No Coincidences

Tag: choices

Who Will You Become?

“You wasted it,” he said.

I looked back, confused by what I was seeing. I considered a response. All that came was, “Who are you?”

“I’m all that you could have been,” he replied.

He looked just like me. I guess I couldn’t have been a bodybuilder. “What do you mean I wasted it?” I asked.

“You were given so much. So much opportunity. So much of a head start. You were raised to know God. You were raised to know Jesus Christ. You were raised to know why you were here and where you were going. And look what you did with it.”

I stared back dumbly. Ok, that was unfair. I got married late. Had one kid. Got divorced. Held down a decent job for most of my life. Maybe I drank a bit too much and I had a propensity to gamble. But my son loved me, despite my faults. My life wasn’t perfect by any means but a waste? This seemed over the top.

“I didn’t waste it. My life? It wasn’t wasted,” I finally said. I had no other defense than to repeatedly say it wasn’t a waste.

“I’ve come to tell you that you did. I’m sorry,” the other me seemed to say with real compassion. Would I have been equally compassionate in his shoes?

“What did you do differently?” I asked.

A vision opened up to me. This must have been what so many near-death-experiencers describe as a life review, but this wasn’t my life. It was me I was seeing, but it wasn’t my life. It was my life for stretches. But then something changed. In a miraculous way I saw it all. The thoughts, the struggle, the fear, the doubt, and the triumph. I saw the grappling with faith.

In my life, I’d never come back to God. It was too painful to feel like I’d let Him down. The focus of this vision was one critical moment.  A prayer to God begging Him to take this alternate version of me back. I’d never done that.

The vision flew through other minor and major events. The major events: Marriage, but not at the venue I got married at, this was performed at a beautiful white building. A temple. A wife he (the alternate version) was faithful to. Children that didn’t just “love” him but admired and adored him. Children that had their own faith that strengthened and guided them in a fallen world. A wife that appreciated him and stuck with him through it all.

Then seemingly minor but apparently important events: Service, church callings, prayers, books read, time spent studying, time spent writing, small discussions, small moments shared, smiles, gratitude, forgiveness, sharing, giving. I had to admit it was a much different life than the one I had lived. It sure had a lot less football on Sundays.

Did I waste it?

In 2021 when I wrote the above, I had heard the question, “If on the last day of your life you met the person you could have been, what would you say to each other?”

That inspired me to write the brief dialogue above. It’s what I thought that interaction could look like if I never turned back to God and reminded myself what is truly important about this life.

July 9, 2026
Guilt

Every once in a while, I feel guilt for things I did, the person I used to be, the people I hurt, the pain I caused, the horrible things I was a part of. I know it seems…like I haven’t really changed if I only feel that guilt every once in a while. Guilt is an interesting thing.

Every once in a while, I look back on who I was. I’ll feel some guilt for the worst things I was a part of. I think I’ll always feel that, in this life, to some extent. It’s like a prick in my side, as the scriptures would say. It stays with me because I need to be reminded of where bad choices lead.

The most interesting thing about the guilt of my past is it’s not really there, anymore. By this I mean, when I think about it, I more think about the people I hurt, and I feel sorry. But those feelings have become distant, like an old me.

I know there will be, or I hope there will be, some people who read this that I did hurt. I know they’re going to read this and scoff. “Oh good for you, you’ve been forgiven. What about me? The person you hurt.” That’s the guilt that still hits me sometimes.

I have tried to reach out to some people from my past, especially early on. There were things I had to say and people I had to speak to before the weight of my guilt could be lifted off me. It’s intrersting…for years I didn’t let go of some of the weight I was carrying. And it was a weight. It was slowly killing me.

I haven’t been forgiven because of myself. I haven’t chosen to forgive myself.

I know a lot of my friends who have only known me in the last few years read this. They might sometimes wonder what makes me so passionate about church, God, the gospel, etc.

I know a lot of my friends and people who knew me back when I was in full “of the world” mode and they now wonder, “What the heck changed? When did he become a God nut?”

I know there are people from high school who will think similar things.

I hope this explains a little bit about why I’ve become so passionate to share about Jesus Christ, to talk about Jesus Christ, to write about Jesus Christ. I hope for everyone who knew me in high school, everyone who knew me through college, everyone who knew me through church, I hope this can explain why I can’t stop talking about Jesus Christ.

