Feature Story

“Honor your covenants, and you’ll be protected,” said the voice that rang in JD Thornock’s ears as he looked out his window and realized he was only a few feet away from a roadside bomb sticking out of the ground.  

“I thought it was over, and I heard Elder Bednar’s voice in my head,” said Thornock, a junior studying business management.

Thornock is one of many Americans who responded to the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City by joining the military. Thornock’s interest in the military goes much deeper than the tragic attacks, however. 

 “It was something I always wanted to do,” Thornock said. “It’s patriotic. I thought it was something I should do.”  

Growing up, Thornock wanted to be a Navy SEAL, but after joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at age 10 and later serving a mission to Brazil, Thornock joined the Marines, where he served as a sergeant in the 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance unit.

 As his two little girls said good night with kisses and “I love yous,” Thornock related his experiences from the two years he served in the Middle East. He spoke thoughtfully of one experience when, during his year in Afghanistan, he was awarded the Purple Heart after his unit was blown up.  

 “My injuries weren’t terrible, but they merit a Purple Heart Award,” Thornock said. “There are other guys that lose an arm or a leg and other limbs and they are going to be messed up for the rest of their lives. I don’t like to think I am in the same field as them as far as the award goes.”


Thornock’s legs were injured in the explosion, but he continues to remain active despite the irritation he experiences daily. 

After losing seven men and seeing over 23 injured, he had moments where he thought all hope was gone and it was just a matter of time until his number was pulled. His perspective on life has changed because of the experiences he has had and the influence of the gospel in his life. 

 Thornock’s passion and desire, inspired him to join the marines, even though he was told by family and friends to not get involved.

 “I always think of Captain Moroni in the Book of Mormon,” Thornock said. “He was away from family for how long, fighting for what 
he believed in, for what was right: 
family, country, religion, for his God. 
He is looked at as a hero. What an amazing guy.”

 Not everyone interested in joining the Marines is accepted. Thornock said because he is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, he was sometimes ridiculed and treated harshly. He doesn’t take it personally, but looks at it as a learning experience. 

 “This is a sacred holy land that is blessed. We need to protect that. [The Marines] need solid good men to fight our country’s battle. They need good men that are strong physically, spiritually and mentally.” 

 Though he is still dealing with the physical and mental stress from his service, Thornock has no regrets. However, he wishes that others could understand how blessed we are. As Sept. 11 approached, his thoughts turned towards the sacrifices others made.

 “My thoughts go back to the guys we lost,” Thornock said. “Did they die in vain? If we are not there keeping terror at bay for the most part, then it is going to be back on our soil.”

 The fear of losing one’s life in the service of your country is a realistic issue for people like Thornock.

 He believes that by always doing his best and staying close to the Spirit, his life was spared.

 “Heavenly Father was watching over us. I can see [His] hand in many things. I’m stronger from having those experiences,” Thornock said.

 Thornock’s wife, Laura, has also seen the hand of the Lord in her life. She had both their girls while Thornock was deployed, but looked at it as a blessing since she was able to focus her energies on her daughters rather than on how her husband was away. 

 “I worry. It’s scary, but I am proud of JD for what he’s done,” Laura said.

 Now that Thornock is out of the Marines and a full-time student at BYU-Idaho, he and Laura are living a normal life.

 “Just through prayer it was clear: we need to go to BYU-Idaho,” Thornock said. “I love going to school here. Being here has been more therapeutic for any of the stress I have than any of the counseling. I don’t know what the ‘Spirit of Ricks’ thing is that they always talk about, but something is here. It’s definitely a strong presence.”

