Chapter 5.2 - Decisions

I have made a bunch of bad decisions in my life.  When I was about eight years old, we were living in Denver, Colorado, and I got a fishing pole for my birthday.  When the weather was warm enough, Mom took me and maybe some other kids to the city park where some kids have gone to fish.  I put some bait on the hook, tossed it in and then set the pole down and went off doing something else.  When I came back, my knee hit the pole and knocked it into the lake.  I made up a story about seeing a big fish grab the bait, hook, line, sinker and pole and swim away.  That is the story I told everyone including my dad.  But Mom knew the truth because she was there and saw the whole thing.  Bad decision.  

One time when I had just returned from Ricks College with an intramural championship in wrestling under my belt, I was bragging about it and chose to demonstrate on my dad.  He was heavier than I thought and in my take-down maneuver I did not lift him high enough and heard a snap.  I think he suffered with ankle problems the rest of his life.  Bad decision.  

One time when I was dating LaRue, her folks bought the two of us $100 a plate dinners for a fund raiser for a new church building.  I was tired so I took a nap while LaRue and her grandma were getting ready.  When they woke me up to go, I decided to continue my nap.  Bad decision.  I don't think they ever forgave me for that one.  Then there was the time . . . well, maybe these three examples are adequate representatives of the myriad of my bad decisions and are enough to show what a proud, self-centered person I am. 

On the other hand, I have been lucky enough to have made a few good decisions.  The first one was deciding to be born. As William Wordsworth said in his poem "Intimations of Immortality"

     Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:

     The Soul that rises with us, our life’s Star,

     Hath had elsewhere its setting,

     And cometh from afar:

     Not in entire forgetfulness,

     And not in utter nakedness,

     But trailing clouds of glory do we come

     From God, who is our home.

I don't remember much about it, but I truly appreciate the opportunities that decision has brought me. 

One of the best decisions has got to be the decision to follow the teachings of my parents and of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, because more than anything else that has helped me become who I am.

Another was to turn down the scholarship at the University of Wyoming and accept a lesser valued one to Ricks College, for it was there that I made the best decision of my mortal life.  It was easy and at the same time difficult.  I knew that I wanted to go on a mission, but I also wanted to capture the girl I wanted to be the mother of my children, and with whom I wanted to spend the rest of my life. I knew that she was the one for me, but was I the one for her?  Would she really want to take herself out of the social circle for two, maybe three years?  I did not want just some kind of a friendly agreement. I wanted a commitment. At minimum, an engagement.  At last I figured that if I asked, she could turn me down . . . so I left the decision to her.  If she accepted, I was in fat city.  If she would turn me down, I would shoot myself.  Just kidding.  No, it was not that bad, but I did leave it to her, hoping that she understood the commitment she was making, so that she would not break it later on.  Well things went well for me, and it was difficult for her to get through the next three and one-half years, but we did it and 54 years later I am still the happiest, luckiest guy on the planet.

<This is Martell's daughter, Karen. Dad could not finish this post because of his emotions. He loves Mom very much, and does not want to leave her. He loves his family, and has been surrounded by them. Only because of the restored gospel, and the knowledge we have of the Plan of Salvation, can we face these extremely difficult times with faith. We trust in our Savior, and submit our will to God's.>