I volunteered for service in the United States Marine
Corps during the Vietnam War. Soon after my arrival in Quantico, Virginia, for
basic training, I found myself standing at attention in front of my barrack’s
bunk along with 54 other Marine Corps recruits. I met my drill instructor, a
battle-hardened veteran, when he kicked open the door to the barracks and
entered while screaming words laced with profanity.
After this terrifying introduction, he started at one
end of the barracks and confronted each recruit with questions. Without
exception, the drill instructor methodically found something about each recruit
to ridicule with loud, vulgar language. Down the row he came, with each marine
shouting back his answer as commanded: “Yes” or “No, Sergeant Instructor.” I
could not see exactly what he was doing, because we had been ordered to stand
at attention with our eyes looking straight ahead. When it was my turn, I could
tell he grabbed my duffel bag and emptied the contents onto my mattress behind
me. He looked through my belongings, then walked back to face me. I braced
myself for his attack. In his hand was my Book of Mormon.
I expected that he would yell at me; instead, he moved close to me and
whispered, “Are you a Mormon?”
As commanded, I yelled, “Yes, Sergeant Instructor.”
Again I expected the worst. Instead, he paused and
raised his hand that held my Book of Mormon and in a very quiet voice said, “Do
you believe in this book?”
Again I shouted, “Yes, Sergeant Instructor.”
At this point I was sure he would scream disparaging
words about Mormons and the Book of Mormon, but he just stood there in silence.
After a moment he walked back to my bunk and carefully laid down my Book of
Mormon. He then proceeded to walk by me without stopping and went on to
ridicule and disparage with profane language all remaining recruits.
I have often wondered why that tough Marine Corps
sergeant spared me that day. But I am grateful I was able to say without
hesitation, “Yes, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints” and “Yes, I know the Book of Mormon is true.” This
testimony is a precious gift given to me through the Holy
Ghost with the help of two missionaries and a priests quorum
adviser.
This story is remarkable because it demonstrates the power
of a simple, yet forceful affirmation of our affiliation with the church and
our belief in the Book of Mormon.
Can we doubt that the Spirit testified to the sergeant of the truth of
Larry Echo Hawk’s terse words?
I have tried to imagine what it would have been like to be
this sergeant and suddenly have a Spirit-filled testimony of the Book of Mormon
come at me like this..
“Are you a Mormon?”
“Yes, Sergeant Instructor!”
“Do you believe in this book?”
“Yes, Sergeant Instructor!”
WOW. It must
have been like a bolt from the blue, like a trumpet blast in the face, or a
sword to pierce joints and marrow.
It clearly disarmed him and confounded him so that he could say nothing
against it.
I don’t think the sergeant was completely ignorant of
Mormons or the Book of Mormon because when he saw the book, he knew it was
considered scripture. He knew
enough and he was curious enough that
he was willing to interrupt his abusive tirade at the Marines and ask a few
serious questions and in a more respectful tone. (We don’t know what exact tone he took; it is possible
to put just as much scorn into quiet words as loud ones, but Elder Echo Hawk’s
story suggests that it was more respectful, since he calls the tone “whispered”
and “quiet.”) Maybe he had known a
few Mormons before. We don’t know.
But why whisper about it? Was it out of respect or was it to conceal a departure from
the tough image he was trying to cultivate with the new recruits? I don’t know.
The next question I found myself asking was, “Why is the
sergeant looking through Larry Echo Hawk’s belongings?” It seems pretty rude of him to do that,
and the story makes it sound like Larry Echo Hawk was specifically targeted. But then, that may be part of an act
put on to intimidate the new recruits, sending the message of, “You belong to
the government now, and so does everything you own. What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is my own.” But I have to wonder if this
sergeant also looked through stuff belonging to the other recruits. Brother Echo Hawk doesn’t say, so it
could have been either way.
Perhaps the sergeant was just looking for ways to insult and break down
each recruit and he found something easily for each recruit without looking
through their stuff until he got to Larry Echo Hawk and then somehow he couldn’t
find anything, so he decided he had to dig through his belongings. (Any Marines or former Marines want to
chime in and shed light on this?)
I also wonder what Larry Echo Hawk's comrades thought who
might have heard this exchange. It sends an interesting message when one guy escapes getting roasted by the
sergeant instructor. One might be
curious and watchful to see what kind of guy the sergeant instructor could not
find fault with.
There are several principles taught from this story:
1) You
never know who is going to express curiosity and interest in your religion. It might be someone you’d never expect
(like sergeant instructors who swear like a blue streak).
2) Own
you're a Latter-day Saint without hesitation.
3) Forceful
affirmations of the truth carry just as much spiritual power as extended
testimony.
4) Testimony
can soften hearts, even those of battle-hardened men.
5) Experiences
of staying true to our testimony bring joy throughout the rest of life each
time we remember them.
2 comments:
This was seriously the best story and my favorite of the conference...unforgettable!
I know. Every once in a while I would find myself thinking about it again, which is why I decided I had to post on it.
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