Returning From a Mission: Savannah Dean

Like I learned so much in those 18 months more than I learned probably my whole life in those 18 months, just about myself, about the lord, about the scriptures, about the gospel, just about so many things. So, I don't know. I think it's really sad when missionaries like dedicate their whole lives for a couple years to go on a mission and after they kind of fall out of, out of the, those good habits.

So one of my goals is really to just, just remember what I've learned and, and keep those good habits, keep doing those phone simple things to really springboard me into my future to really help me out.

Jethro D. Jones: Good. So what are those small and simple things that you wanna keep doing? I. I think, for example, like reading the scriptures, because before the mission, I, I liked the Book of Mormon. I I thought it was true, but I just did not understand it. So I would read the book Mormon every day before my mission, just like a verse before I went to bed, just to like check, check it off the list.

But, um, I was really nervous in, in the MTC 'cause I was like, oh my goodness, I'm going to have to read the scriptures for one hour every day. There is no way I can study for an hour every day. And I remember telling this to my parents and I just remember in MTCI just prayed for the desire to read the scriptures because I really did not enjoy doing it.

And it was the most amazing experience because, um, in the MTCI just decided, okay, I'm gonna buy a brand new book of Mormon and some colored pencils and just start it over. And I said a prayer that morning. I could be able to understand the scriptures. And I started reading and that hour flew by so fast and I literally could not stop reading the Book of Mormon. It was amazing.

I could not put the book down, which is crazy because I had never read it like that before and it just came together like a story. And really that experience in the MTC helped me just love the Book of Mormon so much and just, just appreciate it and learn so much. And I was able to get almost daily revelation from, from that throughout my entire mission. So I really wanna keep up those good reading habits, not just to check it off the list, but to really get something out of it every single day.

Jethro D. Jones: Okay, so reading the scriptures is one. What are some other things that you wanna do? Um, I think also, um, these are all the, the primary answers, but they're really so important, I think praying too.

I think part of praying that's really important is praying with faith. Um, one of my, we had like a zone conference and my mission president taught us this one time at a zone conference. So when we pray with faith, we're not just asking for things. So like, as a missionary, sometimes you ask for like, oh, help us to find the chosen people. Help us that we can, like put, put someone on baptism date. Help us that we can talk to 20 people today.

But my mission president taught us to, before we leave the house, say prayers of faith. So instead of saying, please, please help us that we can find 20 people today, we would say like, heavenly father, thank you so much for the 20 people that we are gonna find today and we're grateful for, for the family that you're gonna put in our path and help us, that we can be brave enough to talk to them.

So we would just kind of change the format of our prayers and that really helped me notice more than miracles and kind of rely more on, on God with it. So I don't know if it's really made , if this is really making sense, but, but instead of Jethro D. Jones: is. yeah, instead of just praying, kinda like wishful thinking. It's like applying that faith by like, okay, thank you for the family that you're gonna put in our path today.

And like, we are promising you that if we see a family, like we are gonna do our best to go out and talk to them, and then we're gonna see a miracle. And sometimes you don't see the miracle right away, but, but I've had some pretty cool experiences where, where we have found those 20 people or we have talked to that family and even though maybe they didn't get baptized, like we, we saw a ton of miracles.

And I think it was a way for, for us to, or for me to learn how to follow the, the promptings of the spirit better. Jethro D. Jones: Yeah. I want to talk about that a little bit more because we. We're taught how to pray, but then we so easily do rote prayers or Thank you for this, please bless this. And we don't put a lot of thought into it. So tell us about some of the experiences that made that, uh, praying with Faith come alive and what did that look like? Mm-hmm . Okay. Um, yes.

I'm just like thinking for a Jethro D. Jones: That's okay. You're allowed to think. Take your time.

Okay. Yeah. So I remember, um, in one of my areas, I just got into a new area and kind of a long backstory. So I'll just do it really short. Basically, I. Um, I had a really hard area early on in my mission and then I got transferred out and then a few months later I got the notice that I would be re returning to this area, my old area that I did not like. And this is not common at all. Missionaries rarely go back to the same ward that they already served in.

So I got the news and I was so devastated. I was like, oh my goodness, that area is so hard. It's so hot. No one there is interested. Just like, I do not wanna go there. Um, but I, I ended up going there and I wanted to have a really good attitude. And I remember the very first day that I was back in the second area, um, um, we were just walking down the street and I was trying to have a good attitude and talk to people.

And I talked to someone on the street and they're like, . I remember you from like eight months ago. I'm still not coming to church. And I ran into like, seriously, like eight people my first day back in the area that were like, I already know you, like you've invited me. So I was just so sad. I was just like, how am I gonna be here for a really long time? I, I cannot do this.

Um, so I was, yeah, I was pretty sad and feeling pretty discouraged, but that night I just decided that I could not let that get me down. And I talked to my companion and we decided that we were going to incorporate those prayers of faith. And it was amazing. We would say these prayers of faith like heavenly father help us, that we can talk to 15 people today, or that we can, we can do these things or thank you for the 15 people we're gonna talk to today.

Um, and we just saw such specific miracles come out of that and. Um, I mean, there's a, there's a million stories from this transfer of people that, that we found. But, um, one example is we were just walking, um, we're walking down the street and we had prayed to find a family this day. So we're walking down the street, down the street that I've walked past a thousand times and I've knocked probably almost all the doors on that street.

And I, I just see this house and I told my ki, I just told my container, I'm like, I think we should knock this house. And like I asked her, have you knocked this door? And she's like, no. And I'm like, I'm pretty sure I knocked this door eight months ago, but we're just gonna go anyways. So we knocked on this door that I had already knocked before and out came a mother and her three daughters and they had just moved there a week before.

And we just shared a really short message just out on the doorstep. We got their phone number. We asked to come back, um, a couple days later and invited them to church. And it was such a miracle because this family came to church and I've never met people so receptive and so prepared and ready to hear the gospel. And I do believe that we found this family because of the praise of faith that, that we had said, because we specifically asked God for their family.

And, and when the moment arose, we, we decided to follow the prompting even though I had already knocked that door before. So that really was, was an answer, a direct answer to, to my prayer of faith. Jethro D. Jones: Well, and what's so fascinating is on the mission specifically, you have these experiences and so much of it is about bringing people to Christ and helping them be baptized.

