Brothers and sisters, Aloha! What a delight it is for me to work with President Grace of the Polynesian Cultural Center. He is a great leader, and I am fortunate to be associated with him and the PCC. I also now get the opportunity to work with President Wheelwright as we collaborate with President Grace to make the PCC a great opportunity for BYU–Hawaii students to not only be employed but also to gain important skills for future careers. President Wheelwright is a wonderful man who always has a smile on his face and is so thoughtful. He is upbeat, positive, and high energy, and I really enjoy being around him. He is a great example to me.
President Grace mentioned in his introduction that I was associated with the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. It was the experience of a lifetime. As part of my endeavors, I wanted to experience the Olympics from the athlete’s point of view, so I have skied parts of the men’s downhill at Snowbasin, the mogul run at Deer Valley, and the slalom and giant slalom runs at Park City. I jumped dozens of times at the freestyle aerials practice facility at Park City—that picture is of me doing a front flyaway. I have taken several runs down the bobsled track, and I really lost my judgment when I decided to do the skeleton.
The skeleton is a sport where you lay on your stomach on a sled, and you go head first down the bobsleigh track. Your face is about two inches off the ice. The first time you go down, you travel at about 60 miles an hour through 15 turns, and some of the turns are close to 90 degrees.
To prepare me to go down the track, they gave me a helmet, shoulder pads, a long liability release form, and some advice: “You really don’t know what you are doing, so just put your head down, look at the ice, and pretend you are a sack of potatoes. Don’t move because you will just mess it up.” They put me on the sled, gave me a push, and very quickly, there was this big drop that accelerated me so quickly I felt like I was shot out of a cannon. It seemed like zero to sixty in three seconds. I realized at that moment that I had mixed emotions: fear and terror. I then came to the first turn—a left-hand turn of almost 90 degrees. I was going close to 60 miles per hour. I hit the side wall of the corner, ricocheted off the wall and hit the other side, and then bounced back and hit the other wall again. I couldn’t see where I was going, just the ice on the track inches from my face. I just got stabilized, and then I hit the next corner with the same ricocheting result. Only 13 turns left to go—I realized this was an experience in survival.
After the longest 60 seconds of my life, I reached the bottom. I was alive. My heart was racing, and I was ever so glad that something had ended. There was an Olympian from Turkey there to help me extract the heavy sled from the track. I told him about my ride and asked him if there was a better way. He said that I could potentially totally change my experience. He told me that I would need to look up from the ice and look down the track to see where I was going. When I came to a left-hand corner, I should turn my head to the left, which would shift my weight enough to steer me through the corner. The same principle applied for right-hand turns. I said, “Okay, let’s try it again!” What was I thinking?
On my next run, I lifted my head up from the ice to look down the track and had a completely different perspective. I could see where I was going and what was coming. After the push and the cannon-ball like acceleration, I saw the first left-hand turn approaching. I turned my head to the left, which shifted my weight, and WHOOSH! I flew through the corner without touching a side. I thought that was amazing, but then I realized I was going even faster. Then I came to a right-hand turn. I turned my head to the right and zipped right through the corner without touching a side. I had similar results all the way down until I got a little high on the last turn and bumped at the bottom. However, it was a completely different experience. I decided to go one last time to see if could beat my time and maximum speed down the track. I was now becoming competitive, of all things.
The experience was completely different in two ways. First, my perspective had completely changed. Instead of looking down at the ice, having no control, and being bumped around, I was looking ahead, seeing what was coming, and taking control of where I was going. Second, I applied learning and energy to transform my driving to a different result.
I would like to discuss these two principles: first, having a perspective of where we are going; and second, utilizing personal transformations to change where we are headed.
When we step back to consider where we are and where we are headed, we can look at many dimensions in our lives, including spiritual, intellectual, physical, and our characteristics. I will highlight two: spiritual and our characteristics.
First, spiritual. Alma, in essence, asks us each to evaluate where we are spiritually. “Have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? ... I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances?” (Alma 5: 14, 19). Do we have spiritual habits that build us, or do we have persistent sins that drag us down? Do we desire to change, but never quite get around to it?
Second, what characteristics do we have? Are we who we would like to be? Think of someone you know and admire and someone who inspires you to be better when you are around him or her. What is it about that person that compels admiration? On the other hand, think of someone you know that you struggle to be around. Someone you would unfortunately rather avoid. What is it about that person that engenders discomfort or dislike? Which person would you rather be? I believe we all enjoy being around people who are upbeat, positive, kind, inspirational, loving, who care first for others instead of being self-preoccupied. People who smile! People who seem to radiate the spirit of the gospel.
Let me share with you a few examples from my own experience. The first one on the negative side is someone who was moody, self-focused, and always complaining. Never smiled. Something was always wrong. The second individual was cutting and caustic. Everything I did was challenged or wrong. He pushed me towards negativity, which I didn’t like.
