None of us are the vilest of sinners


If you live in Utah and watch the news, you probably heard the story about Spencer Hadley. I was so extremely impressed by him that I couldn’t help but to write my feelings about his courage. Here in Utah, the rivalry between high schools and colleges is pretty intense. I remember in high school, my friends and I would always go to Jordan High and cause some ruckus on their football field. When I was in college, I didn’t really participate in any of that because I sort of think it’s stupid…and most of the time, it gets out of hand, and someone ends up getting in trouble. Recently, a University of Utah fan emailed the University of Utah football coach and said something along the lines of, “I am a die hard Utah Utes fan and have pictures of BYU Linebacker Spencer Hadley partying frequently in Las Vegas. We have pictures as recent of last night of Hadley in Vegas with BYU booster Jacob Stocking.” First of all, WHY? Why would someone even bother doing that? I understand you aren’t a fan of BYU football, but why are you trying to ruin somebody’s reputation?

Anyways, the U of U football coach forwarded the email to the BYU football coach and Spencer ended up getting suspended for partying, simply because it is against BYU honor code. BYU has an honor code every student must agree to before enrolling, even before applying. Part of that honor code consists of not drinking or doing drugs, period. Therefore, when people break the honor code they can get suspended or expelled from the school.
The night before the big game between the U and BYU, the BYU football team went to a prison nearby to talk with some of the inmates. Spencer wasn’t planning on going because he was so embarrassed, but the coach talked him into going, and he sat there in the prison when one of the inmates asked if he could talk to them. Though nobody planned on it, even Spencer, Spencer stood up and talked to the inmates. By the time he was through speaking, most of the inmates were in tears. Here are two sentences I found that Spencer supposedly said.

“I know who I am. I know who you are. We’re all children of a Heavenly Father. All of us in this room have made mistakes. Not one of us qualifies as being the vilest of sinners. Yet having made mistakes I know that we can change and we can come back and right the wrongs that we’ve done.”

“I’ve done some things that have embarrassed my family, my teammates, my school and even my church. But I believe in redemption.”

How amazing is this kid? I have made mistakes, a lot lately. And you know, I look up to him SO much. You don’t see that very often, someone admitting what they did, and gaining the courage to stand up for themselves, learn from it, and help others do the same. What an AMAZING kid this Spencer Hadley kid is. If we could all learn from him, and become like him in the way, the world would be a much better place.
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