Brother and Sisters, Friends, and Fellow Students, Aloha!
It is an honor to be with you this morning. This is the third time I have had this honor. To use a baseball metaphor, if I swing and miss again, I will indeed strike out today! That would mean that my name would permanently be removed from the university’s list of possible future devotional speakers! I’ll do my best!
My remarks are directed primarily to the students. I have pondered over what I might share with you this morning. First, let me say that many years ago Sharon and I walked the same path you are now on, here at BYU Hawaii. We lived in the coveted Temple View Apartments. Later, we served as dorm parents of Hale 5. During my tenure as a student, I worked at the Polynesian Cultural Center as a guide and later as a student supervisor and personnel clerk. Nearly thirty years ago, I marched in the December commencement, in this very building, and received a degree in business management--a miracle for me, my family, and everyone else who knew me as a youth. I am a grateful recipient of the abundant blessings that flow from this beautiful and sacred place, wherein is sited the Lord’s temple, the university and the cultural center. Second, I applaud your decision to be here, pursuing your education, developing your intellect and character, preparing for the future and following the counsel of the prophets.
I have thought about what comes next for you, after you leave BYU Hawaii and step out into the big wide world. That transition from the classroom to the street, from the theoretical to the real and actual, is a crucial process; an education of its own. The initial years following college can be sobering, turbulent, and rewarding. It is the phase of life where some of you begin building your family and career, acquiring experience, developing expertise, demonstrating your worth, paying your dues and laying down roots. Indeed, the first three to five years out of college may be daunting, and will be a foundation for the rest of your life. It is that critical time period I wish to focus on today.
A substantial portion of my talk includes, uncharacteristically, lengthy accounts of my own story, personal experiences from my “fresh out of college” formative years. I share my experiences only to 1) show that I started off the same way most college graduates do, poor and enthusiastic; and 2) to underscore the truth that the Lord will be with you during that exciting phase of your life, as he was with me. I have selected the following scripture as the basis for my remarks. It is especially applicable to the after-college timeframe. Said the Savior:
“For verily I say unto you, blessed is he that keepeth my commandments, whether in life or in death; and he that is faithful in tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven.
Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation.
For after much tribulation come the blessings…”
Now, to my story, the length of which, by the way, could turn out to be the cause of your tribulation for the day. But I ask that you patiently endure, the blessing will come when I return to my seat.
First Business Venture
My first business venture (or adventure, as the case may be) occurred relatively soon after college. In late 1988, I began preparing for the GMAT by studying in the evenings. At the time, I planned to enroll in the MBA program at Chaminade University in Honolulu. During one of these late-night study sessions, I took a short break by switching on the television. I saw one of those “buy my program and make obscene amounts of money infomercials,” which admittedly, caught my attention. It had to do with buying government-seized goods and reselling them on the open market for a profit. The idea was intriguing.
The U.S. Customs Department would seize illegal goods, often at their borders and ports, and then the General Services Administration would auction these items at a later sale. These sale auctions were frequently held in obscure locations and were not widely known. As a result, items would sell at a fraction of their market value. Later, I called a friend to discuss the idea of exploring starting up such a business and was surprised to learn that he and his brother, who had recently moved to the mainland, had already started evaluating the business. Within a month, we all felt good about pooling our resources to try our hand at the business. We were confident that we were going to “buy low and sell high” some government-seized article that would make us some “serious” cash.
