BYU Football Spanish devotional focuses on unity in Jesus Christ

PROVO, Utah — In a Church building in South Provo on Sunday night, four BYU football players who served Spanish-speaking missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints delivered addresses in Spanish to a congregation of 200+, sharing their testimonies of Jesus Christ, experiences they’ve had that have helped them learn about the importance of being unified in Christ and invitations to the congregation to build unity together.

The devotional was titled Juntos en Christo (Together in Christ) and was conducted in Spanish by BYU associate head coach and defensive coordinator Jay Hill, who served a mission in Puerto Rico 30 years ago.

“Si nosotros nos esforzamos a ayudar a otros a sentir el amor de Jesucristo, tendremos más gozo y nos sentiremos como en casa.”

- @peteytui pic.twitter.com/ZJVNwgPCEB

— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) March 4, 2024

Jovesa Damuni gave the first address. He is entering his freshman season as a running back on this year’s team after returning from a mission to Santiago, Chile 10 months ago. Damuni spoke about the adjustment of returning home after two years, and the importance of getting out of his comfort zone at BYU. He referenced an assignment from one of his professors to introduce himself to someone on campus that he’d never met before. When fulfilling this assignment, he ended up realizing that he had a lot more in common with the person he met than what he initially thought he would. Damuni said that as children of God, we all have more in common than we do have differences, and all of us can feel unity and togetherness as we turn to God.

Ben Bywater spoke next. He initially struggled to remember how long it had been since serving as a missionary in Guatemala, but eventually remembered that it had been four years. Entering his fourth season on the BYU football team, Bywater talked about facing trials and shared some of the adversity he faced last season, after having plans to be an NFL prospect at the beginning of the season but suffering a season-ending injury just four games in. He said that as he has turned to God through this trial, he found peace. He has also learned a lot about himself and became stronger in different ways. Bywater shared a message from Elder David A. Bednar about getting traction in our lives and that it is sometimes the weight of the things we carry that give us that traction and allows us to move forward.

After a combined choir of BYU student-athletes sang I Know that My Redeemer Lives, Petey Tuilupotu spoke next. He spent a year on the football roster in 2020, before serving a mission for one year in Las Vegas and one year in Costa Rica. Tuipulotu spoke about the unique circumstances he experienced in his first year on the team, in a time of a global pandemic and also social justice issues. He talked about how the team, filled with people who had different backgrounds and experiences, and different perspectives on the current issues of the time, came together under a mantra of Love One Another. That invitation from Jesus Christ in Mark 22 was the focus of Tuipulotu’s remarks, sharing that if we can all truly strive to have the pure love of Jesus Christ in our hearts, motivating our actions, we can solve many of the problems we see in our lives.

Tyler Batty was the concluding student-athlete speaker. Batty, who returned in 2019 after a two-year mission in Spain, spoke about the importance of preparation and becoming the best people we can be. He said that as a football player, he is constantly in a state of preparation for the next season, next game and next opponent. Despite whether the team wins or loses, the outcome does not diminish his preparation. The process of continually trying and preparing, again and again, whether as a football player or in our everyday lives, will help us to be the best versions of ourselves and who Jesus Chirst wants us to be.

Hill provided some final remarks, how he learned as a missionary about how God wants us to love each other, with all of our heart, might, mind and strength. He said that we can see others how Jesus Christ wants us to see them and that Christlike love can change the world.