By Sarah Tomoser
William Barrett, a BYU professor in the department of computer science, spoke to students about the treasures of precious precepts at Tuesday?s Devotional.
?Our father has provided laws and packaged them into precious precepts,? Barrett said. ?Those who receive and act on the precepts of God receive more.?
Barrett said he found many precious precepts in the Book of Mormon. Throughout his life, he kept a daily Book of Mormon journal recording his findings. Sometimes he would record a paragraph, other times he would write multiple pages. Using this method it took him five years to get through 2 Nephi.
?It has also cultivated a love for the Book of Mormon?I read from it everyday and, in short, I?m hooked.?
Barrett encouraged students to continue to seek and understand the precious precepts; there will be an increase of blessings by doing so.
?When we say, ?We?ve had enough,? we cease to grow,? he said.
To demonstrate that the momentum that drives an individual?s life is very strong, Barrett shared a childhood experience when the momentum that he acquired while sledding down hill was too much for the small turning capacity of his flexible sled, causing him to fall into the stream at the base of the hill.
?Overwhelming momentum overrides small course corrections,? he said. ?Allow small course corrections to guide your momentum, not the other way around.?
Barrett encouraged students to labor earnestly in search of true precepts, not just view them as a to-do list.
?Whether in sledding or in science we search for answers with tenacity and faith and we will find fruition,? he said. ?Life?s real reward?is an exclamation point, not a check mark.?
Barrett attended the University of Utah and received his bachelor?s degree in mathematics and a doctoral degree in medical biophysics.
Barrett has also worked as a research fellow for the National Institutes of Health in the Division of Computer Research and Technology, where he worked with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
Barrett has worked at BYU for 16 years and currently heads a research group focusing on computer vision, pattern recognition and image processing.
In July, Barrett will become the new mission president of the Wisconsin Milwaukee Mission.