Go To The Football Field
When Ken was twelve or thirteen years old, he once accompanied his father to the local trash dump. His dad was driving their truck, and Ken was sitting on the passenger side, near the door. As he was looking out of the window, he had a feeling that he should move away from the door and sit next to his father. He ignored the feeling; but it came again so strongly that he immediately slid away from the door. A few moments later, when his father made a turn, the door that Ken had been leaning against flew open. He didn’t think much about it at the time; but later, when he came to recognize how the Spirit operates, he realized that he had been saved from serious injury or death by his Father in Heaven.
Ken had another spiritual experience when he was sixteen. His family had moved from Tooele to the small town of Grantsville, about fifteen miles away. However, Ken kept his job at a clothing store in downtown Tooele. Early one summer morning, as he approached the outskirts of Tooele, he had a feeling that he should drive over by the high school. The high school was not on his way to work, and he had no idea why he should go there; but he decided to respond to this feeling, and he drove toward the school. As he drove slowly by the front of the school, he didn’t see or hear anything out of the ordinary. He felt a little puzzled, but decided to turn left toward town, since it was time for him to get to work.
Before Ken could turn, however, he received a stronger impression that he should turn right, not left, and that he should go behind the school. He followed the direction, but still didn’t see or hear anything that would cause any concern. As he went to pull out from behind the school, Ken heard an actual voice telling him to drive to the far end of the parking lot, next to the football field.
The football field was located on top of a hill. Steps led up to the playing field and to the bleachers. Behind the bleachers the hill sloped down, and the field was surrounded by a chain-link fence. Ken drove past the football field, to the end of the parking lot, and started his return trip. As he rounded the corner of the parking lot, still seeing nothing of any consequence, he saw a body lying by the chain-link fence.
Ken now knew why he was there, but the sight of the body really frightened him. He had no idea who it was. He jumped out of his car and sprinted to the entrance of the football field, up the stairs, and across the field. As soon as he had dashed partway down the hill, he recognized the person lying there as his best friend. His friend’s head, neck, and shoulder were covered with blood, and he was lying motionless.
When Ken saw his friend in this condition, he almost went to pieces. He thought the boy was dead. Then a calm feeling came over him, and he approached the inert body. As Ken turned him over, his friend stirred and looked up to him, and Ken realized he was still alive.
His friend was in a very dazed condition, as if he was just coming out of unconsciousness. Ken picked him up, carried him to his car, and rushed him to the hospital. He was afraid that he might die if he left him alone while he went for help.
Much later, when he had regained consciousness, the friend told Ken what had happened. He had been working with two other men, clearing weeds and debris from along the fence. The two men had left to take a load of junk to the county dump. He was left alone. As he had continued to clear the fence, he had encountered a large rock that he could not budge. He grabbed a pick and took several swings at the rock, but it stubbornly refused to move. He then took an extra large swing with the pick, but the tip struck the chain-link fence and the pick turned sideways in his hand. Instead of hitting rock, the end of the pick hit him in the back of his head and opened a large wound. The doctor said that the wound was severe enough that, if Ken had not come along, his friend might have bled to death before his fellow workers returned.
The gravity of his friend’s situation did not hit Ken until later. He then came to appreciate how the Lord had worked through him, a young Aaronic Priesthood holder, in saving his friend from possible death. He began to better understand the promptings of the Spirit and to cherish the spiritual experiences of his youth.
Allan Burgess & Max Molgard, The Gospel in Action, Salt Lake City, UT: Bookcraft, 1992, p.1-3.