IT'S FUN TO STAY AT THE YMCA?

       IT’S FUN TO STAY AT THE Y.M.C.A.?

 

The group Village People had a hit song in 1978 that is still popular today. Who isn’t familiar with the music, words and actions to; “It’s Fun to Stay at the Y.M.C.A.”?

When I was the Marketing Manager at Tri-Miller Packing co., I was exporting loads of pork backfat into Mexico and planned a trip to visit our customer. My itinerary would have me fly from Utah to San Diego, Ca., catch a bus to Calexico, Ca. where my broker would pick me up and together drive across the border into Mexicali, Mexico.

It would require a one-night stay in San Diego. I was on a tight budget, so I looked up the Y.M.C.A. and decided to stay there. “It’s fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.” I thought. When I arrived at San Diego, I took a taxi to the Y.M.C.A. I arrived at night and could feel that it was in a bad part of town. My small room had a single cot sized bed, a metal locker for a closet, wooden floors and a community bathroom down the hall.

As I started to hang my clothes in the locker, I noticed a large stack of magazines. “Oh, good”, I thought, “I’ll catch up on some Newsweek or Time magazines before bed.” As I removed the stack, I could tell by the top cover that these were not news magazines, rather, a whole stack of pornography!

For a brief moment the thought came to me, “Go ahead, check them out, you’re alone, no one will ever know!”  Just as quickly, I remembered a time in High School when someone called out, “Hey Wade!” As I turned in that direction a classmate flashed a pornographic centerfold right in front of me. They knew that I was the Vice President of Seminary that year and trying to stay away from things like that. I let them know that I did not appreciate their prank! I remember that it had taken several weeks for that image to finally be washed from my mind. I thought I’d throw those magazines in the trash but realized that that might expose them to other innocent eyes, so I put them back on their shelf. I remember dropping to my knees in prayer and asking the Lord to protect me through the night from physical and spiritual harm. When morning came, I thanked God for His protection and continued my journey.

I’m sure that the Y.M.C.A. is a wonderful organization and does much good. No doubt, for many, “It’s fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.”  My experience was, I hope, the exception.

Many years have passed, and I still thank God for helping me make the right decision that night, a decision that would strengthen me to be able to shun other temptations that would come.

We hope and pray that our children and grandchildren will remember that they were spiritual sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father long before having a physical body. That their physical body is a gift from Him and is the Temple of their spirit. We pray that you will be wise enough to keep your bodies and minds clean and pure. President Nelson recently taught us ,”The Lord tells us to garnish our thoughts unceasingly with virtue….Virtue makes everything better and happier. …As the world grows more wicked, we need to grow increasingly pure.”( April 2025 Conference) We pray that you will remember the truth taught by Paul to the Romans, “To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6).

Much Love- The Grandparent Chronicles