DRAPER, Utah — With a huge grizzly bear straddling his legs and a claw hooked into his face, Michael A. Dunn realized that if he was going to live, he needed help — God's help.The Mormon father, husband and marathon runner prayed out loud: "Heavenly Father, there is a bear on my back. I'm dying. I want to live."In the next few moments, he recognized the Holy Ghost telling him to play dead and the bear became distracted by something elsewhere in the forest."Twenty-four hours earlier, I had prayed, thanked my Heavenly Father for my blessings. I don't think this was a coincidence. I want to suggest to you those prayers were choreographed for me. Prayer is the great triggering mechanism in the universe," Dunn told the congregation gathered Sunday in the Draper Riverview Stake Center for a Young Single Adults fireside sponsored by the Sandy Utah Institute of Religion.__IMAGE1__Dunn said he has learned two important lessons from the attack 16 years ago that left him with 300 stitches, 16 vicious wounds and a miraculous story to tell."Live carefully by following the direction of the Holy Ghost," Dunn said, "and follow the rules otherwise known to us as commandments. The sooner we learn to do this the safer our journey."Dunn said he believes the Holy Ghost is the most underappreciated personage in the Godhead. "We don't fully recognize the navigational role of the Holy Ghost," he said.Dunn related how he was prompted to pick up his sunglasses on the morning of Aug. 14, 1994 — sunglasses that today have a dent in the lens where the bear's claw impacted. If he had not worn the sunglasses which had impermeable lenses, he would have at least lost an eye and probably died.He described how the uneasiness he felt as he left for his early morning run in the Grand Teton Colter Bay area was the Holy Ghost trying to persuade him not to run in the forest that day.__IMAGE2__He admonished the young single adults listening that as they face "grizzly bears'' in their lives to rely on the Holy Ghost's direction."The Holy Ghost is very good at previewing and warning," he said.As Dunn headed down the trail, he noticed a large mound of twin berries that obviously had been stripped of their skins by an animal. He then saw the largest bear track he'd ever seen on the ground."I looked around, no bear, but the track was really sobering so I decided to follow rule No. 1 in bear country, that is to make noise."Dunn started singing, something he said he does badly and sang for the next several miles.But as it got lighter and the forest looked less ominous, he relaxed and quit making noise."You'll notice the same thing in the Book of Mormon," he said. "As soon as the people began to enjoy prosperity, they forgot the Lord."Dunn ran silently for 2.4 miles before his bliss was shattered.__IMAGE3__A full-grown bear with the unmistakable hump of a grizzly came at him from the left at full speed.The bear hit Dunn and knocked him more than nine feet off the trail."I was never unconscious. I remember the ferociousness, the agile attack, the claws and teeth," Dunn said. "As the initial moments went by and it seemed like ages, I realized this bear is very agitated and this was probably it for me."As Dunn thought about his wife and his children, the bear took a big swath at his head and lodged a claw inside Dunn's mouth. The bear then started to tug as he tried to immobilize his "prey."It was at that point that Dunn uttered his prayer and received instruction.He flopped over and deliberately slowed his breathing.Although he still tried at one point to fend the bear off with a mighty punch — that the bear ignored — he saved his life by continuing to play dead until the bear left."I think angels were summoned (to help me and to distract the bear)," Dunn said. "I could tell you of about 30 other miracles, about the wilderness photographers who happened to be in the area, about the helicopter rescue, about the wounds and the recovery."Doctors were amazed that the bear's claws didn't sever major arteries in his neck, wrists and leg — which was furrowed through the muscle but sheared clean on the femoral artery.Today, Dunn continues to ski, run and walk. And he testifies about the importance of listening to the Holy Ghost.He doesn't regard any of the circumstances as amazing coincidences."As Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, 'There are no such things as coincidences in our lives.'"
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