The mission of Brigham Young University—founded,
supported, and guided by The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints—is to assist individuals in
their quest for perfection and eternal life. That
assistance should provide a period of intensive learning
in a stimulating setting where a commitment to
excellence is expected and the full realization of human
potential is pursued.
All instruction, programs, and services at BYU,
including a wide variety of extracurricular experiences,
should make their own contribution toward the balanced
development of the total person. Such a broadly
prepared individual will not only be capable of meeting
personal challenge and change but will also bring
strength to others in the tasks of home and family life,
social relationships, civic duty, and service to
mankind.
To succeed in this mission the university must
provide an environment enlightened by living prophets
and sustained by those moral virtues which characterize
the life and teachings of the Son of God. In that
environment these four major educational goals should
prevail:
- All students at BYU should be taught the truths
of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Any education is
inadequate which does not emphasize that His is the
only name given under heaven whereby
mankind can be saved. Certainly all relationships
within the BYU community should reflect devout
love of God and a loving, genuine concern for
the welfare of our neighbor.
- Because the gospel encourages the pursuit
of all truth, students at BYU should receive a broad
university education. The arts, letters, and
sciences provide the core of such an education, which will
help students think clearly, communicate effectively,
understand important ideas in their own cultural
tradition as well as that of others, and establish
clear standards of intellectual integrity.
- In addition to a strong general education, students
should also receive instruction in the special fields
of their choice. The university cannot provide
programs in all possible areas of professional or
vocational work, but in those it does provide the
preparation must be excellent. Students who graduate
from BYU should be capable of competing with the best
in their fields.
- Scholarly research and creative endeavor among
both faculty and students, including those in selected
graduate programs of real consequence, are essential
and will be encouraged.
In meeting these objectives BYU’s faculty, staff,
students, and administrators should also be anxious to
make their service and scholarship available to The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in furthering
its work worldwide. In an era of limited enrollments,
BYU can continue to expand its influence both by
encouraging programs that are central to the Church’s
purposes and by making its resources available to the
Church when called upon to do so.
We believe the earnest pursuit of this institutional
mission can have a strong effect on the course of higher
education and will greatly enlarge Brigham Young University’s
influence in a world we wish to improve.
—Approved by the BYU Board of Trustees
November 4, 1981
