Exclusive: Governor Jindal Tells Liberty Graduates: Accepting Jesus Most Important Moment in His Life

The Brody File has obtained an exclusive advanced copy of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s graduation speech that he will give at the influential evangelical Liberty University this weekend.

And let me tell you something: this speech is so full of evangelical truth and heart that if Jindal decides to run for president of the United States in 2016, he might want to think of bringing a copy of this with him to Iowa and South Carolina. He would be a big hit.

The speech focuses in on how religious liberty and people of faith are under attack in today’s culture but here are a few excerpts that caught The Brody File’s attention, including where he talks about accepting Jesus Christ as the MOST IMPORTANT event in his life.

Gov. Jindal: “I could tell you a lot of amusing stories about my folks adjusting to life in America, but I want to fast forward to the most significant thing that has ever happened to me, and it happened when I was a child.  A friend I knew gave me a rather odd Christmas present, he gave me a Bible.

Some time later, a girl I knew invited me to church. Here I was, looking for a date, and meanwhile she was looking to save my soul.  I found the Gospel message intriguing, but I was skeptical. I’m an analytical sort of person, so I decided I would have to investigate all these fanciful claims. So I started reading this Bible, often times in my closet, as I wasn’t sure how my parents would respond.

The short story is this, I read the words of Jesus Christ and I realized that they were true. I used to think that I had found God, but I believe it is more accurate to say that He found me. And it happened because people were brave enough to plant seeds of the Gospel in my life.

Many years later, when I became a candidate for political office, in one of my first debates, I got the question– “What is the single most important moment in your life?”

I had just endured countless hours of debate prep sessions with my political consultants and staff. That’s where you sit around and get savagely grilled by people you pay – your political consultants and staffers. I knew exactly what they hoped I would say – they would argue that I should try to appeal to female voters by offering a touching story about when I asked my wife Supriya for her hand in marriage, or about the birth of my first child.  And yes, those were great moments.

But instead, I decided to do something new in politics, I told the audience the truth -- that the most significant moment of my life was when I turned it over to Jesus Christ and acknowledged Him as my Savior.

My political consultants then began shifting uncomfortably in their seats…and I have to admit I enjoyed that.

I thought of Matthew 10:33 which says -- "whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is iwdn heaven.”  And of Romans 1:16 which says – ‘For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes…’”

There’s another excerpt that I found fascinating, one in which he talks about how believing in Jesus is NOT FOR DUMMIES. Remember, Jindal is a Rhodes Scholar. He is as smart as they come and he accepted Jesus.

Take a look at this excerpt:

Gov. Jindal: “It is said that College is an intellectual pursuit, involving reason and logic. I went to Brown University in the Ivy League, a place that prides itself in intellectual reasoning. One of the good things about going to Brown is that I was able to become the President of the College Republicans on campus almost immediately. The other Republican student at Brown was the Vice President.

Some kids go off to college and lose their way, they become convinced that their faith is not an intellectual pursuit.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Reason and logic lead to truth…which means that reason and logic lead to God.

There is a general view among many of the elites in America that truly enlightened folks realize that all this faith and religion stuff is just quaint and antiquated thinking from an earlier era.  Or that it is a nice restful place for those who are not as bright or as intellectually curious as they are.

Again, nothing could be further from the truth. True intellectual curiosity will inevitably lead to an understanding of the Creator.

I always noticed examples of this elitist view of faith when national political reporters, usually from places like Boston, New York, or Washington, would come down to Baton Rouge to interview me in my first years as Governor.

Inevitably during these interviews they say something like this – “you are a smart guy, we know you went to Brown and were a Rhodes Scholar, so tell me, how is it that you call yourself pro-life, and you say that you oppose gay marriage, and you say that you oppose gun control? You just say that stuff to get elected in the Deep South right?”

So of course, l liked to have a little fun with it, so I would lean over the desk, and in hushed tones, pretending to confide in him or her, I would say – well…just between us, do me a favor, go tell your editors the bad news, tell them that I absolutely believe everything I say. As you can imagine, those interviews ended rather abruptly.”

Folks, if Jindal gets into the race he could occupy a unique space within the potential GOP field. He can relate to evangelicals with his story, he’s uber-smart so he’s respected in that regard, his ethnicity gives him an opening to those who may be skeptical of the inclusion within the Republican Party and as governor he has a proven conservative track record.

The big outstanding question is the obvious intangible aspect, which is whether he can package it all and communicate it effectively so people will forge a connection with him. That’s the key. He sure will forge a connection among evangelicals with a speech like this.