At least once a week I cry in gratitude. Because when I think about my past, it’s not really there anymore. Like I said, some guilt will always be there. But the overwhelming sadness at who I used to be is gone. I shed tears once a week asking God why. Why did He save me? What am I worth to Him?

I can’t be ashamed of Jesus Christ anymore. I was ashamed and embarrassed to be a believer and outward worshiper of Him for too long.

Today, I feel with an all too real sensation that He died for me. He suffered, and bled, and was scourged, and was insulted, and humbly took it, for me. Without Him that guilt would still be killing me. I’ve been washed clean by His blood. And that’s why I’ve changed. For all those who used to know me, that’s why I am the way I am now. Because the feeling of what Christ did for me is too real of a feeling.

This forgiveness didn’t come over night. I didn’t one day feel great. It was months and months of being on my knees, crying, begging. It was reaching out to certain people. It was being humble enough to admit I made so many mistakes. And over time, I don’t know exactly when it happened, but one day my guilt was a thing of the past. Sometimes I feel guilt because my guilt is a thing of the past.

Guilt is an interesting thing.

I still make many, many mistakes.

If there is anyone reading this that is still scoffing, thinking, “Well you were a jerk to me, screw you.” Please forgive me. You can comment here anonymously and really lay into me. I know there are still things I might need to make up for. Christ forgave me but others might still have to. Please reach out to me if I ever hurt you so I can try my best to ask for your forgiveness.

For anyone reading this who thinks their choices are who they are. Your choices make you only if you continue to make them. As soon as you decide to change someone will be there to change you. Guilt doesn’t have to be with you forever. It can be washed away. Trust me, it’s a miraculous feeling.

I sometimes wonder how I could change so drastically. Being a person who said things like “washed clean in the blood of Christ” or “Christ saved me.” I never thought I would say things like that. They sound so corny. Then, in quiet moments by myself I’m overwhelmed by God’s love and that He gave His Son to die…for me. Then I decide I’ll be as corny as I have to be. I can’t be embarrassed anymore. I just can’t. Because I know Christ was never embarrassed to claim me. Through all my mistakes and through all the moments He should have turned His back on me, He never would, He never did. He always loved me.

I haven’t been forgiven because of myself. I’ve been forgiven because of Him. It’s the greatest gift I’ve ever been given and it’s free to us all.

It’s why I still cry EVERY time I hear this song:

And I Stand All Amazed:

Video “Remembering in Whom We Have Trusted” by Elder Allen D. Haynie

*I wrote this sometime around 2019. As I edited it to post in 2026, I felt some sadness at things that are less true than they were 7 years ago. For example, I no longer cry at least once a week. I think about this sometimes. I really used to cry once a week, during the sacrament, when I thought about what Christ did for me. It’s less often now.

While I want to retain that passion and that burning feeling of gratitude within me for what Christ has done for me, it’s also kind of beautiful that I’m less emotional. Part of the reason I’m less emotional is because I feel less guilt about past deeds. I think over time the Atonement of Jesus Christ has more and more healed my soul and my guilt.

I still owe Him a tremendous debt of gratitude. I still owe Him everything. I hope to hold to those emotions while also being able to let go of past guilt as best I can. It’s a balance. A balance afforded me by the Great Healer.

May 14, 2026
Parenting and Consequences of Choices

Sunday morning we were supposed to sleep in. We were going to church at a later time to join Beth’s family since her sister Eve was in town. Any parent knows how it goes when you’re hoping to sleep in. It’s like the kids have a sixth sense for your hope and immediately squash it. Sage woke up at 6:30 and Ivy was up at 6:45. This, for the record, is much earlier than even Sage, who isn’t a great sleeper, usually wakes up.

Beth brought the girls out to the couch. I was tired and groggy.

In true teamwork fashion, Beth and I decided to split up. I went back to sleep for an hour while Beth hung out with the girls. My hour felt like 5 minutes and I was back with Ivy and Sage while Beth got her additional rest before the day got into full swing.

I took Ivy and Sage into Ivy’s room.

Long story short – Sage was ready for a nap and unhappy about everything and anything. Ivy, the newly potty-trained, walked over to her bed, laid down, and had an accident in her bed. I learned that when I went to lay Sage in Ivy’s bed to rest and saw it was wet. I tried to feed Ivy a banana while Sage screamed and I cleaned up wet sheets and blankets. Ivy took the piece of banana I’d given her and threw it across the room. I tried to stay calm and asked her not to throw food. As I continued to clear off pee-covered sheets and blankets, Ivy walked to where I’d left my breakfast – the rest of the banana and a peeled orange – and proceeded to throw it all over the room.

