The Two Reasons BYU’s Spiral Into Wokeness Has NOT Been Corrected

NOTE: This article was written Dec. 2022 when President Worthen was still President at BYU:

I am a new dad, (second baby), two nights ago I dealt with vomit, a blowout, spit up, and pee all over my bed. So to say I did not get a lot of sleep is an understatement. So when I woke up in the dead of night at 3 AM this morning with insights just pouring into my mind I was reluctant to get out of bed, I was exhausted. But, knowing that if I fail to listen immediately often it is not there later I turned to Emily (my wife) and explained I needed to get up and start writing this article. So, here I am at 3 AM attempting to relate what I was given: The two reasons BYU’s spiral into wokeness has not been corrected.

1st. The Leadership at BYU Has Failed to Lead.

The Apostle Paul taught us in 1st Corinthians 14:8 that “if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” which, in plain English, means that if those in leadership positions are not clear in their expectations then how can we expect those that they lead to understand the course?

Now, I don’t personally know President Worthen, and from what I understand he is a good man; but, being a good man does not equal being a good leader. In an address to the entire BYU faculty and staff on August 22, 2022, President Worthen tried to refocus BYU’s faculty and staff on their prophetic mission and repeatedly cited Spencer W. Kimball’s landmark address, “The Second Century of Brigham Young University” In essence, he told the faculty and staff they needed to stop doing things the worlds way, and instead employ what President Kimball referred to as the “Gospel Methodology” but then he admitted, he did not know what the Gospel Methodology was. He was followed by the VP of BYU who echoed the same call, but then also admitted, he did not know what the Gospel Methodology was either.

Now, if President Kimball had come last week and told BYU to employ the “Gospel Methodology” I could understand them not knowing what he meant exactly. Or if President Worthen was called to lead BYU last month, I could sympathize with his lack of understanding… But President Kimball did not come last week. He came 47 years ago. In the time since President Kimball came to BYU and told them that they need to implement the Gospel Methodology, Steve Jobs founded Apple and it has become a multi-trillion dollar company; the United States has had 8 different Presidents; and the personal computer, which had been released by IBM a month before President Kimball’s address has gone from weighing 55 lbs to being small enough to fit in our back pocket. And beyond that, President Worthen was not called as the President of BYU last month, he has been President for nearly a decade.

Basically, the point I am making is this. The entire world has changed radically since President Kimball gave his address to BYU. So for President Worthen to say BYU’s faculty and staff need to do something that he can’t even define or explain is the epitome of failed leadership.

So this begs the question, what should or could be done? Well, from the most famous verse in the Book of Mormon (1 Nephi 3:7) we learn that “the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” Meaning, if the Lord via His prophets is saying we need to use a “Gospel Methodology” then it is the Lord’s obligation to explain what that means. I believe that the Lord has already explained what the Gospel Methodology is via His prophet Ezra Taft Benson. Less than a year before President Kimball gave his address, President Benson came to BYU and juxtaposed the world’s way versus the Lord’s way, AKA, Worldly Methodology vs Gospel Methodology. President Benson stated that in order to build up Zion, BYU professors will need to resist the “tendency to subscribe to the false teachings of men.” and instead “first lay the groundwork of the gospel truth in every subject and then, if necessary, show where the world may fall short of that standard.” He then declared, “In due time there will be increased teaching by the Spirit of God, but that can only take place if there is a decreased promotion of the precepts of men.”

So there we have the formula for teaching at BYU, the Gospel Methodology, “first lay the groundwork of the gospel truth in every subject and then, if necessary, show where the world may fall short of that standard.” Fidelity to this single paragraph would radically transform BYU and reverse its spiral into the false religion of wokeness.

Imagine if rather than having social sciences professors teaching that the Brethren and the Family proclamation are wrong because according to them, Gender is a spectrum (which happen at BYU see this article) Imagine if every class was FIRST taught the TRUTHS on the topic as dictated not by the professors political ideology, but rather the words of the prophets from the general conference addresses, and Church publications on the topic. “Today we are going to be discussing Gender. The gospel truths on gender are clear, there are but two genders, and they are eternal. (they would then read the Family Proclamation 2nd paragraph). Now class, let us look into what the world has done with this topic, let us dive into the world’s definitions of gender and gender dysphoria.”

