Friday, September 11, 2009

To Remember

I was only six days into a new job at BYU when I saw all of my co-workers crowding the TV that day. As a new employee I reluctantly joined them. As we watched we slowly realized, as fast as our brains and hearts could comprehend, the terror that was taking place in New York and beyond. Everyone felt pretty scared.

Only a couple of hours later President Hinckley spoke to us at the Marriott Center during the regularly scheduled devotional time. He spoke of peace in the gospel through faith in the Savior. He talked about reaching out in love to our fellow man and about turning to God in prayer. It was incredibly comforting to listen to a Prophet of God right then.

I loved how we responded as a nation to the event: FAITH, BROTHERHOOD, COMPASSION, PRAYER, LOVE. When visiting a chapel next to Ground Zero a few months ago, Tyler and I saw physical expressions of this, now memorialized in the chapel: notes, flowers, pictures, posters, letters, badges, mementos, pictures of sleep-deprived firefighters, hospital cots, worn-out work boots, volunteer aid ... the list goes on. It was incredibly moving.

So much of the faith that was gained in the months following 9/11 seems to have been lost. This story is about a man who hasn't forgotten and who's changed his life for the better since surviving that day. His story helps me remember.
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