President and Sister Meredith, you are wonderful. We love you! Brothers and sisters, it is a blessing to be here. Thank you for making the choice to attend today’s devotional, even when you knew who the speaker would be. My prayer is that this will be a revelatory experience for all in attendance, especially those of you who are struggling with a trial, are experiencing doubt in any form, or are just having a bad week. We have a loving Heavenly Father who is aware of us, who knows us individually, and who loves us perfectly.
BYU devotionals will always have a special place in my heart. I remember attending a devotional in 1999 that changed the course of my life forever. I was at a crossroads; I had recently returned home from a mission. I was studying, dating, and playing American football. I had goals and aspirations, but the future was still unknown. Does this sound familiar? President Jeffrey R. Holland was the speaker, and the talk he shared and the message I heard confirmed one the most important decisions of my life. It was to marry the woman who has now been my sweetheart for 25 years and who is here with me today. I tell people all the time that I married “way up”! Once when I said this, someone asked, “If you married up, does this mean Heather married down?” I quickly responded, “I married up, and she married ‘potential.’” I love you, Heath!
Unfortunately, Sister Reid will not be addressing us today, but I can promise you that the most important message this morning will not be delivered from this pulpit; it will be what you hear through the promptings of the Spirit.
I received this speaking assignment a couple of months ago, and I have wrestled with what to share as an introduction that would be a blessing to you. I decided to take a bit of a risk by sharing something that I don’t often talk about. You’ll see why in a moment.
The year was 2007. I was playing professional football for the Chicago Bears, and we reached the Super Bowl—the pinnacle of the American football world. Tens of thousands of people were in the stands, and millions more were watching on TV.
Our roster was filled with some great players. Devin Hester, for example, was our kickoff returner. He is considered the best-ever at his position, and earlier this year he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. [1] My responsibility in that game was to block for him on kickoffs.
Opposing teams, knowing how good Devin Hester was, would often kick the ball away from him. But in the opening kickoff of the Super Bowl, the ball came directly to him. Devin caught the ball, saw an opening, and ran the length of the field for a touchdown. It was the first time in Super Bowl history that an opening kickoff was returned for a touchdown. Here is a famous picture that captures this historic moment. Notice the player in the back? That is me—cheering Devin on, screaming, and celebrating. I was part of history! It is a moment I will never forget.
Later in the game, we were set to receive another kickoff. The opposing team, wiser now, decided to try a short, low, line-drive kick to keep the ball away from Devin Hester. As the ball approached, I realized that it was coming directly towards me!
You can imagine the thoughts going through my mind. This was my chance! Two Super Bowl kickoffs returned for a touchdown! My family in the stands cheering me on, millions of people watching from around the world—it was a picture-perfect opportunity! With great focus and determination, I picked up the ball, ready to make history again.
Well, here is a picture of what happened. That is me at the bottom, and that is the ball—not in my possession.
That’s right. I fumbled the football! For those who may not be familiar with American football, I should explain that a fumble is not a good thing. I lost control of the ball, and the other team recovered it. No one plans or wants to fumble, but that was me. This was an embarrassing moment, to say the least, on the biggest possible stage. In my mind, I had let everyone down—my team, my family, and millions of fans. I was so focused on my mistake that I actually wanted to quit. For a moment, all my years of playing football, practice, and study were overshadowed by this one experience.
Now, why would I relive this embarrassing moment with all of you? Because each of us has experienced or will have some type of fumble in life. We all face disappointments, mistakes, trials, and setbacks. The devil cunningly tries to make us believe that we are defined by these moments. The message I wish to share today, and the one I pray you hear, is that fumbling is not failing.
Have you ever worked hard in a course, studying for hours and attending classes all semester, only to take the final exam and not receive the grade you hoped for? Did you ever plan the perfect date for the perfect person and then fumble the opportunity—or, as many of you refer to, you “fumble the bag”? How about the job interview or internship you were hoping for but did not get? Or any of the other moments when you prepared, prayed earnestly, and worked for that picture-perfect opportunity, only to lose control of the situation, fall short, or in other words, fumble? The list goes on and on, but the message is the same: fumbling is not failing.
There is a famous story in my wife’s family about her late father, Chuck, and his first post-college experience. After graduating, my father-in-law went searching for a job and got an interview with an established oil company in the Houston, Texas, area. As he did his due diligence and research, he learned that he would be interviewed by the company’s executive committee. He was afraid that his youth would be seen as a negative and that other more-experienced candidates would have an advantage over him. So, he did the only thing he could think of to even the playing field. He walked into the local pharmacy and bought himself some grey hairspray. He applied it just to his temples to make himself look more mature and experienced for his interview.
