Strengthening Bonds

1.           My brother about whom I wrote my essay, and his wife.  He is studying medicine in North Carolina and I do not get to talk to or see him as often as I would like.  However, he will be coming to Utah next weekend and will be staying with me for a few days.  I think that sharing my essay with him face to face could create some nice brotherly bonding.
2.       My girlfriend.  She and I have not been dating very long, and are still in the process of getting to know one another.  I think that sharing these experiences of my family and my life in Guatemala, along with the religious emphasis, with one another, will allow us to better understand each other and grow closer together. 
3.       One of my roommates.  He and I are not very close, and he has not been attending church meetings very regularly.  However, he has been asking me for relationship advice, so I think that he is beginning to trust me more. .  I think that sharing this with him personally could allow us to get to know one another more, and also be able to bring up religious themes that will allow us to strengthen each other.
4.       Kara, my best friend from high school.  She is not a member of the church, but she has a Book of Mormon.  She recently got in touch with me and we went to lunch in Salt Lake before her medical school interview with the University of Utah.  I think that she will enjoy Jeremy’s essay because she loves taking care of people. I will email it to her.
5.       Guatemalan Facebook friends.  Most of them are not members of the church.  However, there are several of them that did attend church with me a few times when I lived there.  I am going to start commenting on their pictures on Facebook and message them to see how they are doing.  Then I can share my essay with them through the blog.
6.       Mexican Facebook friends.  Most of them are recent converts or less-active members.  I taught and baptized many of them while on my mission.  I still keep in touch with many of them, mostly through Facebook messenger.  It would be fun to share my essay with them, and also send them the link to see all of the personal essays from our class.
7.       Tere – She is a woman I taught on my mission who struggled with abuse growing up.  We have contact mainly through her children and Facebook.  However, I think that Mary Ellsworth’s essay about Herber and his outlook on life will help her so much.  I will share it to her through facebook.

To Whom To Share, To Whom Not To Share? This Is The Question That Haunts Me. . .

Contemplating this project, I had a hard time getting three people. After I did, though, more names started popping up in my mind! I'm excited for a few of these people to read these essays. But I also miss my distant friends, so I'm more excited to talk to them again.

1: A good friend, Gavin H. Gavin is a high school friend that I have kept in a lot of touch with since I graduated. I have been helping him with his homework, and talking with him about his life a lot already, so it will be pretty easy for me to approach him about my essay. I would rather read it out loud to him, which I could see him next Saturday to do so.

2: A close friend, Karen H. Karen is a really good friend that I have made over quite a few months, but we've gotten closer more recently. She is one that I would probably share the link to, over Facebook to watch the video. I would also include the playlist, so she could see everyone's videos. I think she would really like it. She is also another one that I could easily share to, so I wouldn't need to do too much extra effort. I really look up to her, and value her opinion, so she is a great option for me.



Kendra F.

3: My friend Kendra F. I would rather her read the essay on her own time, than have me read it to her. She is also another friend that is from high school. I haven't kept in touch with her as much though, so I would have to text her and see how she's doing. I would do that for a while (a few days, at least) before I would bring up the essay. But she would be a great person to give feedback.


4: A distant friend Morgan C. I knew her my junior year of high school. She moved away the next year, so I haven't kept in contact with her as much. She separated herself from social media, and got a new cell phone number, but she checks Facebook pretty often. I could probably get her number if I messaged her on Facebook, and get updates on her life. She is a non-member, so the Book of Mormon aspect might interest her or push her away. When I knew her she was interested in the church, but I don't know how she feels about it now. I would definitely have to get to know her again before I would feel comfortable sending her the links to both the videos and essays (videos first.)

5: A former teacher, Shawna B. Being from a small town, everyone knows everything. Mrs. B was really close with my family, and so she knew what went on in my essay. I would like to send her this link to my essay; she always seemed to like my writing. She graduated from BYU and teaches English. She would be a great person to get feedback from.

6: A former teacher, Liz S. Liz was one of my best friends during my senior year of high school. She was a great mentor and teacher; really shaping my life. I haven't kept as much in touch with her as I would have liked to. I have seen her often since graduation, but not enough. I would have to text her (she was also an advisor to my Student Government class, so that is why I have her number. Not to be creepy or illegal or anything...) and see how she is doing before I would send her a link to just my video.