This Gospel Methodology can be applied to almost every single issue being taught at BYU, there is a whole host of teachings of the prophets and apostles on a WIDE variety of topics in the conference reports of the Church that would allow us to use the Gospel Methodology. But, that brings us to the second problem at BYU, the apostate professors don’t believe the prophets.

2nd. Bad BYU Professors Have Become False Prophets of a False God.

In order to apply the aforementioned Gospel Methodology, one must have the “gospel truth” in various subjects. Do the scriptures contain the gospel truths on the evils of gambling? No, but the words of the Prophets do! What about abortion? Do the scriptures contain clear gospel truths on abortion? No, they contain some truths on abortion, but the clear gospel truths are only taught by the prophets. What about the issues around transgenderism and gender dysmorphia? Once again, the scriptures do not contain clear gospel truths, but the prophets and apostles have declared the truths!!

The scriptures are irreplaceable! But we must remember that the most important prophets are not the dead prophets from 1000 or 2000 years ago, but the living prophets. God did not give Enoch instructions on how Noah should build the ark. If we give extra attention to the Book of Mormon because Moroni “saw our day” should we not give even more attention to the prophets who are literally living in our day? So when the scriptures are not clear on a specific issue of our day, let us turn to the words of the prophets of the restoration to see what the living oracles of God have said, and newsflash, having read over 5000 conference talks from the last 80 years of general conference, the Brethern have, in general conference and Church publications, spoken out declaring the gospel truth on an extremely WIDE variety of issues.

But, herein lies issue the crux of the second issue facing BYU. The bad BYU professors no longer believe in all the prophets, and they are training their students to disbelieve as well. Sure they believe they lived, but they don’t believe in their call, their authority, or in all their words. They use notions like “things are different now” “that is not taught anymore” “That was over 40 years ago” “That was just Cold War era rhetoric” or “only Benson taught that” to dismiss prophetic statements they don’t like or agree with. When talking to BYU students about the apostasy at BYU, I have had them reject the notion and I hear phrases like, “those professors are not apostate, they just don’t buy into the old Joseph F. Smith version of the gospel.” or “It is far less black and white than people like Benson or Joseph F. Smith made it out to be. ”

But more than simply ignoring the prophets they disagree with, many professors hold the view that the Church will change to agree with them eventually. They dangerously teach students that once all the racist apostles were dead the Church allowed blacks to hold the priesthood and that eventually, the Church will accept the LGBTQ+ lifestyle, once all the homophobic apostles are dead.

Professors teaching this garbage is why so many students melted down when Elder Holland spoke at BYU and basically reaffirmed the Law of Chasity. These students said that Elder Holland ‘betrayed’ them, and they thought he was an ‘ally’ to convey that they thought that he secretly held the same beliefs as them and their professors, and once all the apostles in front of him died, he would allow gay marriage, but now they realized he must be a ‘homophobe’ too. (See Three Ways Everyone is Missing the Mark With Elder Holland’s Talk at BYU.)

This is far more dangerous than simply a few misguided professors, these professors think they are right. They often claim that they are following ‘personal revelation’ on these topics, and that ‘soon the Church will publically teach it too.’ What is worse, they use their positions to preach their doctrines, truly Joseph Smith was accurate when he said, “Nothing is a greater injury to the children of men than to be under the influence of a false spirit when they think they have the Spirit of God” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 205).

When professors intentionally reject the words of the prophets and substitute their own ‘revelations’ or agenda they become false prophets. And when they reshape Christ to fit their political or social ideologies (like the professors teaching that Jesus is genderless, gay, or a socialist) then they have created a false christ. Thus these professors are false prophets of a false god. They seek disciples in hopes that they can force the Church to be reshaped to their own liking. Ezra Taft Benson, addressed this 60 years ago when he declared, “There are a few teachers within the Church who while courting apostasy still want to remain members in the Church, for being members makes them more effective in misleading the Saints. But their day of judgment is coming, and when it does come, for some of them it would have been better, as the Savior said, that a millstone had been put around their necks and they had drowned in the depths of the sea, than to have led away any of the youth of the Church.” (Conference Report, Oct. 1964, Page 58)

What Can be Done?

