A Life at the Hub of the Wheel

Reed Bradford, a young LDS missionary, feared his life was at an end that day in 1933. Four men viciously beat and kicked him because he had declined to salute the swastika flag of Nazi Germany. He was saved from death because two Germans pointed out to the Gestapo police who were beating him that he was an American.

During the terrifying moments when the young missionary feared for his life, his mind had been filled with two thoughts: first, sorrow for the things he had done that didn’t harmonize with the Savior’s teachings; and second, gratitude that he was prepared to die as a servant of the Savior.

His close encounter with death gave Reed the opportunity to find the purpose in life he had sought since his youth. It is a purpose that has guided him through the decades of his distinguished teaching career at Brigham Young University and has directed him well in his loving service to family, friends, and Church.

Young Reed learned to think of the purpose he sought in life as the “hub of the wheel.” If he could put the divine purpose for his individual life at the hub, with supporting activities radiating out from it like spokes, he felt confident that it would be possible to join his soul to the kingdom of heaven. So, nearing the end of his mission in Germany, he retired to a beautiful, tranquil spot, as he knew the Savior had sometimes done, to ponder, meditate, and pray.

“A divine thought and impression came to my soul,” he recalls. “It was: ‘The main goal of your life is to become my son.’” He later realized that this admonition is given repeatedly in the scriptures. But at the time he simply knew it was to be his individual goal; to achieve it, he would have to take the Savior as his model, choosing the goals and the methods of reaching them that the Savior would choose.

That object has been a lifelong quest for Reed Bradford. Friends, family members, and his thousands of former students would probably say he has achieved many Christlike qualities. Even those who have known him only casually recall him as one of the kindest, most loving people they have ever met. But typically, Brother Bradford still considers each day an opportunity to continue working toward his goal.

For the past several years, each new day has been a gift, because he has been battling cancer of the liver. When he first learned of the disease, he carefully considered the limited options explained by his doctor, then determined “to live each day as it comes, and try some old standbys like prayer and special diet.”

He is no stranger to trials and difficulty. When he was a young husband, his wife, Nora, died after five and a half years of marriage. He did not plan to marry again, but the Spirit of the Lord intervened. Brother Bradford considers himself lucky to have found Shirley Aamodt to be his wife; they have been married for more than forty years.

Shirley bore seven children. All of them are grown now except one who died in infancy. Then, when Reed was sixty and Shirley was forty-seven, they determined to adopt additional children. Their goal was to help children who needed a home and also to affect for good those children’s yet-unborn posterity. Because of the Bradfords’ ages, adopting their youngest son (who is now in his late teens) was a long legal ordeal. It was an even longer battle to adopt their youngest daughter, who was born in China and is now in her mid-teens.

Reed is sincerely grateful for his opportunities to serve. He is reluctant to talk about the honors he has received during his career, but there have been many. He was named Distinguished Sociologist of 1981, for example, by his colleagues in the Utah Sociological Society. Twice he has been honored by BYU for excellence in teaching, and once as professor of the year. One meaningful award came from the BYU Honor Council, which helps promote high standards of behavior and personal integrity among students. The award recognized his eight years of service to the council and cited his “unfailing testimony of personal commitment.”

A recent recognition of his service to others came on 26 October 1990, when he received the Distinguished Service Award from the BYU Alumni Association. Brother Bradford reflects that when he first joined the BYU faculty, he determined that above all, he would teach the gospel of Christ, the principles Jesus lived and taught.

Brother Bradford has also served the Church in a variety of callings, including serving on the Adult Curriculum Committee several years ago.

In whatever he has done, for more than half a century Reed Bradford has been guided by that goal he set, near the end of his full-time mission in Germany, to put the principles of the gospel at the hub of his wheel of life. He says that he determined then to try to become like the Savior “in as many ways as possible. I would seek his understanding and wisdom. And I would try to love as he loves.”—Norman R. Bowen, Bountiful, Utah

Reed Bradford is happiest when he is either learning or sharing with others what he has learned. (Photo by Phil Shurtleff.)