And yet you probably had this experience that the most, most of the miraculous things you saw were not people actually getting baptized, but were answers to your own prayers and experiences that were unique to you that, uh, you, you said it already, there's a long backstory, so I'll just say it short, like there are so many things that are interwoven into these decisions and the situations where you're like. How can this not be a miracle?

There's no way for this to be anything but a miracle because of how all these other things happened and came to be. Was that your experience also, or was that unique to just my missionary experience. Yeah, for sure. It's just crazy to. To see that many miracles every, every single day. Jethro D. Jones: Mm-hmm On, on the daily.

And yeah, it, it's very interesting 'cause like you said, I learned so much on my mission, but in the moment I wasn't really thinking about like, oh my goodness, I'm learning so much. I'm having so many cool experiences. I was more just thinking about, oh, the people that we were teaching and, and focusing on them. And then I feel like more, since I've been back home, I've been able to see like growth, the growth that I've had spiritually. And it's been, it's been very cool to, to see that.

'cause it, it happened so gradually and it's not really your focus to build your own testimony on your mission. I mean, it is, but, but your focus is more on other people. But I think that turning outwards really, really helps you grow a ton on the inside and see those miracles that God has prepared. Jethro D. Jones: Yeah, because he really has prepared them.

And the other aspect of that, and that's why we're doing this, is that it's easy to look back over time and say, oh, yeah, now I can see all those things. I can connect all those dots. And, uh, in the moment, sometimes it's difficult. And so as we talk over the next 10 years, you're gonna go through some major trials that are gonna be really difficult and you're gonna feel like there's just no way that I can overcome this.

And yet as you do persevere and continue to overcome them, you are going to see, um, the blessings, the miracles, all those things. And it's difficult to remember to capture all of that when you're in the thick of a trial. And so that's why we're gonna do this. Even if you, life is difficult, even if you are going through some major tragedy, uh, we're still gonna do this. I may have to try to twist your arm a little bit 'cause you're not gonna want to talk about it.

But those, those things are valuable. And, uh, for the episode that Stacey and I did, um, a a couple episodes ago, um, we're going through a trial right now and it's really difficult and yet we see all the blessings and all the amazing things that happen. So I want to go back to the things that you want to remember to do.

You said reading the scriptures, praying with faith. What else do you want to make sure that you're doing the little things that you need to do every day, uh, to go forward? Okay. Um, I think also, I mean, this is more broad, but I think just being productive because as a missionary, you literally have every single minute of your day planned out from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep at night.

And I, I, I love it so much and even sometimes now I just like ride out my entire day of. Like how I want it. And I think, um, maybe a harder part about coming home is just not, not feeling super productive, like sleeping in one day and like, oh my goodness, how did I waste, how did I waste three hours? How did I sleep in until this time?

But I mean, obviously it's very important to be patient with yourself, but I do want to want to stay, stay productive and try and do the most important things first. 'cause as a missionary, we, we always taught people that, like, people would be like, oh, I don't have time to, to read scriptures, or I don't have time to go to church or do any of that. But really there, there is time. We just have to prioritize it. So, so I really wanna keep, um, prioritizing, keep my priorities straight.

And I know it's gonna be really, really hard, especially in the future when I get, when I get busier, um, and later down the road and everything. Even like when I have kids, I know that's gonna be really, really hard, but. I think that is very important to keep your priorities clear and straight. Jethro D. Jones: Yeah. So how are you doing that now back in school, in college? How are you making that part of it work? Okay. Um, I'm trying, let's see.

I think the first thing is just kinda like staying on top of my, all my classes on all my credits and try not to procrastinate work, but it's been a little bit of an adjustment coming back to school after, after not like writing essays or, or doing anything like that for a couple years. But yeah, for sure, just like staying on top of my classes and something that I'm trying to get better at is going to sleep on time.

Jethro D. Jones: Mm-hmm I think that's like the biggest thing, which I, I have not, I don't know, I stayed up very late last night, but I'm trying to, I'm trying to get better about that, but I think just trying to like, um, have goals like I. Have goals in each category, like socially, like have those goals physically, spiritually, and intellectually, and trying to balance those, those four things and to get sleep.

So I guess there's, there's five things, but, um, but yeah, I feel like something I've done is just like getting now my schedule's all mapped out and I'm, I, I just barely got a job, so I'm working like 10 hours a week. So I think that helps me, even though I barely work, it helps me kind of stay in the schedule. And then I always try and get my, my homework and stuff done like by six or 7:00 PM so I can have the night free to, to have that social time.

And then like, I try and wake up earlier so I can read the scriptures, but sometimes it doesn't happen till later. And then, yeah, just trying to, to balance it that way. And it's been a little bit of a struggle to try and get into a good routine, but. . But it's, it's been good. It's been good. So that's kind of what I'm trying to do to stay, to stay up Jethro D. Jones: yeah. my feet. Jethro D. Jones: Um, so you, alright, so what's your job? What did you, what are you doing?

Oh, I, it is not the best job. It is very basic, but I just clean, it's called Heritage Hall, just the dorms down at, at BYU. So it's, it's super chill. I just kind of sweep and mop and dust and clean the bathroom and everything, but, Jethro D. Jones: Excellent. I, it's, it's all right. Jethro D. Jones: all, almost everybody's done that kind of a job at some point. And do you have to get up super early to do it?

no, it's, it's actually nice 'cause I, I just go right after class Jethro D. Jones: Oh, nice. so, so it's all campus, so Jethro D. Jones: Yeah. it makes it super convenient. Jethro D. Jones: good. I did the, uh, early morning, four 30 start time. That was, that was brutal. Oh man, that does sound brutal.

Jethro D. Jones: I, I don't mind cleaning and that you actually feel, when you're talking about being productive, like making something look beautiful is really nice, but, uh, boy, getting up at five or 4:30 AM to do it. That is, that was tough. And I struggled with that a lot. That sounds so hard. Jethro D. Jones: Which is funny because now I get up at four 30 or five most days without an alarm, which I would've never thought was possible. And yet that's, that's what I do now.