7: Ephraim T. One of my friends who is serving a mission right now. I would like to send him the essay and pictures from Keegan's posts. Ephraim is serving in Tahiti, so I'm sure he would relate to this essay. I think it would also help him recognize the beauty of where he is serving and the people around him. He would really love this essay.

8: Todd F. I would share with him Clark's essay about not eating the stale donuts. I would read him this essay the next time I go home. Todd would really relate to this essay, because he has told me a story about one time he went home teaching. The guy they were visiting offered Todd a peanut from a large bowl in the middle of the table. After he declined, the guy told him he just liked the chocolate on them, and he didn't like the peanuts. The guy had sucked all of the chocolate off and put the peanut in the bowl to offer visitors! He was really glad he didn't take one. So Todd would really get a good laugh out of this essay.


It Can Be Fun

1. Mission friend: The missionary known as "Elder Clark" might find my personal essay of interest. I've shared with him before how I handled the situation we were in but he may find more insight into how it's affected my life ever since. I would share it with him through email, since he's not very active on any social media.

2. My mission president: I've also told him several times about my experience during the situation, but I think I would certainly like to share it with him through the context of just how important and impactful he was to me at that specific time (not to mention the rest of my mission). I would probably have to email it to him.

3. My girlfriend: I'll share my video about Darren's essay and the essay itself, as its themes of friendship would resonant strongly with her. She values friendships a great deal, sometimes longer than I would expect a sane person to do so. She would probably find a lot to like in Darren's description of his friendship with Brother Miller.

4. Twitter: Everyone that I feel would appreciate the story and not just ignore it, are on Twitter, so I would probably post it on there for whatever followers I have that would be interested.

5. Sister: I wasn't as open about the situation with my family, or at least about my actual feelings during it, so I feel like they would really learn a lot about me through it. My sister lives closer so I could more easily share it with her face-to-face.

6. Parents: Again, they really don't know very much about how I was affected by the incident personally, so this may be something they would really want to read, and not just read it because I'm their son.

Action Plan for Sharing My Personal Essay

1.  Dylan Teague.  Dylan is my best friend from high school, and we still talk occasionally.  He is married and has a son.  I’ve shared the Gospel with him before, but he hasn’t been baptized.  He’s still open to hearing about my religion, and he respects me and the beliefs I have.  I’m going home for Christmas this year, and I’ve already talked to Dylan about spending time with him at his house.  I would like to share my personal essay with him in person, and I’d like to talk more in depth about it than we have before.  I think that would open some doors to being able to share more of the Gospel with him without pushing my beliefs on him, and without being too preachy or weird about it.

2.  Antoni Hernandez.  Antoni is a kid from my mission who I connected with really well.  He has lots of hardships in his life because of poor parenting, but luckily he is currently living with a less-active we reactivated and his wife and kids who we baptized.  I spoke with him recently and he said he just received the Aaronic priesthood and is attending church.  I think my personal essay would really help him see how the Gospel can help all of us make it through our trials.  I’ll try to contact him through Facebook.

3.  Ana Carola Chura.  Ana is a convert from my mission who I had the privilege of teaching leading up to her baptism.  She is an incredible young woman who wanted to be baptized basically since she and the husband of her cousin (she lived with them in the U.S. for a while before moving back to Bolivia) received the lessons from the missionaries.  I would like to share my personal essay with her because her family back in Bolivia is a non-member family, and she has already shared the Gospel with them before.  I’d like to see if my personal essay could be something Ana could use to share the Gospel with her family.  I’ll try to contact Ana through Facebook as well.

4.  Brandon Johnson.  Brandon is a good friend from high school.  He and Dylan Teague also know each other.  Brandon would often work out in the weight room with me after school during the weekdays back when we were in high school.  Brandon told his parents, who then told my parents, that he really agreed with a lot of the things I would say.  Brandon’s parents told my parents to thank me for being a good friend to Brandon.  Brandon also messaged me on Facebook while I was on my mission, mentioning that he missed playing video games together and stuff like that.  I think we have a good enough connection that I could get him to read my personal essay.  I think my personal essay wouldn’t be overbearing or too churchy, and yet at the same time it could get him interested in the Gospel and the church.  I’ll see if I can see him over the Christmas break while I’m home, but most likely I’ll be able to contact him only through Facebook, at least initially.

