Tuesday, November 20, 2012

I have to post this it is just too good.



The Laboratory of Sports

"Perhaps there is no better laboratory to observe the sin of pride than the world of sports. I have always loved participating in and attending sporting events. But I confess there are times when the lack of civility in sports is embarrassing. How is it that normally kind and compassionate human beings can be so intolerant and filled with hatred toward an opposing team and its fans?
I have watched sports fans vilify and demonize their rivals. They look for any flaw and magnify it. They justify their hatred with broad generalizations and apply them to everyone associated with the other team. When ill fortune afflicts their rival, they rejoice.
Brethren, unfortunately we see today too often the same kind of attitude and behavior spill over into the public discourse of politics, ethnicity, and religion.
My dear brethren of the priesthood, my beloved fellow disciples of the gentle Christ, should we not hold ourselves to a higher standard? As priesthood bearers, we must realize that all of God’s children wear the same jersey. Our team is the brotherhood of man. This mortal life is our playing field. Our goal is to learn to love God and to extend that same love toward our fellowman. We are here to live according to His law and establish the kingdom of God. We are here to build, uplift, treat fairly, and encourage all of Heavenly Father’s children."  - Pride and the Priesthood DIETER F. UCHTDORF October 2010
I attend Brigham Young University in Provo, UT as most know where 99% of people who attend belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Our rival school (although now not so sure how long they will be considered a rival) is the University of Utah who has between 50 to 60% LDS students. I never really realized how big of a deal this rivalry was until I was introduced to my husband who is a hard core Utah fan. Since I have been married to him I have noticed the ways both students who attend these schools can be extremely hateful and intolerant about the other school and its students. Coming from Iowa, I grew up having a completely unbiased view to the rivalry. I never understood why these people hated each other so much and especially those who are members of the church. Why would some people hate a school that their own church has funded and established to raise up strong intelligent people? Why would some people who go to a religious school openly hate another just because they don't go to a religious school? It really does not make sense to me at all. I don't understand it and probably won't ever as the rivalry was never instilled in me through out my childhood. I really really loved this talk from Elder Uchtdorf and especially this section about the laboratory of sports. I feel like I can relate to it so well. I'll ask anyone who is reading this... "Should we not hold ourselves to higher standards? We must realize all of God's children wear the same jersey. Our goal really is to learn to love God and to extend that same love toward our fellowman." People say God does not care about sports nor who wins... if that is true, then why do sports make it ok to put our goal aside and have conditions in which fellowmen to love? If God doesn't care about the outcome of sports then I am pretty sure it doesn't matter if the activity involves sports or not. It really is not ok to treat or talk about others poorly just because they go to rivalry schools.

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