Class of 2026: What 'game day' challenge is an NFL vet issuing Ensign College grads?

SALT LAKE CITY — Stay in the game — and finish.

That was the easy-to-remember, yet often difficult challenge former pro football player Brother Gabriel W. Reid shared Friday with Ensign College's largest ever graduating class.

"Remember what it took to get you here: the late nights, the sacrifices, the doubts you pushed through," said Reid, who serves as second counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"You are sitting here in that seat today because you did not give up. You learned to finish."

The former BYU tight end and retired NFL veteran, who still looks like he could impede ornery linebackers, was the final speaker at Friday's 139th commencement exercises at the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square.

It marked a memorable moment for the church-sponsored school. More Ensign College certificates and degrees were awarded than ever before — with 5,676 awards conferred upon 3,893 graduates.

The vast majority of those graduates are online students through a partnership with BYU-Pathway Worldwide.

Staying — and then finishing — is a defining commitment that stretches beyond sports and even education, said Reid. "It will prove to be true in every stage of your life, every future endeavor and every future success."

Trials and difficult moments await, he added. But find strength in Christ.

"When we turn to the Lord, he will comfort us, he will strengthen us to bear our afflictions with patience and in his own way and timing. He will grant the success that he desires for us.

"When you stand with him, your confidence begins to shift from what you can do — to what he can do."

Jesus Christ, he concluded, offers each Ensign College graduate hope, opportunity and purpose.

"There is light ahead because Jesus Christ lives — so stay in the game. Stay with him — and finish."

Foundations of strength and spirit-lifting work

In his remarks to Friday's graduates, Michael J. Christensen, senior director of budget and administration of the Church Educational System, spoke of the massive Salt Lake Temple renovation project now underway to strengthen the foundation of the iconic edifice.

Christensen shared this "foundational counsel" offered by President Russell M. Nelson in 2021:

"We are sparing no effort to give this venerable temple, which had become increasingly vulnerable, a foundation that will withstand the forces of nature into the Millennium.

"In like manner, it is now time that we must each implement extraordinary measures — perhaps measures we have never taken before — to strengthen our personal spiritual foundations."

Now as alums, added Christensen, Friday's graduates leave Ensign College armed with valuable skills and divine righteousness. "I pray we will all be able to serve and become and remain capable and trusted disciples of him whose church this is."

Ensign College President Bruce Kusch told graduates Friday that God needs men and women willing to perform the heavy work of moving his cause forward. "The world desperately needs you to be a light of faith and integrity. … Your helping hands can reach out to lift God's children.

"Your helping hands can be raised to sustain those called to serve. Hearts that know and hearts that feel are hearts that have been taught and nourished by the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost."

The fight against sin, he added, requires one's "very best."

"It is a real fight that will be never-ending until the Savior returns. With diligence, we endure to the end. We watch. We work. We pray with dedication, commitment and zeal. You and I each have a work to do in our homes, in the church and in our communities."

Student speakers: Now 'it's our turn to serve'

Newly minted business management graduate Barbara Alves — a native of São Paulo, Brazil — noted in her commencement address that she's experienced opportunities at Ensign College "that I once felt impossible."

Alves learned to express herself in a new language, captured visions of her own possibilities and made friends with people and cultures from across the world. "I learned that education and faith are not separate subjects. One gives you knowledge. The other gives you direction," she said.

The future, added Alves, is as bright as the faith of each graduate.

"This warm feeling inside your heart is a clear sign that God is proud of you," she said. "He is aware of every sacrifice you made to be here. He genuinely loves you. Our potential is unlimited because we are sons and daughters of God. We inherit his divine worth."

Alves' fellow graduate and student speaker, Cameron Kohutek, of Farmington, said he's grateful for Ensign College's unique environments and opportunities.

"It's miraculous to have a school so diverse — with so many nations, ethnicities, races, backgrounds and dreams — that manages to be as unified as we are under one common banner.

"We are living witnesses of how the gospel of Jesus Christ is the strongest unifier that the world has to offer."

Kohutek noted the many people at Ensign College who were placed in his path to help him succeed. Now, he concluded, "it's our turn to serve our communities and our families.

"Take the path, the education and the people the Lord has blessed you with, and magnify them. Let us leave this building not as graduates, but as lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ."

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