And it's just interesting how our life changes and different things become priorities and become easier and other things become harder. And it just, uh, that, that happens. So I, I've got four things, uh, that you want to keep doing, reading the scriptures, pray with faith, be productive. And then you didn't say this explicitly, but you put it in there, have goals. And so that's the fourth one.

Uh, anything else that you think like, I gotta keep doing these things every, every day for the next 10 years? Oh man. Um, oh, I feel like there's so many things. Um, something that I do like that I did on my mission was I wrote an journal every single day on my mission. Like, I don't, I maybe skipped one day, but I wrote every single day and it was, it helped me so much just wind down and, and everything.

And it's been really fun to, to read back a little bit some of my journal entries when I was going through hard times. So now I just kinda laugh at it because I just know the outcome, Jethro D. Jones: Yeah. you know, um, but. But yeah, I, I loved keeping a journal, so I've been kind of bad at it. I have it written every day, but I'm trying to figure out more of like an easier format that I can do. So it doesn't, it's not as time consuming. I'm just like, oh, everything that I did that day.

But I do, I do wanna keep a journal. I think that that would be amazing to, to keep a journal like my entire life. Jethro D. Jones: Yeah. So I also kept a journal, uh, my whole entire mission. And then I went like 20 years without writing in my journal. And I looked down at my journal and I was like, oh my gosh, I don't have recorded any of my kids' births. I don't have these big life changes that I've made over the last 20 years. I don't have all this stuff that I wish I had.

It is just, it's like, you know, you, you skip a couple days and then all of a sudden it's 15 years and you're like, what is going on? Oh man. Yeah, Jethro D. Jones: so, uh, so that's, that's, that's a important thing to do. Um, and I definitely wanna encourage you to do that.

And one of the things that we're doing with this project is at a decade never to be forgotten.com, there's a community tab, and then you can click on that, and that's a 10 year journal where it's one single prompt, uh, every day for the next 10 years. And you just repeat it every year on that day. And, um, and that is like one to two sentences to just remind you about what you're doing. Did I invite you to that already? I can't remember. I'm not sure. Was it an email?

Jethro D. Jones: No, I would've texted it to you. Okay. I don't think I've seen that. That sounds amazing though. Jethro D. Jones: yeah, so, um, so I'm working on making that a physical journal, which I think will be even better. Uh, but right now it's just digital and online. So I'll send you a link to that and then anybody who wants to go can go to that website a decade in average to be forgotten.com and then click on community. And you can do that too.

Oh, maybe I did see something like that, but I wasn't sure what it was. Jethro D. Jones: Well now, you know, 'cause I just explained it to you, and look at you like jumping in, not knowing everything about what I'm talking about. And you're like, I'll do this anyway. That's, that's awesome. Um, all right, so after journaling every single day, anything else that you want to make sure you do regularly? okay.

I think I also have a goal to keep in contact with all my companions and with the people that I taught and. It's been kind of hard. I mean, it's super fun. Sometimes it's a little time consuming and all the coast Ricans blow up my dms and my Messenger and everything, and my WhatsApp.

But I really, I really do wanna like kinda stay, stay on top of it because I know it's super hard when you're join the church and, and when the missionaries that taught you left, but I really do wanna try and help them and then also stay in touch with my, my companions that I had. So, Jethro D. Jones: Yeah. so yeah, I'm trying to do, like, at first I was gonna do d like, um, weekly contact, but that's, that's too hard to do with everyone.

So I think maybe like monthly contact with, with them is good. Jethro D. Jones: Um, can I give you a little, uh, suggestion on that? Yes, please. Jethro D. Jones: Yep. Uh, so what I do is I go into my messages and I scroll all the way to the bottom and I message the person that I haven't messaged in the longest amount of time.

And then if you just go do that, then, and you do that on a regular basis, so let's say every, every day you're just gonna scroll to the bottom and text one person or message one person. That's a really easy way to stay on top of it. And then if you, if you message them and they, you don't talk to them again for a long time, then you can just go back in the next time they're at the bottom and you'll send 'em a message again. And honestly, Savannah, that could be like two to three years.

And the amazing thing is, is that when you build these connections with people, you don't, um, I. You don't forget the impact that you had on them or that they had on you. And so, even if it's been five years since you talked to someone, they'll be like, excited to hear from you and you'll be excited to hear from them. And it's, it's a good way to just make sure that you're doing something every day, but not overwhelming yourself.

Uh, because it is tough to stay in touch with 75, a hundred, 200 people every single week. So if you just take a, a slightly different approach and say, I just wanna do the littlest thing that I can to, to make the biggest impact, then that's, that's one way that I found is beneficial. And then I find these people that I haven't messaged for a while and it's like, oh, I really love you and I miss you, and I'm glad that we could reconnect.

And if you are connected with them spiritually, I. Then it doesn't matter how much time has passed you still, you still love them and they still love you. And that's a really powerful thing. I love that, that that's a great, I love that idea. That's a great idea. I will probably incorporate that. Jethro D. Jones: Excellent. it, it really makes it easy, uh, to, to stay on top and feel like you're doing something, um, and not feel overwhelmed.

And now when this comes out, you'll have something to share with all of them also. So that'll be good too. Alright, anything else that you want to, to kind of like say, this is what I need to be doing for the next 10 years? 'cause I'm gonna follow up with you on these things. I Oh good. I hope you do follow up Jethro D. Jones: we're gonna check in and see how are, how's it going? Reading scriptures. Anything else you want to add to this list? Oh, probably. Jethro D. Jones: probably.

dang, there's a million things. Um, um, Jethro D. Jones: And there doesn't have to be like, this can be good enough 'cause I got a lot more questions to ask. Okay. Yeah, I mean, there's a thousand things. There's a million goals that I have, but maybe this is a good, this is a good base. Jethro D. Jones: yeah, it's a good place to start. And then if you're like thinking about it, you can always add to this list that you and I have this shared note you can add to it.

Um, and then also, um, there are some things that you're gonna be like, ah, you know what? Turns out praying with faith is actually not that important. I'm just kidding. Of course it's important. , you're not gonna stop that, but your opinion and your spiritual impression about what your prayers look like will change over the course of your life. And so you may need to adjust that and, and that's totally fine.

That's part of the fun of this is, is seeing how you progress and grow over the next 10 years. Um.

