"Dad, I don't ever want to do anything like that again," said Colby. Then the young Scout paused, looked at his exhausted father and added: "I'll do it again if my own son asks me to do it with him."
Brother Gibson — who was called as first counselor in the Young Men general presidency last April — was reminded at that moment in his son's bedroom of a lasting gospel principle: service on behalf of those you love is never an inconvenience, a mere duty or a gift — it's a sacred privilege.
After spending much of his life finding joy serving young people in his wards and stake, Brother Gibson said it's now his privilege to work with the young men of the Church across the globe. He spoke to the Church News about his pledge to labor alongside the Aaronic Priesthood with loving tenaciousness.
"One definition of tenacity is to retain something of great worth — there is nothing of greater worth than our youth."
Brother Gibson learned lessons of "great worth" during his own childhood in Boulder City, Nev. His first memory is being carried in his mother's arms as she leaned over to kiss his father good-bye before he left home, most likely on a Church errand. "She kissed him and said, "Goodbye, bishop."
Robert and Thais Gibson were hard-working folks who taught young Larry and his siblings the lessons needed to survive in the desert landscape of southern Nevada. One's daily bread was awarded following one's daily labor. The challenges of the region were felt beyond the arid soil. The worldly attractions of nearby Las Vegas forced young men and women in the local wards and congregations to make tough choices early in their lives.
"You really had to pick sides," said Brother Gibson. He feels empathy for the youth of the Church today being asked to make similar decisions.
The examples of his parents helped him whenever he faced such options. To this day, Brother Gibson said, he finds himself asking what his mother and father would do whenever he meets the challenges of the day.
Larry kept himself out of trouble by getting involved in school, Scouting and sports. He was his ward's first Eagle Scout and later found joy on the high school gridiron. Football and a teenage Larry Gibson were made for each other. "I loved to carry the ball and I loved to hit — so I played fullback," he said, smiling at the memory.
It was in high school where Larry became better acquainted with Shirley Barton, an underclassman at the rival school in Henderson, Nev. The two belonged to the same stake, their respective families were good friends and Larry and Shirley soon discovered they enjoyed one another's company. Still, there were no promises for the future when Larry graduated from high school and, after a year spent at BYU, accepted a mission call to the British South Mission.
"Elder" Gibson never forgot about Shirley during his missionary service, but he was keenly focused on sharing the gospel with the British people while building his own gospel testimony. Full-time missionary work, he said, had a dramatic impact on his subsequent ecclesiastical, professional and personal life. "My mission prepared me physically, emotionally and spiritually."
He would return to BYU and continue his courtship of Shirley Barton. The two would marry in the Manti Utah Temple in 1968. The Gibsons never seem to sit together long before one reaches over and takes the hand of the other. Brother Gibson calls his wife an answer to personal prayers. Sister Gibson most admires her husband's devotion to the Lord. Such a quality, she said, is what makes him a good husband, father and priesthood holder.
"Larry has always loved our Father in Heaven more than anything else," she said.
After earning business-related undergraduate and graduate degrees at BYU, Brother Gibson began a professional career that has placed him in boardrooms across the country. Along the way, the Gibsons raised five sons and a daughter. The couple now reside in Highland, Utah, and cherish the time they can spend with their 32 grandchildren.
They have enjoyed an active life together. When not involved in Church activities, Brother and Sister Gibson might be found with their family scuba diving, hot air ballooning, cycling, hiking and traveling.
When discussing the young men of the Church, Brother Gibson is quick to repeat the counsel Alma offered his son, Helaman, to "learn wisdom in thy youth" (Alma 37:34). If young men ?— and young women — can "learn wisdom" in their youth, they can sidestep many of the pitfalls that jeopardize the lives and futures of so many today, he said. The challenges are great — so young people have to be equally great and up to the task.
Brother Gibson said he is honored to work alongside the many parents and youth advisers of the Church who are anxious for their sacred charges to realize their vast potential. His counsel to his ward and stake counterparts is simple: "First of all, love the youth — that really encompasses all the other aspects of [the calling]."
Remember, he added, miracles can happen in the lives of young men. "The Lord will help them. … He wants us to be successful."
Brother Gibson is excited and hopeful for the tens of thousands of young men he will come in contact with over the coming years. It's his prayer that the Church's Aaronic Priesthood will follow that true, preparatory path to the Melchizedek Priesthood and become faithful missionaries, loving husbands and diligent fathers. Men of integrity.
