Stake Conference

Have you ever done something really hard, and you thought why am I doing this? This summer my family and other families from the high school decided to climb chief mountain. The day finally came. We crossed the border at 7 o’clock, and we got to the trail to hike around the mountain at 8 o’clock. After Mr. Sloan took a picture of all 28 of us, we started up the trail. The teenagers walked way faster than the parents. Our first stop was at the side of Chief Mountain.  After a snack, we climbed on some rocks and hills.  Finally, we made it to the back where the shale is. 

We were having a snack and looking at how far up the shale goes. I was sitting by my dad, and I told him that the night before we had climbed Chief Mountain, I said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father and asked Him if I was strong enough to climb Chief Mountain.  And a couple minutes later, the Holy Ghost said, “Trust in Heavenly Father, and you will make it.”

We started up the shale.  At first it wasn’t too bad. After a while, the rocks got more slippery, so me and my dad went 100 steps and then took a break. Pretty soon we were doing 50 steps and taking a break. It was getting harder and harder. We were about two-thirds up the shale, and finally we said big rock to big rock. About the 4^th big sitting rock, I started to cry. I thought I couldn’t do it. My dad was right behind me.  He sat down and told me, “Look how far we’ve made it. We can’t quit now.”  We had some water and began to climb again. While we were climbing to the next big rock, the thought “Trust in the Lord” came to my mind, and so I tried hard to trust. Finally we got off the shale and onto some shelf-like steps with rocks.

After about 15 more minutes, I sat down behind a rock and started to cry again.  When my dad got to where I was, he said, “We are almost to the top. We have to finish now.”  We still had some more climbing to do, but we made it to the top. I felt the Holy Ghost in my mind telling me you did it.

We ate lunch on top of Chief Mountain and took some beautiful pictures of the view and headed down. Going back down the shale wasn’t easy, but it was kind of fun to slide down, except for a couple people that fell.

I am thankful that I did it. And now I know I can do hard things. Prayer is important for many reasons, like when you need help with doing hard things. Always ask for help if you need it from the people around you because I bet they will always help you.

A primary song that I like says, “Heavenly Father, are you really there? And do you hear and answer every child’s prayer? Some say that heaven is far away. But I feel you close around me as I pray. Pray, He is there. Speak, he is listening. You are His child. His love now surrounds you.”

In Moroni 10:5 it says, “And by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye me know the truth of all things.”

I know the church is true and I know Heavenly Father will help you when ever you need it..I know he has a wonderful plan for you. I am thankful for prayer and family and where I live. In the name of Jesus Christ amen.

(Austin was called into the Stake Presidency 6 months ago. President Ferguson asked Carly to speak in Stake Conference to tell this experience. Austin also had to give 3 talks this weekend. They both did excellent!!!)