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The most important thing to me is being in the habit of
reading my scriptures.
When I read my scriptures and ponder and write things down,
it's what helps me a lot.
The scriptures and the Church are what make me happy, and I
wanted to share that with Danell.
I've known Danell since our sophomore year in high school.
Danell didn't really know a lot about the LDS community
until she got to high school, and all of a sudden she's in a
high school and surrounded by all these LDS kids.
She was in a school class with several of them
when she got cancer.
I found out she had cancer, and then me and my good friend
Andrew went to visit her one time in the hospital.
Tim, he's been the type of person that if someone--like,
especially one of his friends--if they're going
through a hard time or they look sad or in trouble, he
likes to be the one that makes them happier.
These kids knew her and were concerned about her.
And it especially meant the world that they just didn't do
that one act, that they just kept coming--it was very
consistent--and truly became her best friends.
Heavenly Father puts us in places where we need to be.
And for her to be in the hospital with cancer, going
through that rough time in her life, I just felt like she was
prepared to hear the gospel.
And he had asked me if I had a Book Mormon.
And I did.
He asked me if I'd ever read it, and I had told him no.
I asked him why, and he said because the Book of Mormon was
really important to him, and the scriptures, and it made
him really happy.
When she got out of the hospital, she wanted to go to
church with us.
So we set that up when she got out.
I went over to her house, and we read scriptures together.
I think we read Moroni's promise.
And I had her read it, and she seemed really interested and
said that she would pray about it.
And I guess he just knew that was the way to make me happy
and to help me out.
And I prayed and fasted for Danell that she would open her
heart to the Spirit.
Reading the scriptures always took me into
my own little realm.
I felt a lot happier while I read them, stress-free.
I forgot about my day, and I focused on the scriptures.
And I always liked what I read because there's always
something in there that I read that compared to what happened
that day or what happened to my friend or something like
that, that could help ease my mind a bit more or could help
me help somebody else.
My baptism--Tim actually baptized me.
It was kind of funny because he didn't tell me I was the
only person he had ever baptized before.
So he was very nervous.
See, it was basketball season when I baptized her, and I had
to leave my practice early to get there.
So I talked to my coach about it.
And he was like, "You're joking me, right?
You're a 17-year-old kid; there's no way you're
baptizing her." I was like, "Yeah, I'm an ordained priest.
We have the priesthood, and that's the authority that
comes with it."
I felt really good when I was done.
Really clean, really new.
Ever since then I've tried super hard.
I read my scriptures, I pray, I follow the standards.
It meant the world to Danell that Tim cared, and especially
that he cared enough about her to introduce her to the
gospel--something that was precious and dear to him that
he knew that he could share and change her life.
This is something that Danell gave me before her baptism,
just an invite.
She gave it to a lot of her friends, but she wrote a note
in mine that really meant a lot to me, and I
want to read it.
She says: "Tim, thank you for being a wonderful friend and
bringing the gospel into my life.
I know and truly believe that through not only the words of
the scriptures, but the comfort and serenity I get
when I read them, that the gospel of Jesus Christ has
been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith." When I
got this, it was a complete reassurance that I'd done the
right thing--that I've helped her come to
Christ and be happy.
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