President Nelson addresses BYU student body

President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints visited the student body of BYU. In addressing the student body, he said, “There is no group we’d rather be with today than you.”

Many students felt the same way. “It is the right time and the right place for me to be a student here,” said Andrew Reed, BYU student. 

The doors to the Marriott Center opened at 9 a.m., two hours before the devotional started. However, students who showed up at 9 a.m. found themselves at the back of the line. Some students even tried to camp out the night before to avoid the line. A steady stream of students crammed into the Marriott Center all morning. When there were no seats left, they simply stood in the aisles. 

“The doors said max capacity but I came in anyways. So maybe I’m just going to stand here,” said Reed. Those who arrived  later sat on the ground in the hallway surrounding the arena. Many people didn’t realize that this is the first time in 8 years that the prophet has come to speak to BYU students. The last time was in 2011 when President Monson visited. And though Russel M. Nelson visited the student body in 2015, he was not yet the prophet.

In his speech, President Nelson spoke of how the current generation is a chosen people. He discussed the nature of truth and other doctrinal points shared by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He even touched on the recently changed controversial church policies related to the LGBT community.

Whatever the topic, students across campus were excited to hear from their prophet.