Friendships

As we all know this past week was Thanksgiving break. After spending Thanksgiving day in St. George with some of my extended family, my brother, my parents and I drove down to our home in Henderson, NV. Although most of my time was spent confined to my room catching up on all sorts of homework and reading, I did go out one night to catch up with some of my very best friends that I hadn’t seen since school started. I never expected a simple reunion with my friends to be so sweet. But when I initially saw them, I couldn’t hold back my desire to leap into their arms and just embrace them. Even though it had been months without seeing or really even talking to them, we acted as though we had never been separated. Distance had not made us act different or estranged. We were our goofy selves. As I caught up with them, I realized how much I truly missed them. Being at college, with all the schoolwork, and social activities, and church meetings, you get kinda caught up in it all. Being with them, made me realize a few things: 1) I am the suckiest friend ever unless I’m actually physically with you. I just suck at keeping in contact even though we have texting and calling and face timing and skyping and a thousand social media websites. I really just suck at being a good long distant friend. Yeah, I’m definitely going to be working on that haha. 2) There were things I noticed I did, that they did. They were just little quirks that I picked up from them from the countless hours with them in High School. I needed that reminder of who they pushed me to be and I who I was with them because that was my favorite self.  It occurred to me that God put those people in my life because I needed them….even though I didn’t know I needed it. They are the friends that I will forever be thankful to for helping me develop who I am. I have pieces of them in my actions, my words, my clothing, everything. I love them and I will forever consider them my best friends no longer how long we go without keeping in touch. For me, true friendships don't need the constant talking…its about being able to pick things up right where you left them off without skipping a beat. God puts those kinds of people in our lives because he knows exactly what we need. And he knows exactly who we need. 

THANKSGIVING!!!!!!

Thanksgiving totally crept up on me this year. And to think its only a month away from Christmas! Man, that just blows my mind. Anyways, I got to spend Thanksgiving with one of my brothers, my parents, my grandma (my mom's mom), and a few aunts and uncles at my grandmas house in St. George. It was much much muchhhh smaller than I'm used to for that side of my family. But I still absolutely loved it. Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. I just love that all the family comes together for food and sports and love and thanks. And although, we couldn't really have a full on thanksgiving bowl football game, the time spent at the dinner table with family made up for it. I love getting caught up with cousins and aunts and uncles I haven't seen in a while. I remember though that it didn't used to be like that. I was always the girl that got way too caught up in the sports and after thanksgiving dinner I would want to go play and have fun instead of just sitting around talking. But now that I'm older I really understand the importance of family and not taking those precious moments for granted. Talking, laughing, and crying with family are the moments that I'll remember… not whether my team won the bowl game or not.

After dinner, I was able to hold my cousin's baby. The little girl was about 5 months old and LITERALLY THE CUTET THING EVER!!! Goodness, her big eyes and tiny hands just stole my soul. I was completely mesmerized by her. Her innocence radiated throughout the room… so untouched by the evils of this world. You could feel her closeness to God. All I could keep thinking was, "I WANT MY OWN!" Hahahaha babies are just so darn cute and I really just can't wait to have my own. I've got a lot of growing up to do myself so it won't happen any time soon. But feeling that love from the baby and form God reassured me that it is possible to be a great mother in this crazy world. 

October 2014 General Conference General Women's Meetting President Dieter F. Uchtdorf "Living the Gospel Joyful"

The Choice is Ours to "Live the Gospel Joyful"

October 2014 General Conference President Dieter F. Uchtdorf 

I really really enjoyed this talk and just wanted to share a few of the quotes that really struck me.

 "Your Heavenly Father has high aspirations for you, but your divine origin alone does not guarantee you a divine inheritance. God sent you here to prepare for a future greater than anything you can imagine."

 "In other words, He not only knows what is best for you; He also anxiously wants you to choose what is best for you."

 "We need to accept that the commandments of God aren’t just a long list of good ideas. They aren’t “life hacks” from an Internet blog or motivational quotes from a Pinterest board. They are divine counsel, based on eternal truths, given to bring “peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come.”

 "When we treat God’s commandments and our part in building His kingdom like something to check off on a to-do list, we miss the heart of discipleship. We miss the growth that comes from joyfully living the commandments of our Father in Heaven."

"...experience a renewed and an expanded measure of the beautiful love of God in your lives; that you will find the faith, determination, and commitment to learn God’s commandments, treasure them in your hearts, and live the gospel joyful."

