Talk presented March 7, 2020, in Joplin Stake Conference:
Life is
beautiful … Life is amazing … Life is hard … Life is Challenging …
Life can be
a really tough row to hoe!
 |
Priesthood leaders on the Stake sugar beet farm
in Granger posing with their work hoes, including
Bro. Peterson, second from left; Dwayne Johnson;
and Gordon Evans, second from right. |
There’s
adversity of numerous kinds – including genetical, physical and emotional ones.
There are ones caused by the actions or decisions made by others -- or even
those brought upon ourselves by our own choices.
When I was
in my early teens, we were often called to work on our stake welfare farms,
including planting tomatoes, harvesting tomatoes and picking corn. The hardest
assignment was weeding the sugar beets.
How many
have had that great opportunity?
How many
have ever seen a sugar beet?
 |
John Havlicek of
the Boston Celtics
from 1962 to 1978. |
I could do about
three rows, each about 100 yards long, before my back and arm were aching, and
I was drenched in sweat. Those types of activities made me realize I shouldn’t
make a career out of manual labor.
When I was
in 8th grade, my father had a personal chat with me about my future career
plans. I told him I was going to be a professional basketball player. I
pictured myself as the next John Havlicek of the Boston Celtics.
 |
Mario Lanza,
1921-1959 |
He then
asked what I would do if I couldn’t be a pro player. What was my backup plan? I
quickly said I’d be a professional singer, maybe like Mario Lanza.  |
The same year I was
on West Lake Junior
High basketball team,
I was named the
"Most Fit" in
Coach Newton's
gym classes. |
Then he
asked: What then, if that doesn’t work out? I wrestled with my thoughts for a
bit, then suggested I would become a writer or journalist – despite the fact my
spelling and grammar were terrible. I figured I’d have an editor to fix those
things.
After a lot
of practice and overcoming many injuries, my basketball career reached all the
way up to – the last spot on the bench of our junior high basketball team.
And the
pinnacle of my singing career was – high school madrigals and Concert Choir. I
had a great time in both
 |
Granger High School Madrigals
1967-68. I'm on the 2nd row, far right. |
pursuits, but those career dreams were dashed. Still,
I was confident my Father in Heaven would help me find something else.
That
something else was a career in writing and journalism, starting with our high
school newspaper, then as church mission public relations director, and then as
an editor of the BYU newspaper, which led to a 35-year career as an editor at
the daily newspaper, The Deseret News.
Sounds
simple enough, but actually that path was filled with challenges and adversity!
Elder Neal
A. Maxwell once said: “One’s life . . . cannot be both faith-filled and
stress-free. . . . Therefore, how can you and I really expect to glide
naively through life, as if to say, ”Lord, give me experience – but
not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly
not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee
what Thou art! Then let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy
joy!” (end quote)
The Lord
knows we need to experience the bad and the good in life as we climb that
figurative ladder back to him.
Growing up,
I had real trouble with my shoulders – which led to surgeries on both. But those
setbacks didn’t stop me from playing basketball as much as time would permit.
 |
The large rock nicked my left-leg calf muscle, which
put my leg into spasms and I was helped down! |
And at a
Scout camp, I was almost killed when a large boulder came crashing down the
mountainside, and I stood there frozen. In a split second, my brother pushed me
out of the way. I was nicked in the left-leg calf muscle, but was alive! The
rock, however, plummeted down the mountainside and killed a member of our troop.
We were devastated.
Elder
Adhemar Damiani of the Seventy has said: “As part of our mortal probation, we
pass through affliction, pain, and disappointment. Only in Jesus Christ
can we find peace. … His gospel gives us the strength and the eternal
perspective to face what is coming with good cheer.” (end quote)
 |
Elder Hunt on crutches and
left leg in full cast at San
Jose, Costa Rica, airport set
to fly home to Granger. |
The words,
eternal perspective, played a critical part in the challenge I faced when I was
20 years old, more than half a century ago, and serving a mission in Costa
Rica. After several months of pain in my left leg and two surgeries, the
doctors discovered I had bone cancer. One day later, I was on my way back home to
Utah where I was told that the only way to maybe beat the cancer was to have my
left leg amputated. Remember, this was before chemo and radiation therapy.
Two things
happened to turn my hope into faith. The night before the surgery, I prayed
long and hard about my future. Was I going to survive? And if I survived, could
I make it without basketball and as an amputee? Finally, I received a spiritual assurance that
I had a good life ahead, even that I would eventually marry and have a family.
 |
Elder Hunt standing in front of Pres. Milton E. Smith,
left, and Elder Delbert L. Stapley of the Quorum of
Twelve, and other missionaries in the San Jose area. |
Then, a couple
of days following the surgery, I received a blessing from Elder Delbert L.
Stapley, who I had previously met when he visited our mission in Costa Rica.
His blessing was amazing: He first spoke with God and explained to Him my
situation. Then, after a pause, he proceeded to bless me. Part of that blessing
was a command that if there was any cancer left in my body that it would leave
and never return.
Five years
later, the doctor who had performed the surgery, said he really hadn’t expected
me to survive. He credited Elder Stapley’s blessing for the miracle.
I soon was
back in school at BYU and receiving assistance from the Utah Division of
Rehabilitation, which made it possible for me to go on and earn my college diploma.
