The Fickle Fates of Sports Fandom

This last weekend saw two outcomes for the local teams. BYU defeated Notre Dame 28-24, and Utah defeated Colorado 27-24. The AP poll after that ranked BYU at No. 2, and Utah at No. 10, the first time perhaps ever that our two perpetual in-state rivals have ranked that high simultaneously. Both teams remain undefeated. Importantly, as I look back on these pages historically, almost everything I have ever written about sports has now expired and is forgotten. And so will this last weekend’s results. Remember, the fickle fates of even our most ardent fandom passions are here today, gone tomorrow.

At our two-hour block during our Sunday meetings there were smiles all around, and nobody made the usual jabs at each other. Everyone had a smile on their face, and the games were openly discussed with eager anticipation now of the upcoming rivalry game in two weeks.

I reflected this morning on what has happened to me over the years. I used to be much more invested in sports than I am right now. Frankly, the interruptions with ads now prolong the games of all sorts to a point that it’s almost unwatchable. I’m admitting it here and now - I’m now content to just look up the scores after it’s all said and done.

My interest is now mostly tangential at best. I thought it was instructive to have called on a good brother in the ward for a prayer in Sunday School, only to be turned down because he had lost his voice after attending the BYU-Notre Dame game in person and yelling so much his voice had disappeared come Sunday morning. (I won’t name names). 

That prompts this thought in me today:

“What is it that you are so passionate about these days that you could shout your voice into oblivion?”

Here’s some food for thought. When Moses went to the mountain to talk to the Lord, he was gone for 40 days (see Exodus 24:18). The Israelites, who had seen wonderful miracles but were still growing their faith, feared Moses was never coming back. They rebelled against God and asked Aaron to make them a golden calf so they could worship that instead of the Lord (see Exodus 32).

In other words, when things got tough, they panicked, turned away from God, and reverted to their sinful ways.

We all have moments of uncertainty. Sometimes it may not seem clear what the Lord wants us to do. Sometimes we pray for answers and get impatient when they don’t come right away.

What do we do then? We hold onto our faith. We cling to what we already know while waiting to learn more.

The Golden Calf

You might not be tempted to build an idol to worship when you get discouraged. But what about the temptation to do things that bring more immediate gratification instead of lasting joy?

Don’t fall into that trap! Wait on the Lord for as long as it takes. Choose to trust Him. He will always deliver on His promises.

Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things, and that say unto Zion: Behold, thy God reigneth! As the dews of Carmel, so shall the knowledge of God descend upon them! (D&C 128:19, emphasis mine).

Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy. (2 Nephi 2:25).

For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12).

Lindon Temple

Each time I attend a temple endowment session these days, I am reminded how we all shouted for joy in our premortal life when we heard God’s plan of happiness, and we continue to shout for joy here as we live according to His plan. These simple truths, it seems to me, easily trump our sports addiction, whichever choice we embrace, whether BLUE or RED here in Utah.

I know, I know, Grandpa, it just isn’t fair to pit the gospel plan against our enthusiasm for sports teams. I get it, and I still love the Yankees too, regardless of their long-lasting dearth in recent years from appearances in the World Series. However, as I come closer to the veil between this life and the next, I must admit my predilection for gospel truths as my enthusiasm for sports fandom wanes proportionately.

Don’t let me dissuade you in any way from your own wild and perhaps irrational love of sports today. Just be prepared for a shift in priorities that may or may not occur for each of you too. I admit it freely here on this page today.

Because God considered these eternal truths to be among His highest and holiest blessings, He instructed that sacred buildings be erected where He could confer these precious gifts upon His children. These buildings would be His home on our planet Earth. These buildings would be temples where that which was sealed or bound on earth in His name, by His word, and with His authority would be bound in the heavens.

As members of the Church today, some of us may find it easy to take these glorious eternal truths for granted. They have become second nature to us. We mistakenly think we can somehow win the world over with our enthusiastic fandom in Provo, Utah, at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Sometimes it is helpful when we see them through the eyes of those who learn about them for the very first time.

LaVell Edwards

President Russell M. Nelson has taught: “The time is coming when those who do not obey the Lord will be separated from those who do. Our safest insurance is to continue to be worthy of admission to His holy house.” 

