A newspaper is occasionally justified in featuring an exceptional business, family life or sports story on its front page, where national and international news belongs.

At The Daily Universe, however, the criterion for a front-page story is this: barring some national or campus-wide catastrophe, football is always first, and a football story ideally fills up three-quarters of the front page, accompanied by half a dozen photos.

I’m not against, nor would the Deseret News or the Salt Lake Tribune be against, a front-page article for, say, BYU’s win over top-ranked Oklahoma. And since The Daily Universe is a campus-wide student newspaper, it’s even acceptable that wins against Tulane and Colorado State (and a loss to Florida State, for that matter) receive front-page treatment.

By MICHAEL CHIDESTER

In appraising the effectiveness of any program, two questions must, at a minimum, be addressed. First, what was the organizers’ intent, stated or otherwise, for the program? Second, how well was this intent achieved? Other considerations might also be included, such as planning, expense, logistics, and so forth, but these two questions are paramount.

The intent behind the devotional program is not stated anywhere on the BYU site that I can find. I’m going to assume, therefore, that President Cecil O. Samuelson’s intent in the devotional program is something along the lines of “that uplifting and educational material is offered, that it is made available to as many BYU students and personnel as possible, and that students are encouraged to attend and participate.”

In response to “Follow the Prophet:” I'm a 19-year-old sophomore at BYU. There are many people at BYU who would judge me for not serving a mission. However, that is something that’s between me and the Lord.

It’s not for everyone else to decide who I am and what kind of a person I am on the basis that I haven’t served a mission. Others can’t understand the circumstances of my life at all. Every day, I feel like people are judging me and thinking I'm a sinner just because I'm 19 and attend BYU. One of my roommates always says, "Don't judge me. That's for God to decide." While he says it jokingly, it's quite true. People who judge others without knowing their circumstances is one of the biggest peeves I have about the BYU community.

I am really surprised by the comments that have been written in response to "Mission doesn't make the man" (Sept. 22). 

All members of this church have to realize that it is "obedience that makes the man," but also that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).  No one is eligible for an eternal marriage without the atonement.  Not even an RM.

For young men approaching the age to serve: do everything in your power to serve a full time mission.  The experience you will gain from this will be invaluable to you.  Also, it is a commandment.  Keep the commandments.

To lump people into categories of righteousness based on “RM” or “non-RM” status is not only naïve, but highly destructive. You would hope that when an individual is ready to become engaged, they would know the other person on a fairly deep level. I assume they have a fairly good grasp on each other's character that goes far beyond categories of serving a mission or not. I think missions are vastly important. I am eternally grateful to the missionaries who brought the gospel to me and my family. I have a great respect for those who have chosen to make such a difficult sacrifice. It is not my place, however, to hold anything against an individual who hasn’t served a mission. I know several fantastic and incredibly spiritual individuals who haven’t served missions. It is terrible that anyone would judge them or look down on them because of that.

Since when is it an act of snobbery to date only individuals who share your deeply held values?  The “Mission doesn’t make the man” and “Think twice” letters both implied that girls who date only returned missionaries are somehow being close-minded and hyper-judgemental.  But, assuming that these girls are dating with the intent to get married, they’re just making a very sensible choice.  For a marriage to be strong and happy, couples really need to be on the same page as far as their deep, personal values are concerned.  Most girls realize this, and will try to date guys who share their perspective on spiritual matters.  If a girl looking for a future husband finds out that a guy hasn’t served a mission, the question isn’t whether or not he’s a basically  “good person.”  The real question is &ldq

We all know that the Prophet has requested that every worthy young man serve a mission, but sometimes people make mistakes or things happen in their lives that make it so they do not serve missions.  I have a father, who by the way is a bishop, who did not serve a mission.