Being Where We Ought to Be

Quick thought I had during stake conference today:

Back in 2019, Abbey and I were finishing up school. I had one year left, and we were both studying at BYU. We were moving out of a rental house we had been living in, renting from my parents, and they needed the space back. So we moved into Abbey's parents' basement for a period of time while we saved up to buy our first home.

Not long after we moved in, one Thursday night we decided to go to the temple. We didn't realize it at the time, but it happened to be the ward temple night for Abbey's parents' ward, the ward we had just become part of. While we were there, we ran into the bishop, who was also a good friend of ours. It was just a short conversation, nothing remarkable in the moment.

Not long after that, we received a text from Bishop Rick asking if he and his wife could come visit with us. Naturally, Abbey and I looked at each other and thought, Oh man… what are they going to ask us to do? as many of us have experienced.

When they came over, the Bishopric sat down with us and told us they wanted to extend a calling to me as a counselor in the ward Young Men's presidency. At the time, Young Men presidencies were still a thing. I was in my mid-20s, still in school, and felt completely underqualified. This was a very prominent, you could say wealthy, area of Draper. Surely there were many others who were more experienced, more capable, and more qualified than me. Why me?

It certainly wasn't because of my capability.

That experience has always stood out to me, especially as I recently heard the local authority teach that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ value our availability more than our capability. That couldn't have been more true in my case.

I felt overwhelmed and intimidated by the responsibility, overseeing the spirituality of around 15 young men, working with other adult leaders, and being placed in a role that was well outside my comfort zone. But as my dad always taught me, I said yes. I chose to be where the Lord wanted me to be.

At that time, that meant getting to know the young men in the ward, helping them learn the gospel, serving alongside them, and doing my best to bring others unto Christ.

As I look back on that experience, I realize how much it shaped me. Serving with the youth helped me see how meaningful, and how fun, it can be to be stretched, to feel uncomfortable, and to be trusted with responsibility.

I've often reflected on that night and asked myself whether it was a coincidence that Abbey and I were in the temple when we ran into the bishop. My dad always taught me that there is no such thing as coincidence, only the Lord's hand in our lives.

I can't help but believe that being in the temple that night led to a prompting, a thought, or an impression that opened the door to that opportunity. It became a period of spiritual growth for me at a time when I probably needed it most. It stands as a personal testimony of the principle of being where we ought to be.

It isn't always easy to get to the temple. There are plenty of reasons it can feel inconvenient, uncomfortable, or difficult. But I know from experience that when we are where we are supposed to be, opportunities come, and the Lord blesses our lives in ways we couldn't have planned ourselves.