Pleased with his cosmetology skills, Chuck now had the confidence he needed for this perfect job opportunity. He arrived early for the interview and was escorted into the conference room. With stress hormones firing on all cylinders, he felt a drop of sweat on his temples. Then the Texas heat, combined with the heat in the room, caused the sweat to flow like a waterfall. Chuck answered each question with clarity and confidence, though he got some interesting looks from his interviewers. At the end of the interview, the interviewers seemed jovial, shook his hand, and said goodbye. My father-in-law then went to use the restroom. He looked in the mirror and noticed that the silver hair dye had melted all down the sides of his temples, over his cheeks and neck, and into his shirt collar.
He did not get that job. It was a fumble, and there would be more fumbles in his life. However, this experience did not keep him from interviewing with other firms. He did not quit, and he eventually landed a career that would bless his eternal family.
You and I will fumble from time to time in our lives, but we can’t give up. Keep going. Keep trying. And remember that quitting is not a gospel principle. The Lord loves “those who will have him to be their God.” [2] He will provide a way [3] and even prosper you. [4]
I love the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. As you unpack this book of books, you will quickly find numerous accounts of setbacks, disappointments, embarrassing moments, and fumbles. It also highlights the victories and blessings of people who kept their faith in the Lord, were obedient in keeping His commandments, and did not quit. They were blessed both temporally and spiritually. [5]
I am inspired by Nephi’s experiences in the wilderness, especially his fumbles. Let us take some time to unpack one of my favorite accounts. Nephi and his extended family had already been traveling in the wilderness for quite a while. They had successfully retrieved the brass plates, Nephi had been granted his desire to see what his father saw in a glorious vision, [6] he had married one of Ishmael’s daughters, [7] and they were exceedingly blessed of the Lord. [8] Then, one morning, the Lord commanded Lehi to journey further into the wilderness and provided the Liahona, which gave them direction with spindles and written word.
As a new husband and future father, Nephi set out with his brothers and their bows and arrows to slay food for their families, following the directions the Lord provided through the Liahona. [9] However, circumstances dramatically changed when Nephi broke his steel bow. He lost the ability to obtain food. In other words, he fumbled. I imagine it was an embarrassing moment for him. In Nephi’s words, things “began to be exceedingly difficult.” [10] The continuous murmuring and complaints from others did not help the situation. [11]
But Nephi did not retaliate, join in the murmuring, or give up. Instead, Nephi chose to keep moving forward with faith in the Lord. Strengthened, perhaps, by earlier experiences when he had something difficult to do and the Lord provided a way, [12] Nephi proactively made a bow and arrow out of wood. Armed with his new bow and arrow, he sought the counsel of his father, who asked the Lord where to go to obtain food. [13]
The Lord did not immediately respond with the location of the perfect hunting spot to find food. Instead, the Lord answered, saying, “Look … and behold the things which are written.” [14] This clear response, along with Nephi’s observation that the Liahona worked “according to [their] faith and diligence,” [15] is a powerful principle that can be likened to our day.
Nephi’s faith, diligence, and obedience to the word took him to “the top of the mountain,” [16] where the Lord blessed him to obtain food for his family. [17]
Nephi’s fumble, his response to it, and the Lord’s personal counsel to Nephi are inspiring and most instructive for us. Nephi turned to his father and his Heavenly Father first for guidance. Elder Jeffery R. Holland taught us “that God hears every prayer we offer and responds to each of them according to the path He has outlined for our perfection … [and] according to His unfailing love and cosmic timetable.” [18] The Lord’s response to Nephi was sequential; it first took him to the resources already provided. He was to look at the written word. Similarly, we have been blessed with written scriptures and words of the living prophets. There is power in these written words. In His mortal ministry, the Savior Himself would follow His counsel given to Nephi. The scriptures tell us about His 40-day fast, followed by multiple temptations by Satan. Each time the Savior combatted Satan with the phrase “it is written” and a truth from the scriptures. [19]
President Ezra Taft Benson taught, “However diligent we may be in other areas, certain blessings are to be found only in the scriptures, only in coming to the word of the Lord and holding fast to it.” [20]
Our family returned this July from serving as mission leaders in the Australia Sydney Mission. We had over 500 missionaries from nearly 30 different countries. I have been asked on numerous occasions, “How were you able to help, encourage, inspire, and instruct so many missionaries?” We love and adore each of our missionary children. Each had their own strengths and talents, and they each experienced fumbles in their life. As we sought the direction of the Lord on how to best lead these missionaries to Him, we felt a strong impression and received instruction similar to what the Lord told Lehi. We were to point them to the written word, particularly the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. As each missionary diligently heeded its teachings, they were able to deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ and were reminded of their true identity and divine potential.
Our beloved prophet, President Nelson, taught this inspiring truth: “When I think of the Book of Mormon, I think of the word power. The truths of the Book of Mormon have the power to heal, comfort, restore, succor, strengthen, console, and cheer our souls.” [21]
There is power in the Book of Mormon because it points us to the source that allows us to reset, [22] refocus, and recommit after setbacks and fumbles in life. It will connect us to the source of all that is good, even Jesus Christ, as we read, ponder, and diligently abide by its teachings. [23]
Next, Nephi was guided to the top of the mountain to find what he needed for himself and his hungry family. We, too, are invited, through the scriptures and those of living prophets, “to the mountain of the Lord” [24]—even the house of the Lord. Those who attend the temple and keep their covenants are armed with power and righteousness, [25] which we need in a world where Satan is abroad trying to deceive us, [26] stir us up, [27] and trick us into believing we are defined by our mistakes and fumbles.