"...you will discover your best self—your real self. You will discover what it truly means to be a daughter of the everlasting God, the Lord of all righteousness."

Research Paper

How old to Compete?

An Argument on the Official Age Limit for Women’s Olympic-Level Gymnastics Competitions.

Imagine a large empty basement. At one end of the room lies a tall stack of pillows with a mattress resting on the ground just behind it. Now imagine yourself at the opposite end of the room. Begin running full-speed towards the high-rise of pillows. As you approach the tower, jump high into the air, up and over the stack. You clear the pillows and gravity begins puling you back down. Heading for the mattress head first, you stick your hands out, tuck your head to your chest, and gracefully roll out of the leap.

That exhilarating moment could be considered the start of gymnastics in my family. All throughout my mother’s childhood and teenage years, she involved herself with gymnastics as much as possible, beginning with a basement full of pillows. She never had the opportunity to compete competitively in this sport she loved so much, but on special occasion she was able to develop her natural talent in the actual gymnastics facility. Her love for the sport never faded. So when the time came, she figured why not keep the sport around and put her daughters into it. As a toddler of only 3 years old, I began recreational gymnastics. By age 4, I was competing on a club team. Being at the lowest team level (level 4) of competitive gymnastics, I was determined to progress quickly. With this, I began to fall in love with the sport. The “gym” became my second home as hours upon hours were spent training on the apparatuses. Ever since then, gymnastics has been a huge part of my life, especially the Olympics and other high-level competitions.

Age limitations for upper-level gymnastics competitions, such as the Olympics, have been set. From the moment they were official, they have been debated. This paper considers whether the age requirements for Olympic level competitions should change by responding to the following questions:

            1.   How is the sport of gymnastics organized and what has resulted from it?

2.     What qualifies a gymnast for senior level competitions such as the Olympics?

3.     What are the disadvantages or harms of eliminating an age requirement from senior competitions?

4.     What are the benefits of lowering the age limit? How would doing so make the Olympics and senior level gymnastics more fair?

5.     What is the best solution to this debate for the world of gymnastics?

Understanding the advantages of being a younger gymnast and the extremely small chance of going to the Olympics in the year of one’s prime constitutes the argument of lowering the age limit to 13. By lowering the age requirement to 13, it protects young gymnasts safety and health, and also gives young girls capable of competing in high-level competitions a chance to compete at their physical peak and perform at their best.

How is the Sport of Gymnastics Organized and What has Resulted from it?   

In 1997, the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (International Federation of Gymnastics), or FIG set the minimum age requirement of 16 for all senior events, including the Olympics. Age requirement? Yes. Age cap? No.The Olympics and other praise-worthy senior competitions allowed gymnasts who turned at least 16 years old by the end of the calendar year to compete. On the other end, there was no age cap – although rarely seen, if a 30 year old has the desire and physical abilities to compete in such competitions and the country wishes them on the team, they are completely eligible. Those age standards instituted in 1997 still exist today (“Age Requirements in…”). Such regulation ignited debates all throughout the gymnastics world, including coaches, gymnasts, parents, trainers, and also the media.

Cases of age falsification have been seen ever since the age restrictions were set. One of the most well-known controversial issues dealing with the age limit and possible falsifications was during 2008 Beijing Olympics where more than half of the Chinese female gymnasts were questioned and tested to see if they met the age requirement. Although they passed all age investigations from multiple committees, the controversy brought about a huge dispute on high-level female competitions into the gymnastics world (Lawrence, Zuckerman).

What qualifies a gymnast for senior level competitions such as the Olympics?

           The biggest component in being able to compete in the Olympics and other senior-level competitions should be skill level and performance; however, age is the leading factor. The FIG only separates seniors and juniors by age, not by skill level. Most often, gymnasts competing as a junior, under the age of 16, perform skills of the same difficulty as seniors. When Jordyn Wieber, a member of the 2012 gold medal U.S. Olympic team, competed as a junior she performed skills of the same difficulty as the senior Shawn Johnson, the 2008 silver all-around medalist. 

