Back in November 1999, I was asked by our college dean to give a presentation to our college's faculty about how to prepare for Y2K. "Y2K" stood for the year 2000--particularly January 1, 2000--when apparently all computers and basically anything electronic was supposed to crash; when life as we knew it would come to a screeching halt. Personally I did not worry too much about it. I knew that I would be with a group of students up in the Teton Mountains for a weeklong backcountry ski and winter camping trip called Winter Summit. Nothing happened to us. We had no computers and no electricity, just a lot of great new powder snow. I don't believe anything happened anywhere.
But, still there were many who were worried, which is why I was asked to give the talk. Having taught outdoor survival skills, winter camping, and other outdoor courses, I guess our dean thought I could give some suggestions on how to deal with the impending doom. Without asking him, I decided to take a different approach to the topic. Instead of discussing how to prepare for Y2K, I gave my presentation on "YK2?" Here the "Y" did not represent a year, nor did "2K." Rather the "Y" stood for a question: Why? And the K2 stood for just that--K2--the world's second highest mountain and one of the most difficult and challenging to climb. K2, known as the "savage mountain," has the second highest fatality rate among the world's 14 highest mountains: those above 8,000 meters, or 26,247 feet. For every four climbers who reach the summit of K2, one has died trying.
With the odds of 1-in-5 will die, why would anyone want to try such a thing? Why would anyone want to take such tremendous risk? Why would anyone want to go through so much hardship and effort to merely stand on the summit of a mountain for literally just a few minutes? But, my question to the faculty was, "why not?"
Let me share with you an exercise I did with the faculty and one I have done with a number of my classes here on campus which might provide some insight as to why some people choose to do such physically, mentally, emotionally, and sometime spiritually difficult tasks. I realize there are holes in my argument large enough to drive trucks through, but there is a message I pray you will all understand.
Imagine a chalkboard with two columns on it: column A and column B. I write a word in column A and then ask the participants to come up with several words that are the opposite of the word. The first word in column A is "comfortable," but you cannot use the word "uncomfortable." We are all in college; we have imaginations and hopefully are somewhat intelligent; we can do more than change the prefix.
Here are the words the faculty and many students have come up with as the opposite of "comfortable": "uneasy," "racked," "scathing," "awkward," "spiny," "painful," "stiff," and "terrifying." The next word was "permanent." The words faculty and students decided upon were: "terminal," "temporary," "short-lived," "fleeting," and "changing." The third word was "safe." The opposites: "vulnerable," "treacherous," "dangerous," "hazardous," "daunting," "fun," "harmful," "perilous," and "fatal."
"Routine" was the next word under column A. The column B words were: "spontaneous," "random," "disorganized," "chaotic," "colorful," "off-course," "erratic," "extraordinary," "progressive," and "surprising." We combined the next two: "familiar/sure thing." The opposites people stated were: "doubt," "foreign," "alien," "unusual," "curious," "peculiar," "new," "distant," "risky," "bizarre," "sketchy," and "chance."
"Sterile" was next. Naturally many responded by yelling out: "dirty" and "contaminated." Others who thought a bit deeper said, "fertile," "rabid," "productive," "fruitful," "lush," and "static." The responses? "Clear," "concise," "animated," "elastic," "dynamic," "vibrant," and "volatile." The second to last word was "control." The responses here were very interesting: "chaos," "anarchy," "revolution," "panic," "liberation," "rebellion," "freedom," "choice," and "free agency."
The question was then asked: if each of these lists, A and B, represent lifestyles, which one would most of us like to live? With only one exception everyone said "A." When asked for a reason for wanting to live an "A" lifestyle, the most frequent response was that it is comfortable, safe, familiar, and so on using most of the "A" words from the list.
I was asked once to give a presentation in our ward's Relief Society on raising children. We went through this exercise and I asked them which column represents the way they try to raise their children. As you might guess, the answer was a resounding A. They stated each word and gave reason for their response. "Of course we want our homes and families to be 'comfortable'--why on earth would we want an uneasy, racked, or scathing home or family?" "'Permanent'? We want our furniture in the same place when our children come home as it was when they left for school. We don't want to confuse them!" "'Safe'? That is just plain right and good. Who wouldn't want their children safe?" "'Sterile'? Are you kidding? We clean our homes daily!" "'Static'--Hey we have cable; we don't get static. "'Control'--You bet we want control. How else are you to raise children?"
Well, they almost convinced me they were right. If you can't tell, I was there and I am here to shed some favorable light on column B. When these ladies asked me, "Isn't that what you want for your children?" I got ready to duck in case purses or scripture cases came flying at me. I really struggled. But then a miracle happened in my life. One of the sisters, one I would have never guessed would asked the following question, after very tentatively raising her hand asked, "What kind of life did Jesus live? Was he comfortable? Was he ever in a permanent place? Isn't there a scripture about the birds having nests to rest in, but the Son of Man hath no place to rest his head. Was he safe?" He certainly wasn't sterile. His life did not appear to be overly routine. Really, the only descriptor we could argue with was that of control. He was in control, but those who were against Him certainly had a different idea.
