I remember trying to decide whether or not I should serve a mission. I kept thinking about it and praying about it, and I was sure there must be something wrong with me, because I did not feel good about it. How could I not feel good about it? I mean, I was the right age, and heaven knows I had no prospects whatsoever for getting married. I figured I was just confused. So I went in to talk to Bishop Clarke. I sat down across from his desk, looked at him, and told him I came to talk to him about serving a mission. I didn't say I had decided to, just that I came to talk about it. He just sat there and looked at me. And he kept looking at me for several minutes. I could tell something was going on inside his head, but he wasn't saying anything.
Finally he said, "You're not going to believe this, but I don't think you are supposed to go on a mission." I think he said he had never said that to anyone before. I was stunned. I was sure he was going to be all gung ho about starting the process, and all that great stuff. It was amazing, because he just completely confirmed what I had been feeling. Although I didn't realize I was feeling that way because I wasn't supposed to go, I just thought there was something wrong with me. But when he said that, it straightened everything out for me, and I knew that going on a mission was not the path the Lord had for me.
Instead, I finished out college and went home to start a career. Obviously, if I had gone on a mission I would not have been in Turlock at the right time to meet Jared, so we can all see how that one turned out!
