BYU Humanities Faculty share their insights at BYU’s 2019 Women’s Conference.
PROVO, Utah (May 2–3, 2019)—BYU’s annual Women’s Conference is one of the largest gatherings of LDS women in the world. Each year, over 140 presenters come together to share messages of hope and inspiration. This year’s presenters included Elder and Sister Christofferson, Sister Jean B. Bingham, Sister Bonnie H. Cordon, Sister Joy D. Jones, and others.
Many of BYU’s faculty members also presented as part of the conference. From the College of Humanities, participants had the chance to hear thoughts from Dean Scott Miller, V. Stanley Benfell (Comparative Arts & Letters), Van C. Gessel (Asian and Near Eastern Languages), Cecilia Peek (Comparative Arts & Letters), Nicole Bay (Linguistics), Gloria Stallings (Spanish & Portuguese), and Diane Strong-Krause (Emeritus, Linguistics).
According to the Women’s Conference website, the 2019 theme comes from Ether 12:41, which invites all “‘to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written’ so that ‘the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. . . may be and abide in you forever.’”
The faculty presenters spoke on various topics to go along with the theme. Each talk examined what the prophets and scriptures have said concerning topics such as grace, forgiveness, education and faith, and the blessings of the temple. Each presenter shared personal experiences and stories that made their messages that much more impactful.
Dr. Stan Benfell represented the College of Humanities alongside Dr. Cecilia M. Peek in one of the Thursday afternoon sessions. Both spoke on the miracle of forgiveness and reconciliation. Benfell noted how, for him, forgiveness goes hand-in-hand with the process of repentance. Both forgiving others and being forgiven are possible only through Christ’s Atonement. “There’s something wonderfully liberating and freeing about being able to truly forgive someone and let go of hurts that you’ve received,” Benfell stated. “Sometimes it’s just too hard on our own; we need Christ to help us, but if we are able to do it, it’s a huge benefit to us.”
The power and importance of God’s grace is what Dr. Van Gessel addressed as he shared the hope that comes with understanding the principle of grace and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He reminded that humans are simply “too mortal” to make it to heaven without God’s help. “If it were all up to us, we’re doomed,” he noted. “But what I’m coming to understand as I study more about grace is, even if it were only partially up to us, we’re not in good shape. It’s really all because of the Savior’s grace [that we can be saved], and that is amazing.”
Speaking to those receiving education both formally and informally, Dr. Nicole Bay presented a model to help learning be successful. The model was based on the language learning model, which outlines four things that increase the odds of successful learning: committed time, formal instruction, meaningful interactions with native speakers, and motivation. Bay added a fifth item that helps ensure successful learning in any context: faith. In her opinion, this last factor is the most important; no matter when, where, how, or what people learn, faith helps make it a success. She noticed how all people “need to realize that their education is ongoing,” and reminded how “it is a commandment that we always be improving ourselves and learning and sharing that learning and using that learning to serve others and build our Heavenly Father’s kingdom.”
The conference also included six sessions given in Spanish for attendees that preferred them. Dr. Gloria Stallings addressed and testified of the blessings that come from temple attendance and from wearing the temple garment. She recalled the promises made to the prophet Joseph Smith in the Kirtland temple and noted how she personally has seen the fulfillment of those promises in her own life. “I have seen miracles in my life and in my children’s lives because of the temple,” Stallings stated. “There is no other place so sacred and so close to heaven.”
—Jensyn Eubank (English ’20)