I Dreamed a Dream

The mornings are getting cold.
Soon, it will be dark when its time to leave for work or school and getting out of bed in the morning will seem like such a hard thing to do.  It's kind of always been that way for me, because I sure do love snuggling in the warm blankets of my bed and falling asleep, but this week it has been hard for Dane to get up.
Just the other day he said to me,
"The first thing you do every morning is complain!"
I was completely taken back (not really).  I will admit, it's true.  However, I would like to argue that I don't just complain.  The complaints come from my sore neck or having a headache in the morning.  It always has to do with me not feeling well and wanting more sleep.  But I felt the sting of the words as he told me and I realized I needed to change it.
I wish I could be more like my dad who would come wake each of us kids in the morning all cheery, when he probably got less sleep, definitely worked harder and had far more responsibilities in a far more important sphere each and every day of his life.  I cannot remember a morning when he grumbled at me or told me to hurry it up because I was being a lazy sleepyhead.
Being like my dad might be a dream for me, but I figured I could begin the journey on my yellowbrick road to happiness by first asking Dane how he slept instead of asking myself.  Now he is the one who is "tired" and "I didn't sleep well." Poor thing.
We've got to figure out the secret to sleeping well.
I don't know about anyone else, but I think my imagination loves it when I go to sleep at night. It goes absolutely crazy and thinks of random people, places and things that I have already thought about or associated with that day and creates a nice little creative writing assignment in the form of a motion picture dream.
Last night's motion picture - War in Iraq, my brother revealing our hiding spot because he just had to skype his wife, and a phonecall for me while I'm trying to play mini-golf in my parent's living room from someone informing me that so and so (I really honestly didn't know) was really sick and not going to make it.  Either I watch the news too much or actually live this exciting of a life because I can assure you I would not be picking that for my bedtime story.
Maybe that is why my neck hurts so bad, fighting a war, mini golfing while trying to hold a phone to my ear as I play can really do a number.  I wonder what tonight's feature will be?

Mediocrity anyone?

Yesterday in a class, I overhead a boy say to another classmate, "Just so you know, I NEVER do more than I have to."  I hope the boy didn't look in my direction after that comment, because I probably had a "that's really dumb" look on my face.

I have been thinking of that boy and about his attitude regarding his education and couldn't help but think it was likely going to rub off on his perspective in living life.

I don't think we fully understand what we are capable of doing.  When we are given the opportunity to fly, there are going to be some who take that opportunity and there will be others that say, "I NEVER do more than I have to."  To me, those represent the two types of people in the world today.

Every successful individual in life will tell you that positive thinking and goal setting has been a tremendous help in their life - and could even be closely connected to their successes in life.

I believe that when we think positively, we cannot help but challenge ourselves. We develop an attitude of confidence and we harvest strong desires. We can accomplish goals, dreams and have things work out incredibly for us. I believe this, because I'm living proof.

It seems like whenever I do something challenging, something new, or something simply out of my comfort zone, I am surprisingly rewarded with something better and better.  My experiences in "doing more than I have to" really have given me a richness in my life I don't think I could have received from any person, award or holiday.  There is just something special about stepping outside of ourselves and seeing how far we can fly.

For the second person- the one who chooses, "I NEVER do more than I have to", a lot of forfeiting takes place.  Not only is this type of person disregarding their talents and capabilities to do great things, they simply are throwing away their life.  They would rather utilize their time with mediocrity.

It is evident to see where my opinion lies concerning these two people. Life is life - it is for everyone. We are all different.  We have preferences and opinions and goals - and we also have reality.

Reality doesn't mean we have to submit ourselves to the sometimes mundane routines of life.

Why are we letting the mediocrity of the world get in our way of doing greater things?

Sometimes I think of Europe and melt inside

Sometimes I think of Europe and melt inside. 

I am not sure if it’s the way the baguettes leather boots and fall smell, but there is something that gets me every time when I find myself walking down a cobblestone street, satchel on my side and my eyes wide with adventure.  My smile gives me away as a tourist, not just because my teeth are straight, but because they aren’t stained with the experience of smoking and tastes of freshly brewed coffee.  Although, the smell of that coffee is enticing. I try to act like this is my world.  I speak the language, wear the wool coat and my scarf secures my confidence as I walk with my head held high.  This is who I am.

I feel inspired, intuitive and brave as I notice my reflection in the river next to me.  Thoughts of my dreams and capabilities float from my mind to every inch of my body motivating me to conquer the world.  Couples around me hold hands and whisper in each other’s ears, but it doesn’t bother me, instead, it emphasizes the feeling of contentment every inch of me is feeling. 

I walk through the city center and find myself wandering aimlessly, looking at all the expensive clothes, chocolates, jewelry, antiques and books that must be hundreds of years old. They don’t look like this at home. There is something enchanting about an old man selling apples, pears and grapes from a street stand.  

I blink a few times and realize that I’m alive.  It’s not just a dream anymore.

A few airplane rides later, time and routine tells me that reality is much different now. I no longer have the inspiring architecture and the warmth of roasted almonds mixed with the smell of cigarettes and newspaper.  I’m not a fan of smokers, but somehow that musty European smell is acomfort to me. Instead, I look out my window and notice the blue sky and housing developments that surround me.  I smell the famous American apple pie smell melting on my Scensty and it is confirmed: I am back in the USA. 

