BYU vs Navy

About every two or three days Joe asks me the same question, "If USNA were to play BYU in football who would win?" Gosh, I really don't know. Has Navy ever played BYU? I know BYU always beats Air Force and Navy always beats Air Force so that proves nothing except that Air Force sucks at football. My guess is that BYU would wallop on Navy, but I have no basis for that other than I was at BYU during the really good years (1979-1983) and I can't imagine BYU losing. Who remembers the Hail Mary pass in the 1980 Miracle Bowl against SMU? I believe it was replayed in the Wilk a few times, but that is just what I have heard.

So which is the better school? There is always some fun bantering between the BYU alums at the Muir house and the John, the Navy Plebe. I like the way Navy emphasises duty, honor and country but I think it falls short on teaching spirituality. It is hard to convey the spirit in an environment in which the f-word is used as a noun, a verb, an adjective, and an adverb. The only f-words I heard at BYU were flip and fetch. To tell the truth, I think these words were used mostly by guys who were trying to stop using the big bad f-word and so replaced them with these dumb words which they used as adjectives, adverbs, nouns and verbs so they wouldn't be brought up on standards violations. It is probably hard to have the spirit when you are thinking the big bad f-word but saying flip or fetch.

Students struggle academically at both schools. I think that one of the big challenges of being at school is the relentless demands, particularly as the semester draws to a close. So what should the struggling student pray for if he attends BYU, USNA, U of Michigan, Eastern Michigan, or even the U of Utah? I guess he could pray for relief from the demands of papers, projects and tests. I really doubt that most teachers will let up and make it easy for their students. Just think about it. If you really want relief from these demands you should just quit school and there you are. He could pray that he do well on papers, tests and projects on which he puts forth a minimal effort. This would have a doubtful outcome also. Do you really think Heavenly Father would put a fog on your teachers' brains so that they would lose all of their judgment and standards? Most college teachers are pretty good at identifying poor, sloppy or junior high level work. Besides, when you think about it, do you really want to get paid top dollar for a shoddy job? Muir's have way too much pride for that. Do you really want to pay top dollar when someone does shoddy work for you? He could also pray to know the answers on questions he has never heard of before. The Holy Ghost doesn't work that way either. The Holy Ghost can bring things back to your memory, but you have to put the info into your brain before He can help you to have recall.

He could pray that his study would be effective, that he could go through the work and reading quickly and have maximum retention with an open mind. This has always been one of my favorite pre-study prayers. You are not asking for a shortcut, but for the best learning methods, basically that the fog would be lifted from your own mind and that you would be able to understand. He could pray that his capacity be increased beyond the current confines. This is another good prayer. It shows your humility that you are at a certain level and that in order to accomplish the necessary tasks you really need to be at a higher level. Don't you think Heavenly Father wants you to want to improve? One of the big challenges we face in prayer is figuring out what we need to ask for.

I have probably lost all of the my readers by now. But if you have hung on as I have waxed philosophical I want you to know that I pray for all of the students in my life and I hope they will figure out these hard earned lessons. Good luck in finishing up the term.

So, who wins, BYU or Navy? I don't know. I guess it just depends on what sort of person you grow to be.