Because of this tendency to see extremely talented underage gymnasts, many cases of age falsifications have occurred at high-level competitions such as the Olympics. The country wants medals, particularly gold, and often will do anything to earn those awards,

such as have their gymnasts lie about their true age. One case of age falsification presents itself as Romanian gymnast Daniela Silivas admitted in a 2002 interview that she was advanced two years in order to compete in the Olympics. She stated, “One of the officials of the Federation told me ‘Look at the passport, from today you’re not 13 years old anymore, but 15.’ I was just a child. They needed gold medals” (Silivas, 2002). The head coach sees the capabilities of underage gymnasts and their psychological fearlessness as a benefit to gymnastics. Gymnasts, as well, consider the factors that come along with being a younger competitor as beneficial. In the same interview where she admitted to age falsification, Silivas also stated, “I competed better at the age of 13 than at 17. I felt much better, physically and mentally” (“Age requirements in...”). This supports the statement that gymnasts feel stronger and perform stronger when they are shorter, lighter, more flexible, and still childlike – all benefits of being a young athlete (Eliot).

With juniors and senior gymnasts performing the same skills, countries committing age falsifications, and gymnasts feeling better in their younger state, many argue that the separation of the two age groups should be eliminated or the age limit should be lowered.

What are the disadvantages or harms of eliminating an age requirement from senior competitions?

            Although much of the gymnastics world wishes to ban or change the age limit, there are those, such as former USA gymnastics president Bob Colarossi, who are satisfied with the current age limit and express support towards the restriction (“Age requirements in...”).  These people believe that if the age requirement were to be banned then young gymnasts

would be pushed to their max and beyond, striving to be the best at too young of an age. They argue that the pressure to achieve such high level competitions already contains high-risk. Abolishing the age limit would possibly cause higher and more severe physical and psychological injuries as the athletes begin training harder and longer at earlier ages (Eliot).

            Many use Chinese gymnastics as an example of young athletes specializing in a sport at too early of an age. At the age of about three, the government examines children on their flexibility, physical condition, physique, and health. They then decide which sport to place them into. The parents often opt to allow their child to go to a specialized school thousands of miles from their home just to train in that sport. They do so, hoping that one day their child will be able to make a life better than the one they currently live.  The children placed into gymnastics facilities begin their training by the latest age of four, training eight hours a day, six days a week, year round (except for 2 specified times to visit home). This excessive training, although deemed successful in competitions, often causes injuries to the body and mind ("Chinese gymnastics kids:," 2012).

           Physically, the underdeveloped bodies are more prone to injury. In 2008, the journal Pediatrics published that gymnastics has one of the highest injury rates of all girl sports (Broderick , 2011). Bulimic and anorexic actions have also haunted the gymnastics world for years as girls feel the need to be the lightest to fly the highest. People use these two facts to argue that if gymnasts are already under such a high risk for injury and self-harm, lowering the age limit will require not only harder and longer training, but also more pressure to be perfect; the underdeveloped bodies will be unable to maintain healthy standards.

            The pressures of competing on the highest stage are considered too much for a child to bear. The same fearlessness that young athletes have to perform any skill their coach tells them to can cause them to take dangerous risks. Gymnastics deals heavily with the mind. Gymnasts who strive for the Olympics must be the best physically, which means they also must be top notch psychologically. The pressure of working towards the rare accomplishment of “perfection” in gymnastics and then not being able to succeed in doing so often causes psychological detriments. The feeling of disappointing a coach, parent, and one self is emotionally painful.  ("Sports psychology and," 2010).

What are the benefits of lowering the age limit? How would doing so make the Olympics and senior level gymnastics more fair?

            Whether the Chinese gymnasts competed illegally as underage competitors in the 2008 Olympics or not, they were good enough to perform with and even dominate their [older] competition. In the past decade of Olympic gymnastics, the females competing and winning are predominantly16 or 17 years of age, ("List of Olympic," ). This substantiates that the difficult skills required to compete at the highest stage are performed more easily and gracefully at younger ages. Being a younger female gymnast that has not gone through puberty constitutes performing skills with ease, height, power, grace, and without feat. This childlike state gives them short, light bodies, allowing them to fly higher on the highest difficulty level of skills. They are also more flexible because the joints and bones have not been fully developed into stiffer body parts, granting them the ability to execute their high-flying skills with grace, making them look effortless (Broderick , 2011). The team members of the Gold and Silver Women Olympic teams in 2008 and 2012 consisted of 89.1% 16 and 17 year olds. Most of the gymnasts good enough to compete in the Olympics are taking the chance at the youngest age they can, as they understand the risks of waiting longer and not having the chance again. In 2008, the Chinese Gymnastics Association took a team with an average age of 16.8 to the Olympics; that year they dominated the competition, winning the team gold. Moreover, in 2012, China took a team with an average of 19.5 years of age. China received no team medal. Not gold. Not silver. Not even bronze. They performed better with a younger team, showing that as a younger female gymnast, success is more accessible because of physical and psychological advantages.           

