TheDiscipleMD

I only recall standing up once in a church meeting and bearing my testimony of Jesus Christ as a teenager. I don’t recall much of what I said that day, but surprisingly, some others did. Something that I said in that meeting has stayed with others in attendance. Written inside a book given to me by my then-high school early-morning religion teacher is this inscription:

“Listen good friend,  with those “Mormon Ears”, thanks for your support this year. You really have an impact on the other fellows in class.  Keep up the good example…”

The term “Mormon Ears” comes from that one testimony I gave in church as a teenager. In relating how I dealt with the prevalent swearing in the locker rooms of the sports teams I was playing on, I explained how I had told the other players that when I heard such language, it offended my “Mormon Ears.” It was my attempt just to be funny, and non-offensive,  but also to let them know it made me uncomfortable.  As the only “Mormon” on my High School sports teams in Maryland, I often found myself explaining my position on many of my religious practices. My teammates were always respectful to me,  and to this day, I have such fond memories of their friendships.

Close to forty years later, a local church leader and his wife visited our ward. They were a young couple in my congregation when I was a teenager. We started to reminisce about the old times.  We talked of places and people, but one recollection related to me by his wife took me by surprise. She said, “I remember your ‘Mormon Ears’ story. You don’t know how often I have told that over the years.” My father related that many years later, he became reacquainted with another person in attendance that day, and he mentioned to him that same testimony. I was flattered they remembered such a trivia thing!  Yet, oftentimes, we say things that seem of little importance at the time. But years later someone, somewhere, will relate something we said that impacted their life.

I know there have been many times that I been inspired or impressed by things that others say or do. I store them in my mind and sometimes in my heart. I draw inspiration from them. They are like a spiritual reservoir from which I draw strength in my time of need. Occasionally, years later, I get the opportunity to thank the providers of such pearls. But, more often than not, I can never properly extend appreciation to those who have given me such inspiration.

And so I have reflected on the corny phrase I spoke of on that day, “Mormon Ears.”  (We don’t even call ourselves “Mormons” anymore) It didn’t mean much to me when I said it. At the time, I never imagined that a seventeen-year-old kid could say anything of value to adults. But that day, I realized that no matter your age or title, you can say or do something of lasting value.   I learned that what a person says, no matter the age or how trivial it may seem, can be of value to others. And having that knowledge has been music to my “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints” ears through the years! That’s a mouthful!

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