Review
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Title: Champions Never Quit: God Is Close By Your Side
Author: Timothy McGaffin II
Publisher: Timothy John McGaffin II
(Available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Champions-Never-Quit-Close-Your/dp/0615845908/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1454300577&sr=1-1&keywords=champions+never+quit)
Genre: LDS Inspirational
Year Published: 2013
Number of Pages: 237
Binding: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-615-84590-6
Price: No price listed
Reviewed by Michael J. Thompson for the Association of Mormon Letters
There is seldom a book which is so encompassing or interesting that you cannot put it down. This is such a book. Mormons are different, doctrine dictates this difference from other faiths. Tim McGaffin easily fits these foundational reasons into a tightly woven autobiography, focuses on basketball, its ups and downs.
This story helps us remember basic gospel principles and their application in our lives. Mormons are different than others because Jesus Christ is the focus of their lives or should be. Thinking about it, we cannot have the fullness of the restored gospel if we do not put Christ first, and base our lives on his teachings. We cannot separate our faith from our daily lives.
Tim shares his humility in the light he shares with us in this book: “My sincere prayer is that by sharing my light it increases your light the same way others like yourself who share their light increases my light. All of our lights shine brighter the more we help each other. Let your God-given gifts and talents shine, let your light shine! In shining your light, the darkness gets exposed and the truth ultimately triumphs.”
Very few authors come right out in the open with their faith in this manner, helping us to use the spirit in seeing the author’s motives. This author does so very effectively, incorporating his innermost self into what he is expressing. “True religion is liberty. Anything that infringes on your personal liberty is false religion.” We as Latter-day Saints know this; it is the basic principle of agency, our right to choose for ourselves, something totally different than the beliefs of most other faiths.
Our light, and the sharing thereof, is what our Savior told us to do. This is a command from our Savior, and Tim intimately knows this and incorporates it into all aspects of his life.
A thought-provoking decision Tim makes is that we are not merely “trying” to succeed, but we are telling ourselves we are “going” to succeed.
Very intriguing is Tim’s emphasis on being what you say you are. Basketball players have some different characteristics, one being aporting flattops. Tim McGaffin tells us:
“The flattop is the ultimate basketball haircut. A lot of basketball players had this haircut where your hair stands up vertically high on top of your head cut flat and shaped square on the top. I wanted to get my hair cut like this because I really liked the artistry, the toughness, the strength of the cut. I felt inspired to get a flattop. When I tried to figure out why I felt inspired to get my hair cut like this I realized it is because the flattop is an outward expression of ‘never quitting.’ The lines are strong, tough, consistent, persistent, persevering, unbreakable, unstoppable, and invincible. Sometimes people ask me if I’m in the military because the cut is short like military-style cuts. I say that I’m not in any earthly military but I am in God’s Army just like you.”
In examining the traits Tim talks of, one understands these are the same principles a true follower of Jesus Christ adheres to. We are strong, as Jesus lifts us up; consistent, because our faith is unshakeable; persistent and persevering as we never give up. We always press forward — unbreakable, as Jesus is our pillar, our strength, our friend; unstoppable, as we just keep going; and invincible.
At the age of 8, Tim McGaffin prayed what his life’s career should be. The answer was to play basketball. Starting at an early age he practiced, learned, and tried out for his school teams. The first time he tried out, he made the team, then nine straight years he did not make the cut. Most people would have given up, but not Tim McGaffin. He kept going, praying, communing with his Savior, finally learning the truth that, if you always do your best, you are always the champion. You have won because you, with the help of the Savior, did your absolute best. You did not merely try, but you succeeded because you did your best. As Tim says: “with God helping you close by your side, there is no way you will fail in making your dream come true.”
We must remember in recognizing truth we recognize our talents, some of which we never realize are actually God-given talents — things such as: going after your dreams, listening, learning, forgiving, loving, praying, and exercising faith. These all are attributes of Jesus Christ, and make us stronger, if we use these God-given talents in our lives.
Perhaps the greatest talent we have is “being a mother or a father and having children, which is a dream at first, but a dream which encompasses all our talents.”
“Sometimes doubts enter your mind and you think you are not ready yet when you actually are.” In other words, never sell ourselves short, always be prepared, seek the assistance of our Savior in your success. Remember, “champions return to Christ,” as they have done their best.
Illustrated is the example of the Savior in the storm, walking on water. He calls to Peter who is able to walk on water, until his faith gives out. An analogy is made: “The water represents the world and all things negative. Jesus walking on top of the water represents the victory that Jesus has overcome the world. Jesus has overcome all death and all sin, all pain and all suffering, all things negative.” By following the Savior, we can also walk on the top of all trials in faith, truly being one with our Savior. In this we see, as Tim illustrates in this book, that life is not a competition with others, but rather a competition with ourselves to simply do our best, as in doing our best, we are champions.
Tim, in response to this, gives us a prayer from his heart, which each of us could easily use in our decision-making: “God: I promise no matter what happens I will never, never, never give up, until my dream comes true.” If we incorporate this into our lives, our dreams will come true, as the Savior has told us to ask and we shall receive. It may take some time, maybe even nine times of not getting there, however, doing our best so we become the champion.
“Getting back up is a divine action. It is faith in God and faith in God is action.”