I get asked all the time, by students, alumni, and others, “What can be done? Why has the prophet not done something about the apostates at BYU yet?” Answering the 2nd question first, I do believe the Prophet is “doing something.” in regards to BYU. In 2021 Elder Holland more or less gave an apostolic threat when he repeated President Nelson who stated:

“With the Church growing more rapidly in the less prosperous countries, we . . . must conserve sacred funds more carefully than ever before. At BYU we must ally ourselves even more closely with the work of our Heavenly Father. . . . A college education for our people is a sacred responsibility, [but] it is not essential for eternal life.” (ellipsis as quoted by Elder Holland)

Elder Holland went on to say, “A statement like that gets my attention, particularly because just a short time later President Nelson started to chair our board of trustees, hold our purse strings, and have the final “yea” or “nay” on every proposal we might make.”

If that is not a threat/warning to get back on track I don’t know what would be. Now, it is very important to understand that the Lord does NOT clean house until the wicked have fully grown. This allows the Lord to be justified in His actions. But it also allows mercy for the wicked if they return and repent (think Nineveh). So turning back to the first question: What can be done? That depends on who you are:

Alumni

If you are an Alumni of BYU make your voice heard. Share your first-hand experiences. If you have had children or grandchildren who have been radicalized by apostate BYU professors and or left the Church share those stories too! You can share them on social media, but most importantly express your respectful feelings to members of the Board of Trustees, not telling them what to do, but sharing information with them understanding that revelation comes often after lateral information gathering.

And if you’ve done these things, and want to do more, remember nothing speaks louder to BYU than your money. Next time they ask for donations, which is all the time, we literally got a letter today asking for money… Instead of donating to BYU Provo, tell them why you’ve chosen to give to an actual worthy cause like the BYU-Pathways program. (Find more ideas at https://philanthropies.churchofjesuschrist.org/) If BYU’s boosters suddenly stopped supporting them they would rapidly change their tune.

Parents of Current/Perspective Students

You must realize that BYU is not a safe place for your children. Many kids think that because they are at BYU, “the Lord’s university,” everything taught to them is compatible with the gospel, thus, in many ways, BYU can be even more dangerous than other universities. Prepare your children! Explain to your children that you would rather them fail a class in the family sciences for speaking up, during class, and respectfully standing for truth on gospel issues like gender or marriage than fail to keep their covenants but maintain their 4.0 GPA.

Teach them that they should not be contentious, but that they have already made covenants to stand for truth at all times, which includes during lectures. Explain the word valiant within the context of Doctrine and Covenants 76:79. Read talks like Valiant in the Testimony of Jesus by Elder Cook. And Three Threatening Dangers by Ezra Taft Benson (where he dives into the dangers of false educational ideas). You must realize that sending your children to BYU is not sending them to a safe place, it is sending them to a war zone. And as such you must constantly be in communication with them to ensure they are not being led astray by the false prophets that some BYU professors are. We must prepare our children for the path, because there is no path prepared for our children (Click here for an article on this subject).

Current Students/Perspective Students.

First, let me say that I know that being a student is scary sometimes. I went to UVU, and on my first day of classes ever (I was homeschooled through Highschool) I had a professor call me out for wearing a “Porn Kills Love” shirt in front of the whole class. He told me to defend my shirt and its message. So I know it can be terrifying to stand up. It is even harder at a secular school where the words of the prophets are not authoritative but rather are meaningless and you must defend your beliefs with only facts and logic.

When we are baptized we covenant to stand as a witness of God “at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death.” Think about how all-encompassing this statement is. There is never a time that you will be justified in not standing, nor is there a thing that you will be justified in not standing for, nor is there a place that you can justify as the reason you did not want to speak up, EVEN If that caused your death. I believe that includes your lecture hall.

Now, if you are like my wife, (who did go to BYU), you might be thinking I am being a bit extreme here, but let me be clear, I do not believe that failing to stand as a witness for gospel truths at BYU will cost your exaltation. But, it does set a habit of breaking covenants for convenience that will cost your exaltation if continued.

Casual covenant-keeping does not work, it never has, and never will. So depending on the setting, you must stand up and speak out. If a teacher is advocating false doctrines (not just opinions you don’t like, but actually taking stances that are against the Church’s stances) such as advocating for abortion or the false gospel of antiracism respectfully raise your hand and testify of the truth on the topic (see here for more on how antiracism is a false gospel).