In the process, we resigned from our jobs, packed up and moved our little families to Idaho to meet up with my friend’s brother. We figured that among us we could muster $40k, our life savings, to make our first buy. We learned that private planes confiscated in drug raids had sold for $15-20k. We found out that the next U.S. government auction was to be held in Los Angeles. To save money, we drove 20 hours one-way from Boise, Idaho to attend our first auction. We had big plans. The 1984 Twin-Turbo Cessna jet, held in Peachtree, Georgia, was the last item on the auction block. We believed the market would fetch a healthy $250-$300k for this beautiful plane. The plane was decked out—diamond tucked leather interior with a full bar. We had it inspected in Peachtree by the father of a former Hale 5 resident assistant, who was an airplane mechanic with Delta. After a long day of watching the entire inventory get auctioned off, with a bidding sign in hand, we were pumped and ready to win the bid for this ex-drug cartel Turbo Cessna flying machine. When the auctioneer called for an opening bid of $200,000, our hearts nearly stopped, but there were no takers. He lowered the starting bid to $150,000. We held our breath for a second, but no takers. We thought he’d continue to lower the starting bid until he got down to a range where we could participate. The auctioneer then lowered the starting bid to $100,000 and someone raised their bid sign. We were stunned, devastated. The breath of life, our HA, left our bodies. When it was over, the winning bid was a whopping $198,000! Our plan, our dream ...shattered! You can imagine the thoughts that rushed through our minds—“What happened? Where did we go wrong? What did we not know?” We thought we did our research. We were speechless. Incidentally, the winning bidder appeared to be a member of a drug cartel, and no one was going to outbid him! The 20-hour drive back to Idaho was twice as long. We returned deflated.
Prior to the Los Angeles auction, the government did not and could not use tax dollars to widely advertise these auctions. Consequently, as stated previously, these auctions were relatively unknown, and in most cases, held in inconspicuous locations. Accordingly, these seized items sold at pennies on the dollar. Unbeknownst to us, during our due diligence and relocation of our families to Idaho, the government entered into an agreement with Northrop, a large aerospace corporation, to have it handle and sell all its seized goods on consignment. Of course, Northrop, using its own dollars, began broadly advertising these auctions, and selected highly populated venues in which to hold them, to obtain the highest revenue possible. The first auction under this new arrangement was the 1989 Los Angeles auction that we attended. Talk about the importance of timing! Upon our arrival at the auction, we wondered why there were a thousand people there. Needless to say, our partnership ended as quickly as it started, and we went our separate ways. The good news? We each retained our portion of the $40k, and more importantly, kept our friendship intact.
Why share a story of failure? Because failure can be such a powerful teacher, if we learn from it. Lessons I learned? Don’t watch late-night “infomercials;” avoid get-rich-quick schemes; conduct more due diligence; things can change quickly in business, such as the Northrup consignment contract. Over time, the more important lesson I’ve learned from my entrepreneurial blunder is that sometimes the Lord keeps us from greater tribulation that would destroy us by allowing us to suffer lesser tribulation that we are able to bear.
Elder George Q. Cannon taught:
“…the Saints should always remember that God sees not as man sees; that he does not willingly afflict his children, and that if he requires them to endure present privation and trial, it is that they may escape greater tribulations which would otherwise inevitably overtake them. If He deprives them of any present blessing, it is that he may bestow upon them greater and more glorious ones by and by.”
Today, I realize that we had no plan beyond winning the bid for that beautiful plane. Had we won the bid and spent our life savings of $40k, we would have had no money to get to Georgia. How would we take possession of the plane? Where were we going to keep it while searching for a buyer? How much would that have cost? How would we find a buyer? Who would draft the sales contract? What are the laws that govern such a transaction? What about insurance, warranties, indemnifications, licenses, fees, taxes, regulatory requirements? All minor details, really. I behold now, with my natural eyes, that it was a huge blessing that we did not win that bid. It would have been a catastrophe otherwise. Over time, what was first humiliating is now humorous!
Life is like that. We experience setbacks, tribulation, even suffering, and wonder, “Where is God?” Why is He not helping? But over time, if we stay the course, He will help us see His design for us and incrementally, we will come to realize that He has brought us through the storms and has protected us from life’s greater trials to which we would have succumb. This protection is yet another great manifestation of the Savior’s undying love for us.
