I probably should not say anything about this because to be perfectly honest, I think college sports are only slightly less-worthless to humanity than pro sports are. In other words, right up there with Muammar Qaddafi’s ego in the amount of good they have done the world.
But there seems to be some confusion. Jimmer Fredette is actually NOT the greatest Mormon missionary in the world, I don’t care how cute he was as a waterboy for his big brother. And the whole Brandon Davies thing? Look, kudos to him if he confessed having sex with his girlfriend if there’s no proof, and if she is pregnant, then, dude, what a difficult situation for her. It’s hard enough being pregnant, in the best of all possible circumstances, and these are not ideal circumstances. I hope they’re able to make the best of whatever the situation is.
It irks me when winning a game is the most important thing. Did you see the movie Secretariat? Probably not, because it was a pretty stinky movie about Diane Lane and a horse. Diane Lane’s character (it’s based on a true story) basically abandons her family and does all sorts of crazy things but in the end it’s okay, her family’s all kinds of proud of her and her husband thinks she’s fabulous because the horse Secretariat wins the Triple Crown. Which, horse racing? Come on. What if the horse hadn’t won? And how does some horse’s running ability translate into it being okay that she left her kids? But wait, she followed her dream, she believed in . . . a horse. Triumph of the human, er, equine spirit, blah blah blah.
The greatest Mormon missionaries in the world are the ones who get up when the missionary handbook says to get up, and go to bed when the missionary handbook says to go to bed. They look for ways to serve; they cut their preparation day in half when their mission president asks them to. They wear white shirts and ties and they listen to the music that’s allowed, and they read their scriptures because they’re supposed to. They preach when the Spirit moves them and they cry tears of joy when someone wants to be baptized.
There’s a missionary in Texas right now who red-shirted for football . . . at the University of Utah. But right now he’s an AP (fancy leadership position) in Texas. My entire family are BYU loyalists, and I mean, my entire family: parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, my four brothers and sisters, and around sixty of my first cousins and their spouses. I met my husband there and I want my children to have the same experience.
But I am pretty darn impressed by a missionary in Texas who’ll return to play for the Utes. I might even go see a game and cheer him on, if I can work up to sitting through some football.
Subscribe by email
You know how I always feel lame commenting on your posts because they’re so well written, but here goes. “Amen, sister!”
First and foremost I’m not Mormon – I didn’t go to BYU, I don’t know anybody who went to BYU and the closest I’ve ever come to BYU was cheering for Oklahoma when they played BYU.
However, I teach a lot of young girls who are pregnant at 19 and have no husband. I’ve met their boyfriends, I’ve seen their faces, I’ve listened to their fears. It is not easy. It is the hardest part of my job. These kids (and make no mistake, they are children) are terrified. They are in desperate need of adult guidance and support not judgment and punishment.
These kids might very well have broken the laws of BYU. They might have very well jeopardized the BYU basketball season, but most importantly they have jeopardized their lives and the life of their future child. What I hope we don’t hear is a young man, overwhelmed with the pressure and stress of a poor choice driven to take his own life or the life of his girlfriend.
I’m not Mormon – but I am Christian and Christ’s universal teaching is one of unconditional love and forgiveness – let’s hope these kids are receiving plenty of that from somewhere.
Shannon Reply:
March 3rd, 2011 at 6:09 pm
You’re absolutely right, Beth. It’s easy for me to say because I couldn’t care less whether BYU wins or loses, but I hate that a very hard situation is probably being made harder for these two young people because of the sports angle. Who cares about sports? The boy and the girl (and the baby if there is one) are what’s important.
I broke the honor code when I was at BYU, and having to confess and fix that was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. And I was lucky to have a supportive family and no media coverage. (I’m going to say my little post is okay in the sea of media coverage on this because it is a little little post and hopefully wouldn’t be hurtful anyway, at least that was certainly not my intention.)
Vicki Reply:
March 3rd, 2011 at 6:29 pm
Despite what some people might think, the church would never turn its back on someone for trying to do the right thing, even after a violation of the church’s standards. The LDS church is not a list of “DOs and DON”Ts”, it’s about doing what Christ would do. Will the church make someone pay the consequences of their actions? Of course. It’s God’s law. The church does everything in its power to help that person set right what has been wronged, and it does it in the way Christ would do it, with full love and support.
The only thing I would change is that the greatest missionaries in the world are the member missionaries who have the courage and faith to talk to their friends about the gospel and bear their testimonies. I know. I’m one of those that has not always shared the gospel with friends who are not members. I let fear dictate my choices too often in this regard. The apostles have said it over and over again that the full-time missionaries cannot do their work without the help of the member missionaries.