            Looking at the psychological side of gymnastics, one can see both advantages and disadvantages. A few disadvantages have already been discussed, so here we will look at the advantages. When gymnasts are younger they have less fear. They have so much passion for the sport and no physical inhibitions limiting their mind to slightly hold back. There is something in the gymnastics world known as a “block” or being “blocked.” This is where a gymnast cannot overcome the mind and perform a certain skill. Often this comes because of an accident, or some sort of mess up while performing the skill earlier. When a gymnast gets back to performing the skill, overthinking occurs and the skill becomes slightly harder because its not longer just physical, but also psychological. There are a few advantages of being younger: 1) the risk of injury at younger ages is much lower, 2) young gymnasts typically bounce back faster as all they want is to being competing again, and 3) often young gymnasts do not overanalyze or overthink skills as older gymnasts do. Young gymnasts just do what their coaches say without fear.

Becoming part of USA Gymnastics begins serious competitions where almost all the girl competitors dream about making it to the Olympics someday. The highest amount of females in the USA Gymnastics system ranges from ages nine to fourteen (Bodnick). This applies to other successful countries in Olympic gymnastics as well, such as China and Russia. This female age range shows that gymnastics is more enjoyable and easier on the body when a girl is in a pre-pubic, childlike state.

Eleven levels make up gymnastics, with elite, or Olympic level, being the eleventh.  Typically, in order to advance up a *competitive level in gymnastics it takes about a year. One must begin their competitive training at least by the age of four if they wish to perform at an elite level and get enough experience on the high stage competition floors for the Olympics. One example of this is a twelve-year-old gymnast located in Henderson, Nevada. Maile O’Keefe is competing at an elite junior level. She has participated in the highest of national gymnastics camps (those of which you must be invited to in order to attend) that have given her name much potential for the future.  In the Las Vegas Sun she was reported to be Nationally ranked as well as an Olympic prospect for 2020 (Brewer, 2011). As discussed earlier, there is hardly a difference between junior and senior gymnasts other than the age barrier. O’keefe falls right into this category. She is already performing skills capable of taking on competition in the Olympics. She already has proven herself well as a junior at National competitions, such as P&G Championships, Secret U.S. Classic, and the American classic (all elite level competitions).  Considering that O’keefe has now been training elite skills for two years now and has performed successfully, many see great potential in her. With two more years of training, she would me more than eligible to compete in the 2016 Olympics. Except for one problem. She will only be 14. Even though she will have had two more years of elite training (in which time she would be mastering and perfecting the highest difficulty skills), she will have to wait until the 2020 Olympics. She will be 18. That is considered old in the gymnastics world. From now until then, six years pass. She will undergo constant pounding on joints from training for so long and so hard. Her physical abilities will decrease as her body grows and develops. More injuries are likely to occur as

well as mental breakdowns. It will be more difficult for her matured body to gracefully execute the difficult skills associated with the elite level. Over 6 years, she will have passed her physical peak as a gymnast and may very well miss her shot at the very-honorable Olympics. Why not give her the shot she deserves when she’s ready for 2014? It seems unfair and this is happening all over the world as gymnasts’ birthdays are months, even days too late, preventing them from competing when they’re ready, missing a once in a lifetime opportunity. An opportunity only a few chosen people experience.

What is the best solution to this debate for the world of gymnastics?

            Completely eliminating the age limit from Olympic gymnastics would cause an immense amount of pressure and risk for injury, more so than already exists, to occur within the young girls striving for the Olympics. However, if girls continue having to wait until they are 16 to perform their difficult skills on a senior-level competition floor, their physical capabilities will have a high risk of decreasing due to maturation and development. The physical peak that occurs at a pre-teen age, enabling graceful performance will have passed. Most gymnasts compete at the junior level as an elite for a few years and master skills that seniors perform, showing that lowering the age requirement would not be harmful to the health of young gymnasts. Therefore, the best solution would be not to completely eliminate the age requirements, but just lower it.

A more specific solution: The age of 13 would be reasonable for the age requirement to be lowered to. It creates an opportunity for those who are ready to compete at their best level and protects the safety and health of the young gymnasts.

Research Paper Review!

