BYU–I graduation: Elder Teixeira lessons from the Great Salt Lake

To the nearly 4,000 BYU–Idaho graduates about to start a new chapter of their lives, Elder José A. Teixeira offered a message of hope and encouragement.

“Heavenly Father knows each of you and has a purpose for you,” the General Authority Seventy testified during winter 2026 commencement on Friday, April 10. “Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, hope is always available, even when the sky appears to be gray. As you remain faithful and stay in the Lord’s field, the Lord will bring light into your life in ways you cannot yet imagine.”

While addressing graduates and their loved ones gathered in the BYU–I Center for the afternoon ceremony in Rexburg, Idaho, Elder Teixeira spoke about his decision to enroll in a digital photography program offered online through a university on the East Coast.

For one of the assignments, Elder Teixeira needed to choose a location, plan a photo shoot and capture images worthy of a portfolio — on a tight schedule.

“Eventually, I selected a location along the Great Salt Lake where a small island sits in the distance,” Elder Teixeira recalled. “Under the right conditions, the water’s surface in this location can reflect the sky like a mirror, and if everything worked perfectly, the scene could be beautiful.”

As he left the office the day of the shoot, however, the sky was gray and featureless. No color or clouds.

Before driving to the spot, and again after he set up his equipment, Elder Teixeira considered packing up and going home.

But as the sun descended, something unexpected happened. The water became still. Subtle blue tones appeared, then delicate pastel colors. “For a brief moment, it looked as if heaven and earth had become one,” Elder Teixeira recalled, and he captured it on camera.

That experience taught him something he has never forgotten, he said. “Some of life’s most important, beautiful moments appear only to those who stay a little longer.” Or, in other words, “Faith often requires us to remain in place even when the sky still looks gray.”

He then shared three lessons.

Lesson 1: ‘Do not leave the field too early’

“Dear graduates, the years ahead will bring moments when conditions are not ideal. Plans may not unfold exactly as expected. Progress may feel slow to you,” said Elder Teixeira.

Preparation does not guarantee success but it places individuals on the path. “If I had not prepared the equipment, if I had not driven to the lake, if I had not remained until the last moment, that photograph would never have existed.”

Lesson 2: ‘Goals place us on the path’

Elder Teixeira’s goal that evening was to complete a class assignment, but something greater emerged, he said.

“Sometimes the goals we set in life do not produce exactly the results we expected. But they do something equally important. They place us on the right path.”

Graduates’ education will work much the same way, he noted. “The degree you receive today will open doors you cannot yet see. Some of the most meaningful chapters of your life will unfold in places you never originally planned to go and with experiences you never dreamed of.”

Lesson 3: ‘Live a life that can reflect heaven’

For a brief moment that evening, the surface of the lake reflected the sky so perfectly that the horizon almost disappeared. That image reminds him, said Elder Teixeira, that “each of us has the opportunity to live in a way that reflects heaven. … When we follow Jesus Christ, our lives begin to reflect something higher than ourselves.”

Elder Teixeira reminded graduates that there will be days when the sky appears gray, moments when progress seems slow. “But remember the lesson from the shores of the Great Salt Lake.

“Stay in the field. Don’t give up. Trust that your preparation matters. And most importantly, live a life that can reflect heaven,” he said.

BYU–Idaho President Alvin F. Meredith III and Michael J. Christensen, a senior director in the office of the Church commissioner of education, also spoke during commencement.

In his remarks, President Meredith told graduates, “As you commence this next phase of your life, we wish you success in all that you pursue. But our greatest hope is that you leave here as devoted, lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ — true peacemakers, as President [Dallin H.] Oaks has invited us to become.”