5.  Tamara and Ronald Thompson.  Tamara is my sister.  She married outside of the church, but her husband Ronald was baptized a little over a year ago.  I think sharing my personal essay with Tamara would be a good way to have Ronald read it (or have it read to him J) and to hopefully encourage him to stay faithful to the church.  Even though Ronald was baptized, he has struggled to stay active.  He and Tamara had the goal of getting sealed in the temple, but that goal has been postponed.  I’d really like to help them out, and since I have such a good relationship with them already, I think they’d be up for reading my personal essay.  I’ll see them over the Christmas break, so I’ll share it with them then.

6.  Marlon and Karina Cruz.  Karina is a less-active we were able to reactivate while I was on my mission, and Marlon is her husband.  Karina’s oldest daughter was already a member, and we were able to reactivate her as well.  We were also able to baptize Marlon and their son, also named Marlon, followed a year later by the baptism of their youngest daughter (when she turned eight).  They are a great family and are still active in the church.  I’m hoping that sharing my personal essay with them would give them something to use to share the Gospel with their friends.  I’ll try to contact them through Facebook.

Dare to Share

• I met a friend when I was interning with Dell this past summer, and he recently got engaged. A lot of the personal essays that people shared talked about the importance of their families, and I know that is important to him. I remember he was fascinated when he heard that I was engaged. I actually texted him a bit recently, so I think I could find an essay that talks about families and share it with him.

• My little sister is in high school, and she will be turning 16 pretty soon. One of the essays that I read talked about a couple of girls getting invited to a dance, which I didn’t relate to very much since it’s been a while since I was in high school, and I never got too excited about dances. On the other hand, this is a topic that might interest her. It would be easy to call her up or text her with a link and see what she thinks.

• I have a friend that returned home from her mission because of challenges with depression, and it has been very difficult for her. I didn’t find a perfect essay to share with her, but if anyone has an ideas I think I could send her a link in an email and she would appreciate it.

• My personal essay is about my grandparents, and I think that my cousin Scott might enjoy relating to it. He is in the accounting program with me, so I see him occasionally. I could either tell him about it when I see him next, or just text him sometime about it.

• My MTC mission companion always is excited when he hears from me, and I don’t talk to him much. I ran into him on campus a few days ago, and I’m sure he might be interested to see my essay.

• There is a recent convert that I met in Texas this summer that I played basketball with sometimes. I think he would be receptive, and would enjoy my essay. I will try to reach out to him and catch up and then maybe I’ll share my essay through a text or Facebook message.

• A part member family from my mission whose son got baptized always keeps in touch with me and is interested to hear what is going on in my life. They recently asked for my address so they could send a Christmas card. I think my wife and I might send them a card as well, and maybe after Christmas I will catch up with them and share my essay.  

Strategy for Sharing Personal Essays

11.My best friend from home, Devin. We always edit each other’s essays and I recently spent some time this week giving her feedback on a paper. I am sure she would like to read my essay and would have good comments, especially on the Book of Mormon aspect, as she is a non-member. Also, I haven’t called her very recently so it would also be a good opportunity to catch up.

22. My Dad. I like to talk about ideas and assignments with him because he always has good insights and advice. I think he would like to read my essay and have a conversation, on Skype or over the phone, about it.

33.My roommate Rachel. She is very supportive and I am sure she would be willing to have me read it to her. I also think it would be useful to share it in person to be able to gage interest level on this newest draft as I’m reading and have an open conversation.

44.My friend Laura. I haven’t talked with her for a few months and I think this would be a cool way to reconnect with her. I will probably share this with her over email, and maybe call her. She also has a bigger family, so I think she will be able to relate to the topic of my essay and it could be a missionary experience as she is a non-member.

55.My little sister Mary. It would be a good way to strengthen our relationship. It haven’t been able to spend much time with her lately since we live so far apart, and I think this would be a way to get in touch and have a good conversation. I bet she would be willing to watch some of the video intros as well.