On the other hand, let me share with you two people I know who were the opposite. The first, Paul Anderson, who was my bishop when I lived in California, exuded a spirit of warmth and love. He always had a smile on his face. I knew he really cared about me and loved me. He was kind through and through. He was a personification of charity. He had a deep spiritual strength that emanated from his being. I wanted to be better when I was around him. I wanted to be more like him. The second, Mitt Romney, was my colleague at the Olympics. Mitt was always high energy, upbeat, and inspirational. He is very funny, always laughing. He believes in giving of himself to great causes. He tries to better things around him and in an upbeat, positive way, and he is drop-dead smart. He is fun to be around. Plus, he encourages you to be your best. I loved working with him.
Which of these categories of individuals are you most like today? Which of these individuals would you prefer to be like? We can seek personal transformations to become who we would like to be.
As we consider all of the dimensions of who we are, spirituality is the foundation. The Atonement is the power to change, to become better. As we follow principles of righteousness, the Spirit becomes more a part of who we are. Many characteristics we seek are in fact gifts of the Spirit. As we have the Spirit in our lives, it can transform us. Peter highlighted for us many of the gifts of the Spirit or characteristics we can seek. “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity” (1 Peter 1: 4-7).
One area I have pursued that I consider both a personal trait and a spiritual trait is to be more kind—as we are encouraged by Peter. Kindness makes society better. It makes us better Saints. It lifts people around us. It makes us feel better as people. It builds a bridge to charity. Every morning when I say my prayers, I ask Heavenly Father to help me be kinder. Then for my evening prayers, I report in after reflecting on how I did that day. You see the pattern to transform? Daily focus, personal accountability, and seeking divine help.
Deep kindness can be considered as a gift of the Spirit. We see a pattern for this in Moroni 7:48, the last verse of a great treatise on charity. “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he has bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.”
In my particular case, one answer to my prayers has been to receive the assignment to work with the Polynesian Cultural Center. Working with the Polynesians and the great students of BYU–Hawaii is transforming me in terms of understanding the beautiful culture of Polynesia—open, loving, welcoming, and KIND. These create a special feeling, and I really enjoy it.
In summary, it seems like many times, we are preoccupied with the things of the moment—looking down at the ice—and miss the opportunity to look up from the ice to see a longer perspective and where we are headed. Instead, we can take a step back, look up from the ice, and look down the track. Where are we today, and where are we headed? Life is designed to be an experience of improvement, of change, but change is not easy.
In physics, there is a physical law of nature called entropy. Entropy dictates that natural systems, left to themselves, go from a state of higher organization to lower organization. Systems basically deteriorate over time, so structures erode over time, cars break down as they get older, hair gets messed up during the day, and testimonies can erode unless there is new energy injected into the system. Buildings can be remodeled, cars can be serviced, hair can be brushed again, and testimonies can be strengthened through daily spiritual habits. This is why spiritual habits such as scripture reading, prayer, Church attendance, and callings are so essential to our lives. They inject new energy into our spiritual status. Absent them and testimonies can naturally deteriorate, hence the ever-present emphasis on the spiritual basics.
To fundamentally change something from its current state today requires even more energy, so if we desire to transform in some manner, it requires focused energy and does not randomly happen. Personal transformations can make us better people, more of the people we would like to be, and personal transformations are at the heart of the gospel plan.
Personal transformations can come about from two different sources: first, because we decide to make a change, have the will, and then put forth the sustained energy to make the change; or second, they can come about due to external factors that intrude in our lives, many times in the form of a crisis, trial, or challenge.
Enos is an example of the first case, someone who exerted his own effort for his personal transformation. “And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens. And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed. … Now, it came to pass that when I had heard these words I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren” (Enos 1:4-5, 9). We see the transformation, including the transition of worrying about himself to worrying about others.
We can make changes as well. We can examine where we are and where we are headed. Where are we spiritually, and are we building the characteristics which will uplift and inspire others? Are we becoming who we want to be?
In the second type of transformation, things occur in our lives that CAN be agents of change if we allow them to do so. When challenging events happen, our reaction determines whether we separate ourselves from God or draw closer to Him. We can either give in to despair and distance ourselves from God, or we can turn to Him, seek His guidance, and see what we can learn and how we can change for the better.
Permit me to talk about one such personal experience. Mitt and I had joined the Olympic effort in early 1999 and were working to make a transformation of the 2002 Olympic preparations. We were working as hard as possible with long days, extensive travel, and tireless energy. My oldest son, Mike, was 18 and away at college. He had some familiar traits of a typical teenager: somewhat self-focused and endeavoring to be popular. After about a year of intensive effort on the Olympics, and two years left until the Olympic Games started, I wrote the following in my journal:
March 3, 2000. This has been the most difficult week of my life. Last Sunday, our son Michael was diagnosed with cancer. I don’t think I have experienced anything so traumatic before. Michael had been exhibiting many symptoms, including loss of appetite, loss of weight, night sweats, coughing, and lethargy. Our neighbor, an ER doctor, recommended a chest X-ray. After the X-ray, the technician said they saw something there and sent him over to Utah Valley for a CT scan. The doctor told us Mike had a growth that filled much of his chest and that it was likely Hodgkin’s, a form of cancer. We felt like we had been hit by a truck. We were very positive toward Mike, and he broke down a little, saying that he was scared. The doctor privately told me the cure rate was about 50%. I drove home and called members of my family, sharing tears, and that was tough. I felt at that moment that I wish it could be me and not my son. I would have done anything to change places.
