It might look like a plain, gray, BYU t-shirt. But it is deceptively powerful. The power does not lie in the fabric, the stitching, or even the mighty cougar standing atop the BYU logo.
I have several BYU shirts. Blue ones, gray ones, and the seasonal football shirts with the cheesy slogans. Why? I am a proud alumnus of BYU. I had a great experience, and remember it fondly. (If anyone from alumni fundraising is reading this, I am just joking, I have no money, and I don’t believe in telephones.)
Sorry – back to the power. The power of my BYU shirts lies in the simple fact that it has, within its cotton-poly strands, the ability to alter my behavior. It is true. I’m not necessarily proud of it, but it is true. No, they are not magic, and they do not have the power to repel various stains and tears, but they help me be a better person, and a better example to others.
How so?
Look at the shirt. What do you see? Brigham Young. The famous Mormon prophet. The American Moses. The Lion of the Lord. A colossal name known throughout the country as one of the great figures in US history. Two things come to the minds of most Americans when they read his name: 1) Lots of wives, and 2) Mormon.
When I wear my BYU shirt I am essentially declaring my religion. It is like wearing a sticker on my chest that says “I’m a Mormon.” I don’t own any other pieces of clothing that says anything about me as personal, or as important, as this.
Nobody looks at a Mickey Mouse shirt and assumes that the wearer was raised a Congregationalist, or looks at a LeBron James jersey and thinks “I’ll bet that guy is Catholic.” Even a University of Utah t-shirt only promotes the possibility of Mormonism. (But also the possibility that the wearer is all about not being Mormon.)
Even a suit and tie don’t actually communicate anything specific about the wearer – but add a little missionary name tag, and you become a walking message.
But generating an assumption of Mormonism is not power. The power lies in my behavior change…
Sometimes I struggle with patience, selfishness and kindness. I know for a fact that I am more patient with people I don’t know when I have my BYU shirt on. I am less likely to show anger, or to be sarcastic. I suddenly have all sorts of patience for the woman ahead of me in the grocery line who decides to pay with loose change from her purse after the checker is done ringing up the last of her groceries. (I digress…) I am even more likely to stop and help someone, or let someone cut ahead of me.
Yes, I’m flawed – but honest!
My improved behavior isn’t as much about how the person will perceive me personally, but how the person might define the Church by how I behave. I feel a sense of responsibility to present the Church in the best light that I can. The kicker is, I should feel like that all the time – no matter what I’m wearing. And I don’t even own a CTR ring.
Sometimes I find air travel very frustrating. Airports, airplanes, customs, TSA, etc. Often I will intentionally wear a BYU shirt to remind and motivate me to be patient and kind. I have had strangers in both Europe and Africa shout “Go Cougars!” when they see me. If the Cougar fans notice my shirt, so do others.
The goal:
Behave as if I had a BYU Shirt, or an “I’m a Mormon” sticker on my chest all the time. Or, better yet, get to the point where the image of Christ shines in my countenance. (Alma 5:19) That is the goal. And if my lowly BYU shirt helps me along the way, I’ll take it.
Originally published July 20, 2011
I can relate to this! I am 73 and still wear my CTR ring every day, though it has been years since I taught CTR’s in Primary. Publically advertising WHO we are does affect the way we ACT…in a very positive way.
I am going to risk offending a lot of people here. I personally had a wonderful experience at BYU. I have a daughter at BYU who is having a good experience there. But, my children have been turned off of the entire thought of attending BYU by the rabid BYU fans who are rude and downright nasty to people who are not like them or did not attend BYU. Daughter number 1 wouldn’t even consider applying. If BYU had not had the best animation department around, daughter number 2 would not be there now. Yes, it hurt my feelings as an alumnus when applications wouldn’t even be filled out….but I have to admit that I understand after seeing and hearing some of the comments that have been made in their presence. It would be nice if the BYU shirt and title would make us all a little more Christ-like but that isn’t always the case. 🙂
Do you have any extras?
Same same! I usually wear my BYU Tshirt when I’m out walking in my “mission field” neighborhood and I find myself smiling and waving at the people who are nearly running me off the road. Just because of the shirt! I am much more aware of my behavior when I have that shirt on. Someday, I will have charity always, but for now, my cougar-ness/terrestrial-ness will have to do.
I love the content of this message, however, at the risk of raising the ire of BYU fans EVERYWHERE….I can categorically state that the most miserable year of my life was spent at BYU. I nearly left the Church and my testimony was sorely tried. Thankfully, I did not meet my EC there (I probably would not have recognized him in that setting anyway) And, yes, I am the mother of two BYU graduates who had a great experience there. They did not receive encouragement from their mother to attend there. I love the Gospel and would not choose to live my life in any other way but a BYU shirt does not evoke the same response in me…
I do the same thing. When I was living in China, I could not even passively proselyte because of our agreement with the Chinese government. But I could wear my BYU t-shirt. That may not sound like much, but I wanted people to remember BYU,. So if the BYU ambassadors go there, or when missionaries go there, who knows, maybe the BYU will ring a bell for them. And I know that many Chinese are BYU alumni. It’s kind of my little way of hinting about my religion. But there is also the fact that I bleed blue. Go cougars! 😉
Ha! Yes, this is the same reason my husband almost immediately regretted putting a nice large BYU sticker on our car.