So let's, let's talk about you deciding to go on a mission because, um, I'm sure that that had some, uh, some challenges that you saw. I'm sure there were some, uh, obstacles in the way and there were some desires in the way of that, and yet you chose to do it anyway. What happened there and where did you, uh, where did you come from? And, and like what led to that point?

Okay. So I've always thought it would be really cool to go on a mission and everything, and I watched like a lot of my cousins go and come back. Some friends go and come and go. And then, um, also my, my older brother. And I think part of what really motivated me to go was, was watching my brother come home from his mission and really seeing, seeing such a change. Because before his mission, he was kind of, he was kind of a jerk. And then he came back and he was so nice and. And everything.

And I don't know, I just saw, saw his change and I thought that is the coolest thing ever. Like I, I wanna have that change or have all these experiences, but I wasn't like super sure, but I just remember, I mean, I didn't have like some huge crazy moment where, where I knew I was gonna go. But I just remember one day, I, it was either my junior or my senior year of high school. I'm not sure, maybe it was my senior year. Um, I went to mission prep, just some like mission prep activity.

And all I remember is, um, Ray Vander low from the state. He was, he was like speaking or sharing something. I couldn't even tell you anything he said, and he, it's, it's very interesting 'cause he's a converse, so he didn't actually serve a mission, but even know if he was talking specifically about missionary work, but I just like, I. I had the strongest impression, like, you need to go on a mission.

And I don't remember much else, but I just remember I went home that day to my mom and I just said, I'm gonna serve a mission. And she was like, okay, that's great, . So there, I don't know, it's kind of an interesting story. There's nothing huge or crazy that happened, but I just wanted to go. So then, yeah, my plan was to just finish out high school and then do two semesters of, of college and then, and then go on a mission. And it worked out that way.

And it, it worked out great and it was amazing and hard and, and all the things, but I, I'm so glad that, that I went and that I chose to go on a mission. Jethro D. Jones: Great. So let's talk about some of those hard things. You mentioned that you wrote in your journal some of the difficult parts about being on a mission and some of the trials you went through.

And it's kind of cute 'cause you know the outcome now, but what were some of the trials that you experienced, um, either before your mission or on your mission that, uh, really impacted you and changed how you looked at things and changed how you understood different aspects of the gospel or yourself or your relationship with the savior? What were some of those trials and and what did you learn from 'em?

I think the first thing, now this might sound sound a little bit dumb, but I just love to have a good time. I'm just always down to have a good time and I would always see my friends like missionary pictures and they were all so happy. And I knew a mission was hard, but I was kind of, I was very prideful obviously, so I was like, oh, like if everyone can do it like so can I. No biggie. But I just remember I got out, the MTC was so fun. It was a blast.

We just like played spikeball and like hung out and it was super fun. So I remember in the MTCI was like, wow. I remember telling my mom like, wow, everyone's on the mission was hard, but this is the best thing ever. Like, this is so easy. And then let me just say the Disney, wait, the MTC is like Disneyland compared to the mission field. I got out to the mission field and I was just shocked on what missionary work was like.

I don't know what I thought it was like, but I got out and I was like, this sucks. And I wrote, I think I wrote in my journal like, I cannot believe I signed up to do this for 18 years or for 18 months. I cannot do this for 18 months. And it was just not fun. Like we, we would, my companion, she didn't speak any English, I didn't speak any Spanish and I, it was just, it was just terrible.

Like we, we would just do, do our studies and then we would go out every single day from like 12:00 PM 10 to like 9:00 PM or nine 30. I was just exhausted. I didn't really understand what was going on. And that was a really, my first area was, was a pretty hard area. We didn't have very much success in it, so I was just kind of like, what? What is this? How do people, there's no way people like being a missionary. There is no way. So, yeah, that, I think that was really hard.

Just like not liking the mission at first. Just absolutely not liking Jethro D. Jones: And, and what was it that you didn't like? Because before, like we knew the outcome and now you, you're saying all these positive things about it. Like being confused, not knowing the language. What else made it so difficult? Yeah, I dunno. And it's interesting because I feel like not, it's not even the language, 'cause I never really felt super discouraged. It was more just like not, not having.

Fun. And that sounds very silly, but I just remember, like, we were just knocking doors all day and I'm like, I don't know, I do not wanna knock doors. Like I, or I don't, I don't, I'm hungry. Like I want dinner and my computer's like, we don't eat dinner till 9:00 PM Like, I was just like, what is this, this, there's no way people, the way of this. And I don't know, it was just a shock. I, I just did not, I just did not enjoy it. It was not fun.

And I think, um, like at that age I was 19 and at the age of 19, like usually you're, you're in college and everything that you're doing is for yourself. It's kind of a selfish point in life. 'cause you're like going to college for yourself. You're working to make money for yourself. You like study for yourself. Everything you do is for yourself. So I had just done my first year of college, so I guess I was pretty focused on, on myself.

And then I got to a mission and I realized that what I wanted did not matter. It did not matter what I wanted to do. It was all about what the Lord wanted and what other people wanted. So I think it was just a very humbling experience to just go from that stage of like doing everything for myself to just like being so tired, but pushing through because I knew I, I had to. So I think that was, that was really hard in the beginning.

Jethro D. Jones: So that lesson of, of doing things not for yourself, I think everybody goes through that and experiences that in their own unique way. And so at what point did you figure out that that was actually worthwhile and that you could start enjoying it? Well, I don't know if there was a specific point, but I just remember I saw some other missionaries and they just looked so happy.

I went to my first zone conference and I saw all these like sister missionaries and well, and others too, that were speaking the language. They just looked so happy to be there, and I remember thinking. How, how are you so happy? And one of the, one of the sisters just told me like, just keep pushing through. Like every day just gets a little bit better. And I just love that piece of advice and it's true every single day just got a little bit better.

But I had to pray so hard for, for desire to be there. But you just, I don't know, you just had to take it, take the bull by the horns and just take it day by day and just learn to love it. I think learning to love the mission is something that a lot of people don't really talk about. A lot of people just look like they love their mission so much, and I do love it so much, but, but it's hard. It's, at least for me, it was very, very hard to love the mission.

Jethro D. Jones: Yeah, so, so how did you finally figure out how to love the mission?

