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The Inauguration of President Alvin F. Meredith III
February 2024
On a crisp fall morning in Rexburg, Idaho, President Alvin F. Meredith III, a General Authority Seventy, was officially inaugurated as the 18th president of Brigham Young University-Idaho. This ceremony took place on October 10, 2023, and was presided over by Elder D. Todd Christofferson with Elder Ronald A. Rasband also in attendance. The BYU-Idaho Center’s 15,000-seat auditorium was filled with students, faculty, staff, government officials, civic leaders, Church leaders, and former university presidents.
“The culture and spirit of BYU-Idaho can be hard to define but are easy to feel. Many visitors walk this campus and express that they feel something different.”
—President Alvin F. Meredith III
In his inaugural charge, Elder Christofferson directed President Meredith to preserve “the Spirit of Ricks” and “help students develop the whole person—even the eternal person—both in and out of the classroom. Help students and employees to realize and magnify their divine identity as sons and daughters of God.” After expressing his enthusiastic endorsement, Elder Christofferson stressed that President Meredith’s appointment wasn’t solely due to his engaging personality or talents. Elder Christofferson testified, “The Lord was in charge of [the Merediths’] path to BYU-Idaho, and I testify to you as a participant in the process that it is the Lord who has put Elder Meredith where he is in this moment.”
President Meredith’s Inaugural Response
In his response, President Meredith harkened back to President Gordon B. Hinckley’s vision in 2000, when he announced the establishment of BYU-Idaho. At that time, President Hinckley emphasized that the university’s primary purpose was to develop converted disciples of Jesus Christ—a mission that has been handed down as BYU-Idaho’s birthright. President Meredith pledged to uphold this legacy and continue the university’s “upward course that a prophet of
God established.” President Meredith then outlined four key strategies to achieve this:
- Remain a Christ-centered, prophetically directed university.
- Continue to strengthen BYU-Idaho’s core teaching mission.
- Preserve BYU-Idaho’s unique culture and the Spirit of Ricks.
- Teach and amplify BYU-Idaho’s message.
President Meredith concluded by describing the unique culture and spirit of BYU-Idaho. His inauguration marked a significant moment in the school’s history, reaffirming the university’s commitment to its distinctive mission and the enduring legacy of “the Spirit of Ricks.”
