Elder Holland Shares Inspiring Story of BYU’s Beginnings

[Third Hour]

BYU Speeches recently released a new video in honor of Brigham Young University's Commencement week. The video shares part of a message given by Elder Jeffery R. Holland, a former president of the university. Given in 1987, "Believing in the Dream:BYU" tells the story of the humble beginnings of Brigham Young University and one of the miracles by which it grew into what it is now, one of the top universities in the nation (see USNews.com) with over 30,000 students. Watch the video below! In his talk, Elder Holland shares the experience of Alfred Kelly, who gave a graduation speech in 1912. The ceremony he was to speak at doubled as a graduation and a last attempt to gain the funding to save the university from becoming a new suburban neighborhood. As he began his speech, Kelly told his graduating class and potential benefactors of his struggles in preparing what he wanted to say, how he had written several drafts, only to throw them away and how he later took the matter to prayer up on Temple Hill. As he...

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[mordorbund]

So... how does the story of Alfred Kelly jive with the principle of stewardship and revelation. Why was that dream given to him and not the university president?

[Guest]

Bravo.  Good article.  

I'll supplement with this one.

1 hour ago, mordorbund said:

So... how does the story of Alfred Kelly jive with the principle of stewardship and revelation. Why was that dream given to him and not the university president?

Remember that the role of University President is not an ecclesiastical role.  It is a professional one.  And the University President had made a professional decision to sell off part of their land.  So, the Lord provided the vision to the one man who was in a unique position to not only receive the revelation, but pass on the information to the right audience at the right time.