Forum speakers share stories, advice for troubled times

This archived article was written by: Kellie Henderson

Two speakers visited the College of Eastern Utah’s Friday’s Forum Feb. 27 with life experiences to share with the young men and women in attendance.
Wayne Moon told a new version of the “Three Little Pigs” tale. Three pigs were neighbor to a pig who had a wealth of knowledge and exposure to wolves. He intimately understood the ins and outs of their hunting and had protected himself accordingly.
The pigs, on the other hand, were novices to the activity of wolves, so they studied and analyzed the situation and how best to protect their little house from this danger, with one pig planning, another preparing, and the last one presenting and implementing their ideas.
Meanwhile, their elderly neighbor mocked their preparation as a waste of time, as his safety had never been threatened before. Eventually, the wolf did come to the two houses, which appeared very similar. The traditional methods of protection failed, and the wolf ate the old-timer pig. Through their thoughtfulness and preparation, however, the three little pigs outsmarted the wolf and remained in safety.
The moral of the story, “If you want to keep the wolf away from your door, you had better plan, prepare and prevent.”
Another topic that is pressing on many people, especially students is gaining independence. Moon asked, “What is the future you face? What are your concerns today? The economy like it is, getting worse everyday, the possibility of sending more of our troops in Iraq to help other people and everything that’s going on. It’s a challenge.”
“I was born five years after the stock market crash in ’29 … and we were in the depth of the Great Depression … I didn’t know what condition our family was in, I didn’t know were poor.”
Moon’s father was employed at the Emery Bank in Castle Dale when the market crashed. His father came home one night to tell his mother that he was out work, and that all the money had been transferred to Price. “They had just moved into a new home … and were making the payments. They had just purchased an automobile. Of course they lost the home and the automobile and moved in to a small two room house … there were eight of us children.”
With the security and love of his family, he was a happy child. He wasn’t bothered by the bed of straw he slept on, he says, “I had two changes of clothes, one that I was wearing and one that was in the wash … our shoes would get down to where they would have holes in them so my dad would either have to sew them or … , put cardboard [in them.]”
Still, he maintains, “It was a lot of fun! I enjoyed everyone else in town … [they] were in the same situation … I was loved. My dad made us feel like we didn’t have anything to worry about.”
He also assured the audience, “I look at he situation we face today and the age you are today and I’m sure you have many concerns. What … I may say today, I hope will help you feel that comfort and to feel secure. Some look at it and think “well maybe that isn’t possible in a world like today” but I want to assure you that it is.”
Another forum on March 6 featured Troy Birch who counseled of the importance of utilizing knowledge to make correct choices.
He stated, “One of the great responsibilities that parents have is to teach us truth and to teach us right from wrong.” Truth can also be gained from one’s own experience as we grow older.
“One of the challenges of college is that you are now on your own and you get to look around at these principles that you’ve been taught by your family and parents.” It is important, he advised, to make truths your own by accepting and internalizing them for yourself. “Don’t just determine who you are just by being opposite of everybody else, look for the truth and when you get that truth, make it yours.”
He also shared the stories of Elder Quentin L. Cook, an authority for the LDS Church. Cook attended two funerals as a young man fresh out of Stanford Law School. At the funerals, he observed that though both were wealthy businessmen, the more successful of the two had sacrificed much to achieve his position. The other had, instead, traded a bit of his achievements to focus on what was truly in important. At that moment, Cook decided that their were good, better and best choices, and wanted to revolve his life around the best choices. He credits much of his accomplishments to this decision made at that critical time in his life.
In parting, Birch stated, “I challenge you to live to the truths you know and you’ll never regret the choices you make.