If your professor refuses to call on you, then speak out “Excuse me, but that is not true. The Brethern have taught elective abortion is ALWAYS wrong.” (citing a prophet is the most effective tool to use, even though it is a luxury that works only at BYU). It is vital that when we can speak up that we do. Another effective thing to do is to record the lecture where false doctrine is taught so that you can expose it. Now, perhaps you are in a devotional or large assembly where false doctrine is being taught and speaking out is not allowed, walking out while shaking your head in disagreement might be the most respectful way of standing up and speaking out. And who knows, but others might follow your example! Imagine if this happened when William Barbar II spoke at BYU, the students would not have failed the shock test. (See If William Barber II was a Shock Test, BYU’s Faculty and Students Failed it!)

But it is more than just about yourself, when a teacher starts to preach false doctrine, you might be ok with simply being quiet about it. But you are not alone! You are often in a class of dozens if not hundreds of others… They, your fellow students, need your witness. You don’t know how many of them are struggling with a testimony of the gospel topic being discussed and came to class to be led to the Light and to be nurtured by the good word of God, yet they are being fed poison that will destroy them. You, yes, YOU might be the difference maker in the testimony of your fellow students. Standing up and testifying gives the Spirit the ability to testify to their soul of the truth of your words. This is why it is vital that if you can speak out that you do, If no one stands and speaks then the Spirit does not have the ability to testify of the truth that was never stated, worse if no one speaks, other students might conclude that everyone agrees with the false doctrines taught by the teacher and that they are true. Silently keeping your convictions to yourself is not covenant-keeping. The key is the principle taught by Dallin H. Oaks about profanity that applies here, “at least register an objection so that others cannot conclude that our silence means approval or acquiescence.”

Faculty and Staff

First, let me say I know that many of you are the cream of the crop in terms of righteous teachers. I know that many of you want BYU to be what its prophetic mandate demands it to be. I know this because of all the messages I get from you. But, a few bad apples can spoil the whole bushel. Would you make a pie with apples when you knew one was poisoned? Would you give a slice of that pie to your own children? That is what is happening at BYU!

The faculty and staff of BYU are the most equipped to fight the cankering cancer of wokeism that seeks to destroy BYU, discredit the Church, and nullify the restoration. The quickest way to regain trust in cops is to have the good cops demand the removal of bad cops, and refuse to accept anything less. The same applies to teachers at BYU. When the precepts of man are being taught instead of the gospel truths, good professors will go to those in charge and demand action. When action is not taken, just like the bad cops being protected, it might be because of complicit bosses. It is time to expose both. Go public and expose what is happening.

If the Duke Volleyball incident taught us anything about BYU, it is that BYU will IMMEDIATELY “bow the knee” to public pressure. And is anything more worthy of public pressure at BYU than this? For if BYU is a temple of learning then don’t we have the right to demand that all professors are temple worthy? How can we be a temple of learning if we allow false prophets to teach false doctrines in the temple? BYU’s faculty and staff can not, and must not accept anything short of a cleansing of the temple. Just as the good cops cannot and will not accept bad cops saying on the force, because to quote the truths from Bonhoeffer, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

We are fighting for the souls of the rising generation. We must stand and fight. Because if we fail to do so, God will hold us accountable. Is that a hard doctrine? Yes, but it is the doctrine of the Church. When we fail to magnify our stewardship God holds us accountable for those we might’ve saved.

Therefore what?

It is past time that all of us, regardless of if we are Alumni, Parents, Students, Faculty, Staff, or just normal members of the Church, publically and consistently demand that BYU live up to its mandate. It is past time that we demand that all teachings be consistent with the words of the prophets. And it is past time that we demand that all BYU professors hold active temple recommends. Am I saying that those outside the gospel can’t be good professors? No! One of my wife’s favorite professors at BYU was a non-member. But at BYU, where you had a Prophet of God give a charge to “not teach even the alphabet or the multiplication tables without the Spirit of God.” How can we expect those who don’t have the Gift of the Holy Ghost to do this?

How can we employ a Gospel Methodology where you are to teach and testify and then testify and teach with those who don’t have a testimony of the restoration of the Gospel? Why would you hire those, or retain those, who are testimony baren? They might make good guest lecturers, but we have plenty of people with testimonies to fill all teaching positions at BYU. There is no topic or subject so important to justify a departure from the mandate from Brigham Young to Karl G. Maeser to teach by the Gift of the Holy Ghost. It would be better that a subject not be taught than to be taught by the faithless.

If all of us stand for truth at all times, in all things, and in all places, we can correct BYU’s spiral into wokeness, but if we do not, BYU will fail its mission and take many of the rising generation with it.