Devotionals and Speeches

• Finding Joy: Scientific & Spiritual Approaches to Mental Health | Melissa Russell | March 2025

  This University Forum address with Melissa Russell was delivered on March 6, 2025, at 11:30 AM MST in the Taylor Chapel. Melissa Russell is a dedicated faculty member in the Department of Human Performance and Recreation and an Associate Dean of Student Success in the Office of Academic Support and Interdisciplinary Studies. Melissa currently teaches in the Therapeutic Recreation, Recreation Management, and Interdisciplinary Studies programs. She has previously enjoyed teaching at institutions such as Brigham Young University, Florida International University, and Grambling State University. She has a deep love for her students and their success. Passionate about mental health, Melissa is committed to enhancing well-being through education and practical initiatives. She created and currently runs the Thrive mental health program on campus, which helps students navigate their mental health and find joy in life. Beyond the classroom, Melissa has years of experience helping clients with mental health in rehabilitation services. She has loved the agencies and the clients she has had the opportunity to serve. Her latest pursuit involves spearheading programs that bring therapists to orphanages internationally. This past summer, many alumni and friends joined her in offering therapeutic services at an orphanage in Ghana. In her personal life, Melissa loves sports, the outdoors, traveling, and spending time with friends and family, especially her nieces and nephews.

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• Don’t Shrink!: Facing Life’s Uncertainties | Elder Lance B. Wickman | March 2025

  This Devotional address with Elder Lance B. Wickman was delivered on March 4, 2025, at 11:30 AM MST in the BYU-Idaho I-Center. Elder Lance B. Wickman is the former General Counsel and an Emeritus General Authority of the Church. Elder Wickman served as a General Authority Seventy from April 1994 until October 2010. He served as General Counsel from January 1996 until November 2023. He attended the University of California at Berkeley, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1964. He attended law school at Stanford University, receiving his Juris Doctor degree in 1972. He practiced law as a trial lawyer and partner in the international law firm of Latham & Watkins in Los Angeles and San Diego until his call as a General Authority. Elder Wickman, a U.S. Army Ranger, served as an officer in the United States Army from 1964 to 1969. He served twice in Vietnam as an infantry platoon leader and as a military advisor to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, receiving the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals, the Valorous Unit Citation and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. He has held various ecclesiastical positions within the Church, including missionary in the Central British Mission, bishop, stake president and Regional Representative. He and his wife, Patricia, are parents of five children.

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• The Ten Minute Miracle | Diantha Hopkins | February 2025

  Diantha Smith Hopkins teaches English at BYU-Idaho, specializing in rhetoric and composition, rhetorical theory, and children’s literature. She is also fascinated by the history and politics of the Middle East and Asia. She lived and studied in Damascus, Syria and served a mission in Seoul, Korea. Diantha and her husband, Mark, have been married for almost five years. She is a stepmom to five children and biological mom to one. When she's not chasing around a three-year-old boy, playing board and card games with her step-kids, hiking with her husband, answering emails, or meeting with students, Diantha likes to make mixed-media art and write.

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• Designed for Love and Connection. Designed for Family. | Jenet Erickson | February 2025

  Jenet Jacob Erickson is an associate professor in Religious Education at Brigham Young University, where she teaches the Eternal Family course as well as the Introduction to Family Process course for the School of Family Life. She received a PhD in family social science from the University of Minnesota, after completing a bachelor’s degree in nursing, and master’s degree in linguistics -TESOL at BYU. She is a research fellow of both the BYU Wheatley Institute and the Institute for Family Studies, and has been a columnist on family issues for the Deseret News since 2013. She met and married her husband, Michael, when they were both 34 years old. Their two children, LaDawn and Peter, provide them unending opportunities for learning and joy.

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• Look! | Jason Reeder | February 2025

  Jason Reeder is from Idaho Falls and served in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida mission, speaking in the Spanish language. He graduated from BYU-Idaho in communication with an emphasis in advertising. He also has a master’s degree in integrated marketing communication from West Virginia University. Jason has held various marketing communication positions and has worked at BYU-Idaho for 14 years in Admissions, Alumni, Student Life Communications, University Relations and now as a faculty member in the Communication department. Jason and his wife, Tevya, will hit 20 years of marriage in April, and they have four children. His hobbies include trail running and racing in ultra-marathons, skateboarding, snowboarding, and spending time with friends and family. Jason’s most recent callings include being a counselor in two bishoprics, high councilor, bishop, counselor in a stake Young Men’s presidency, and he currently serves as second counselor in a stake presidency.

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