Draft 2

Brigham Young University is a unique college.  It has always been different from any other campus nationwide.  One of the main differences between BYU and other schools is the student invoked “Honor Code.”  All students at the beginning of each year sign this document agreeing to uphold the standards of the church.  As a result, students are trusted more and expected to maintain their integrity.  However, when it comes to church attendance, the school has an actual role sheet that you must sign every week to prove you were there.  If you miss too many sundays you can be suspended from the University.  Although I and most students would agree that church attendance is important, I feel that receiving actual “credit” for church is a policy that sends the wrong message to those attending this college.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is something that we all must learn of and know for ourselves.  Up until this point in our lives many members were forced to attend church with their families or just went because that was what they were supposed to do.  At this time in our lives we all need to decide for ourselves.  There should be no pressure to attend church because of a policy or the threat of being kicked out of school.  If members don’t go to church it is their loss and they will endure the consequences.  The whole idea of credit for church doesn’t seem logical.  This is not a reform University.  When a student is applying to this school the admissions department requires an ecclesiastical endorsement from each person’s bishop.  If the bishop doesn’t feel that a particular person will do well and add to the environment of a religious campus the admissions department tosses the application out without even looking at the rest of it.  Now it used to be that parents would make their kids go to BYU in order for them to meet good people and be surrounded by the gospel.  Admissions were not as strict with the ecclesiastical endorsements and tried to work in students that maybe could be changed with this opportunity.  Like I said earlier this is not the case anymore.  The goal of this University is to get as many good latter-day-saint members as possible in the same place.  That being said, credit for attending church seems almost absurd.  Every single LDS member of the church wants to be here.  There aren’t any more kids forced to attend.  Why keep track of attendance when really church attendance is between each person and the Lord?

People often refer to BYU as the Lord’s University.  I like to think that this is true.  If it is I do not think that Christ would have a roll sheet that had to be signed in order to stay at the school.  Students here love the gospel and they love the different atmosphere BYU offers.  There is no need for attendance sheets to be passed around on Sundays.  One particular problem that arises with this is that church becomes more of a burden than a choice and responsibility.  It isn’t satisfying to me to be at church and then be handed a role sheet.  I wish we as students of integrity could come to church because we want to and because we love the gospel of Jesus Christ.  That would benefit the students.  That would be more motivating than any attendance record could ever be.  As college students it is nice to know that we are doing things that we want to do simply because we know they are right.

I understand that the administration wants to make sure that students go to church and that is why they enforce mandatory attendance.  That is completely understandable and a good goal.  However, a role sheet each and every week isn’t the way to go about it.  As I have talked about earlier, something the school has been very good about recently is keeping kids out that don’t absolutely want to be here 100%.  As I spoke with brother Skousen recently, the dean of admissions here at BYU he talked to me a little about the whole process.  As I have also indicated earlier he told me the first thing they do is look at the ecclesiastical endorsement.  If it doesn’t strongly recommend the potential student they toss the application.  He told me that they don’t want this establishment to be a reform school where wayward kids are sent to be completely turned around.  He told me that they would rather have a student less qualified academically attend this University than a more qualified non-active member of the church.  I believe that this alone should give enough consolidation for the administrators to trust their students to attend their sunday meetings.  After all, we did sign the honor code that stated we would keep the sabbath day holy and attend all our church meetings.  

Receiving credit for church is not the way to get students to go to church.  The students here are motivated and excited to be at this University.  We have all signed an honor code agreeing to do what is right.  This includes going to church on sundays.  A circulating role sheet does not make students feel like they are doing what’s right they feel like they are doing what they are forced to do.  One’s church attendance is not the schools problem, it’s between the student and their Heavenly Father.