I didn’t sleep much that night. Everything had changed. We recognized that everything was in the Lord’s hands.
It is now Friday, and I am sitting here in the hospital awaiting the results of the Gallium scan, which will indicate the staging (or the extent) of his cancer. It is very difficult waiting for the results of this final test. So far this week, we have had many ups and downs. Yesterday, we found out his cancer is definitively Hodgkin’s, which is one of the most curable from of cancer. We are certainly grateful for this. As we go through this experience, we are clearly reminded of the importance of the plan of salvation and our complete reliance on the Lord. I have given Mike three blessings this week, and it is wonderful to have the divine power of the Priesthood and see the importance it has in our lives.
They found Mike’s left chest cavity filled with fluid, which was the first thing they had to deal with. The tumor filled a great deal of his chest, also surrounding the heart, and was pressing on his wind pipe, causing the cough. This put him in a very delicate situation. They decided to wait until Wednesday for the surgery to do the biopsy. The anesthesiologist met with us and said that given that the tumor was pressing against the air passages and that his lung had recently recovered, the surgery was quite risky because his breathing could shut down. He would have to be operated on sitting up because of these risks. In fact, he said that several other doctors had passed on the anesthesia. Mike went into surgery and did fine.
After Mike came home between treatments, Jennifer and I became his nursing care, flushing his IV lines twice a day, giving him his meds, and I would give him his shots to help his ANC (immunity) counts come back up. One day, Mike had over 20 pills to take. Mike was very thin and continued to lose weight to the point that he got down to 126 pounds (he is 6 feet tall) and was so thin that his eyes became hollow and his voice changed because he had a hard time breathing. He had to take a big breath just to say something. All throughout this, Mike was a great trooper and didn’t complain at all. He would be more concerned about others.
Then the third cycle of chemo hit. The cycles have a cumulative effect and create a downward spiral of impact. He kept getting weaker and weaker. He got so weak during his third cycle that he could barely walk. In fact, Jennifer and I had to carry him up the stairs to bed.
Now, see the transformations.
One of the amazing things has been my wife, Jennifer. She has consistently been completely upbeat, particularly around Mike. She knows she has to lift him up, and she has done a wonderful job. Every once in a while, she shows more of what is down deep inside, and she had the same reaction I did, which was “Why not me instead?” She also has thought deeply of the concept of casting your burdens on the Lord. This has really helped her and me.
Mike has gained a deeper appreciation of mortality and what is really important. He gave his testimony at his friend’s missionary farewell and said something we had never heard before. He said that the night he found out he had cancer, that when he said his prayers, the only thing he could think of was to thank his Father in Heaven for the trial he was to receive because he knew it would make him a better person.
It did.
When Mike was in Primary Children’s hospital, he would go around in his wheelchair every day to visit his little buddies who also had cancer. One of his buddies, four-year-old Alec, would only talk to Mike and his mother. Alec didn’t make it. Only Mike and one other person from that group made it, which was very, very hard. Mike came away with a tremendous love for children we had never seen before. It has become part of who he is. Now when Jennifer and I go to visit the grandchildren, if Mike is in the building, they all run by us and directly to Mikey. He has developed a kindness and love for children I never see elsewhere to the depth he has. Mike still has periodic health issues and had a close call at New Year’s, but he is different. Mike transformed from a somewhat self-focused high school student to a person who loves and is loved by children.
When external events happen, especially those we would rather avoid, we can seek to use them as schoolmasters to transform us in some way, as happened to Mike. However, we have to have an open and willing heart and the determination to change.
But one of the big challenges—and opportunities—in life is that dismiss external events, we need to have the focus and energy on our own to initiate and work through personal transformations. It requires us to look up from the ice, look down the track to see where we are and where we are going. Instead of being bounced around down the track, WE need to drive where we want go. We read in Ether 12:27 “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”
We see many inspiring examples of personal transformation in the scriptures: Paul, Enos, Alma, Alma the Younger, the sons of Mosiah, King Lamoni, his wife, and much of the Lamanite nation,
We are on the ultimate journey of transformation—pre-mortal life, to mortal life, to hopefully eternal life. These are all made possible by Heavenly Father and the Atonement of the Savior. The opportunity to fulfill this ultimate journey of transformation is to make changes and transformations in our lives: to become better.
Let us look up from the ice, see where we are and where we are headed. Let us choose a transformation to make, perhaps overcoming some weakness we have, perhaps something as simple as kindness, accompanied by a warm smile. By making our transformation effort part of our daily prayers, we can seek divine assistance, remind ourselves of our purpose, and hold ourselves accountable. Such transformations can make us happier, lift others around us, and bring us closer to the Lord and make us the people we want to be.
This is my prayer and my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.