Ordinarily when we think of courage we think of a soldier going into battle or a fireman daring to go into a burning house to save a life or a family pet. It takes courage to face danger head on and danger can have many faces. But we don’t usually think of courage when we think of someone just doing the right thing, or saying the right thing when it is contrary to what their peers expect them to do or say. “It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rarely touted.” (Mark Twain)
I remember when I was in the military during the Korean Conflict, I served in a Military Police Battalion on the Presidio in San Francisco. I made some major changes in my character after being influenced by a fellow soldier. This soldier lived in my barracks and even in the same squad room (20 men per squad). He was significantly different than the rest of us in that he never smoked, drank beer or swore; plus he seemed happy all the time. One day, out of curiosity, I asked him why he was so different than the rest of us. He sat me down on his footlocker and told me that he thought he was different because he believed in the Book of Mormon, and he offered me a plastic covered copy of the book. At first I felt a little uncomfortable, almost like I was being cornered by an insurance salesman trying to sell me a policy that I didn’t want nor need. But he told me that if I would read the book that I would then understand why he lived differently than others. At first I wasn’t very interested in the prospect of reading his book because I wasn’t much of a reader. I had dropped out of high school half way through the ninth grade. I had more important things to do with my time, I thought, even though I managed to take the GED test and received my high school diploma the same summer as my classmates. I even passed it relatively high, but that’s another story.
A couple of weeks later my “Mormon” friend, who was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was shipped to Korea and I was assigned temporarily to an eight week radio school at Fort Lewis, Washington. I arrived at Fort Lewis a little early and had some spare time, so being curious, I opened the Book of Mormon and started reading. I no sooner got past the introduction than I found myself getting emotional, and as I continued reading I felt tears running down my cheeks. Now you have to understand that I was a tough guy and this was very, very unusual for me. I felt very much out of character and embarrassed, even though I was by myself. I soon became engrossed in the purpose for being sent to Fort Lewis, and radio school was very demanding. I had to learn federal communication rules and regulations as well as learn to send and receive Morse Code at 18 words per minute or more. The course took a lot of reading, and the Morse Code took a lot of practice, but as soon as I felt comfortable that I had learned what I needed to, my nose was back in the Book of Mormon. I could hardly wait to get back to it, and each time I did, I felt those tears slowly finding their way down my cheek. Often I felt that my heart was so full that I would choke up with emotion. Even though, at that time, I am sure I did not understand very much of what I was reading, the spirit of the writing was so powerful, it was almost overwhelming to me. I now began to understand what it was like to be overcome by the spirit. A few weeks earlier I would have laughed at the idea. I finished the book before the eight week radio school was completed.
When I returned to the Presidio I looked in the phone book for the Mormon church, but I could find no listing. A couple of weeks later I saw a soldier that I knew went to the same church as my Mormon friend, and I asked him where his church was. He gave me the address and the next Sunday I walked in and asked if I could attend. Yes, I did join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but that is another story too. I was able to quit a lifelong habit of swearing and a short time habit of drinking beer. I had already quit smoking a few weeks before, as I could tell it was killing me after eight years of addiction.
Does it take courage to leave one way of life for another and put off the old life, like taking off an old, comfortable garment, never to wear it again? Someone said that, “Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.” I had a very difficult time at first because it was such a force of habit to express myself in dirty talk terms. The drinking of beer and coffee were not too difficult to abandon.
I never actually separated myself from the other guys but their conversations would take on a little different flavor, language wise, when I was with them. Even though I never thought I was better than they, a few of them may have thought I did. I actually tried to be low key by not drawing attention to myself or portraying myself in a more holier-than-thou light or attitude. Even though, in reality, my desire was to become such. In spite of trying to be low key, most of my friends could see obvious changes taking place. For example, one afternoon we were all getting prepared to march in a parade on the Presidio and while I was getting dressed one of the other MP’s let out a long string of profanity, and then he noticed me and said, “Oh, sorry, Hanson, I didn’t see you there.” So from being one of them, I became a person even they recog- nized as different, in just a few short weeks. Later, as I thought of that event, tears weld up in my eyes and I sent a little, sigh-like, prayer to Heavenly Father, thanking Him for blessing me. For if my conversion was noticeable without my trying to make it obvious, changes in my life must certainly have taken place.
I have never had an opportunity to test my courage on the battle field or in a burning house but in my heart, I feel it took a great deal of courage for me to put off the old man and evolve into a new one. As a moth struggles to leave the safety of its cocoon and become a different creature, I, too, was in transition. I eventually became like my Mormon friend, ‘different’ and I, like him, appeared a more smiley and happy person. Christopher Columbus said that,“God gave me the faith and afterwards the courage so that I was quite willing to undertake the journey.” I, too, was given the faith to start reading the Book of Mormon and later the courage to make some major changes though my environment remained the same.
Someone said, “The real tragedy in life is not what becomes of people but rather what they become.” In my case, fortunately, it was not a tragedy but a lifelong blessing. The above event took place over fifty years ago, but I remain different and happy, and even today, reading the Book of Mormon is always an emotional experience.