The Greatest Blessing

"To the world you might just be one person,but to me you are my world"

I remember being in high school and thinking I knew exactly what love was. I thought that I was truly happy and that my life couldn't get any better. It wasn't until God sent Payton  into my life that I realized that I really was not living, I wasn't as happy as I thought I could be, and I really didn't know what love was. Payton has changed my life in so many ways and I couldn't even thank him enough for it! He has made me a better person. Not saying that I was a bad person or anything, but there was a point in my life where I felt lost. I wasn't living my life the way that I had been raised and I was making mistakes. There comes a time in our lives where things change, friends disappear  and we have to make choices for ourselves about how we want to live our lives. I had gone to church with my best friend Alyssa Wood for my whole life. I never really knew what it was like to feel uncomfortable at church because it's church! The place of peace and comfort. It wasn't until she moved that I felt this feeling and it was really hard for me to go alone. I then stopped going to my singles ward and went back to my home ward. I taught Primary and I loved it, but something was missing. I taught 4 year old's so most of the lessons were about sharing, being kind, and begging lessons about the Lord. With this being said, I wasn't receiving the lessons that I needed to help feed my spiritual needs. After a year I realized that maybe it was time for me to go back to the singles ward and have the opportunity to learn the things I needed to hear and meet people with the same values as me. So I asked to be released  from my calling and I went back. I found that it was so much harder for me to go to church. I would find excuses to sleep in or I would just straight up not go. I found myself dating people that didn't have the same standards as me and one day in December 2011 I went to Temple Square with my family. Being near the temple made me realize that I wasn't on the path to my goal which has always been being married in the temple. It made me reflect on my past as a child in Young Womens and how much I loved the gospel and how I never would do anything that would go against the church. I never swore, I never broke the laws of chastity, and I never disobeyed the words of wisdom. I felt like it was time for me to change and be a better person and get back on the path. After that I studied my scriptures and talked to my bishop. I felt happy again and I vowed never to date anyone who had different standards than me. A few months later Payton Skidmore came into my life. We talked all the time and I knew that he had different standards. He was agnostic, partied, and drank. But for some reason I saw through all of those things. I never judged him for anything he did. I never really thought that we would ever become super serious, well I guess I was just thinking in the moment and not the future. I enjoyed every second with him and our relationship grew more and more.Then he left for Alaska and I thought that would be the end of it, but surprisingly enough  the more we were apart the stronger my feelings towards him grew. To make a long story short, one day I asked him if he would like to come to church with me, I told him not to feel obligated, I told him that he always shares things he loves with me so I wanted to share something I love with him. He agreed to come, but out of obligation. After a few weeks he told me that he was enjoying going to church and liked it more and more each week. It finally got to the point that he loves church just as much as I did. As he grew in the church, I felt myself growing in the church also. I have gone every single Sunday for the past 5 months. I wake up a few hours early now just so I am not late, and I not only listen to the lessons, but really take them in. He let me know that he wants to get married in the temple which made me the happiest ever! So we began the process of repentance. We talked to the bishop every single week for a few months straight and we grew closer to the gospel together. We now go do Baptisms every single Thursday and we are getting married in the Mount Timpanogos Temple on September 7th, 2013 and I couldn't be happier! Payton truly saved my life and I cannot thank him enough! One thing I learned from my relationship with him, is to never give up on people and never judge a person by the cover, because they might just surprise you in the long run! Payton most defiantly saved me and I have never felt closer to the spirit, gospel and Lord.