![]() Giving them confidence in your love can help them develop faith in God’s love. ![]() It is easier to develop that faith when they have friends or family members who love them in a similar way. For so many in the world, the first challenge in accepting the gospel is to develop faith in a Father in Heaven, who loves them perfectly. How can each of us become such a significant influence? We must be sure to sincerely love those we want to help in righteousness so they can begin to develop confidence in God’s love. Each courageously helped me in loving ways to find the path of greatest happiness. Both knew He could do more with my life than I could on my own. They simply loved me and loved Father in Heaven. Neither of them coerced me or made me feel bad about the person I was. She is a wonderful, righteous example!īoth Grandmother Whittle and Jeanene loved me enough to share their conviction that the ordinances of the gospel and serving Father in Heaven would bless my life. I am certain we would not have found the happiness we enjoy without her strong faith in the principle of serving the Lord first. Jeanene’s courage and commitment to her faith have made all the difference in our lives together. We both served missions and later were sealed in the temple. She loved me enough to share her conviction and then gave me the opportunity to work out the direction of my own life. Jeanene never asked me to serve a mission for her. After many prayers I made the decision to meet with my bishop and begin my missionary application. I was completely distracted from my studies the next day. I went home, and I could think of nothing else. That night my motivation to consider missionary service changed dramatically. I hadn’t thought much about a mission before then. She said, “When I marry, it will be to a faithful returned missionary in the temple.” One night when we were talking about the future, she carefully wove into the discussion a statement that changed my life forever. I thought she was beginning to have some deep feelings for me also. Later, as I was about to graduate from the university, I fell in love with a beautiful young woman named Jeanene Watkins. Her influence changed the direction of my life for eternal good. She was a marvelous example! How grateful I am for the testimony she shared with me when I was very young. Most importantly, we knew Grandmother loved us and that she loved the gospel. In every appropriate way, she helped us to feel a need for the gospel in our lives. Grandmother used just the right amount of courage and respect to help our father recognize the importance of his driving us to the church for our meetings. After some time her suggestions changed to an outline requiring more effort on our part. Within a few days a handwritten talk would arrive by mail. I remember that anytime my brother or I was assigned to give a talk in church, we would call her on the telephone for some suggestions. I don’t remember the specifics of what she said, but her words stirred something in my heart, and soon my brother and I were baptized. I don’t know what she said to my parents about this, but I do know that one morning she took my brother and me to the park and shared with us her feelings about the importance of being baptized and attending Church meetings regularly. ![]() Grandmother was concerned that neither I nor my older brother had been baptized. Some months after my eighth birthday, Grandmother Whittle came across the country to visit us. We lived in Washington, D.C., and my mother’s parents lived 2,500 miles (4,000 km) away in the state of Washington. When I was a young child, my father was not a member of the Church and my mother had become less active. They observed these words of the Savior: “For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.” 1 At vital times in my life, Father in Heaven blessed me with someone who cared for me enough to help guide my choices in an appropriate direction. As I have pondered my duty to share the gospel, I have reflected on loved ones whose tender influence helped me find the divinely appointed path that aided my spiritual progression. ![]()
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