It's not so bad here…it’s just that I really love Europe.  And I can’t help but think of it with the feeling of fall in the air. 

So for now, I will close my eyes and think of Europe and melt inside…all over again.

Pain in the Butt!

I pulled the corner of the sheet tightly over the mattress as I heard the door shut upstairs and Dane's voice yell,

"Hil, can you help me look for a bandaid?"

I jumped over the mess of sheets and bedding on the floor and hurried into the bathroom where I was able to find a box with a few bandaids left in it.

"Are you okay?  What happened?"  I said as I ran up the stairs.

He had his hand placed tenderly on his hip and said, "I'm going to need you to pull out this nail."

Pause...

My thoughts go from a bandaid to pulling a nail out of my husband's bum. I don't know why those two don't seem to go together at this point, but I look at Dane and say "What?! You sat on a nail?"

Dane was helping his dad out with the roofing that day.  Everyone had left the house and Dane was still up their hammering away in the heat.  Unfortunately for Dane, as he sat down, the little bag of nails that was tied around his waist twisted and that one nail sat, point up - waiting.

The conditions were too perfect and Dane somehow managed to get off the roof with that nail in what he described on the phone to his dad as, "The place where your bum starts to form".

The nail was in at least half way or more and honestly, I wasn't really interested in pulling the nail out- he flinched everytime he touched the nail himself and I knew it would hurt him.  I hate seeing people in pain and I really don't like to be the one that inflicts it - even if it is to help them in the longrun!  I knocked on his brother's apartment door that is attached on their house and he wasn't home either, which may have been a good thing because I know his brother would have laughed his head off at Dane.

At this point, Dane pulled his pants down and ripped the nail out himself.  I couldn't believe it! Of course Dane was taking it like a man as I encouraged him to see a doctor - just to be sure it was okay!  While we were deciding if that was really needful I made him lay down on the floor and i put a hot cloth on the wound to clean it out.  Dane was making me laugh the whole time by saying, "My bum hurts."

After $20 co-pay and 30 minutes waiting, he waltzed out of Urgent Care with a bandaid on his arm from a tetnus shot and a sucker showing in his mouth as he grinned at me.

Only Dane.  I thought about if the roles had been reversed and I was the one with the nail in the bum.
Yup, I am glad it was Dane's bum and not mine.

Today

I was glad to wake up this morning and be released from the extremely weird dream I was having.  As soon as I opened my eyes, the thought, "Today is the first of September" was realized in my half asleep brain and instantly I felt a pit in my stomach bring back some anxieties and oddly enough some memories of last year this time. 

Last year I was France and I remember waking up and feeling like I couldn't be getting any crazier.  Even though I was thrilled for the opportunity and I could taste adventure, I was a little scared.  Today, that exact feeling came back....and for what?  I am now in Rexburg, Idaho.  Let me repeat that...Idaho.  How could I be feeling the same way?  

It's true, that pit is still sitting in my stomach and as I review the details of my life and my next semester in my mind, I cannot understand what could possibly be more scary or more of an adventure than being alone in France and studying french immersion. But in 11 days my new semester will start and I will be the assistant editor on the BYU-Idaho Scroll newspaper and it will be FALL!  

My favourite time of the year is fall - don't ask me to explain why, because that post will most likely come later, but all I have to say is that I can wear boots and scarfs again and steamed milks and hot chocolate become a weekly delight to me.  What is there to not look forward to...really?

I think more than anything, that pit in my stomach is me feeling nervous about doing my best and feeling happy about it.  I am a perfectionist. Enough said right?  I will probably feel this way next semester too and when Dane and I pack our little home up and move away to grad school.  The first day of my internship and the list goes on and on.  

I sometimes look at those people who take life one day at a time and get so jealous of how well they can cope with the waves of life.  They lay back and relax and let life wash over them as if they are having the time of their life.  I am the one clenching to a piece of driftwood and scoping out where the nearest piece of land is, thinking of how I can get there and how fast and what exactly else I will need to accomplish.  My brain never stops thinking! 

I am lucky because I am married to one of those people. His sense of perspective rubs off on me and helps me realize that I will be just fine.  I think about his sister Amber who was struggling for life, but now is pushing forward and showing us all that God can make miracles out of broken, scared, and imperfect things.   

That pit in my stomach - maybe it is a good thing.  It means I am alive.