Sunburn - by Zac Johnson

Sunburn - by Zac Johnson

Just a few weeks ago a guy in my ward asked me to play in a fast pitch softball tournament. It had been a long time since I had played in a weekend softball tournament; however, I thought all I needed to bring to be prepared is a hat and a glove.

The Saturday would consist of a few games or a lot of games, depending on winning or loosing the first couple games. If we were to win the first two games we would end up playing a total of four games. If we split the first two games we could end up playing a total of eight games that day. We ended up loosing the first game that Saturday morning; so, I knew it was going to be a long day; however, I had my hat and glove so I thought I would be fine. I soon realized that I was really thirsty… Thank goodness Kari and Emily showed up for the second game and brought water. They also asked me if I wanted to put on some sunscreen. I thought that the hat I was wearing was all that I needed to be protected from the sun and the greasy lotion would make my hands slippery holding the bat. So I didn’t apply any sunscreen after the first game. We won the second game which allowed us to advance and keep playing. Kari & Emily asked me again after the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh game if I wanted to put on sunscreen. Each game I replied “no I’m good”, thinking that I was fine and that it would hurt me up at bat (greasy hands). However, before the last game started and the sun began to set I started to realize that my neck, face, arms & legs were very, very sunburned; however, it was too late to apply sunscreen.

As the next week passed and I felt the sunburn daily I began to think that this experience can apply to sin. Satan can be really deceiving and can make one little sin seam alright, which makes the next little sin seam alright and the next and the next until we finally realize that the sins are going to hurt just like the sunburn hurt at the end of that Saturday and the entire next week. President Gordon B. Hinckley in the April Conference in 1984 gave a talk titled “Small Acts Lead to Great Consequences”. In this talk president Hinckley quotes D&C 64:33 “and out of small things proceedeth that which is great”. President Hinckley also noted “it is so with good or evil…. Small acts of dishonesty or small acts of immoral nature, small outbursts of anger can grow into great & terrible things.”