Light and Truth

Ever since I was a young boy, well over a decade ago, I have enjoyed riding a bicycle. As a teenager I would pedal through the hills of Bountiful, Utah to my grandparents' house to mow their lawn, to Bangerter Farms to help in their summer harvest, to my part-time job at Nielsen's Frozen Custard, and many other places. My father and many siblings also greatly enjoy biking, enough so that it almost seems like a family tradition. And the tradition continued on my mission as I rode a bike around the towns just outside of Westpoint, New York, and once even through Manhattan for an activity. Upon returning home from being a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the end of 2013, it was time to start school again. But with minimal amount of money, and no straight-forward way to obtain a scholarship, my educational pursuits at The University of Utah needed to be accompanied by some form of part-time employment. Miraculously enough, my older brot...

Like many fellow friends and family, the older I get the clearer it becomes that rarely, if ever, do things in life happen by mere coincidence. Almost always, there is a lesson or reminder that the Lord sees the need to send us through mortal events and experiences which are divinely designed. And this, I've learned, is especially true when an event is unexpected, momentous, and/or unforgettable. One such occurrence unfolded in the evening of Friday, October 12th in 2018 for me. While living in New Haven, CT, my wife, Bethany, and I attended the monthly dinner date night hosted on this evening by the local Institute of Religion for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The theme this month was of course Halloween. So after a great meal of (scary) food, the group of about 15 people played the game Werewolf. As a summary of the game, everyone is secretly assigned to be either a werewolf or a villager. The werewolves win if they can together kill off all the villagers; th...