Story Time!
One December night, I got on my knees to say my night prayers. I had nothing specific in mind that I was praying for, but I was given words that weren’t mine while I had prayed. Though I had no intention of asking, I asked for Heavenly Father to let me know what I should do if Jared were to propose before or instead of a mission. As soon as I said amen, I had an overwhelming and immediate answer: Yes. Thinking that this prayer was something hypothetical and didn’t come from God, I kept trying to put it in the back of my mind.
During the first weekend of the semester, and of January, I hung out with Jared. We had a great day, but the prayer kept popping into my head until finally I felt like I couldn’t resist the prompting to tell him what had happened. He was pretty shocked, especially considering this totally went against everything we had planned. We started to make connections between what had happened and the other things that were happening in our lives. I’m taking a class called The Family and another class called the Eternal Family. I had scheduled my Family class for this semester only because I couldn’t get into another class that was in my Graduation Plan. Jared and I both have the Eternal Family as an Institute class in Rigby, which was also unplanned.
Along with connections to my patriarchal blessing and things everywhere that I needed to hear, everything seemed to fall into place. We continued to think and pray as we went through everything. It was all very scary. I remember telling my mom the day after I told Jared and she felt that it was correct because of the past experiences she’s had with my spiritual gifts. She had complete trust in the Lord and support for us through this difficult transition and decision making time. At first, we were very confused as to what everything meant, but as we were led by the Spirit we felt more and more inspired to keep asking and praying for guidance. I was so scared and stressed by the situation that when I was hanging out with my mom, I started crying in the Dollar Tree and puking by the time we got back to my apartment. The entire situation was new, scary, and I didn’t feel ready. But as my Heavenly Father, my mom, and everyone else around me, comforted me and reassured me (regardless of whether or not they knew), I felt like I was given strength.
The hardest part about all of this for me was that I had spent my entire life judging people who got
married so young and people who got married instead of or right after a mission. I even judged people who went to BYU-Idaho because I thought they were only going there to get married. Prayer led me to study at BYU-Idaho and even though I didn’t understand why I had to come to this university, I’ve been able to receive the blessings that were waiting for me here. I feel like this entire experience has been a spiritual slap. I feel terrible for judging people who hadn’t gone on a mission. Though I have a strong testimony that every worthy young priesthood holder should serve a mission, I have an even stronger testimony of personal revelation.
Missionary work is incredibly important and it’s something that everyone can do, regardless of whether or not they’re actually out on a mission. I have had so many missionary opportunities, and had always been told that I would make a great missionary one day. A year or two ago, I prayed about whether or not a mission was right for me and the answer was no. I was confused because I thought that the Lord wanted everyone to serve. But later and through my personal experiences, I found that I am needed here with my friends and family to serve as an example. I have a testimony that anybody can be a missionary, despite not being in the mission field.
I strongly encouraged Jared to pray about a mission after recounting how powerful that experience was for me. He already had felt that a mission was the right thing to do, but I wanted him to solidify that before he rushed into anything. After all, there had to be a reason why he hadn’t left on his mission yet. He has been working so hard, and my family has even given him money so that he could leave. To my knowledge, he prayed and felt that a mission was right and an eternal marriage with me instead of a mission right now was also right. However, the latter was more right in his heart. I found myself hoping, the same day that he had received his answer that his answer would be to stay. The closer I got to the spirit, the more pathetic Satan looked, and the easier I could notice his presence. I continued to get voices in my head telling me that Jared wouldn’t be good enough and physical pressure trying to prevent me from even getting to class. The opposition in the situation helped me to realize that I was in the right and that I was getting stronger.
After a couple of weeks knowing our answer, we approached my father. My father had instilled in me at a very young age that I should marry a return missionary, nothing less. He had also instilled a lot of negative beliefs towards people who got married at a young age and people who got married instead of a mission. Scared out of our wits, we asked for a priesthood blessing from my stepdad before we told him. In that blessing, we were given the words to say and the comfort to know that everything would work out the way it should. In Jared’s, he was told that the Lord was pleased with him. Though my dad had disapproved of my older siblings’ fiancés and straight up told them that they couldn’t get married, he was able to understand and accept Jared and I’s situation. He even said “absolutely!” He still felt that going on a mission would be best for us, but that personal revelation was more important.
My brother, on the other hand, was absolutely against it all. He had returned from mission about three
years ago, and it had helped him to mature and gain an even bigger testimony. He had married his wife just a year ago. It felt that no matter what I would say to him, he just wouldn’t listen and would bring it back to the prophets in saying that every young worthy priesthood holder should serve a mission. Although I agreed with him, personal revelation told us that God had a different plan in mind. Trying to get to the bottom of my decisions, he claimed that I didn’t have any spiritual gifts or a real testimony and that this was a call for attention. After speaking with me, he asked to talk with my mother to try and get her to pull Jared and I out of this situation. My mom told him that she was thoroughly disappointed in him for not believing that I can receive my own personal revelation. He later received a priesthood blessing from his best friend and was able to have a change of heart and perspective. In the end, it just felt like he had to get out of the mindset that I was his little sister that didn’t know anything and get into the mindset that I was still his sister who has still has spiritual experiences, but not the same ones he’s had.
