Elder Bednar said he knew the illustration might lead to letters in BYU's campus newspaper, the Daily Universe, about the young man being too judgmental or about Elder Bednar focusing on a young woman's mistake instead of a young man's.

"I simply invite you to consider and ponder the power of being quick to observe — and what was actually observed in the case I just described. The issue was not earrings!"

Tuesday's devotional was the first in years by a member of the Twelve during a BYU spring or summer term, when devotionals traditionally are moved from the cavernous Marriott Center to the 1,268-seat de Jong Concert Hall in the Harris Fine Arts Center. The concert hall proved too small for Elder Bednar's appearance as more than twice the capacity attended in overflow areas.

The hall reached capacity well before the devotional began and LDS students, faculty and staff hoping to see one of their spiritual leaders quickly filled up a 133-seat overflow room in the same building as well as the 400-seat Varsity Theater.

Hundreds of additional students gathered in both the Joseph Smith Building Auditorium and in the Wilkinson Student Center's Terrace near the CougarEat to watch a live broadcast of the address.

"We were thrilled with the large attendance," BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said.

Elder Bednar's devotional will be rebroadcast May 22 at 6 a.m. and 11 a.m. on KBYU-TV and at 8 a.m. on BYU Television.

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com