That’s when I lost my patience.

Voices were raised. Toddlers were told to stand in the corner. Stern words were spoken. Sage was still screaming.

I lost my temper.

It was then, standing with Sage in my arms screaming, Ivy naked from the pajama shirt down, crying in the corner, that I started to take deep breaths.

It was then that I started trying to assess why my temper was so short.

“I’m usually better than this,” I thought to myself. “What’s going on? Well, I’m tired, obviously.”

Wait, why was I tired? (Well, besides always being tired).

Flashback to the previous night. Beth had taken Sage in to sleep, and I stayed on the couch. I thought about reading but then came across a movie on TV that I hadn’t watched in a long time. It was Super Bad. I have long cut rated R movies out of my life. But this was made for TV. All the curse words had been cut out. That didn’t make the movie a productive use of time to watch. I ended up staying up way too late watching this stupid movie.

I remembered all this as I stood with a screaming baby and a crying toddler, after I’d just yelled and not handled Ivy’s outbursts and energy nearly as well as I would have liked.

I realized I had no excuse for my behavior. Why was I tired, grumpy, and now losing my temper? Because I’d stayed up later than I should have. There are all the excuses – I deserve some time for myself, I deserve to be able to relax, I haven’t stayed up late for myself in so long, on and on. Was it the worst thing in the world for me to stay up late and watch a movie for myself? No. Was it the worst thing in the world, the next day, to yell at my daughter because I was now grumpy? No, but it felt like it.

My choices had consequences.

There was no excuse for how I had lost my temper with my girls.

I kneeled down by Ivy in the corner. My extended rocking of Sage had calmed her so she was quiet for a moment. I spoke to Ivy calmly and slowly, “Ivy, I just got very frustrated. I’m sorry. I should not have yelled. Will you forgive me?”

Smile.

“Yes, Daddy.”

I continued to tell Ivy that I get frustrated when she doesn’t listen and throws food. I told her I love her so much. I asked her to please help me the best she could and I’d try to be better too.

I sat with Sage on the floor and rocked her to sleep. Ivy, seemingly a completely different child, sat at her table. She got her laptop (a little pink toy), and a stack of books. It was calm. I realized I hadn’t meditated yet, something I usually do first thing in the morning. I asked Ivy if it was OK if I closed my eyes, meditated, and took some deep breaths.

“Yes, Daddy.”

I set a timer, closed my eyes, prayed, and breathed for 10 minutes. When I opened my eyes, Ivy was quietly reading books at her table.

I am off the charts blessed with my two girls. I love them so much. They’re amazing. Ivy is such a good kid. She is strong, patient, kind, gentle (most of the time), and smart. Sage is in a bit of a difficult stage. You can tell she wants to crawl and move and do so much. But she is so happy, smiley, and bouncy. My two girls are amazing.

I’m grateful for them. I’m grateful for how they teach me to grow and be better. I’m grateful for their patience with me. That moment when Ivy said she forgave me, man… what a feeling of love. Not just my love for her, which is endless, but also her love for me, which is clearly unconditional.

This was another parent and life lesson. My choices have consequences. I can do dumb stuff like stay up late and watch a movie. But I CAN’T take it out on my girls in the morning because I didn’t get enough sleep and now I’m grumpy.

It’s OK not to get enough sleep. It’s OK to be grumpy. It’s even OK to lose my temper sometimes. It’s OK for me to struggle. But it’s not OK to not give them my absolute best. It’s not OK to make excuses why it’s OK for me to lose my temper and yell at them. That’s not OK. Every action has consequences. It’s not their fault that I stayed up late.

I love them so much.

This parenting thing is hard, rewarding, growth-inspiring. I’m grateful for it. I’m grateful for every moment. The good and the bad. I love it. I love them. I love my family.

May 25, 2023
Black and White and Adam and Eve
In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve were given two commandments.
1. Multiply and replenish the earth.
2. Do not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
In the church we are familiar with this dichotomy. Commandment one could not be completed without disobeying commandment two. What were Adam and Eve to do?

