Through missionary stories, scientific analogies, and the scriptures, BYU chemistry professor Barry Willardson showed how students can grow closer to God and better understand their spiritual heritage.
“Find out if . . . God is our Father, if we are strangers and pilgrims, and if we are to become like our Father,” Willardson said. “Find out if it is true.”
Willardson suggested that students first think about their origins and all of God’s creations. He said that if students learn for themselves, they will be more able to understand their heritage.
“God can reveal His existence, purposes, and truths to us by spiritual means that are just as real as physical scientific observations,” Willardson said. “We call [God] Father because this is our true relation to Him . . . [and it] explains why He created all these things for us.”
Willardson also said students should pray about what they have learned. He shared a mission experience of being perturbed by a conversation his companion had with an atheist. Before going to bed that night, Willardson prayed and asked God if He was there.
“I was enveloped by an intense spiritual energy which pulsed through my body from my head to my toes,” Willardson said. “It was a warm, comforting feeling that stayed with me for a long time.”
The experience left a mark on his mind and, even 30 years later, he still remembers it.
Willardson also told the students to remember their purpose on earth and their spiritual origins. He said they need to overlook the problems in their lives to focus on the big picture.
“Sometimes small flaws can put our lives out of focus, and we cannot see our divine origins,” Willardson said. “In such circumstances, our lives need not be scrapped.”
Willardson testified to the students that Christ and the Atonement would help them fix their flaws and understand their true origin.
“At some point . . . our time as mortals on this earth will end and we will learn that we were truly strangers and pilgrims here,” Willardson said. “Jesus has overcome death and, as a result, so will we.”