Brigham Young University's Religious Studies Center hosted a symposium on the Plan of Salvation on Friday, March 13.
Speakers discussed symbolism in different parts of the Plan of Salvation, a concept found in scripture and central to the beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Students and community members came together to hear from passionate speakers. While some came to support their family or friends who were chosen to speak, others said they were avid symposium attendees.
Rachel Evans, a BYU senior in the nursing program, came to the symposium with her sister, Rebekah Evans, a BYU junior studying computer science.
“I saw an advertisement for it — like a poster, and I've gone to one of the other devotional symposium things, and I really liked it. I like how it kind of goes deeper,” Rachel Evans said. “It doesn't have the homework of religion classes, so that's why I'm here.”
This marks the second symposium for the winter 2026 semester at BYU. The first was the annual BYU Religious Education Symposium in honor of Sidney B. Sperry, held earlier this year.
“There's just a deeper understanding of the Plan of Salvation (from) different sources (and) prophets that they've talked about that I haven't heard about before,” Rachel Evans said.
Speakers touched on topics such as the creation of the Earth as mentioned in the Bible, the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and the redeeming power of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Each person was given eight minutes to present their insights on their assigned topic.
Cameron Krill, a BYU freshman, said he was invited to attend the symposium by his bishop and one of the key speakers for the symposium, Jared Ludlow.
“I just wanna learn more about Christ and about the Plan of Salvation … I like to learn about church stuff, so hopefully I can attend some more (symposiums) in the future,” Krill said.
According to "Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ":
“In God’s plan, each of us makes a journey through premortal life, birth, mortal life, death and life after death. God has provided what we need during this journey so that after we die, we can eventually return to His presence and receive a fullness of joy.”
Speakers discussed these principles in further detail throughout the symposium. The manual goes on to say:
“Jesus Christ is central to God’s plan. Through His Atonement and Resurrection, Jesus made it possible for each of us to receive immortality and eternal life.”
Jared Ludlow, YSA bishop and BYU professor in the Ancient Scripture Department, led the symposium and also included some remarks on where the Plan of Salvation is mentioned in the Book of Mormon.
He highlighted phrases written in the mandative subjunctive form to draw emphasis on the “necessity of the plan and the necessity of the atonement as part of the plan,” Lundlow said.
Ludlow concluded and said, “I pray that each one of us can avail ourselves of this great blessing of redemption by believing in Christ, coming unto him, having faith and repentance to be able to receive all the blessings of the great eternal plan for redemption,” he said.