High school senior Jerry Bruner excels at football. He’s been a running back at his Vancouver high school this year, but his commitment to excellence doesn’t take place only on the football field. Qualities such as honesty, virtuous living, and respect for others are part of his everyday life.
He will feel right at home at college. He has made a verbal commitment to play football for Brigham Young University next fall. And BYU is known for its “honor code” of student and faculty behavior. Some of the qualities addressed in the honor code include honesty; virtuous living; respect for others; abstinence from tea, coffee, tobacco, and alcohol; modest dress; and clean language.
“I don’t live by it just because I’m Mormon, or because I’m an Eagle Scout,” Bruner said to the Columbian, of the BYU honor code that he already lives by. “It’s just a better way to represent yourself to everyone around you.”
BYU and other institutions owned and run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly known as “Mormons“) “exist to provide an education in an atmosphere consistent with the ideals and principles” of the Church, according to www.byu.edu. That atmosphere can only be present when students, staff, and faculty members strive to live by high moral standards.
Such integrity has been present during Bruner’s senior year of high school. After accepting BYU’s scholarship offer, he injured his foot at a camp put on by the BYU coaches. They assured him that despite the injury, they would keep their word and the scholarship offer would still stand.
This meant something to Bruner, who in turn kept his word to his Vancouver teammates. “Because they are so strong in their word, I’m going to be strong in my word,” Bruner said to the Columbian. “I’m going to come out as strong as I can for my teammates, for my school.”
And he has. As of the end of October, he was playing with two broken bones in his left foot. But he was playing. “It’s my senior year,” Bruner said to the Columbian. “The pain will eventually go away.”
In order to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, Bruner had to complete an Eagle project that would help the community. He chose to paint a mural of the United States on the playground at a local elementary school. After holding a fundraiser to raise money for the project, and then painting the map, he was able to watch the children playing games on it. “I guess I made the playground a little better. I made the kids happy, and that made me happy,” Bruner said to the Columbian.
Bruner plans to serve a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after he turns 19.
The Thirteenth Article of Faith, written by Joseph Smith to explain the basic beliefs of Mormons, reads:
We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul-We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
While high standards are sometimes seen as easier to desire than to keep, as we strive to live in this manner we can see great things happen in our lives. Such is the case with