Um, I think, let's see. I, there were different little moments, but one of the bigger moments was, and this was embarrassing 'cause it was so far into my mission where I really could say I started loving my mission. It probably took me a good like seven or eight months to, to be able to say like, I love my mission.

So I started my mission in May and then in December, but I feel like by December I could say like, I enjoyed being a missionary, which obviously I had a lot of good, fun experiences like in that time. But that's, that's how long it took me to say like, I love being a missionary. And I think it was my, my first Christmas in the mission, and I remember I just set the bar so low for Christmas. I was like, all right, this is gonna suck.

I know it's gonna, I'm gonna be far away from my family and I'm not really gonna do anything, but it's fine. That's how the mission is. And then we went to like his own conference with my, with my mission president and he said, guys. Don't feel sorry about yourselves. Don't feel, oh, poor me, I have to be away from my family. All this stuff. He's like, this is like, you only have one or or two Christmases in your entire life to just focus on others and to focus on Christ.

So I don't wanna hear anything about you guys feeling sorry for selves. Just go out and make the best of it. So I realized in that moment, I'm like, wow, I've been feeling sorry for myself. So I was like, I'm just gonna forget myself. There's a quote by Hinkley, by President Hinkley, that's just like his dad told him, like, Gordon, forget yourself and go to work. And I feel like that's kind of like my little motto and the mission, just forget yourself and go to work. And that really help me.

And o of course, like on Christmas, like our, our dinner plans got canceled like, like an hour before and we're walking around. No one wanted to talk to us. We tried to go to like, um, a retirement home to seeing Carols, but they wouldn't let us in. So we were just knocking streets, walking around the park like. Everything got canceled that day, so it really was like, did not even feel like Christmas, but I look back at it so happily and I loved it so much. Like looking back, I love it.

I love it so much, but Jethro D. Jones: Hmm that was just really cool to just be like, it doesn't matter. Like it's just, just Christmas. We're just focusing on Christ. I don't need to feel sorry for myself. So I think that was a big like turning point in in my mission. Jethro D. Jones: Yeah, I that.

It's so funny because, so what you said before about your life being focused on yourself and then you go on a mission and you realize you're focusing on others. It, it applies to so much. How do you see that now that you're back in college and doing things for yourself? How are you gonna apply that lesson today, this week, this year? Like, how, how are you gonna try to remember that and incorporate that into your life?

Well, I think, I think it has been a little bit hard to now go from just thinking to everyone else, to thinking to myself, because I mean, you do have to. Have to focus on yourself. And even coming home, like when I, when I got home from my mission, I had like no clothes or anything. I don't know, I, I just like, had nothing. So I, I kind of needed to, like, I didn't have a phone. I had to buy a new phone. I had to buy new clothes. I just had to get a lot of stuff.

And I just felt so guilty because my parents were like, spending so much money on me, and I'm like, I don't, like, I don't want this. Like, I don't, I don't want any of this. No one's bought me stuff for the past year and a half. Like, I don't want anything. So I think that's just an example of how I was like, I, I feel so uncomfortable with people giving me all of this. Like, I, I feel guilty thinking about myself. I don't want it.

But, um, now, now that I've been home for a little bit and I'm like, okay, I'm fine now, but I don't know. Now I'm thinking more about myself, but I don't know. It's still something that, that I'm trying to balance and everything. But I think it's kind of what I was saying earlier about priorities. Just trying to prioritize the important things. And I've made a lot of mistakes, like being home, trying, like not having my priorities super straight.

But I would say that's the biggest thing is just like, yeah, just really like try to go to the temple every week, um, and trying to really read their scriptures every day and, and serve others because honestly, like it's, it's impossible. It's pretty close to impossible to have that same like momentum as you did as a missionary, like now. But, but I wouldn't say that like the mission, I don't want my mission to be the highlight of my life. I don't want that to be like the peak of my life.

I want it to like help me, like springboard me forward into a ton of things. So I think I just need to keep doing those small and simple things. I feel like I'm not really answering the question, I just keep going off on different tangents, Jethro D. Jones: That's okay. Yeah, that's all right. So, so that point about the mission not being the best, the peak of your life, um, there's this saying that it's the best two years of your life.

And my dad a long time ago would say it's not the best two years. Um, the last two years have been my best two years. And he, he made that saying all the time. And that's like if your life is not continuing to get better. And that doesn't mean like all the worldly stuff. I mean, if you're not spiritually growing closer to Christ. Every year, every day, then that's the part that needs to be fixed. We're all gonna have trials, we're all gonna have, make mistakes and all that.

But if you are not growing closer to Christ, then that's, that's the ultimate goal here, is to continue to grow closer to Christ every single day and take advantage of the atonement. And so my dad would always say, the last two years have been the best two years of my life. And that is the mentality that I've tried to take as well. And it's, it's been the case, except in those years where I've been in a deep, dark trial and then it doesn't feel like it's the best until I'm out of it.

And then I'm like, oh, this is really awesome. This was a great year, even though it was exceptionally difficult. and just before we met you, 2019 was a really tough year, and 2020 was a really great year for a lot of different reasons. Even though it was hard for, uh, a lot of people, for us and for me personally, it was a really great year. And so even when things are difficult for other people, they can be really great for you.

And, and so you said something in there that I want to go back to, which is, uh, you said you've made a lot of mistakes in prioritizing your time and things. What are some of the mistakes that you've made and why have they been mistakes in your mind now? Okay. Um, I. Um, that like reading, I think reading scriptures, like doing personal study has been a lot harder than I thought it would be, because personal study that was like the best hour of my day.

Like during, during my mission, I loved it so much and I always thought, I can't wait till I get home so I can study more than an hour. And then you get home and it's just not the reality. So I think just, I just need to have realistic expectations. But I, um, president Cobb, when he released me, he told me, just be patient with yourself. 'cause you're gonna mess up a lot. You just have to be patient with yourself.

And it's been really hard because sometimes I, I, I like stay up too late one night. So then the next morning I can't wake up early enough to, to be able to read my scriptures. So I still, I still do it, but it's not as good as it could be. So I'm trying to give myself more grace on it, but also. Keep a, a strict schedule. So I'd say that, that that's been a little bit hard trying to find a rhythm to be able to read the scriptures and everything now that I'm in school.