I am always attentive when a prophet quotes another prophet. This past April general conference, President Henry B. Eyring quoted President Russell M. Nelson, saying, “The safest place to be spiritually is living inside your temple covenants! “Everything we believe, and every promise God has made to His covenant people come together in the temple. Each person who makes covenants … in temples—and keeps them—has increased access to the power of Jesus Christ. … Once we make a covenant with God, we leave neutral ground forever. God will not abandon His relationship with those who have forged such a bond with Him. In fact, all those who have made a covenant with God have access to a special kind of love and mercy.” [28]
What powerful promises are available to us! There is safety, peace, and a special kind of love and mercy in the covenants of the Lord’s house. The promise that means the most to me is that God will not abandon His relationship with us as we bind ourselves to Him. My mistakes and fumbles in life do not define me. God’s love is unwavering, eternal, even perfect, and “we get credit for trying, even if we [fumble].” [29]
There are so many lessons we learn from such experiences. I often think of what Orson F. Whitney taught: “No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude, and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God ... and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire.” [30]
As I reflect on that most embarrassing and public fumble in my life, I realize that the fumble did not have an impact on the overall outcome of the game, nor did it define my career or my identity. However, it was influential in my life, because what I drew from that experience taught me so much and prepared me for what the Lord planned for me in the future—including sharing the experience with you today. Nephi’s fumble taught Him to be innovative and proactive to build another bow. He learned the pattern of how to provide spiritually and temporally for the needs of His family. These lessons prepared him for future opportunities to trust the Lord, go to the mountain often, and make the tools to build a ship [31] that would carry his family across great waters and to the promised land. [32]
As a fumbling—but learning—General Officer of the Church, I bear you my witness of the infinite and perfect love that our Heavenly Father has for us. He sent His Only Begotten Son to atone for each one of us. In many instances, He was tempted and tried, but He never gave in to temptation. He overcame the world so that, by virtue of His Atonement, He could compensate for each of our fumbles. As we pray to the Lord, diligently heed to that which is written, go to the house of the Lord, and keep our covenants, we will learn that our fumbles don’t define us. Instead, they help refine us. [33] I am grateful to know that because of Jesus Christ, regardless of how many times we may fumble, it will never impact the outcome of God’s perfect plan of happiness. [34] The final score has already been posted. We already know who wins. The Lord’s invitation to us is to join and stay on His team, to be the best that we can be, to keep on trying, and to remember that because of Him, fumbling is not failing. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
[1] Devin Hester was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on January 17, 2024.
[2] 1 Nephi 17:40.
[3] See 1 Nephi 3:7.
[4] See 1 Nephi 4:14; 2 Nephi 1:20; 4:4.
[5] See Mosiah 2:41.
[6] See 1 Nephi 11.
[7] See 1 Nephi 16:7.
[8] See 1 Nephi 16:8.
[10] 1 Nephi 16:21.
[11] See 1 Nephi 16:22.
[12] See 1 Nephi 3:7.
[13] See 1 Nephi 16:23–24.
[14] 1 Nephi 16:26.
[15] See 1 Nephi 16:27–29.
[16] 1 Nephi 16:30.
[17] See 1 Nephi 16:31.
[18] Jeffery R. Holland, “Motions of a Hidden Fire,” Liahona, May 2024, 8.
[19] See Matthew 4:1–11.
[20] Ezra Taft Benson, “The Power of the Word,” Ensign, May 1986, 82.
[21] Russell M. Nelson, “The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Without It?.” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2017, 62.
[22] See 2 Nephi 25:26.
[23] See Joseph Smith’s promise in the Introduction to the Book of Mormon.
[24] See Micah 4:2.
[25] See 1 Nephi 14:14.
[26] See Doctrine and Covenants 52:14.
[27] See 2 Nephi 28:20.
[28] Henry B. Eyring, “All Will Be Well Because of Temple Covenants,” Liahona, May 2024, 25–26; quoting Russell M. Nelson, “The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation,” Liahona, Nov. 2021, 96, 94; “Overcome the World and Find Rest,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 96; “The Everlasting Covenant,” Liahona, Oct. 2022, 5.
[29] See Jeffery R. Holland,” Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders Among You,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 125–26.
[30] Orson F. Whitney was an Apostle from 1906 to 1931. He was quoted by President Spencer W. Kimball in Faith Precedes the Miracle (1972), 98; see also Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball (2006), 16.
[31] See 1 Nephi 17:7–10.
[32] See 1 Nephi 18:21–22.
[33] See Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “God Among Us,” Liahona, May 2021, 9.
[34] See Doctrine and Covenants 3:1–3.