I was
blessed in many ways, but those college years and the ensuing couple of years were
really tough, emotionally. My self-esteem suffered, and I started my career at
Deseret News emotionally and spiritually low. What saved me was realizing that
I could actually change and repent. That I could break the chains Satan had
wrapped around me.
That spiritual
reawakening came while reading Pres. Kimball’s book “The Miracle of
Foregiveness” – that, along with getting involved in Young Adults, which is
where I met Nancy. She was the one who helped me through the repentance process.
Finally I had hope again – I had regained my eternal perspective.
The Lord
makes no secret that He will test our faith and our obedience. “We will prove
them herewith,” He said, “to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord
their God shall command them.”
Elder Dallin
H. Oaks has said: “Most of us experience some measure of what the scriptures
call ‘the furnace of affliction.’ Some are submerged in service to a
disadvantaged family member. Others suffer the death of a loved one or the loss
or postponement of a righteous goal like marriage or childbearing. Still others
struggle with personal impairments or with feelings of rejection,
inadequacy, or depression.
 |
| Pres. Dallin H. Oaks |
[But]
Through the justice and mercy of a loving Father in Heaven, the refinement
and sanctification possible through such experiences can help us achieve
what God desires us to become....
Father Lehi
promised his son Jacob that God would ‘consecrate [his] afflictions for
[his] gain.’
The Prophet
Joseph was promised that ‘thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small
moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on
high.’ (end quote)
 |
| Joseph Smith Jr. |
Enduring well
means living faithfully despite our trials and misfortune. It means learning
from these trials and experiences and thus becoming more like our Father in
Heaven.
Eternal
perspective allows us to understand that if we endure well these things and
learn from them, then we can look forward to living with our Father in Heaven –
and even eventually living the kind of life that God lives! That’s a pretty
awesome promise!
 |
| Lee & Nancy Hunt |
Now, more
than 60 years since that blessing from Elder Stapley, I’m still hanging on – married
to my sweet Nancy for nearly 45 years, and treasuring my five children and 17
grandchildren. But I still have daily afflictions and challenges.
So, I pray
that we will hold on through our trials, become closer to our Father in Heaven
as we do so, and hold tight to our eternal perspective, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
These quotes
I wasn’t able to use due to time constraints, but well worth review on the subject:
 |
| Pres. Russell M. Nelson |
Pres.
Russell M. Nelson has said: “True repentance is not an event. It is a
never-ending privilege. It is fundamental to progression….” (end quote)
Why does our
Father in Heaven allow these burdens?
Wouldn’t it
be nice to not have any? Life would be so easy – but would we learn anything if
life was all bliss?
Is there a reason
for life’s adversities?
 |
| Elder Quentin L. Cook |
Elder Quentin
L. Cook has said: “Adversity should not be viewed as either disfavor from the
Lord or a withdrawal of His blessings. Opposition in all things is part of the refiner’s
fire to prepare us for an eternal celestial destiny.” (end quote)
And many of
these adversities and afflictions require us to turn away from sin and despair
and take hold of Christ’s Atoning Sacrifice through repentance.
 |
| Elder Bruce C. Hafen |
Elder Bruce
C. Hafen has said: “The great Mediator asks for our repentance not because we
must ‘repay’ him in exchange for his paying our debt to justice, but because repentance
initiates a developmental process that, with the Savior’s help, leads us
along the path to a saintly character.” (end quote)
Pres. Russell M. Nelson has said: “True repentance is not an
event. It is a never-ending privilege. It is fundamental to progression….”
(end quote)
Elder Dieter
F. Uchtdorf testified: “… that when we
 |
| Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf |
embark upon or continue the incredible
journey that leads to God, our lives will be better. This does not mean that
our lives will be free from sorrow. We all know of faithful followers of Christ
who suffer tragedy and injustice–Jesus Christ Himself suffered more than
anyone.... In fact, sometimes it seems that our lives are more difficult
because we are trying to live our faith. Following the Savior will not remove
all of your trials. However, it will remove the barriers between you and the
help your Heavenly Father wants to give you.” (end quote)
 |
| Elder M. Russell Ballard |
Elder M.
Russell Ballard has said: “No matter how difficult the trail, and regardless of
how heavy our load, we can take comfort in knowing that others before us
have borne life’s most grievous trials and tragedies by looking to heaven for
peace, comfort, and hopeful assurance. We can know as they knew that God is our
Father, that He cares about us individually and collectively, and that as long
as we continue to exercise our faith and trust in Him, there is nothing to fear
in the journey.” (end quote)
I’ve always
loved the Book of Mormon story of Alma and his people who fled into the
wilderness and were eventually captured by the Lamanites and forced to labor
for them. But the Lord, instead of immediately rescuing them from the
Lamanites, he first helped them handle their burdens:
In Mosiah, Chapter 12, verse 15: And now it
came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were
made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their
burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the
will of the Lord.”
 |
Elder D. Todd
Christofferson |
Elder D. Todd
Christofferson has said: “Exercising agency in a setting that sometimes
includes opposition and hardship is what makes life more than a simple
multiple-choice test. God is interested in what we are becoming as a
result of our choices. He is not satisfied if our exercise of moral agency
is simply a robotic effort at keeping some rules. Our Savior wants us to become
something, not just do some things. He is endeavoring to make us independently
strong …” (end quote)
