Jim Hughes: A Tribute to One Incredible Man

I knew for the past year that I would sit down and write this blog post this very weekend. It's about a person; a man that I care very deeply about. And not just any ordinary man. This post is about a great man. In fact, 'great' doesn't seem to quite cover it. I spent a few minutes just working on a title for this tribute post. I started with the word 'great,' then moved on to 'wonderful.' I think I'm settled now with 'incredible.'

Because you see, Jim Hughes is one incredible man.

But to understand a little bit about where I am coming from, you must understand a little about the circumstances around which I met this man and how he has impacted my life forever.

When I met Jim, it was October 2008 and I was called to serve in the High Council. I had known him before, from talks he had given or on occasion when he had come to address the Elder's quorum in my ward. I moved to Eagle Mountain in August of 2006 and so I had seen and heard from Jim with some regularity, although I could not say that I had known him personally.

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At this time in my life I had all but abandoned my dream of creating uplifting and inspiring media. I was working for a Bay area digital advertising agency which shall remain nameless, and working myself into an oblivion.

Now, the money was fantastic, but within just a few short years of running this company I felt completely spent and found myself wondering what more life had to offer. I had forgotten what I had already known; in part because of my somewhat myopic efforts to pay off some debts and in part because of the 24/7 culture that prevailed - and was rewarded - in the industry I worked in.

One Incredible Man

When I met Jim after voluntarily receiving this call to serve in my Church, I remembered my dream. I found myself thinking, here is this guy, who is a righteous upstanding man. He is a producer and editor and makes a living doing something he enjoys very much, creating great media and delighting his clients.

I had, after serving a mission and spending two years of my life teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of New Jersey, and attending film school at Brigham Young University studying the economics and business of film production, somehow forgotten what it was that I wanted to do. I was beginning to lose myself in the world, so to speak.

After meeting Jim Hughes that all changed. With my call to the High Council came a working proximity to my local Stake leadership, which includes a Stake President and his two councilors. President D. Harold Draper was the Stake President at the time, with President James Hughes as his first counselor and Mark Johnson as Second Councilor.

The Presidency put me to work and gave me assignments serving as the High Councilor over the Young Men's organization in the Stake. It's kind of like a youth ministry for the 12-18 year old young men. I was to oversee the Scouting program in the Stake specifically, and to ensure that all units within the 14 wards of the Stake were fully functional, that leaders were trained, that there was great communication between units and the BSA District.

Now I have to tell you something about the manner of men that these three men were. There is only one way to describe it. Do you recall when the Savior asked his disciples "What manner of men ought ye to be?" He then responded, "Verily I say unto you, even as I am." 3 Ne 27:27

Jim and Wendy

To be clear, these were men of God. No doubt about it. One of the meetings that I looked forward to with fondness was our early morning Sunday meetings. These Stake Priesthood Executive Committee meetings were an opportunity to discuss the affairs of the Church, discuss callings that were being extended, teach eachother the gospel of Christ and receive instruction and wise counsel from our Stake Presidency.

President Draper made it a point to come around with his councilors and embrace us each individually before the start of each early morning meeting. We would stand up when they entered the room out of respect and love for our Presidency, and then he would come around and give us all a big hug in his cowboy way, and slap us on the back and tell us he was dang proud of us. Jim Hughes would often ask about me and almost always ask about Mary. How we were doing, if she was happy. President Johnson would give me a hug and a smile and then straighten, and he would get serious. He would then tell me how much he loved me every single time.

On occasion we labored in helping our brethren find their way back by way of a disciplinary council. These were very difficult mornings, which usually involved a good man who had fallen into sin and had need of the Atonement in his life. It also involved his wife, crushed from the weight and seeming hopelessness of infidelity, and not sure exactly what to do or how to pick up the pieces.

Now you would normally expect a leader who held a position of authority over another to use this time as an opportunity to unleash on them, to tell them that they are scum and that they are going to burn in hell or some such thing, and if that's what you think happened then you are dead wrong. In reality, you would have never seen a kinder, gentler man who was able to use the scriptures as a healing balm to uplift, to inspire, and to edify.

Those mornings men and women walked out of those councils with a renewed hope in Christ, with a renewed commitment to live His gospel and follow the commandments of God. They had been reminded of His grace, and of His mercy, that it was sufficient for them and that "through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel." Articles of Faith 1:3

Jim vacationing with his wife Wendy

He was not a professional counselor. He did not have degrees in psychology or behavioral therapy. But the counsel that he gave was life changing for so many of the men and women in that Stake because he spoke the words of Christ.

And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins. 2 Ne 25:26 

 As I increased my own desire to follow the Savior, I began to do an inventory of my life in an attempt to bring it into greater balance. I left the agency where I worked (at that point as VP of Marketing) and walked away from the six figure income. Nothing mattered as much as my need to focus on my family and on serving others, two things I learned from Jim as I served with him. And along with that came a wonderful blessing: the opportunity to do something I loved and still provide a great life for my family.


As Jim was diagnosed with cancer in April of 2010, I was sickened and disheartened. I remember hearing the news that he had to go into the hospital because he was disoriented and was having trouble moving the left side of his body. Doctors gave him an MRI and found a tumor the size of a grapefruit on his brain. Glioblastoma, they called it. I was floored as I sat on his bed in the hospital that day talking to a very tired and stressed Jim Hughes.

His faithful wife Wendy arrived with his daughters. I didn't know what to say, I just didn't have the words. I don't think I said anything, just handed over a plate of cookies and was speechless.

The next 17 months was a whirlwind of emotions, as Jim endured multiple operations, MRIs, scans, and his health would worsen and improve, worsen and improve. I felt sick for Wendy and his family and so helpless as to what I could do.

Never before had I known anyone battling cancer. But this wasn't just anyone, no. This was my good friend and buddy Jim. Who sometimes whispered "Jimbo!" in my ear instead of the more formal greeting of 'Brother Anderson.' The man who reminded me of my dream and inspired me to be great and to do great things. He was one who came to our home when Mary and I were going through some hard times. He told us that he took our names to the temple and had prayers said in our behalf in our time of trial when Mary was having some significant health issues. Anyone who knows me knows that there is nothing on this earth more precious to me than my girl, and when she is in pain, I am in pain. So there couldn't have been a kinder thing that anyone could have done than express their love and concern for Mary and I at that time.
 
I did have the opportunity to work on one project with Jim before he got too sick to work anymore. It was a video that he edited and involved youth from our Stake at a summer youth activity recreating a trek experience like the pioneers of old. It was a ton of fun to sit with him in his edit bay and work on this together, he was a very skilled editor and knew how to make a very powerful message:

 

Jim was a good man through and through and I had the privilege of seeing him at his very best. What an example he was to me! How I love him and look forward to seeing him again. But that's the best part...it's not just "game over." I know that Jim will live again!

Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.

And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.  Alma 40: 11-12

And that's not all. He will be reunited with his family who he is sealed to for time and all eternity. That teaching is central to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Family relationships can last forever, not just for this life. In sacred temples, families can be sealed together for all eternity. That is exactly what our Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness is all about.

James Barton Hughes Nov 7, 1962 - Sept 15, 2011

Sure miss you Jim. And I'm grateful for your Christlike example to me and to my family. 

I welcome the day when we will meet again. You are one incredible man. 

 -Jim S. Anderson

 

An online campaign to raise money for the Hughes family. It never launched. Jim didn't think it fair for his family to be helped when there were so many other families who suffered with no financial assistance.