I recently read a classic short story called The Invisible Collection from Out of the Best Books Volume 1 (p. 329). This short story was in a section titled “Good Versus Evil.”

In this short story, an art shop owner/dealer learns of a patron of his art shop, which his father and grandfather ran before him, that had been a client for nearly 60 years. He decides to go visit this client to see his collection and see if he might be able to purchase some of it back from him. The client had been collecting for 6 decades and the pieces he bought for cents were now worth a fortune. This story was set in Germany after the war. Inflation was ravaging the country.

The art dealer visited the modest home of this art collector, only to learn that the art collector that had purchased hundreds of paintings, drawings, and art pieces from his shop was blind. This art collector hadn’t always been blind, he had become blind after the war. Our main character, the art shop owner, learned that this now very old man still daily pulled out the many portfolios he had collected and went through each piece one by one. He used his memory to see every detail he had spent countless hours admiring when he still had his vision. His art collection, even blind, was his greatest treasure.

When our shop owner arrived at the home, he was immediately pulled aside by the wife and daughter of this old man. They told him the truth before he could cry out in astonishment in front of the old man. In order to survie they had been selling the art pieces for years. The husband of a second daughter of the old art collector had been killed in the war and she was left with 4 young children to feed. The family was barely getting by, barely surviving. They sold these priceless art items to survive. They replaced the real art with papers to fool the old man. They never told the old man because, understandably, they didn’t want to break his heart.

This story really made me think.

Lying is bad, right? And yet, in this story, the family of the old man had to lie, didn’t they? Or did they?

Multiply and replenish the earth, but don’t eat from that tree. Many things in this life are not black and white. There isn’t a “right” or “wrong” answer to every question. There’s a lot of gray area in this life. That’s the point, though. God wants us to learn in this life to be wise stewards. He wants us to learn to make decisions for ourselves, to learn and grow from our choices.

“nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee”
Moses 3:17

God is teaching us to be rulers in this life. God wants us to learn good from evil. He wants us to learn to follow the promptings of the Spirit (truth) and learn to follow that guidance. He wants us to take many options and make the best choice. He wants us to learn how to evaluate what is best to do, then do it.

Being worthy is receiving something, putting it into your life, and acting upon it. As we prove ourselves worthy God gives us bit by bit more, and we grow step by step. That is what God is teaching us in this life. Worthiness, righteousness, freedom of choice, and stewardship.

So, in this light, that we’re daily being tutored by God for greater purposes, how are our daily choices?
June 16, 2022
Talk – How can I show faith in Jesus Christ more in my daily life?
I recently shared Beth’s amazing talk given on the natural man being an enemy to God. That can be read by clicking HERE.

The following week I was asked to give a talk on the topic, “how can I show faith in Jesus Christ more in my daily life?” I thought I’d share that as well. My written talk was more of an outline, but here were my notes.

Introduction

Good morning!

If you were here last week then you saw my wife already introduce us when she spoke. For those that weren’t here, I am Brayden Quackenbush. My wife goes by Beth, and we have a 1-year-old daughter named Ivy.

Brother Patterson commented after Beth spoke last week, quote “Clearly you, like me, have married up.” So of course, the Bishopric has asked me to speak today, more likely for you to see that principle of marrying up in action for yourself as opposed to any spiritual enlightenment I am meant to impart. I hope along with demonstrating the marrying up principle, my talk can also provide some uplifting spiritual content for you today.

Topic – faith

The topic I was asked to speak on today is, “How can I show faith in Jesus Christ more in my daily life?”

Let’s start with the what. What is faith?

Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks said QUOTE: “‘Faith without works is dead.’ But ‘Works without faith is even deader.’”

How do we increase our faith?

Read the scriptures every day. Pray every day. Go to church each week. Serve others. Go to the temple.

For those of you that have zoned out – Okay, let’s take a quick pause. I know I’ve lost most of you. You’re thinking, great, he started his talk with 5 things I’ve heard 1 MILLION times. And then you started zoning out. Come back to me for a second. I’ll say it again for those who REALLY zoned out. Come back to me.

I could go on and on with quotes about what faith is and give ideas you’ve heard over and over and over about how to increase your faith and be exemplary latter-day saints. In my time back at church, I’ve learned that personal experiences are powerful. Repetition is good. There’s a reason we hear the same things over and over. Read scriptures, pray daily, go to church, attend the temple. Of course, these things are good and of course these things are important.

