Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints – Page 5 – His Smile Lit Up a Room and Other Things to Say at My Funeral

I Know Just How You Feel

November 19, 1996 Dear Gordon, We got your letter and I wanted to throw my arms around you. I know just how you felt, and I hope you have learned already that it does get better. When I reached Tokyo to start my mission, I had been on and off airplanes for about 18 hours.Continue reading “I Know Just How You Feel”

I Am So Excited to be Here

November 12, 1996 Arcadia, California Dear Mom and Dad, I am sitting outside the office of the mission president waiting to be interviewed. I have a splitting headache, I’m starving, and I’m totally exhausted. I have been awake since 4:30 in the morning, and we haven’t eaten since around 11 mountain time, and it’s closeContinue reading “I Am So Excited to be Here”

What This Neighborhood Needs

They have parked the car and just finished praying together. The young man looks at Elder Davis. “So we’ll check this media referral and if no one is here, we’ll tract this street.” “Sounds good.” The street they have come to is the outside edge of the snake pit—a two-mile area on the west sideContinue reading “What This Neighborhood Needs”

Oh Lord, Won’t You Hear Me?

His father is lying in his childhood bed in the room where the previous owner died. The boy is sitting on the bed next to his father. “How do you know when the Holy Ghost tells you?” “The scriptures say it is a burning in the bosom.” “What does that mean?” “You feel warm andContinue reading “Oh Lord, Won’t You Hear Me?”

Now They Always Say Congratulations

It is 9 pm. He is still in his white shirt and suit pants but has removed his tie. He sits in the dimly lit kitchen of their 800 square foot condo. Before him are two piles—on the left are the unedited pages and on the right are the reedited pages. He messed up theContinue reading “Now They Always Say Congratulations”

I Will Come to You

The man is standing at the door to the chapel greeting people as they wander in. He has already held bishopric and ward council and has been at the church since 6:45 am. Today, his smiles are weak, and his gaze is far off. It has been eighteen months since his father’s death. Five daysContinue reading “I Will Come to You”