I want to take the opportunity at the beginning of a new academic year to write to you as your bishop. I am very proud that you have chosen to continue your pursuit of truth at the university level. The time spent in undergraduate and graduate studies is a time of growth and change. More than just providing you with the skills and knowledge necessary for whatever profession you choose, a college education forms you intellectually, assists you in discovering your personal identity and helps you grow into a mature individual who contributes to the common good.
Humorist, newspaper columnist and social commentator Will Rogers once glibly remarked, “Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don’t have for something they don’t need.” His point is not so far off target. As the famous businessman William Feather astutely observed, “The philosophy behind much advertising is based on the old observation that every man is really two men — the man he is and the man he wants to be.”
In 1904, St. Louis hosted the 21st World’s Fair. The fair was so big that a visitor would need more than a week to give even a casual glance at all the attractions. The fair’s 1,272 acres boasted 1,500 buildings, connected by some 75 miles of roads and walkways. The fair feasted the visitor with the marvels of modern technology, such as the x-ray machine, the electric typewriter and motion pictures. For the first time, most visitors came to enjoy the ice cream cone, iced tea and the hot dog. Electricity, however, stole the show. Electric lights on the inside and outside of all the major buildings and on the roads dazzled the visitor.