credits were flashed on the screen. she turned to her friend and in all seriousness asked. Why. where's the prayer? II was a statement signilieant ol' BYU. A visitor can't be here long without feeling the Church influence in the lives of the students and faculty members. Sundays. with their panorama of students all headed for Church. the ring of hymns through the school buildings. and flurry of special meetings ta day of rest. did you say'H perhaps brings the Church influence more sharply into focus. As one BYU coed put it. I love Sundays here. They just feel righteous. But the Church takes into account more than Sunday activitiesmit is a program formed around every facet of human behavior. Ours is not a Sunday religion only. It is a State of Being. Twenty-four thousand Mormon students and one thou- sand nonomembers Hooded onto campus this year to live within the realm of this influence. The effects the Church had on their lives was varied. For me. since I never went to seminary and never had read the Book of Mormon. it gave me a chance to finally read up on it and gain a stronger testimony of the Church. said one BYU fresh- man from Washington. D.C. Another student. a French girl. had to venture farther from her family to come to BYU. ttHere there are more possibilities to improve myself in the Church activities than in France. so I came. she said simply. The Church shows up in every part of student life. Fresh- men and seniors spent endless hours working on road- shows. speech festivals. home teaching. visiting teaching: at Priesthood meetings. Relief Society workshops. family 23 prayers. and silent prayers. In classes students heard the truths of the Gospel. incorporated in the subject matter by professors who believed what they taught. The best part of this University is the teachers. said one student from Las Vegas. They're so sincere and they'll do anything to help you. ltis terrific. They all try to present the Church through their lessons. I know theyire sup- posed to. but I think they would anyway. Theyire that kind of people. There were students. too. who were negatively influenced by Mormonism on a large scale. Up here I tloift think lim really on my own. said a California upper-elassman. At home it was more a test of my faith. They needed more workers therewthere was more of a chance to be involved. At home in Oregon we only had two wards in our town. said another student. I don't like being here around a lot of members who take the Church for granted. I liked it better where there was a mission Field. But there were those who came looking for what they wanted and found it. One southern eoed said. Sure. I love the South. But there's nothing back there for me anymore. I love mass-Mormonism and the feeling of talking with God I never achieved until I came here. I want my parents to come out here and feel His goodness in the air. Perhaps most interesting was the comment of a freshman non-member who said immediately. What does the Church mean to me? Well. it's BYU. Its a subculture here all by itself. lim getting used to it. You live differently here. Boys go on missions and girls wait for them and it's all unique a way of life you find nowhere else. teontinued l