Where There Is No Vision | L. Tom Perry

Be eager to take advantage of the opportunities before you. Create a vision for your life, and persevere in the attainment of it.

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/l-tom-perry_vision/

"The key word in the scripture we used in our scripture chase is vision. The dictionary has four specific definitions for the word vision. First, “something seen in a dream, trance, or ecstasy; a supernatural appearance that conveys a revelation.” The second, “the act or power of imagination; mode of seeing or conceiving; unusual discernment or foresight.” The third meaning, “the act or power of seeing; sight.” The last and fourth definition is “something seen; a lovely or charming sight.”

The one I would like to make reference to here tonight is the second definition: “the act or power of imagination; mode of seeing or conceiving; unusual discernment or fore sight.”

We are living in a most remarkable period of change. Look what has happened in just the last few months. A short time ago bold headlines on the front of Time magazine declared, “Freedom! The Wall crumples overnight. Berliners embrace in unbelievable joy, and a stunned world ponders the consequences.” The article inside goes on to say,

For twenty-eight years it has stood as a symbol of the division of Europe and the world, the Berlin Wall, that hideous, twenty-eight mile-long scar through the heart of the once-proud European capital—not to mention the souls of the people. And then, poof! It was gone, not physically, at least yet, but gone as an effective barrier between the East and West, opening in one unthinkable, stunning stroke to the people who had been kept apart for more than a generation. It was one of those rare times when history shifts beneath men’s feet, and nothing after is quite the same.

Once there was a break in the wall, there was no way of containing the spirit of the people and their desire to have freedom. A little more than a month later, after these two remarkable articles, the Romanians were trying to comprehend their newfound freedom. A news correspondent for the Associated Press on December thirtieth wrote:

In a passion that fueled Romanian revolution, freedom was spoken again and again. But to a people forced to register even their typewriters, the full meaning of the exotic word was difficult to grasp. “What is it to live free, to travel free, to speak free?” said a young medical student. “We have only seen darkness and silence.” Over the moans of the wounded in the crowded hospital ward, she and some fellow volunteers considered what the term “freedom” meant. “We cannot realize what freedom is,” said another student. “You grow up in freedom, and you do not realize what it means to us.” She paused and frowned and apologized for poor English. “I am sorry,” she said, “I learn English eleven years, and this is the first time I speak it.” We don’t know what freedom means. We don’t know what to do with freedom. We have no experience, no model, no ideal.

As I have witnessed these exciting events during the last few months, the privilege of living under a system that grants to us the right to live free suddenly has become much more meaningful to me. Maybe it is time for us to listen to their cries and with self-determination make every effort to really understand what this great, God-given blessing means to us here in mortality. Now other nations are anxious for the light of freedom we have enjoyed for over two hundred years. We should become a beacon to lead them to more fulfilling lives. Never has the opportunity and challenge been greater to make our system work the way it was intended than it is today.

We are assembled here as a body of students seeking a higher education. What talent and innate abilities we have brought together under this Marriott Center roof! Let us sit and reason together for a few minutes on how we can maximize the potential power that is in each of us for the benefit of our fellowmen. The first step would be to take full advantage of the educational opportunities available to us at these institutions in which we are currently enrolled." - Elder L. Tom Perry

L. Tom Perry was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when this fireside
address was given at Brigham Young University on 25 March 1990.

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