University President: Be a Good Samaritan Every Day

A university president just reminded thousands of students that changing the world doesn't require grand gestures, just everyday compassion.

President Alvin F. Meredith III opened BYU-Idaho's spring semester on January 13 by retelling the biblical parable of the good Samaritan. But his message wasn't about ancient history.

"My invitation is not to start doing something new but to keep doing what you already do, with intention," he told students gathered in the BYU-Idaho Center. "Slow down just enough to see who might be struggling on the road beside you."

Meredith emphasized that being a good Samaritan means showing kindness to people who are different from us. In Jesus' time, Jews despised Samaritans, yet Jesus made a Samaritan the hero of his story.

"Christ's message is unmistakable: Prejudice has no place in discipleship," Meredith said. He challenged students to go beyond avoiding hurtful words themselves and to speak up when they hear racism, even when it's disguised as a joke.

"Silence may feel polite, but it's not Christlike," he added.

The Ripple Effect

Meredith shared a stunning example of how one kind conversation can echo for decades. Twenty years ago, a newspaper reporter named Jacque interviewed a church member for an article. The man was simply kind, gracious, and genuinely interested in her life.

Two decades later, Jacque walked into a church meeting in Tennessee. She told the congregation that one interview had never left her mind. "I think he's the most Christlike man I've ever met," she said.

Six weeks after attending her first service, Jacque was baptized. The man who had shown her simple kindness all those years ago? Elder Todd Christofferson, now a senior church leader.

The story proves what Meredith wanted students to understand: we rarely see the full impact of our compassion. That smile at someone struggling, that defense of someone being mocked, that moment of genuine interest in a stranger's life, it all matters more than we know.

Small acts of everyday kindness are already changing the world, one conversation at a time.