One December night, I got on my knees to say my night prayers. I had nothing specific in mind that I was praying for, but I was given words that weren’t mine while I had prayed. Though I had no intention of asking, I asked for Heavenly Father to let me know what I should do if Jared were to propose before or instead of a mission. As soon as I said amen, I had an overwhelming and immediate answer: Yes. Thinking that this prayer was something hypothetical and didn’t come from God, I kept trying to put it in the back of my mind.
During the first weekend of the semester, and of January, I hung out with Jared. We had a great day, but the prayer kept popping into my head until finally I felt like I couldn’t resist the prompting to tell him what had happened. He was pretty shocked, especially considering this totally went against everything we had planned. We started to make connections between what had happened and the other things that were happening in our lives. I’m taking a class called The Family and another class called the Eternal Family. I had scheduled my Family class for this semester only because I couldn’t get into another class that was in my Graduation Plan. Jared and I both have the Eternal Family as an Institute class in Rigby, which was also unplanned.
Along with connections to my patriarchal blessing and things everywhere that I needed to hear, everything seemed to fall into place. We continued to think and pray as we went through everything. It was all very scary. I remember telling my mom the day after I told Jared and she felt that it was correct because of the past experiences she’s had with my spiritual gifts. She had complete trust in the Lord and support for us through this difficult transition and decision making time. At first, we were very confused as to what everything meant, but as we were led by the Spirit we felt more and more inspired to keep asking and praying for guidance. I was so scared and stressed by the situation that when I was hanging out with my mom, I started crying in the Dollar Tree and puking by the time we got back to my apartment. The entire situation was new, scary, and I didn’t feel ready. But as my Heavenly Father, my mom, and everyone else around me, comforted me and reassured me (regardless of whether or not they knew), I felt like I was given strength.
The hardest part about all of this for me was that I had spent my entire life judging people who got
Missionary work is incredibly important and it’s something that everyone can do, regardless of whether or not they’re actually out on a mission. I have had so many missionary opportunities, and had always been told that I would make a great missionary one day. A year or two ago, I prayed about whether or not a mission was right for me and the answer was no. I was confused because I thought that the Lord wanted everyone to serve. But later and through my personal experiences, I found that I am needed here with my friends and family to serve as an example. I have a testimony that anybody can be a missionary, despite not being in the mission field.
I strongly encouraged Jared to pray about a mission after recounting how powerful that experience was for me. He already had felt that a mission was the right thing to do, but I wanted him to solidify that before he rushed into anything. After all, there had to be a reason why he hadn’t left on his mission yet. He has been working so hard, and my family has even given him money so that he could leave. To my knowledge, he prayed and felt that a mission was right and an eternal marriage with me instead of a mission right now was also right. However, the latter was more right in his heart. I found myself hoping, the same day that he had received his answer that his answer would be to stay. The closer I got to the spirit, the more pathetic Satan looked, and the easier I could notice his presence. I continued to get voices in my head telling me that Jared wouldn’t be good enough and physical pressure trying to prevent me from even getting to class. The opposition in the situation helped me to realize that I was in the right and that I was getting stronger.After a couple of weeks knowing our answer, we approached my father. My father had instilled in me at a very young age that I should marry a return missionary, nothing less. He had also instilled a lot of negative beliefs towards people who got married at a young age and people who got married instead of a mission. Scared out of our wits, we asked for a priesthood blessing from my stepdad before we told him. In that blessing, we were given the words to say and the comfort to know that everything would work out the way it should. In Jared’s, he was told that the Lord was pleased with him. Though my dad had disapproved of my older siblings’ fiancés and straight up told them that they couldn’t get married, he was able to understand and accept Jared and I’s situation. He even said “absolutely!” He still felt that going on a mission would be best for us, but that personal revelation was more important.
My brother, on the other hand, was absolutely against it all. He had returned from mission about three
We’ve set a date (April 29th) and we’ve even started planning the wedding now, and I feel more ready than I’ve ever felt about anything. Though it was scary at first, I was able to become more in tune with the Spirit and what God’s plan is for me. I am 100% confident that he is leading us in the right direction. He knows us and loves us individually and uniquely. My testimony of his love for me is so strong and I know that Satan is after us. As I know that many of our loved ones may not agree with our decisions, I am able to see this situation as an opportunity to bear my testimony.
God’s plan of happiness is real. He knows me, he knows Jared, and he knows all of us and what we need to be happy. God uses his prophets to speak to his people and uses each one of us as a mouthpiece when necessary. Opposition is in all things and helps us to realize and build our strength, both mentally and spiritually. I love my Heavenly Father and he loves me. The Lord’s timing is everything and he knows when we need to hear or experience something. My testimony has been strengthened through this entire experience and I know, even more than I did before, that he has a plan even if it might not be so clear.
Here we are now, engaged. A lot has happened between us from the time that I originally wrote this story-telling, but he has been so strong and I would be selfish and unappreciative to ask for anybody else to call my future husband.
