In the spring of 1974, I was a Senior in High School when the High School Baseball team I was a member of was chased indoors by a sudden Thunderstorm. As we played catch in the gym, waiting for the storm to blow over, a conversation ensued between two of my teammates, ending in a challenge. I overheard my wrestling partner, Loran, say, “Pick any two guys on the team and Stephenson and I can beat them in wrestling!” Now the baseball team consisted of a number of huge guys who also played football. I remember thinking, “What is he saying, there is no way we could beat guys twice our size!” Both Loran and I had just finished the wrestling season, where I wrestled at 126 and he at 132 pounds. Although both of us had very successful seasons, was he nuts? As I suspected, the team really got into the challenge and selected two players who were well over 6 feet tall and weighed over 200 pounds. To boot, they were both outstanding athletes. Fortunately, the rain stopped, and we went outside to practice.

However, during the remainder of the practice, I received friendly taunts about how Loran and I would get kicked if we went through with the match. In my heart, I agreed and wasn’t looking forward to a beating, but outwardly, I wore the swagger of a champion, maintaining our superiority and that we would prove it after practice. Soon enough, baseball practice was over, and the whole team headed for the wrestling room. They surrounded the mat, and our 2nd baseman volunteered to be the referee. It looked and sounded like something out of the World Wrestling Federation with whopping, hollering, and chest beating from our opponents.

Loran and I decided he would start, and if he got in trouble or tired, he would tag me. The ref yelled to start, and Loran went after our big 1st baseman with a vengeance. Poor Bobby didn’t know what hit him as Loran took him down and began to bend him like a pretzel. And although big Bobby outweighed him by over seventy pounds, he couldn’t get out from under the tenacity of an experienced wrestler. Loran kept piling up points with Bobby fighting to stay off his back. Loran let him up and reached out and touched my hand. Big Bobby crawled off the mat and touched the hand of Kevin, an all-Metropolitan Football Star. I had watched Loran dismantle Bobby, and I had watched in amazement how a trained wrestler could easily defeat an untrained athlete twice his size. I charged Kevin, took him down, and rolled him over. I will never forget the exhilaration of pinning him, chest to chest, as he struggled. He was so big and I was no match physically, but I had been trained and prepared. He didn’t stand a chance. The referee slapped the mat, signifying we had won. The players had gone quiet. Not a word was spoken as they filed out of the room one by one. Loran and I were the only ones left in the wrestling room. We both looked at each other. Smiles slowly came across our faces, and we both laughed out loud.

The Lord has promised, “If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.” I learned from that experience that preparation can help small men overcome giant things. You may not be the most educated, nor speak the most eloquent of words. You may not earn a million dollars a year or wear the latest fashions, but if you are prepared, the Lord will guide and direct you against the adversary. If you are prepared, you need not fear man. If you trust in the arm of the Lord, He will lead you to victory. Fear can paralyze good people from doing great things, but if you are prepared, miracles can happen! May we have the fortitude to prepare ourselves through obedience to the commandments and have faith enough in the Lord to have no fear.