The Lord and Paul H. Dunn Walk Into a Spine Surgery

🕊️ The Lord and Paul H. Dunn Walk Into a Spine Surgery

The other day I was feeling kind of low.

No surgery scheduled. No direction forward. Just one of those “waiting on the Lord” days that tests both your patience and your back muscles. I’d been pouring out my prayers—even a bit of complaining, if I’m honest—and then the Lord decided to slip a little heavenly humor into my day.

To take my mind off the limbo, I ended up watching a video about early Church history. It featured Anson Call, one of the early Mormon pioneers. Brave guy, dedicated. But apparently, he had a knack for smoothing out the rough edges of truth. The video pointed out how he’s the source of some cherished LDS legends—the “Rocky Mountain prophecy”from Joseph Smith and even details around the “Miracle of the Gulls.”

Trouble is, there’s no contemporary record of some of those things. A few of them were written down decades later. They sound great. They just don’t add up quite like we thought.

And as I listened, I caught myself raising an eyebrow like I was above it all.

“Well, isn’t that something... the stories we tell.”

And then—clear as a bell—the thought came:

“He sounds just like Paul H. Dunn.”

Now that made me laugh out loud. If you grew up in the Church like I did, Paul H. Dunn was a legend. He gave talks that made your heart burn and your eyes tear up—about playing baseball with the pros, dodging bullets in WWII, having spiritual visions in foxholes, and shaking hands with angels on base paths.

The problem?

Most of it never happened.

Turns out, Brother Dunn had created composite characters, rearranged timelines, even claimed war medals he never earned. And yet he believed he was doing it for good—to stir faith, to inspire young people, to bear powerful witness.

Just like Anson Call, in a way.
Both men were trying to bridge heaven and earth with story.
They just stretched the bridge a bit too far.

So now I’m half-laughing, half-soul searching, and I decide to look up Paul H. Dunn just to see how his life ended.

And wouldn’t you know it?

• He died at age 73.

• Of a heart attack.

• While undergoing a spine operation.

I'm 73. Waiting on a spine operation.

And I just burst out laughing—with a tear.

It was one of those moments when the Lord lets you know He’s still writing your story… and He’s got perfect comedic timing.

But more than that, it was like the Lord was gently saying:

“Son… don’t put your trust in the stories—good or bad.
Don’t anchor your faith in the folklore.
Come walk with Me.
I’m not a myth.
I’m alive.
I hear you.
I’m right here.”

You see, I grew up loving those stories. They shaped my imagination, my boyhood faith. I don’t even hold it against those men—not really. I think they were trying to do something beautiful. But it all reminded me:

God is not in the embellishments.
He’s in the whisper.
He’s in the waiting room.
He’s in the joke you didn’t see coming.
He’s in the soft little slap of perspective when you need it.

He’s not a God of polished legends.

He’s a God of presence.

He doesn’t need us to puff up the past.
He just wants us to walk with Him—right now.

So yeah, laugh with me about Anson Call and Paul H. Dunn.
But then listen for the voice that reminds you:

“I’m the Author of your story now.
And it’s a true one.”

💬
Be healed,  
Be whole.
Be present.
And let Me do the storytelling from here.

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📖 Scriptures That Spoke to My Heart

“Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?”
— Doctrine & Covenants 6:23

“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation… a sure foundation, whereon if men build they cannot fall.”
— Helaman 5:12

“Behold, I am Jesus Christ… I am the light and the life of the world… if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life.”
— 3 Nephi 9:18

“We do not place our trust in traditions, but in the living God… He shall not remain afar off, but shall whisper in your tents, and His hand shall lift up even the feeble to behold His face.”
— Book of Mohrhohnahyah 14:12–13, Nemenhah Records

“Behold, the Spirit speaketh the truth… wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be.”
— Jacob 4:13

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