Boy oh boy do I detest research papers... normally. Typically I can't stand it, but this time around, I really quite enjoyed doing research on something that is not only extremely significant to me, but also to my mom (and sister). I loved that my professor asked us to do research on a topic that had to do with my family. At first when I read the example Research Paper (a girl wrote about how her family was held in the Japanese internment camps) in one of our handbooks for WRTG 150 I thought to myself, "my family has nothing crazy significant like that." I struggled for a while about what to write about, so then I started thinking about what I loved. Gymnastics. I asked myself why I loved it. How did I come to love it? And that's when I found my topic. Gymnastics began with my mom and it has impacted my entire family ever since, especially me.
From there, I wasn't too sure what I specifically wanted to start researching. At first it was what influenced performance level/the age where performance level is at its best. As I researched this stuff, I came across an article talking about the 2008 Beijing Olympics controversy with the Chinese Women's team. That's when the idea clicked. I would write a paper about the age requirements for women's gymnastics, more specifically, if that age requirement should be lowered. Research was pretty easy from that point. I just looked at physical and psychological benefits of being a younger gymnast. I gathered the sources and began writing. It was actually pretty hard trying to create my own arguments with hard core facts. Like all I wanted to do is quote, but eventually I feel like I got a pretty good handle on it. Once I got on a role of writing, the words just seemed to come much easier. As I continued researching I became so fascinated with it. And I gained so much more knowledge. I feel like I grew even closer to the sport that I love.
As much as I hate writing research paper, I have to admit that I quite enjoyed the process of this one. I doubt I will ever forget the things that I learned from this writing process.

Research Paper Thesis

Age limitations for upper-level gymnastics competitions, such as the Olympics, have been set. From the moment they were official, they have been debated. This paper considers whether the age requirements for Olympic level competitions should change by responding to the following questions:

            1.   How is the sport of gymnastics organized and what has resulted from it?

2.     What qualifies a gymnast for senior level competitions such as the Olympics?

3.     What are the disadvantages or harms of eliminating an age requirement from senior competitions?

4.     What are the benefits of lowering the age limit? How would doing so make the Olympics and senior level gymnastics more fair?

5.     What is the best solution to this debate for the world of gymnastics?

Understanding the advantages of being a younger gymnast and the extremely small chance of going to the Olympics in the year of one’s prime constitutes the argument of lowering the age limit to 13. By lowering the age requirement to 13, it protects young gymnasts safety and health, and also gives young girls capable of competing in high-level competitions a chance to compete at their physical peak and perform at their best.

WRTG 150 Personal Narrative: Renewing and Awakening

            “Stephen has been in an accident. A bad one.”

            I remember this moment with great detail. I remember the emotions I felt. The way my stomach dropped and my teeth clenched. The uncontrollable stream of tears. The reaction of family members. The drastic mood change. The constant pleading with God. I remember it all. And I figure I always will. Not only because of what happened and the incidents that occurred or because of the foreign emotions I felt, but also because of the changes I decided to make that day in my own life.

            It was the day my brother, Stephen, was to return home from his two-year mission in Peru. If anyone has ever had missionary siblings, they understand how it feels to be reunited with their brother or sister after not having seen them for a very long time. That initial moment of seeing their face is absolutely magnificent. A simple description is overwhelming joy. Within seconds their beautiful face becomes blurred because of your uncontrollable reaction – a huge, ear to ear smile and tear filled eyes. Oh how unforgettably blissful that experience is; truly a day that will always stand out in one’s memory. I just never would have guessed the reasons that Stephen’s return would forever stand out in my mind.

            As we prepared to leave for the airport on the date of Stephen’s return, excitement ran among everyone in the house: aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, my other siblings, and my parents. We spoke of experiences we shared with Stephen in the past and talked of the future with our soon to be returned missionary. The younger cousins presented the room with the greatest enthusiasm as they danced around singing Elder Udall’s name. Amongst all the buzzing excitement something felt slightly off. And it became something I could not ignore when every so often I would glance at my mother and father and see slightly distraught expressions. I wondered what could be the matter, but figured it wasn’t something that needed to be brought up in front of the entire family.

            Finally the time came for us to head to the airport. My parents, my siblings and I all rode in one car. The drive was silent for the most part. Then, about 10 minutes in my mom turned to my dad and quietly asked, “What is going on?” He replied with, “Not yet. I’ll tell everyone at the same time. Just wait until we get there.” In that moment it became apparent to me that something had definitely gone wrong, but only my father knew about it.

