Jake Heaps how refreshing....

[falafel]

I think missions are more important than football or any other collegiate sport. Reasons: (1) BYU is the Church school, (2) BYU exists only because of the Church, and (3) every advantage BYU has in the world (fan support, disproportionately high-quality student body, etc.) results exclusively from its Church sponsorship. I think when BYU coaches recruit LDS athletes, they should look for kids who want to go on missions and when a kid is wavering over the decision, BYU athletics ought to encourage the kids to go, or at the very least stay out of the kid's decision.

But that's just me. I have a hunch this will be an unpopular position on this board. So be it. I am prepared to take my licks. Bring it on.

This is exactly the sort of response I'd expect from a Ute fan.

[LA Ute]

you can't love the LDS Church and hate BYU.

I love BYU. I also love to see Utah beat BYU's athletic teams. Nothing in the world of sports gives me greater pleasure. I am not sorry for this, despite the risk it creates for my eternal salvation.

[byu71]

I think missions are more important than football or any other collegiate sport. Reasons: (1) BYU is the Church school, (2) BYU exists only because of the Church, and (3) every advantage BYU has in the world (fan support, disproportionately high-quality student body, etc.) results exclusively from its Church sponsorship. I think when BYU coaches recruit LDS athletes, they should look for kids who want to go on missions and when a kid is wavering over the decision, BYU athletics ought to encourage the kids to go, or at the very least stay out of the kid's decision.

But that's just me. I have a hunch this will be an unpopular position on this board. So be it. I am prepared to take my licks. Bring it on.

You aren't going to take any licks from me. I am happy to hear your opinion, since I have never heard you end an expression of your opinion with, thus saith the Lord.

I do disagree though. To expect that anyone that goes to BYU should be on tract to go on a mission further segregates the BYU populace. Is BYU truly to be a place where our most "perfect" go and a benefit of such perfection is subsidized education. I think this would further alienate a lot of the membership from those who attend BYU. The elite of the church syndrome. For many reasons, grades, activity, mission service, a parent sits down next to another parent and the evidence of parental goodness is seperated by the kid that could get into BYU and the one that couldn't.

Right now, it isn't that big a problem. Further make BYU an elite of the church or where the "best and brightest" go, the division could expand.

[statman]

I think missions are more important than football or any other collegiate sport. Reasons: (1) BYU is the Church school, (2) BYU exists only because of the Church, and (3) every advantage BYU has in the world (fan support, disproportionately high-quality student body, etc.) results exclusively from its Church sponsorship. I think when BYU coaches recruit LDS athletes, they should look for kids who want to go on missions and when a kid is wavering over the decision, BYU athletics ought to encourage the kid to go, or at the very least stay out of the kid's decision.

But that's just me. I have a hunch this will be an unpopular position on this board. So be it. I am prepared to take my licks. Bring it on.

I agree LAU - it'd be a shame for him not to go.

That, and if he does go, BYU has 1 year of Max Hall, 2 years of Riley Nelson, 1 year of Munns, and then 3 years of Heaps post-mission. I like the sound of shoring-up the QB position for the next 7 years...

[LA Ute]

I agree LAU - it'd be a shame for him not to go.

That, and if he does go, BYU has 1 year of Max Hall, 2 years of Riley Nelson, 1 year of Munns, and then 3 years of Heaps post-mission. I like the sound of shoring-up the QB position for the next 7 years...

No, no, no, you are departing from the narrative. Riley Nelson is nothing, he'll always be a back-up, and BYU's recruiting him while he was on his mission was just a favor they did for him because he begged them to let him come to BYU. So let's not make too much of poor Riley's prospects. Just ask Goatnapper.

[LA Ute]

You aren't going to take any licks from me. I am happy to hear your opinion, since I have never heard you end an expression of your opinion with, thus saith the Lord.

I do disagree though. To expect that anyone that goes to BYU should be on tract to go on a mission further segregates the BYU populace. Is BYU truly to be a place where our most "perfect" go and a benefit of such perfection is subsidized education. I think this would further alienate a lot of the membership from those who attend BYU. The elite of the church syndrome. For many reasons, grades, activity, mission service, a parent sits down next to another parent and the evidence of parental goodness is seperated by the kid that could get into BYU and the one that couldn't.

Right now, it isn't that big a problem. Further make BYU an elite of the church or where the "best and brightest" go, the division could expand.

You make a good point. I am not wild about BYU being set apart for elite LDS students, but that is what it is becoming. All I am saying is that BYU ought to stand for the highest ideals of our faith, and LDS kids who are given athletic scholarships there ought to be encouraged to serve missions. I don't think BYU administration can say, on the one hand, "Our school is truly special and an example to the world of how higher education really ought to be done;" and then on the other hand, "Our student athletes shouldn't have any more expected of them than student-athletes at other universities." The two positions seem inconsistent to me.

[All-American]

I can see both sides on this one.

On the one hand, I think the cultural expectation that an LDS man should go on a mission at 19 has grown to an unhealthy extent. Now that we're "raising the bar," there are any number of reasons that a young man may not go on a mission, none of which need be the business of the general public or a factor in his eternal salvation. Besides, given the fact that an athlete's career depends on his athletic performance (either through a professional career or through the degree for which his athletic performance pays), it's not unreasonable for a young man to opt out of a two year commitment that would jeopardize his college career. In other words, it shouldn't be a big deal if a particular person does not decide to serve a mission.