66.Erin, one of my ward members. I think she could really relate to my essay because she is from a similar family background. She is frank and direct and I think she would share about her own similar experiences and have interesting things to say about my essay.

The Blueprint For Sharing

1.     My good friend,  KF. She got close to getting baptized while I was gone on my mission, but eventually didn’t go through with it. I think she would appreciate my personal essay that describes a little bit what I went through on my mission, and hopefully touch her.

2.     A member in our Ward, SG. She runs a pretty popular instagram account called Mormon Faces. I would like to share the playlist of the videos with her and try to get our project featured on this account to reach close to 6000 people.

3.     One of my favorite teachers, Mr. S. He was my AP US History teacher when I was a junior in High School, and he was my favorite teacher. I also nominated him and he came to a Youth Church Awards ceremony for teachers. He was always supportive of my mission, and I think he would like to read a short essay about my experiences.

4.     My other favorite teacher and golf coach, Mr. T. I knew him all 4 years in high school and spent a lot of time outside of school with him. He is a part of a part-member family, as his wife and daughter are members of the Church. He knows a lot about the Church and missions, and I would like to share my essay with him.

5.     My good friend, TB. He has been my best friend for a long time, and we were able to get him to take a couple of the missionary lessons before I left on my mission, and he knows our beliefs pretty well. He also went to Africa for 2 weeks to do a church like mission, so I think he would enjoy reading my essay about me serving in Africa.

6.     My little brother, KB. I think he would enjoy Krista Beatie’s because he himself pretty soon will be receiving his mission call. I think it would be cool for him to get a kind of insight of the feelings that come with receiving a mission call and opening one as well.

7.     My roommate, PW. His life has been affected by suicide, so I think it would be good for him to read Ryan Well’s essay, which talks about his grandmother and suicide. This could lead to a better emotional connection with my roommate and a very constructive open conversation amongst us. It could really help him with his past experiences and find hope.

Sharing our Essays and Videos

1.  My family members have the same connection to my childhood home as I do. I would love for them to read my essay and to give me feedback, and see if they have made the same connections as I have. I would definitely show my essay and video (as well as the playlist of videos) to my family in person.

The Keddington's Home

2.  Keddington Family is a dear family to me—and lived just two houses down from me growing up. They are my “second family” as we spent just about the same amount of time at their house as our house. A lot of my childhood memories involve the Keddington’s, especially Alicia and Krista, and it would be interesting to hear their thoughts on our childhood. I would share my essay and video with them in person, or email it to them.

3.  C.C. is a friend of mine who is also a recent convert. We used to be in the same ward, but stay friends and connected through Facebook. I would feel comfortable sharing my essay and video there for her to see, or more specifically maybe even other essays that might fit her situation. I think that Hailey’s essay would definitely appeal to C.C. and her husband as they often play video games, as does Hailey's mother.

4. Sandra is a dear sister in my ward who is going through a very difficult time dealing with a loss in her family. My husband is the ward mission leader, and I am a ward missionary. As such, we have had the opportunity to further reach out and help Sandra and her family. They welcome the help that the gospel brings, and are always looking for more stories to apply to their lives. I think seeing these videos of classmates and their different experiences could be very beneficial for their family. I would definitely feel comfortable sharing the playlist with them. I also think that Tori and Clark’s essays could be very appealing and comforting as they deal with stressful family moments (Tori’s) and deaths in the family (Clark).

5.  Mary is a spunky new convert who gobbles up new and exciting information. She loves talking to people and hearing about their lives. I think she would really enjoy reading and listening to the videos and essays of the whole class, especially as they have gospel and Book of Mormon references included. I would share this information with Mary in person most likely, and then send her the links.

6.  Jack & Paula are my next-door neighbors who are filled with fire to make friends and to share the gospel. I think I would definitely share with them the playlist of all of the videos, not only in hopes that they will enjoy it and learn from it, but also that they can share it with others. They are very busy talking to many people, and I think they could be a good avenue to further share our essays and videos to the people who can relate, and who may need it most.            

-Lizzy S.