How?

But HOW do we really show more faith in Jesus Christ in our daily lives. – This is an interesting question – how? How is so independent of anyone else’s how. How isn’t a hypothetical. It’s an action. Faith is a principle of action. For that reason, I can’t tell YOU how to live with more faith in Jesus Christ. What I can do is tell you what has helped me.

It always benefits me to hear of others’ habits, stories, experiences and how they strengthened their faith. I hope some of my thoughts can help someone here today.

A little background about me – I spent 7 years of my life, from age 18-25 with zero church activity. I was about as far from the church as I could be.

It was wholesome books brought me back. Books that started making me ask the questions – why am I here? Where am I going?

The books that most impacted my journey back to church, and influenced my faith in Jesus Christ were Visions of Glory by John Pontius, Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage, and of course, the Book of Mormon.

To increase our faith, we must know in whom our faith resides. That is Jesus Christ. This is the first how I suggest, that helped me. President Russell M. Nelson has repeatedly implored us to study the life of Jesus Christ, understand His ministry, understand His life, understand Him. With more of an understanding of Him, more love for Him will naturally develop, and it will become easier to follow Him and act in faith.

What other how’s have helped me in my daily life?

I’ve mentioned I want to focus on faith being a principle of action. If you have faith in Christ, it should move you towards action.

For me, after knowing who my faith resides in, it’s helped to be conscious of what I want to accomplish. Showing more faith in Christ daily needs to be a conscious goal.
1. Daily affirmations
  - The cartoonist behind Dilbert, his name is Scott Adams, he talks about a habit he developed in his early 20s. What he did was, every single day, he wrote 15 times a statement over and over. For example, “I Scott Adams will become a famous cartoonist.” This was before he’d ever written a comic. Most of you have heard of Dilbert. His second affirmation was “I Scott Adams will write a bestselling book.” He also accomplished this goal.
  - Write what you want to accomplish in your relationship with Jesus Christ, your family, or your greatest desire. The act of writing it each day will make it a focus in your life.
  - Examples could be: I will love others. I will be a loving father/mother. I will increase my faith in Jesus Christ. I will bring others unto Jesus Christ. I will return to live with my Heavenly Father.
  - This makes this a focus every single day. How did Scott Adams become a famous cartoonist? Faith. Now he wouldn’t say it, but that’s what he did. He put something out there, he focused on it every single day for years and he made it a reality.
  - Make your faith a focus in your life.
2. This leads to another how – focus on your thoughts.
  - A book I read recently stated that rock is sculpted one chip at a time. Concrete is poured then molded. People are formed one thought at a time.
  - I hope the daily affirmations example shows the power in our thoughts.
  - Guard every thought. Any time a judgmental or unkind thought enters your mind, remove it. Remove impatience. Remove anger. It is possible. Our thoughts are ours to control. Once you control the negative thoughts, move to loving thoughts. Keeping your thoughts focused on God and Jesus Christ as much as possible will help.
  - Matthew 22:37-39 “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.”
3. The third thing that has helped me is to study the scriptures with a purpose.
  - I have a close friend who is not a member of this church. He has read the Book of Mormon multiple times and doesn’t believe it’s divinely inspired. He believes it was written by a man and not translated by a prophet of God. I’ve read the Book of Mormon every day for 4 years alongside an online commentary noting every time I find something from Hugh Nibley or some other LDS scholar that can’t be explained by an uneducated farm boy writing the Book of Mormon. The note in my phone now includes well over 100 notes that can’t be explained by an ignorant farm boy writing the Book of Mormon. Each day I’m excited to find another unexplainable feature of the Book of Mormon. That strategy has worked for me. But I invite you to think about something that can make you interested and excited to read a little scripture each day. By the way, if you’re interested in seeing my list of “proofs” I would love to share them. It strengthens my testimony of this work and of the love Jesus Christ has for us in providing these “proofs” of the divine nature of the Book of Mormon to those who seek them.
4. A fourth, and to me personally, the most important thing that has helped me with my faith is to feel the atonement of Jesus Christ.
  - Can you feel your love and appreciation for Christ and His gospel? Really feel it, inside of you. Feel the emotion of it. For some, your conversion moment may be so long ago that you haven’t thought about it in a long time. Remember what it was like to realize this was true. Think about the comfort it brought you. Remember the feeling of knowing that Christ died for you, and He allowed you all this. Family, love, peace, eternity: It’s because of Him. Close your eyes. Remember that moment. Feel that moment. Do that often.
  - The best time to feel this appreciation for Jesus Christ is during the sacrament, it’s why we partake of the sacrament – to remember Him.
  - You need to feel, truly feel, what Christ has done for you. I’ve had more of a challenge doing this during the sacrament since my daughter Ivy entered my life. Sometimes I miss the quiet time of closing my eyes and thinking about what Christ did for me that day 2000 years ago. But then recently I’ve found an amazing substitute. During the sacrament I’ve found it extremely beneficial to stare at my daughter. I think about not only what Christ did for me, but I remember that He gave her to me, He saved her, and He allows her to be mine forever. If you aren’t brought to the verge of tears every so often when you partake of the sacrament or think about what Christ did for you, you NEED to think about it more. Focus on it and feel it.
  - We’ll be taking the sacrament in a few minutes. I invite you to focus on Christ. Think where you’d be without Him. Think about what He’s done for you eternally. Eternal glory, forgiveness, love, peace for ALL eternity. Have you thought about the word eternity? Forever. That’s what He’s given you. Feel it in your heart and thank Him with all your might, mind, and strength.
5. The fifth important part of my faith has been to repent daily. There is always something to repent for, no matter how good we think we are, we always fall short, and that’s ok. Because of Him.
That concludes my how’s of developing and strengthening faith daily, but I hope you can search out your own.

