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Provo • Brigham Young University's 2012 graduating class is leaving campus with more than just a sheepskin, a former university president told them.

They are going out into the world with the indelible mark of a BYU graduate, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, of the LDS Church's governing Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said at Thursday's commencement.

"The mark you receive as a BYU graduate is neither involuntary nor self-imposed," Oaks said. "You sought this mark, and it is put upon you by proper authority."

Oaks, who was BYU president from 1971-1980, said BYU alumni status should influence the graduates for the rest of their lives.

First, he said, being a BYU graduate will affect others, either by creating in them expectation or disappointment.

"But the most important effect of the mark put upon you today is not the signal it sends to others, but the influence it should have upon you," Oaks said. "A mark can and should be a reminder of our relationship to those who put the mark upon us and also of the responsibilities we have assumed as a result of the certifications they give us."

Oaks said students should remember, along with their academic achievements, the moral teachings they received in the school's mandatory religion classes and in other campus settings.

BYU President Cecil Samuelson said BYU grads need to remember the scriptural admonition that "unto whom much is given much is required," and that they will, as it says on the university's gate, "go forth to serve."

"Inherent in all that we do at BYU is the expectation and even mandate that the efforts of students, professors, family members and friends, tithe payers and thoughtful donors will all bear productive and valuable fruit," Samuelson said.

The university conferred almost 6,000 degrees in the ceremony at the Marriott Center.

Speaking for the graduating class, Stephen Richards expressed gratitude for all those who helped the students through their college years, which he compared to a microcosm of the world.

"BYU is more than just a university," Richards said. "It's a little world. And we've learned life lessons, not just classroom ones."

Hannah Wertz, of Salem, Ore., said she was "excited" to get her Bachelor of Fine Arts, even though she does not have a job prospect at the moment.

She said Oaks' talk was a great part of the ceremony.

"I felt [Oaks] was funny and spiritual, and all the things graduation is about," Wertz said.

Maralee Carlin, who received a bachelor's degree in East Asian history, said she plans to work for a year before going to graduate school.

dmeyers@sltrib.comTwitter: @donaldwmeyers —

BYU graduation, by the numbers

5,996 • Number of degrees conferred during graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2012.

3,417 • Number of BYU graduates from U.S. states and territories other than Utah.

1,887 • Number of Utahns who received degrees from BYU this year.

489 • Foreign students receiving degrees from BYU.

35 • Number of Army and Air Force ROTC cadets earning officers' commissions. (Fifteen for the Army and 20 for the Air Force.)

1 • Degrees awarded for Boy Scouting.