Are you all in?
That’s the question Brother Doug Conway, software engineering manager at BYU-Idaho, asked directly during his address at today’s BYU-Idaho Devotional.
It’s a powerful concept that has almost unlimited application in life.
He began by explaining what he means by “all in” with a quote from BYU head men’s basketball coach, Mark Pope: “All in has nothing to do with perfection…it has to do with trying as hard as you can. If you’ll go all in, then the richness of the reward and the richness of the growth that you get to experience is really incredible.”
Brother Conway brought the lesson into the context of his devotional by explaining that the most important thing we can be “all in” on is the gospel.
“I have found something that has provided me with experiences and joy like none other: it is to be ‘all in’ the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Brother Conway said in his talk.
Sharing personal experiences of how he’s learned to devote himself completely to the Lord, Brother Conway testified of the importance of the temple in our worship and following completely the commandments of God.
In an interview with BYU-Idaho Radio, Brother Conway shared more about his thoughts on the issue of being “all in.”
“When we go all in that’s where the real growth happens in our lives,” Brother Conway said. “The experiences are more meaningful to us. We get much more out of whatever we’re doing.
He said he looks back with some regret on not going “all in” to basketball in high school. Now, he can see how much potential went untapped by not giving more of himself to the sport.
Brother Conway then contrasted that with the experience he recently had of attending the temple every day for many consecutive weeks. In all, he went to the temple 56 straight days that it was open.
In explaining what the experience had done for him, Brother Conway said, “It changed me. Because I did that my priorities in my life have changed. I’m much more focused on my Savior and doing His work.”