So why is it we tend to choose the "A" style of life and not the "B"? Why do we try to make our lives so different from Christ's life? Think about that, will you? What is your reason? Let me share a couple of statements by mountaineers that explain why they have chosen a type "B" style of life. First, Dr. Charles S. Houston, a great medical doctor who performed studies dealing with the effect of severely cold temperatures and high altitude on the human body. In 1953, he and a group of other American climbers set out to climb K2. They did not reach the summit, but they did attain greatness by surviving one of the worst storms in mountaineering history, high above what has come to be known as the Death Zone--that area above 25,000 feet where your body basically feeds on itself and you are dying faster than you are living. Here is Dr. Houston's thought:
"In the year that has passed since our ordeal we have been asked the question 'Why climb mountains?'" many times and have answered it in many ways. No answer is complete or satisfactory. Perhaps there is no single answer; perhaps each climber must have his own reasons for such an effort. The answer cannot be simple; it is compounded of such elements as the great beauty of clear cold air, of colors beyond the ordinary, of the lure of unknown regions beyond the rim of experience. The pleasure of physical fitness, the pride of conquering a steep and difficult rock pitch, the thrill of danger -but danger controlled by skill-are also there.
"How can I phrase what seems to me the most important reason of all? It is the chance to be briefly free of the small concerns off our common lives, [that 'A' stuff] to strip off nonessentials, to come down to the core of life itself. Food, shelter, friends--these are the essentials, theses plus faith and purpose and a deep and unrelenting determination. On great mountains all purpose is concentrated on the single job at hand, yet the summit is but a token of success, and the attempt is worthy in itself. It is for these reasons that we climb, and in climbing find something greater than accomplishment."
Sounds a little like serving a mission, doesn't it? The other statement comes from a modern day mountaineer, Mark Jenkins. He answered the question "Why do men climb mountains?" to justify his recent ascent of Mt. Everest.
"On a mountain, caught inside a welter of ambition, fear and struggle, [a welter is a situation where you are being effected by different influences at the same time, like ambition, fear, and struggle] you will shove yourself right out on the edge--climb right to the lip and get a good long look into the abyss. In that look, all you see, all you know, all you can possibly feel is the absolute intensity of your own mortality. The sheer, inalienable certainty that, 'Hey, I am alive.' This is exactly where the rest of life keeps you from going. This is exactly the confrontation modern man strives to elude. At all cost avoid it. Avoid being there. [At the edge.] Stand back. Keep cool. Keep everything, including your own life, at arms length. Keep this perspective: 'I like to watch.' That's the right answer. Everyone a spectator. The perfect passionless life. And that's it! That's what puts men on mountains. The fear more sick than the fear of death; more dreaded the fear of failure, the fear of mediocrity. The excruciating fear of a life without passion."
I hope that thought gets to some of you. Author and ocean sailor Webb Chiles stated: "Live passionately, even if it kills you--because something is going to kill you anyway."
Now, back to the word lists. Which list would you put the word "boredom" under? How many of you would put it under A? How about B? Well, you are right there with everyone else who has every responded to that question. So it goes without saying--the lifestyle most of us have chosen is boring. I think that is unfortunate. So what is the opposite of boredom? The best answer I know of comes from the classic Disney film, "Never Cry Wolf."
In this film a young biologist by the last name of Tyler was sent to the far northern reaches of Canada to determine if wolves were responsible for killing off the great caribou herds. To get to his desired destination, the Valley of the Black Stone, Tyler had to travel by plane. The only plane available was an old prop plane known as a De Havilland Beaver. In the film the plane was literally held together with duct tape and wire. The pilot, Rosie Little, was a real entrepreneur, always looking for a way to make extra money. During the flight as the plane was inching its way past tall, rugged mountains Rosie asks Tyler what it was in the Valley of the Black Stone he is looking for. "Is it gold?" he asked. "Silver?" Tyler's response was, "It is hard to say." Rosie's response was, "Well, we are prospectors up here, all scratching for gold, so we won't have to scratch anymore. But I will tell you, Tyler, the gold isn't in the ground. The real gold is south, in the States, sitting in front of the TV, bored to death, bored to death Tyler."
Right then the plane's engine begins to cough and sputter. Pretty soon you see the propeller begin to slow down and eventually stop completely. Very excitedly, Tyler asks Rosie, "What's going on?" Rosie's answer: "Boredom, Tyler, that's what's going on." You can imagine Tyler was anything but bored. Rosie asked the next question. "How do you deal with boredom, Tyler?" He then reached into a toolbox and pulled out a big crescent wrench, waved it in Tyler's face, and simply said--this is the key word--"Adventure. Adventure, Tyler." He then opened the door of the plane, stepped out onto the wing strut and began to hit the frozen fuel line with the wrench. Since this scene took place in the first 10 minutes of the film, they obviously survived.