At the same time, BYU football is a flag-bearing institution for the school just as the school is a flag-bearing institution for the church. If there's a general exemption for athletes from mission service and admit that missionary service is incompatible with success on the field, it suggests that living according to the teachings of the church is incompatible with success in life. If, however, BYU football can compete on a national scale and succeed in doing so with a strong cadre of returned missionaries who follow the honor code, it helps suggest the principles upon which the university (and, to an extent, its owner) are built can be the foundation of a happy and successful life.

Now, I would like one of those principles to be tolerance and understanding of those who, for whatever reason, don't go on a mission. But I would like the general membership of the church to get to a point where, for example, we don't see any irony in the contrasting examples of Steve Young and Eli Herring. They both made good choices, set a good example for other Latter-day Saints to follow, and brought honor and high esteem upon other members of the church.

Now, if you're celebrating the announcement because it will mean the kid gets on the field more quickly, well, that's another matter.

[venkman]

You make a good point. I am not wild about BYU being set apart for elite LDS students, but that is what it is becoming. All I am saying is that BYU ought to stand for the highest ideals of our faith, and LDS kids who are given athletic scholarships there ought to be encouraged to serve missions. I don't think BYU administration can say, on the one hand, "Our school is truly special and an example to the world of how higher education really ought to be done;" and then on the other hand, "Our student athletes shouldn't have any more expected of them than student-athletes at other universities." The two positions seem inconsistent to me.

Encouraged, yes. Forced, no. The culture at BYU definitely encourages missionary service. I'd dare say the culture on the football team even encourages it now, something you couldn't say 10 years ago. If he doesn't want to go, he shouldn't go, and coaches shouldn't try to force him. Plenty of great ambassadors for the LDS church didn't go on missions. A mission isn't for everyone.

[il Padrino Ute]

Active LDS Ute fans: How do you square this with your belief that the LDS Church and BYU are not the same thing? In other words, "Griff Robles, you went to Utah so you have to go on a mission as penance. Had you gone to BYU you would have gotten a pass; in fact you would have been honored in not going." Honestly, I find this logic unassailable, especially since the LDS Church holds title to BYU and they share the same leaders!

EDIT: Active LDS Ute fans.

It's none of my business if a kid decides to serve or not serve a mission. And it certainly doesn't affect me being a fan of the University of Utah if a kid decides to serve a mission and put off football.

Why do you care anyway if a kid goes on a mission? Robles didn't go to Utah to play football for your pleasure, nor was Steve Young thinking about how you'd feel if he didn't serve a mission.

Kids choose to serve missions. Deal with it.

[mUUser]

If the kid isn't part of my stewardship, which would include 99.99999% of LDS kids, then I don't concern myself one second about it.

[mUUser]

You make a good point. I am not wild about BYU being set apart for elite LDS students, but that is what it is becoming.

Maybe I run in the wrong LDS circles, but when did BYU become a dream for the most elite amongst us? in my world it's a good choice (along with Utah) if they can't get into a legit elite school.

[UtahDan]

Missions are a unique case and I don't think they are for everyone. No one ought to be forced to go. Still, I have a hard time logically with the idea that it is appropriate for BYU to make virtually every other commandment a condition of continued enrollment but requiring a mission goes too far. I can't be a BYU athlete and not attend church, for example.

I'm not personally not in favor of an honor code tied to anything other than academic misconduct. But if you are going to have one that is tied to the commandments and ecclesiastic endorsements which make an athlete (or any student) go to church and be active I don't personally think that requiring them to attempt a mission takes it much further.

I do applaud him for just be straight forward about it though, rather than go through the charade that others have of going out of a while then coming home. I guess that may be important to some for cultural reasons.

[LA Ute]

Maybe I run in the wrong LDS circles, but when did BYU become a dream for the most elite amongst us? in my world it's a good choice (along with Utah) if they can't get into a legit elite school.

Not a dream, but a difficult place to get into - not because it is academically elite, but because so many LDS kids want to go there. (Before anyone gets upset, I think the profs and education at BYU are just fine. But they are not the reason that most kids want to go there, or that their parents want them to.) The difficulty in getting into BYU has grown proportionately with the growth of the church. It's a matter of more applicants chasing fewer available spots.

[jay santos]

This is good to hear.

Beautiful. Let him be an example to all young LDS skill players.

[Goatnapper'96]

You make a good point. I am not wild about BYU being set apart for elite LDS students, but that is what it is becoming. All I am saying is that BYU ought to stand for the highest ideals of our faith, and LDS kids who are given athletic scholarships there ought to be encouraged to serve missions. I don't think BYU administration can say, on the one hand, "Our school is truly special and an example to the world of how higher education really ought to be done;" and then on the other hand, "Our student athletes shouldn't have any more expected of them than student-athletes at other universities." The two positions seem inconsistent to me.

If Jake Heaps does not serve a mission does that indicate that BYU does not stand for those ideals? If a Stake President from Dillon, MT is caught in Boise, ID trying to pick up on a 12 year old girl he thought he met over the internet does it indicate that the LDS Church no longer stands for the ideals it claims to support?

I don't know who encourages Jake to do what, but I don't think the fact that he doesn't want to serve is proof that he is discouraged, or not encouraged enough, to serve a mission from those at BYU who have recruited him.

Perhaps you believe that BYU should stop recruiting LDS kids who make it clear that a mission is not in their plans during the recruiting process?

As a fan, I think this is a good development for the football team.