Press release and photos courtesy of the Church Newsroom. To visit their site, CLICK HERE.
Following his devotional address at Brigham Young University on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, a plaque was unveiled honoring President Dallin H. Oaks of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The plaque features a quote from his address:
President Dallin H. Oaks and his wife, Kristen stand near the Carillon Bell Tower by a new plaque with a quote from President Oaks that will be placed at the tower’s base. They are joined by BYU President C. Shane Reese and his wife, Wendy. Photo taken on February 10, 2026.
“I firmly believe that it is the destiny of Brigham Young University to become what past and present prophets knew it could become. With the consecration and leadership of this community, BYU will become the great university of the Lord—not in the world’s way but in the Lord’s way.”
The plaque will be installed at the BYU Carillon Bell Tower alongside a separate plaque commemorating President Spencer W. Kimball’s dedication of the tower on October 10, 1975. During that centennial dedication, President Kimball expressed his hope that, just as the bells lift hearts through sacred music, the moral lives of BYU graduates would provide “the music of hope” to the world.
The 97-foot tower was erected in 1975 as a centennial gift from students, faculty, and alumni. President Oaks was serving as BYU president at the time of its installation. Today, the tower’s 53 bells—cast in Holland—continue to ring across campus. The largest bell weighs 3 tons (6,000 pounds), and the smallest weighs about 21½ pounds. A 30-minute recital is played on most weekdays at noon during academic terms, and “Come, Come, Ye Saints” sounds automatically on the hour.
At its dedication, President Oaks described the tower as a “landmark to signal the completion of our first century and to remind us of lofty hopes with which we inaugurate our second century.”
More than 50 years later, the addition of President Oaks’ words reinforces BYU’s enduring mission and its aspiration to become “the great university of the Lord.”
President Oaks’ February 10 address, “Coming Closer to Jesus Christ,” is available to watch online.