Upon arriving at the airport to pick up my brother, my dad gathered everyone around. I remember feeling like we were inside our own bubble. No on else in the airport knew what was going on. And nothing else mattered. At least not to me. I listened intently as my dad made the chilling announcement: “Stephen has been in an accident. A bad one.” The mood quickly turned from great excitement to frantic fear and shock. Gasps escaped lips and tears began to well up. Everyone seemed to lean forward on their toes as a multiplicity of questions filled everyone’s mind. But it remained silent until my father went on to explain that as my brother was traveling to the mission home on his last day, his bus was hit head on by a petroleum tanker truck, drenching the bus in fuel. The survivors of the initial impact broke out a window to escape, only seconds before the bus exploded. Despite dozens of deaths, my brother emerged from the tragedy with minimal injuries. Or rather, minimal enough that he was still coming home at his scheduled time.

At this time point I remember how gracious and humble my father was as he said, “We don’t know how severe his condition will be. All we know is that he could have died. But he didn’t. It may not seem like much of a miracle. But it is. Stephen is coming back to us. Other families of passengers on that bus may not be so lucky. Pray in thanks that God protected Stephen. Ask him to know what we can do amidst this tragedy. And of course pray for the Lord’s hand to comfort those families of others in the accident.”   

As a whole, my family prayed. And after, I personally turned to prayer. I feel like all I could say was “thank you” and “please” through my tears.

After much embracing and crying, we worked on composing ourselves. Stephen’s arrival time came and passed. We had no idea what to expect. We all were waiting by the escalator. So when he came down the elevator in a wheelchair, there was no one there to receive him. I remember turning around, and there he was at the opposite end of the room all by himself. I felt sick as I saw his slight sadness from not having the welcome he expected. He struggled to rise from the wheelchair as our family walked, or rather ran, towards him. His body was covered in scabs and his hair was greased with petroleum. He also had zero possessions, except for a few things in his coat (everything burned with the bus when it exploded). I remember hugging him and feeling his loss of balance. Something was wrong with his leg. We later came to find out that he had a troubling knee infection that required four days of hospital treatment and a surgery to remove shards of glass from his knees.

            Amongst all the mixed emotions, joy and relief became most prominent  as we physically held him in our arms. Everyone was curious as to what actually happened in his accident. And with the every detail that Stephen explained to us, it became apparent that the fact he had even survived was a miracle. He was sleeping when the initial crash occurred. He woke abruptly after, knowing something had gone very wrong. The first image his eyes focused on was a man on fire walking towards him. Stephen could feel that he himslef was covered in petroleum and immediately unbuckled his seat belt, so he could move away from the flames. The person sitting next to him lay lifeless. Others unmoving as well. A severed leg lie on the ground near him. The front of the bus completely destroyed and flaming. All these things he noticed within seconds as he walked towards the back of the bus, where other survivors from the initial impact were attempting to break open one of the back windows to escape. Stephen waited patiently as the glass was finally broken and others jumped out before him. When his turn came, he jumped, slipping on a river of petroleum as he landed. He felt flesh rip open on his hands and knees. Stephen explained to us that through everything he didn’t feel the slightest bit of panic. He knew that God was with him, even recalling it as an “out of body experience.” He remembered that he felt “woken up” by the jolt of jumping out of the window. The shock of the landing allowed his control and awareness to return. The first thing he did after getting some distance from the bus was find a safe spot on the mountain where he could pray and thank Heavenly Father for sending His surrounding angels to lead him out of the accident.

             Many more details could be told of his experience, but that would be Stephen’s personal narrative and not mine. A few things happened to me that day:

Aside from a crazy accident and a flood of mixed emotions, I began reflecting on my own life. I would feel extremely unprepared to meet my God if He called me home suddenly. After having an experience that truly testified of the unpredictability of life, I gained new direction to make better decisions. I understood in that moment that I needed to become the best person that I could be. In the Missionary handbook introduction it says, “This handbook contains the basic standards of missionary service and conduct approved by the First Presidency an the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Follow these standards. They will help you magnify your calling and protect you physically and spiritually.” My brother served with exactness and with all his heart, might, mind, and strength. The Lord protected him, sent his angels to guide him in crisis. Everyone in the front of the bus had died. Stephen was in the front of the bus.  Yet he survived. He could have easily been taken off this earth, even though he served a strong, worthy, honorable mission. I gained a testimony that it really is all up to God’s will. And God obviously still needed Stephen here on this earth for something. With this new knowledge, I began to understand God’s commandments better. And with the traumatizing feelings of almost losing my brother, I began to cherish every moment I had with my family members. The significance of this life and the relationships we have cannot be taken for granted. My testimony and faith were fortified by this experience.