Stock Broker Opportunity
Back to my story, the trials continued. In 1989, before leaving my friends in Idaho, I interviewed for stockbroker position with a certain Mr. Sebel, a manager in the Beverly Hills Division of the then prestigious investment banking firm, Drexel, Burnham and Lambert. Mr. Sebel was handling investments for the Church, but was looking for a young Mormon who could service and expand their LDS clientele. I flew to L.A., drove to Beverly Hills, and had a fantastic interview. Mr. Sebel all but said that I would be hired. He explained that the firm would put me and my family up on Wall Street for a year of training, and then we would return and I would work in the Beverly Hills office. He promised to call me within two weeks to confirm the plan. We began preparing mentally and emotionally for a move to the Big Apple. This was exciting stuff! The call came in two weeks, but not with the news we anticipated. Mr. Sebel explained that there was “internal restructuring” at the firm and that he didn’t know how long it would be before the dust settled, but that he would call me as soon as it did. Another blow. We were down again.
I tried to remain hopeful about the stockbroker prospect, but in the meantime, through other contacts, I moved our family to Provo, Utah and started writing loans as an independent contractor for a mortgage broker. I learned a lot from that experience. I could not believe the amount of paperwork involved in writing and closing a real estate loan. Each form in that packet was necessary to satisfy some law. Unfortunately, high interest rates hampered new loan applications, which made it difficult to survive on that meager income. Our savings continued to dwindle as my concern about caring for my little family intensified.
Six weeks following my interview with Mr. Sebel, while watching the news one evening, it was reported that the firm Drexel, Burnham and Lambert had been involved in a massive scandal that included insider trading, stock manipulation and fraud, among other things. Arrests and indictments were made and the firm eventually ended in bankruptcy. Mike Milken, the principal perpetrator, went to prison. Hollywood even made a movie about this scandal. It was called “Wall Street.” The stockbroker prospect disintegrated, and my discouragement was turning into desperation.
The Refiner’s Fire
I continued to look for work in Provo, but without success. By this time, our steadily diminishing funds were nearly depleted and my stress level soared. I was doing everything I could to find a job. The situation was dire. I thought the Lord had abandoned us. In the midst of this trial, I remember one particular night feeling that my faith was failing. That night my prayer extended into the wee hours of the morning. Most pleadings were filled with anger, as I recited the good things I had done to justify receiving the help I wanted. I murmured, “I have served a mission for you, married and worked in the temple, served in various callings, even taught early morning seminary! How can you not help us?” I traversed the five stages of the life and death cycle: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
At the end of the prayer, as frustrated as I was, I knew that I could not, that I would not deny that the Lord was there, that He was aware of our plight and that He loved us. At that point, I finally let go of my pride, my anger, became submissive, relinquished all control to the Lord, and accepted without reservation whatever was to come from our situation, including homelessness, if it was the Lord’s will. I put my head down that night on a pillow that was soaked with my tears. This was a spiritual process, brought about by tribulation and suffering, and it changed me forever. I have not been able to find the words that begin to describe the transformational light, power and love that entered my heart and soul.
Elder James E. Faust relates:
“In the pain, the agony, and the heroic endeavors of life, we pass through a refiner’s fire, and the insignificant and the unimportant in our lives can melt away like dross and make our faith bright, intact, and strong. … “This change comes about through a refining process which often seems cruel and hard. In this way the soul can become like soft clay in the hands of the Master in building lives of faith, usefulness, beauty, and strength.”
The next morning when I awoke, I felt a complete calm cover me. As I planned another day of job hunting, (at the risk of sounding melodramatic), I thought, “I should spend a little time driving around town to find a good viaduct to live under, just in case it comes to that point.” Then “out of the blue” at 8:25 that morning, I received a call from a friend who was a co-owner and vice president at Nu Skin, then a relatively young start up multi-level company. He inquired whether I would be interested in working there and said that he had been waiting for a middle management position to open up before calling me. I interviewed that morning with his brother, the CEO. Within in a few minutes, he offered me the job. I started immediately. That was on a Wednesday. Oddly, they paid me for three days at the end of that week. That amount, plus the remaining $65 in our bank account, was just enough to pay the next mortgage payment and buy groceries to hold us over until the next pay day. Since then, our family has never been without. I came to better understand that the Lord was in total control and that he could change my circumstances in a matter of seconds, as He did with one very timely phone call from a friend.