All it takes to get into LaVell Edwards Stadium is a purchased ticket. Our admission to the temple is secured by a “ticket” with three signatures - ours and two additional witnesses. No money exchanges hands for a temple recommend.

President Nelson also taught: “The temple lies at the center of strengthening our faith and spiritual fortitude because the Savior and His doctrine are the very heart of the temple. Everything taught in the temple, through instruction and through the Spirit, increases our understanding of Jesus Christ. His essential ordinances bind us to Him through sacred priesthood covenants. Then, as we keep our covenants, He endows us with His healing, strengthening power. And oh, how we will need His power in the days ahead.” (Emphasis mine). 

Hands were laid on the heads of our new Woodland Ward Elders Quorum Presidency on Sunday by our stake presidency. They were told it was being done in the “power and authority” of the Holy Priesthood. I have written in years past about the differences between those two words “power” and “authority.” They are NOT synonymous. I refer you to those writings rather than laying it all out again here this morning. What do you think the difference might be? Do a search on these pages to learn more.

Kirtland Temple

How fitting is it that on Palm Sunday of 1836, the Kirtland Temple was being dedicated. We do something called the “Hosanna Shout” at temple dedications, waving white handkerchiefs overhead. We’re symbolically shouting for joy. On that occasion the disciples of Jesus Christ were rejoicing as well. In that dedicatory prayer, the Prophet Joseph Smith declared these words of praise:

“O Lord God Almighty, hear us … and answer us from heaven, … where thou sittest enthroned, with glory, honor, power, majesty, [and] might. …

“… Help us by the power of thy Spirit, that we may mingle our voices with those bright, shining seraphs around thy throne, with acclamations of praise, singing Hosanna to God and the Lamb!

“And let these … thy saints shout aloud for joy.” (Doctrine and Covenants 109:77, 79–80, emphasis mine).

That’s enough to make the point, isn’t it? Someday our true shouts of acclamation will transcend sports enthusiasm. I pray we may not always be riveted in the chains of our favorite sports teams, that may have even descended into betting on our favorite teams. President D. Todd Christofferson recently counseled against gambling in all its forms in General Conference.

Ty Detmer and the 1984 national football championship at BYU are now long gone in a distant memory. Even if 2026 sees a repeat of that glorious championship we must still seek to bring willing souls to Christ and THAT eventuality will happen more probably through the instrumentality of our 18-year-old missionaries now flooding the Earth today. I pray constantly for our current crop of seven missionary grandchildren, Jonny, Bryson, Noah, Chloe, Aleyah, Matthew and Amelia.

Their labors among truth seekers “out there” are REALLY worth shouting about!

Comparisons and Judgments

This morning I was in the Jordan River Temple for an endowment session. I officiated for Michael Jackson (no, not THAT one), born 1875 in Oregon. No one had performed temple ordinances for him since 2004! It was thrilling to be there in a full house session filled with octogenarians. I counted four people with something other than white hair.

The Beach Boys, circa 60s

For some unknown reason I had the Beatles and the Beach Boys on my mind this morning. To the uninitiated, those were the two rival bands competing for the affections of my teenaged counterparts in the Sixties while we were in high school. The debates raged on and on among us over which was the better band. I favored the clean-cut California Beach Boys to the mop-haired Beatles from Liverpool, England. The Beatles were an acquired taste for me that became more palatable when I became a missionary assigned to the Wirral Peninsula near Liverpool as a member of the Mormon Yankees baseball team. I toured all their haunts in and around Liverpool where they all hailed from.

The Beatles

This morning reminded me once again, as I always am, that our Father in Heaven had a choice to make between two sons who would put themselves forward to implement the Father’s plan for His children. His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, offered simply, “Father, send me. Thy will be done.” Lucifer offered his guarantee that “not one soul would be lost.” Moral agency, the freedom to CHOOSE, was favored in the implementation of the Father’s plan, and He chose Jehovah accompanied by the law of sacrifice to ensure our moral agency. The Atonement was the outcome.