But, um, this past week, something that I've been doing that's helped me a lot is like if I have a lot of homework, 'cause I know I'll get my homework done always, but like scripture study, sometimes we'll just get pushed to nighttime because it's not as much my priority even though it should be. So sometimes while I'm studying I'm just gonna, like, I'll do an assignment and I'll say, okay, before I do my next assignment, I have to read the scriptures for like 10 minutes.

And that's helped me a lot too because like scriptures is even more important than my classes. So I just need to make it more of a priority. So that's, that's helped me, um, that's helped me this past week that's been working pretty well is like pausing my studies to, to read for like 10 minutes 'cause I know I'll get my homework done, you know, so that's been. Pretty good.

And I think maybe another thing that's been hard is just like, um, I mean, I've slept in a couple times and I, I hate sleeping in so much. Like I think I, I hate sleeping in and I feel so lazy when I do it. But I have slept in a couple times, like on, on Sunday I set an alarm at like 8:00 AM which is not even that early, and I slept past it, and I woke up at 11:00 AM and I felt terrible. So like, stuff like that just makes me so mad. . So I'm trying to, to be patient.

But yeah, I feel like that's been hard to, Jethro D. Jones: Yeah. So let me ask you this. Uh, your first year at BYU, if you slept until 11, would you have been mad at yourself? I mean, I still, I probably would've been like, okay, that was a waste of time, but I wouldn't have been as, I would've been like, oh, whatever. Who cares? Jethro D. Jones: Yeah. So what's different? I feel like now I just know how productive I can be if I don't sleep in and it bothers me to not, to not be productive.

Jethro D. Jones: Yeah. So when you get this greater knowledge and understanding, then when you don't live up to that expectation, then you're like, I know I can do better and I should do better. Um, and yet I'm falling short of where I think I should be. And lemme tell you, uh, that happens to me to this day, even still after years of knowing that simple fact, uh, being able to apply it and have it actually work out. Uh, I still struggle with that.

So, um, what, what would you say has been the greatest lesson that you've learned in the past 12 months or so? Oh, that's a good question. Um, I. I have learned a lot about, about the atonement of Jesus Christ and about repentance. And before I thought I would think about repentance more of something transactional. Like, okay, I, I stole this from the store and I'm gonna repent and I'm gonna return it and I'm gonna make it better and God forgives me.

But I realized that repentance isn't just for, for big mistakes or mistakes that you make, but it's for all the little things. And in the MTCI was talking with, with some people, and everyone was talking about how they decided to come on a mission and they all had these really cool stories on how they like, made some huge crazy mistake. Like they sinned, like, like made a ton of sins and then they like had this huge coming back. Just kinda like the prodigal son type thing. Just, you know, like.

And then they just had these huge testimonies, the atonement. And I was just thinking like, I wish that I, I even said this, or I think I thought it just like, I wish that I commit some grave, huge sin so I could have such a good testimony of the atonement. I totally thought that, I thought that you needed to make huge mistakes to, to have like a big testimony. But what I realized on my mission is that the atonement is not about that. I mean, it totally is about that at all.

And their stories are amazing. But the goal, like you don't need to send more to, to have more of a testimony. Um, the atoma of Jesus Christ is just changing a little bit every single day to be better. Just, it's just literally just aligning yourself with God in all things. So there are things that we do every single day that we need to repent for, and I learned about daily repentance. I never really understood that before, but I think daily repentance is so important.

Just like, um, just kind of giving a report to, to God. Um, I love how, I mean, I guess I shouldn't talk about this too deeply, but just how in, in the, in the temple it talks about like how, how like Jesus like would do the will of the father and how he would kind of report to, to God. And I just kind of love that idea of how we do what we're commanded, what we're supposed to, and then we report to God and then God kind of like gives us feedback and helps us get a little bit better.

And how every single day we just work to be a little bit better. And how really when we repent, that is how we find joy. And joy is not just happiness. Joy is, is obedience. Joy is doing the will of the father willingly Jethro D. Jones: Mm-hmm joy is going through all the hard parts. So you can have all the good parts. You can't have a complete joy if you haven't suffered a little bit.

And just, I mean, it's kind of a big concept, but learning how, how Christ found joy when he, when he was on the cross, because he was doing the will of the father and he was trying to do better. And how we can find joy when we repent and when we do the will of the father. So it's kind of like, there's a lot of kind of moving parts to this. It's kind of a really broad thing, but really just repentance and, and finding joy in Christ through the atonement.

Jethro D. Jones: Yeah. Well, and, and that's beautiful because, uh, you don't have to be an evil person to take advantage of the atonement. In fact, the atonement is for everyone good and evil, no matter what we've done. And, um. You don't have to make bad choices in order to feel the blessings of the atonement. There's this quote by CS Lewis that, um, that I really love. I'm gonna read it to you because it's, it's one of my favorites.

And he says, no man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down.

A man who gives into temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it have, what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it. And Christ, because he was the only man who never yielded to temptation is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means, the only complete realist.

And what I love about that quote is that it says the more you resist, the more you know about temptation and how difficult it is to overcome. But if you give in and you do those things that you're tempted to do, you don't really know how strong the temptation can be because you've always given in and Christ because he never did give in despite all the temptations that he could possibly go through and experiencing all the pain that he did in the Garden of Gethsemane.

He's the only one who really understands what it could be like and how difficult it is to overcome these things. And I just love that quote from him because it's so . So powerful about what, what the purpose of the atonement really is. I, I love that. And I love, I've never heard that before, but I love that so much and, and how you brought that up about, about Christ and how he truly knows. He is the only one that knows really how, how strong that temptation is.

'cause he's the only one that's withstood it. Jethro D. Jones: Yeah. It, it's, it's very powerful. Alright. Um, so let's move to the present and the future. Alright. So what is your major right now? I still have not declared a major, Jethro D. Jones: Oh, good. Excellent. so yeah. We're still working, working on that. Jethro D. Jones: Okay. Are, are you leaning towards anything? Are you anything up for debate right now? I mean, before the mission, I really wanted to, to be a nurse.

I wanted to do pre-nursing, but I've, I'm, it doesn't really call my attention as much anymore. So, um, I've thought my plan B is kind of just doing like early childhood education. Um, and my, my mission president also, he, he does a lot of stuff with real estate, so he kind of was telling me, oh, you should look into finance or real estate, like something more in the business realm. So there's kind of a lot of ideas floating around.