Why?

The last thing I’d like to talk about is the why. Why do we need to develop more faith? Why does our faith matter?

When this work truly touches your heart, what do you do?

In a book called Faith in the Service of about members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the armed forces, a U.S. Air Force Chaplain gave the simple quote: “I am a convert to the gospel, and I am indebted to the missionaries who saved me spiritually.”

Do you consider your membership of this church being spiritually saved?

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland when speaking of the Apostle John’s great desire to remain on the earth said:

“The Apostle John asked the Lord if he, John, might remain on the earth beyond the normal span of life for no other purpose than to bring more souls unto God. In granting that wish, the Savior said that this was ‘a greater work’ and a nobler ‘desire’ even than that of desiring to come into the presence of the Lord ‘speedily.’”

From the book Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, “Like all prophets and apostles, the Prophet Joseph Smith understood the deep meaning of John’s request when he said, ‘After all that has been said, [our] greatest and most important duty is to preach the Gospel.’”

I’ll ask again the question; do you consider your membership to this church as being spiritually and eternally saved? You have been saved by Christ. Then save others. If you saw someone on the roadside bruised and bleeding, would you help them? And yet we’re surrounded by masses of people missing what we have. They’re not physically bruised and bleeding. Worse, they’re spiritually bruised and bleeding. Reach out, share your faith, love, serve, share a Book of Mormon, have a real conversation, invite to church, invite to an activity. Many people don’t want to be saved because they don’t know they’re drowning. That’s fine. You still cast out a life jacket. The world is lonely, the world is sad, the world is divisive, the world is angry, the world is hurt. And we have Jesus Christ in our lives. To whom much is given much is expected. And we, us, you, here in this room, you have been given as much or more than most individuals in all of human history. Think about that for a moment. Billions and billions of God’s children and you live now, in Arizona, in the United States, in a free country, with the saving ordinances of Jesus Christ in your life. You live with a knowledge of God as your father, you live in the dispensation of all times, the fullness, You are peaceful, you are happy. Many of us are prosperous spiritually as well as physically. And more important than all the physical benefits of our existence – you know where you come from, why you’re here, and where you’re going. To whom much is given. Has anyone ever been so blessed as us in this room?

When we feel how truly blessed we are, when this gospel and the love of Jesus Christ touches your heart, what do you do next? You share it.

Don’t be discouraged by the world we live in today. Even Christ was rejected by many. Many are called and few are chosen could also apply to the masses that don’t want to come unto Christ. It is still our sacred duty and loving responsibility to share it.

I hope that we can strengthen our faith in Christ through righteous habits. Make it a conscious decision. Guard our thoughts. Study with purpose. Feel the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Repent daily. These have helped me. I hope we all can find our own ways to show more faith in Jesus Christ. And when we do, and our faith is strengthened, strengthen others.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
June 2, 2022