Humorously, after the session had concluded, I was in the restroom washing my hands as I was leaving. An elderly temple ordinance worker said, noting which basin I had used, “Was the water colder down there?” To which I replied, “Yes.” “Well, up on this end,” he informed me, “the water’s warmer because this end represents the Celestial Kingdom, but down there you were in the Telestial Kingdom.” Have to admit, no one had EVER explained that phenomenon to me before!

In the chapel before the session began, I was sitting quietly listening to organ music of the hymns being played by an elderly little sister who is blind. It was heavenly to listen to her as not one flawed note came out of her! I was so grateful that at her advanced age she was sharing her talents with all of us.

In this life we are confronted with choices to make, mostly insignificant and unimportant little choices that amount to nothing more than personal preferences over a myriad of topics. It’s trivial pursuit at its finest.

However, have you noticed the tendency of others around you to make comparisons about nearly everything out there? Sometimes they will compare people against one another. Often the comparisons are harsh and unforgiving. You know what I’m talking about, because when you hear others make those comparisons pitting one person against another, you often just cringe and want to withdraw immediately rather than engage in the unfairness of it all. It just doesn’t feel right, does it? And when that happens you can’t get out of the conversation quickly enough.

If those comparisons persist unchecked, particularly as it pertains to our Father in Heaven’s children, or worse, our dearest family members, then harsh judgments can often ensue and then alienation creeps in to our thinking. Often we reject them for a season and refuse to engage further. Judgments can hurt and are often unforgiving and frequently permanent. I know children in my extended family who are now completely alienated from their parents and haven’t spoken to them for many years now. I plead with all of us this afternoon to beware and be cautious that such comparisons and judgments do not overtake our love for one another.

Over a space of twenty years Patsy and I produced offspring, resulting in thirteen live births and six miscarriages. To say she was prolific would be an understatement! As a result, our family is an outstanding representation of personalities, characteristics, talents and tendencies that is truly magnificent and diverse to behold at this point as they have all matured into capable adults. We now have grandchildren and great-grandchildren who perpetuate this marvelous array of spirits among us.

Rather than seeking for unanimity of sameness and conformity with some unwieldy standard of homogeneity, I pray we may continue to enthusiastically embrace one another despite our obvious and unique differences. It is the gold standard of gospel covenants that I encounter in the temple each time I attend that must be the governing principles we seek.

The law of obedience.

The law of sacrifice.

The law of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The law of chastity.

The law of consecration.

These are the five laws I routinely review each time I attend the temple, as I did today.

Jordan River Temple

Yes, that’s an ambulance you can see parked outside the temple. In our jam-packed session a good brother collapsed as he attempted to join the prayer circle. Dramatic happening, but he was seated again when he recovered consciousness and was later taken away in the ambulance for observation. I was told he completed the session after I had gone through the veil.

I heard two brethren in the Celestial Room discussing the relative merits of their walkers. They were comparing and contrasting (sounded more like a debate to me) the various features, not the most spiritual topic they could have selected for their surrounding environs, but that’s just me making a judgment, isn’t it?

Then as I was exiting the parking lot, I noted my near-empty gas tank crying out for attention with a blinking light. I drove past several gas stations posting competing prices between $4.99 down to $4.79 along my way to Costco, where today’s price was a “paltry” $4.49. My easy comparisons led to an informed judgment for the winning low price.

Let me conclude with one final thought for each of us. When you are tempted to speak out loud a comparison between two family members you love, even something that might seem like it’s trivial, stop yourself and ask, “If I speak this thought out loud right now, am I being judgmental to the detriment of this person and the one to whom I’m speaking?” I might gently suggest your judgments are not always based upon all the facts that, if fully known to you, would render a different conclusion.

One of my Mother’s well-worn mantras was, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all!”

Thumper said it. . .

She was quoting Bambi’s forest companion Thumper. Still pretty good advice today, though none of you would know anything about Bambi and Thumper, just like few of you would remember seeing the Beach Boys live in concert at Lagoon like I did back in the days when they performed there.

"While one portion of the human race are judging and condemning the other without mercy, the great parent of the universe looks upon the whole of the human family with a fatherly care, and paternal regard; he views them as his offspring; and without any of these contracted feelings that influence the children of men, causes 'his sun to rise on the evil and the good; and sends his rain on the just and unjust.'” - Prophet Joseph Smith