But, the big word here is "adventure." What is the definition of adventure? It certainly is different to different people. For some, adventure is going away to college. For others, the big adventure may be a mission, marriage, a career. Asking someone for a date, speaking at devotional, climbing the Grand Teton, running the Hoback section of the Snake River, riding a bike for 100 miles in one day. Let me share with you a great definition of adventure. This is from an individual named Bill Quinn.
"Adventure speaks of beginning, boldness, power, active involvement, of a quest, of human desire, of drive to experience that which is hidden and unknown. It was the concept of adventure that stimulated early man to discover and inhabit the world. The essence of adventure is a tremendously powerful inner desire for 'a something, a condition' which is absent. It is a process that begins with the acceptance of a situation where you know you will need to call upon all your own talents, abilities, skills, strengths, and courage just to get through--not necessarily succeed, but just survive."
Think of the adventure the Jaredites had for 344 days. Crossing the ocean in those barges. Do you remember what was in those barges? People, plants, animals, and birds--flocks and herds of them--they were like eight little arks. These Jaredites were list B people. Ether 6:4 states: "They got aboard of their vessels or barges, and set forth into the sea commending themselves unto the Lord their God." Could you do that? How deep does your faith go? How far are you willing to go based on your faith? How great of challenge are you willing to accept based on your faith? Are you willing to set forth into the unknown commending yourself to the Lord your God?
Do you accept the adventures that life hands or sometimes throws at you unconditionally or conditionally? Do you ever stop after a supposed success? Eugene O'Neil said, "Those who succeed and do not push on to greater chances of failure are the spiritual middle classers. Their stopping at success is the proof of their compromising insignificance. Only through the unattainable does man achieve a hope worth living and dying for."
Do you ask or seek for options that will allow you to stop, reconsider, and possibly go back home? In the stake I belong to there have been about 10 missionaries who have come home early the past year and a half. This is a similar statistic for all the Rexburg stakes. (I wonder how that statistic correlates to the fact that our Church represents 15 percent of all the Boy Scouts of America and also represents 50 percent of all accidents and deaths in the Boy Scouts of America.) Often times the reason for coming home early is, "It's too hard."
A friend of mine, Vance Hendrix, used to be a counselor here on campus. He served as a mission president and then as a specially called counselor with his wife to deal with missionaries who left their missions to come home. The Hendrixs told me that often those who came home were what they referred to as "Triple A Missionaries." They were athletic, attractive, and affluent. Things had been easy for these young men; they had been taken care of. I would like to add another "A" to make them "Four A Missionaries": attached. Either to mom, a girl or boyfriend, home, even electronics from what I hear now. Simply put, they have not been put into positions where they have had to experience column B type of adventures. Rather they often lived secure, safe, comfortable, and yes, static, sterile lives. Helen Keller was noted as saying on this subject: "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all."
Elder Holland made the following comments:
"I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our great eternal head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never easy for him?...When you are confronted with challenges that are difficult to conquer or you have questions arise, the answers to which you do not know, hold fast to the things you do know. Hang on to your firmest foundation, however limited that may be, and from that position of strength face the unknown...On this upward and sometimes hazardous journey, each of us meets our share of daily challenges.
"If we are not careful, as we peer through the narrow lens of self-interest, we may feel that life is bringing us more than our fair share of trials--that somehow others seem to be getting off more lightly. But the tests of life are tailored for our own best interests, and all will face the burdens best suited to their own mortal experience. In the end we will realize that God is merciful as well as just and that all the rules are fair. We can be reassured that our challenges will be the ones we needed, and conquering them will bring blessings we could have received in no other way...He (Christ) has, He reminds us, 'graven thee upon the palms of my hands' (1 Nephi 21:16). Considering the incomprehensible cost of the Crucifixion, Christ is not going to turn his back on us now."
During April 1970 General Conference, Elder Harold B. Lee was sustained as the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The prophet was Joseph Fielding Smith. President Lee was in his early 70s and President Smith was in his early 90s. I personally believe President Lee had an idea of what the future had in store for him. In his talk, he said:
"More than ever before, I understand what the ancient prophet Nephi felt when he had been given the seemingly insurmountable task by his father, Lehi, to gain possession of the brass plates in which were contained the scriptures of the prophets of the Old Testament, as we now know them. Nephi had written of this experience: '...I, Nephi, crept into the city and went forth towards the house of Laban. And I was led by the Spirit; not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.'"
I will add here that Nephi continued to write, "Nevertheless I went forth..." President Lee goes on: "I understand now more than ever before the poignant prayer of the suppliant: 'Lead, kindly light, amid the circling gloom; lead thou me on! The night is dark, and I am far from home; lead thou me on! Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see the distant scene , one step enough for me.'"
President Lee concluded by stating, "That, I too now sense very deeply, I must go on many occasions, as Nephi of old, being 'led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.' Yes, though the night be dark, 'I do not ask to see the distant scene - one step [is] enough for me.'"
I pray that we may all be willing to be led by the Spirit, not always knowing beforehand the things you should do, but be prepared to do them. Please remember the counsel given in 2 Nephi 25:23: "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." It is my hope that we will do all we can do, no matter what comes our way or what challenges we are called to face so that we will all be recipients of God's grace. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.