Welcome to the recent speeches podcast presented by BYU Speaches, featuring inspiring new

devotionals and forums given each week on BYU campus. Be sure to check out our other podcasts

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This devotional address entitled, Jesus Christ is our rock, and covenants are our anchors,

was given on November 4th of 2025 by Edward B. Rowe, then a general authority 70 of the Church

of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

You are quite an impressive group.

I am grateful to be here today, and I can't think of any other place than I'd rather be than with you.

If I were in charge, I think I would make one modification, though, that would make this about perfect,

and that would be that I would be sitting about right there, and one of you would be standing here.

In all seriousness, I'm thankful for this assignment to be here.

At this stage in your life, there are many uncertainties that

can keep you up at night, right? You're in what I call a period of the great what-ifs.

What if I don't get good grades? What if I choose the wrong major? What if I go bald? What if I can't find a job? What if I never marry?

What if? What if? There's a lot you can stress about. When I came to BYU at 18, I thought I had my life all figured out.

I came on a football scholarship. My plan was simple.

Play one year, serve a mission, then return to have a great football career.

I would marry my high school sweetheart, study pre-med, become an orthopedic surgeon,

and have a large, happy family, maybe even one or two kids before graduation. I had it all mapped out.

At graduation, six years later, nearly nothing had worked out the way I planned.

Gratefully after my mission, I did marry Brooke, my amazing high school sweetheart.

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