So I, I'm still not a hundred percent sure, but this is kinda like my last semester that I, where I can take like just general classes and, and be all right. But by, by next semester, I, I will have more of an idea. And if I don't know what to do, I'll just do education. Jethro D. Jones: Okay. That's good. Um, so one of the ways that, that you and I have interacted is through how you have, uh, been friends with my oldest daughter Katya.

And so if, if that is any indication, the kindness and love that you've shown her, shown her, uh, working with kids, I think that you would be great at, um, because you, you really have blessed her life and how you've, uh, how you've treated her and, uh, made her feel special and unique and loved. And so that is definitely a spiritual gift, I believe you have. And so, you know, maybe that is a encouragement, uh, a small encouragement in that direction. Thank you. Thank you so much.

I love Ka so much. Jethro D. Jones: Yeah. But yeah, I, I have thought a lot about doing something with, in that, in that realm. 'cause I do really enjoy, um, that type of stuff. Jethro D. Jones: Yeah. And it takes a, a special person to be able to work with people with special needs. And so, um, so that, that could be something where you have natural gifts in that arena. And, um, and I think that is important to think about.

It's exciting that you haven't declared because next year when we talk about this, you will have probably had to have made a decision about this I hope I've made a decision by then We, I hope so. That'll be fun to see what I decide, Jethro D. Jones: it will be. Um, and uh, it, it's funny because most people change their major numerous times and then once they actually get a career, most people change their careers numerous times also.

And so to think that there's like only one thing you could possibly do is kind of, kind of silly to be honest. right? Yeah. Jethro D. Jones: you can do a lot of different things. Alright. Um. So over the course of your life so far, you've had, uh, some trials, um, and you've had some great things happen. What is something that you feel God is preparing you for in the future? Oh, that's a good question.

I, I think, I don't know, I just know there's, there's a lot of hope for ahead, but there's, I think it's gonna be a, a bumpy road, so I think I just need to buckle up and be ready for anything. But I'm, I'm really excited for the future. Like, I look towards the future with, with a lot of excitement and hope and everything, but I'm sure there will be trials with like, family and, and stuff like that. I'm sure there's gotta be some trials with that.

Um. Jethro D. Jones: Oh, yes, I promise there will be like, guaranteed you're gonna have trials. It's not gonna be all sunshine, sunshine and roses the, the rest of your life. There are certainly going to be trials. And so that is one of the exciting things about life is that you have trials and then you learn so much through those trials, but nobody wants to go through them because they're difficult. And, and yet you can still look with optimism and excitement towards the future like I do.

And uh, and you can still have great success even when things are difficult. Yeah. Yeah, that is. That is true. Yeah. I'm sure there will be trials with family, or if I get married soon, that'll probably be hard. Well, I don't know Jethro D. Jones: It will be, don't worry, but. Jethro D. Jones: Alright, so, uh, so now you have this wisdom of being back from a mission and you're, you're gonna look back to your freshman self and say, a freshman of high school.

So what is that, six years ago or so, yeah. Yeah. Jethro D. Jones: what advice would you give to yourself then, or would you give to your sister who's a freshman, about how she should live her life, what she should focus on? What are, now that you have some wisdom, what are some things you'd say, this is what you should focus on in your life. I've, Hmm, that's a good question. I think I would just say like, just keep plugging along. Have a good time. Enjoy, enjoy a lot.

Um, but yeah, I think just making, prioritizing the most, the most important things, putting the most important things first. Really, like, I mean, it's amazing that I got this testimony of the Book of Mormon when, when I was on my mission. But just imagine if I had that strong testimony that much like a couple years before that would've been amazing and helped me so much.

So I think just, um, to be patient with yourself and yeah, be patient with yourself, prioritize the important things and, and have a good time to enjoy, enjoy the time. Jethro D. Jones: Again, so looking forward now. . 10 years. Well, we won't go 10 years yet. Let's go in one year. What things do you hope are true in your life one year from now? Okay. I hope that in one year I am, I, I hope that my testimony is stronger in one year than it is now.

I hope that I'm more spiritually in a better spot than I am now in one year I hope that, um, hope that, um, my relationships with my family are just like a little bit better in one year too. I just hope everything is just a little bit better. I wanna just improve everything. Um, but I hope I am making, like going to the temple priority and then I'm making, just keeping my priorities straight, that I'm, I hope that I have a calling in a year and that I'm faithfully serving in a calling.

Um, hope that I have a major declared in one year. Yeah. There, yeah. I think those are good like spiritual things to, to have done in a year. Jethro D. Jones: Okay.

Um, so you, you, when we listed the things that you need to be doing, uh, the little things, you didn't mention the temple, but you've mentioned it a couple times since then. What do you want to say about the temple and what does that mean in your life, and why does that matter? I just, I love the temple so much. I, it is amazing. And after my mission, I, I was able to be an ordinance worker just for a month in the Spokane Temple, but I loved it so much.

I just loved being there and doing all the, the ordinances and everything and, and just being with the temple workers, they're also amazing. So that, that was like the highlight of my week every week after I got home from my mission.

Um, and I just think there's so much in the temple, and even after this last con, or maybe it was two conferences ago, but all the talk about temples and how President Nelson said, there's nothing more important that you can do than, than worship regularly in the temple. So I just think, um, the temple is so amazing and I need to make it a priority. So right now my goal is to go once a week and I know that maybe that won't be.

Realistic always, but I wanna go like regularly, whether that's weekly or monthly, but I think at least monthly is, is a pretty reasonable goal. Jethro D. Jones: Yeah, that's good. And so maybe you are going to the temple every week in a year, but you're open to, maybe that's not the priority at that point in your life. And, and there's, there's truth to that. There are some times where, you know, I, I would only go once a year because of where we lived and I tried to go when I traveled.

And other times, like right now where we live 20 minutes away from the temple, it's silly to not prioritize that and make that a regular occurrence each week. In my mind, that doesn't mean that's the same for everybody else. Um, but that's you prioritizing and setting goals for yourself and saying this is what matters. Um, that's, that's important. So I'm, I'm glad we, we mentioned that. Alright.

