Last week, President Dallin H. Oaks returned to BYU to deliver a campus wide devotional. His remarks were on the subject of daring to be different–both as a university and as individuals. As part of that address, President Oaks shared a clip (also shared by Elder Clark G. Gilbert at BYU’s August 2022 Education Week). The clip comes from “Candid Camera”, a hidden-camera reality series. In the video a series of actors planted in an elevator demonstrate how easily ordinary people bow to social pressure. Take a look:

The clip is truly funny, but it also teaches a memorable and important lesson.

“As students, do you dare to be different?” President Oaks asked. “Are you willing to face the opposite direction in the world’s elevators? More important than what you do as a student are the choices you are making in your personal life — the priorities you are adopting consciously or subconsciously. Are you going forward against the world’s opposition?”

We don’t want to turn and face the wall just because everyone seems to be. It’s a good clip to remember when you are feeling social pressure and wondering how to proceed. Hopefully we can all answer President Oaks’ question about daring to be different with a resounding, “yes!”.