In the World Ye Shall Have Tribulation
The Savior said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Tribulation often stems from our own doing, such as when we sin or transgress, from inexperience or ignorance. People can also be the cause of our trials. Some adversity may result from simply being alive, such as aging, accidents and natural disasters. And then there are the customized trials, designed by the Lord, to enable us to become more Christlike. Sometimes when trials come, angels minister to us, as explained by
President Harold B. Lee:
“Don’t be afraid of the testing and trials of life. Sometimes when you are going through the most severe tests, you will be nearer to God than you have any idea, for like the experience of the Master himself in the temptation on the mount, in the Garden of Gethsemane, and on the cross at Calvary, the scriptures record, ‘And, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.’ (Matthew 4:11.) Sometimes that may happen to you in the midst of your trials.”
There are several reasons why the Lord allows us to have trials and tribulations, but they all sum up to one purpose: to help us progress toward perfection. I love the way C.S. Lewis likens the process of building a house to that of building a man:
“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. …"
Further, as the owner and general contractor in this process, the Lord makes these improvements according to our readiness and his time table. And it appears that he can speed up the perfection process. President Brigham Young said that Joseph Smith progressed toward perfection more in thirty-eight years because of his trials than he would have been able to do in a thousand years without them.
The Blessings Have Come
While at Nu Skin I worked with several attorneys. There I came to learn from and appreciate the analytical skills of lawyers. I also came to realize that much of my experience prior to this time taught me the importance of understanding that every aspect of business, and of life, is governed by law, and that I would do well to know the law. Nu Skin was a great company and while future opportunities there were very bright, I felt strong promptings to continue my education and to study the law. In time, I prepared for and attended law school. After graduating, we returned home. I sat for the bar, and while waiting for the results, HRI asked me to do some project work for them. Upon passing the bar, I had a few offers to work in Honolulu, but HRI also made me an offer. I was living with my in-laws on Iosepa Street and could not pass up the two-minute walking commute to work. I’m now in my twenty-third year there, five as an attorney, the rest in management.
Looking back, I can see the Lord’s guiding hand in my life, per his design, leading me from one experience to another and preparing me to return home, where my most important goals could be realized. For me, success meant that my wife could be a stay-at-home mom; that I could spend ample time with my children, teach them the gospel, create happy and positive memories together and have them grow up knowing their grandparents and extended family; that I could engage in meaningful work, support my children on missions and through college and see them marry in the temple, that I could serve the Lord in any calling he extended and make a contribution to the community; that I could build my own home in a place we love and be debt free; and that I could serve a mission with my wife. Nearly all these blessings, and more, have come. Sharon and I now enjoy two beautiful, very lively granddaughters. Truly, our “cup runneth over.”
Closing
When you graduate, I suspect that some of you will be a little nervous about what the future holds for you. You may wonder how you’ll survive, where you’ll live, what you’ll do for a living, and so on. Muddling through that process is inescapable, but so very worth it. The Lord knows you, loves you and wants to bless you. Trust Him, come what may. Be humble and the Lord thy God will lead thee by the hand. Trust the Lord’s promise that if you turn to Him in humility and faith, He will turn your weaknesses into strengths. (Ether 12:27) Pray as though everything depends on Him. Then work as though everything depends on you. You will be amazed at what He will make of you and your life. He will be in the details of your life, if you let Him. I’ve shared in part what the Lord did for me during those seminal years after college. My greatest lesson in all of this was to learn to willingly submit my will to the Lord’s--the one thing that we uniquely own, and the one thing the Lord requires from us, if are to be perfected. I have no doubt that the Lord will do what’s best for you when that marvelous time come in your life. I testify that the Savior’s promise is true—after much tribulation come the blessings . . .
I close with a quote from our dear Prophet, President Monson, who has given us this mighty assurance “Fear not, be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.” May the Lord bless you in all your righteous pursuits, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.