Now, 10 years from now. Uh, what, what do you want to be your life and your goals? What do you wanna be focusing on 10 years from now? Okay, so in 10 years I'll be Jethro D. Jones: what do you want to happen 10 years from now? I hope by, in the next 10 years I'm married. I really hope that it's kind of a fear of mine like that I won't get married. That would be scary.

But I do, I do hope that I'm married and I mean, by 31, I feel like I could have a couple kids by then, so that's so crazy to think about. But, but yeah, I hope I'm married, have some kids, um, have a husband and I hope that I like just have. Stuff more figured out, I guess. I hope that I'm smart financially in the next 10 years.

Jethro D. Jones: Yeah. Um, yeah, I, I hope I just keep progressing and doing better and yeah, just I feel like kind of my same, I still have my same goals, but they're just like enlarged, you know, just keeping doing that, Jethro D. Jones: Yeah. those same things and, and improving my life. Jethro D. Jones: yeah. And here's, here's where the trials can come in, because what if you're not married? What if you don't have a husband? What if you do have a husband but he passes away?

What if you have kids but you lose a child? Uh, in the first episode we did of this, uh, we talked to Courtney Thornton who did lose a child. And like those things are really difficult and hard to go through, but they're also real. And so I certainly don't want to like, scare you and make you think that these things are, these bad things are gonna happen. But we know that there are going to be trials and we have to be prepared for them. Mentally, but also spiritually, right?

We have to spiritually be prepared for the hopes and dreams we have to not come true and understand that God has a bigger plan in store for us that we may not be able to understand. And I'm gonna tell you, Savannah, that is so hard to do in the moment. And it is heartbreaking when the dreams and goals we have don't come to fruition. Because we don't, we don't set goals thinking that, um, that we're not going to achieve them.

And we don't set goals thinking that it wouldn't be great for those things to happen, right? Like, you're not gonna set a goal that you don't believe is the best for you and everyone involved. And yet we don't make those goals. We don't achieve those goals all the time. And so then we feel like, uh, we're not meeting the expectations. We're not living up to our potential. All those things, and that's a very real life thing to be experiencing.

And yet we can still have hope through the atonement that it's going to be okay and that God has a bigger plan.

And so as you have faced trials in your life and are going to face trials, what keeps you strong and faithful even when those trials exist? I think just knowing that that God has has a plan and if I make those goals spiritually, like if I consult the Lord and how I'm making those goals. I know that he can help them happen. I don't know. I feel like these types of goals are, they're obviously not a hundred percent in my control. It sounds kinda like being a missionary.

Like you make goals of the people, you're gonna find the people you're gonna baptize, the people you're gonna put on date. Like all these things that really, like, they're not a hundred percent outta your control. 'cause if you don't do anything, you're not gonna meet your goals. But if you do everything, you still might not meet them. And I think that's like a very hard concept because like in all my life before my mission, everything, all the goals I had were like on me.

Like if I was doing a sport and if I like wanted to, to get better at a certain skill and if I worked on it, I would get better and I'd do better in the game. But that's not always the case with, with missionary work, you can't just like be better and always do better. So I think that it's just kind of that same type of . Faith with these goals, with your future goals. So like if I, if my plan is to like get married, like I need to like talk to people.

I need to go on dates, I need to prepare, I need to do all these things. But even if I do all these things is not guaranteed. So I think just having the faith that, having the faith that it'll be all right and just doing the will of the Lord, I think that that is really important. And it's easier said than done. 'cause sometimes it's so frustrating on a mission, you just do everything.

You can talk to a thousand people, like work super, super hard, but you just don't see the fruits of your labors. But you just know that if you have faith, like, and you're doing everything you can, it'll be all right. It'll all work out. But I think it's, it's so hard to do. It's so hard to do. But I think that applies with these same goals that I have to have a family and everything. Jethro D. Jones: Yeah, absolutely.

Uh, these are, that is such a beautiful sentiment and it is, it is so powerful and I hope that you can play that on a repeat for the rest of your life because, uh, that is exactly what I believe the atonement is for, that you're gonna have heartache and disappointment and challenges, but you can still have hope. You can still feel like you can make this happen.

You can accomplish what the Lord has set out for you even if you don't understand, and you're gonna still set goals and work hard and hope for things, and then what's going to happen is going to happen, and you can rest assured knowing that. The Lord is in control and he's got it.

Um, so is there anything else that you want to make sure you remember for the future or anything that we should talk about before we close out here? Um, I don't, just your last comment. It just made me think of a scripture in, in doctrine and covenants that says, I the Lord inbound. When you do what I say, but when you do not what I say, you have no promise.

And I, I just love that so much because if we, if we really, if we keep the commandments, like we, we will be blessed, but not always in, in the ways that we want, obviously.

But I think it's just having faith that like, if these big grand goals that I have like don't, don't happen if they don't come to pass, like I know that if I'm like doing what I'm supposed to be doing, I ha I, I should have the faith that that God's plan is greater and that like later, like, maybe I won't get married here on the earth, but like I'll later in the afterlife I'll, or just, just things like that.

Like when little things don't go as planned, like, like who is the Lord to not, to not fulfill his promises. Like it's, it's written and he said it that he is bound when we do it. When we do it, he says, so really like. Us meeting our goals really is us doing it, but we might not do it in the, we might, might not do what we want in the time span that we want to. So I think that's just important to, to think. I, I love that scripture. Jethro D. Jones: Yeah, I love that too.

And, and you are promised great things for sure. And as you said earlier on. Even on your mission, things didn't go exactly how you planned, but you still saw miracles. And, and that's how it's going to be also. So we're gonna pick this up again a year from now, and we're gonna have a similar conversation. And, um, I'm really looking forward to it. And I, I thank you for doing this and I, I'm sure that your posterity is going to thank you as well, hearing your thought process.

You're gonna listen to this next year and you're gonna be like, oh my goodness, I was so young and so naive, and so whatever. And probably. Jethro D. Jones: that's the case and that you're not like, oh man, I was, I was way farther ahead than I am now and I've really faltered back, which may happen too, and that's okay. Uh, but we're gonna, we're gonna talk again in a year and I really appreciate, uh, you being here, Savannah. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Yeah. Thank you so much.

Jethro D. Jones: Okay.