Dear Editor:
This letter is in response “True fans,” written Thursday. Though I don’t fervently follow sports, this letter seems to make quite a few assumption which I disagree with. For one, the author asserts that when a person goes to a school, he or she suddenly develops an unwavering loyalty for that school. He says, “Have you ever met a Ute fan that wants BYU to win?” Am I to assume from this that every person attending the U of U has a deep-seeded hatred for BYU? Am I to have hatred for everyone who attends the U of U?
Also, the statement, “Am I the only one who hasn’t read the chapter where Nephi turns around and cheers for those in the (great and spacious) building?” seems to imply two things. One, it suggests everyone attending the U of U is suddenly evil, as with the analogy claiming we’ll have victory over “Satan and his hosts of red.” You say the U is the great and spacious building (I thought this represented the pride of the world). Also, with this statement you indicate everyone attending BYU is righteous. Now I see problems with this logic. For one, by your definition, if someone was LDS and attended the U of U, no matter how hard they tried they could never partake of the fruit.
I guess in my limited understanding of the gospel, I thought the vision Nephi and his father applied more to eternal salvation rather than college rivalries. I don’t claim to be any gospel theologian, but trying to make this connection seems trifling. I would think more applicable to this problem would be scriptures like, “Love your neighbor,” “Turn the other cheek,” “Love thine enemies.”
These scriptures, would assert to me that if someone who is our rival is succeeding in something, we should support them, as with our support we show our love for humanity and God’s children. Now I know a bunch of you sports fanatics are going to write saying I don’t understand rivalries or what it means to be a true sports fan. To me, it is more important to be a good member of the church following the gospel’s principles than to get caught up in some temporal competition which divides the spirit of people.
Playing pranks and healthy competition don’t bother me. I think it’s great for the human spirit to be in competition with each other for things like sports where we will perform at our best, but I think sportsmanship is what should be the foundation of any sport. We all get old, many of us will be in nursing homes trying to find our dentures in like 50-60 years with only our memories and the personal skills we learned.
Speaking of the great and spacious building, the whole idea that we are better people than others simply because of the school we attend seems very prideful to me. I went to school with someone who attends the U of U, so now am I a better person because I attend BYU? As D&C 38:39 says, “Beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old.” As President Benson said in the April 1, 1989, General Conference, “The central feature of pride is enmity — enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.”
Daniel Beutler
Tualatin, Ore.
