o Biography
§ Birthday,
time, and place
10
August 1987, 10:xx P.M.,
§ Schools
attended and degrees
Mrs.
Wadsworth’s Kindergarten
Longfellow
Elementary School
Taylorview
Junior High School Aug 2000 – June 2003
Idaho
Falls High School Aug 2003 – May 2006
Brigham
Young University-Idaho Electrical Engineering Sept 2008 – April 2012
§ Sports
and hobbies
Baseball,
basketball, football, wrestling, swimming, hiking, camping, backpacking,
cooking, eating,
§ Most
memorable vacations
Hawaii
July/August 2011
San
Francisco
Disneyland
Christmas 2009
Sawtooths
August 2010
Tetons
August 2010
Courde’alene
August 2005
§ Missionary
work
Mexico
City, Mexico 23 August 2006 – 28 August 2008
§ Callings
Elders
Quorum Secretary
Elders
Quorum Teacher
Elders
Quorum President
Assistant
Ward Clerk-Records
o Testimony
I want to share three portions of my testimony; Prophets,
Jesus Christ, and Joy. First, I know that Thomas S.
Monson is a prophet of God. He has been
given all of the keys, power, and authority to run Christ’s Church. I know that Jesus Christ talks to His prophet. I know that the other Apostles are prophets
and seers. I know that if we follow
them, we will be blessed and we will be happy!
When I was in high school President Hinckley challenged everyone to read
the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it was true. He promised many blessings. I reread it.
I prayed to know the truth of it.
I did not receive an overpowering witness that it was true, although I
felt the spirit strongly in my life. The
blessings I received afterwards impacted me the most. I had the spirit with me more. Going through the hard times of high school I
was really happy. Things didn’t go right
all of the time but I knew they would work out in the end. Also, I followed the prophet’s council to not
watch R-rated movies and not to date before I was 16. To some these things may seem not that
important but I did I felt like they were.
Because of that, I was able to be ready to serve a mission. I didn’t run into any problems before hand
that would have not allowed me to do so. I know by personal experience and by the
spirit that God calls prophets and that Thomas Monson is God’s prophet today.
Second, I know that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God. He is our Savior and
Redeemer. As I have come to know Christ
I have been comforted by knowing what He has done for me. I have experienced hard times with my family,
with friends, on my mission, and at school.
Many times I have felt that everything will be okay. It is a feeling that I can’t describe. Each time it lifts me higher so I can
continue on in life. This semester I am
playing competitive baseball at BYU-I.
My first at bat of a game I got a good hit. I felt pretty cool and important. The next inning while I was warming up at
third, I realized that it didn’t matter that I got a hit earlier. I had a very clear statement come to my head
that really touched me, “It doesn’t matter what you did in the past; only what
you do now.” Not only has that helped me
in baseball but it helped me come to better understand the atonement of Jesus
Christ. I know that he suffered for all
of our sins, sickness, and struggles.
Once we have done something-good or bad- we need to continue on the
correct path. I know that with the help
of the Savior, we can do it. We can let
go of whatever we have done in the past and achieve greatness in the
future. I know that Jesus Christ was
resurrected after He died on the cross.
I know that if we do our best to follow His gospel He will forgive us of
our wrong doings and we will be able to enter into the Kingdom of God.
Third, I know we can have joy in
the life and in the life to come. This
life is full of hard aches and disappointments.
Life is hard. I know that by
following the commandments of God we can be happy. This does not mean that everything will be
easy and bad things won’t happen to us.
There is something that happens when we obey. This is one of the greatest blessings and one
of the strongest reasons that I have a testimony. As I come unto Christ more, I am able to
experience even more joy. I love
this. I like to be happy and I like
others to be happy. I know God wants us
to be happy. I know that if we follow
Christ, we will be happy even in the most difficult situations.
While at BYU-Idaho
Fall 2008
I got home from serving in Mexico City, Mexico about a
week before the semester started. The
only apartment I could find was at Cottonwood (because it so far from
campus). I just happened to room with
Tyler Tueller who served in Mexico with me.
We shared a room. My other
roommates were Matt Simnitt, Ryan Flores, Brad Terry, and Ricky Ricks. My calling was the Elders Quorum Secretary
for Austin Wood. I learned a lot. Something that I always remember Austin asking
us what the “base standards” of fulfilling our callings or job were. Then we would know how to magnify our
callings. I took CompE 150, CS 124,
English 101, Math 112 (Calculus), and the first part of the Book or
Mormon. I got all A’s (but two of them
were A-). I didn’t really date anyone seriously
although I went on some dates. I was
pretty awkward when it came to that but I pressed forward. One time I was asked to say the opening
prayer at a Stake Fireside. I kind of
got nervous. I had a very hard time
speaking English. Everything came to me
in Spanish. When I sat down the guy I
was sitting next to asked me where I was from.
When I told him I was from Idaho Falls he was kind of shocked. He thought I was from a different
country. It took a while for me to get
back in English mode. Austin left for
his mission during this time. I did
competitive swimming. I met good friends
such as Oliver Crane, Kayla, and Jacqueline.
We were in the slow lane. Before
racing the 100 yard Breaststroke, Austin told me how to do the underwater
part. I did it and I improved a
lot. On my mission, I switched to
showering in the morning. When I got
back I tried to do that thinking that was what grown up people did. Living with five other guys I found that that
was a mess. I always had to fight for
the shower and it was always cold. I
quickly switched to showering at night.
I could sleep in a little bit more and I didn’t have to worry about
having a cold shower. I focused on going
to the temple every week because President Turley challenged me to go to the
temple often when I met with him after I got home from Mexico. I really liked it. It is something I continue to do now.
Winter 2009
I was “off track” this semester meaning that I didn’t go
to school. I lived at home with Mom,
Dad, and Lexie. I remember I tried to do
little acts of hidden service for them.
That is something I kind of wish I would start again. Lexie was a senior in High School and she was
getting ready to come to BYU-I. Before
my mission I think I felt like she was just my little sister. We were able to become real good
friends. We did lots of stuff together
such as watch movies and play games. We
liked to play Nertz. I think I even took
her snowboarding a few times. I worked
part time for Greg Ehardt and the other part at Real Deals. It was really nice because I could work my
own hours. I was suppose to work full
time for Greg but he switched jobs right at that time and he didn’t really need
me anymore. He still let me do random
stuff for him. I tested out of three
Spanish Classes. I got two A’s and one
A-. They were actually pretty easy. Vance and I went up to Targhee on some of
their two-for-one-days. We got super
sunburned one time. We had blisters all
over our faces. It was pretty
gross.
Spring 2009
I moved to the Pines to room with my cousin Vance
Boyer. We lived in Apartment 62. My other roommates were Jordan Neal and Jeff
Casperson. I took CompE 224, Math 215,
Chem 105, CS 165, and the second part of the Book of Mormon. My calling was Elders Quorum Teacher. I always did my calling but I did not teach
that well. I felt that everyone was a
sleep. I worked hard but it was hard. I played competitive baseball. It was really good to play again. Mom and Dad came up for most of my games. I was a little disappointed because a lot of
the players pulled fits and swore. I
felt like I was back in high school. I
wasn’t sure if I was ever going to play again.
I tried to date Jenilee but she decided to go for this other guy who she
married and now has a kid with. I wrote
her a poem to show her that I liked her but it was a little late. Looking back on it, it was really
awkward. I am still kind of glad that I
did it. Her roommate Chantelle was a
pretty good friend to our apartment. She
really liked Vance. Before the 4th
of July, we went on a hike up to Moose Falls.
She brought some of her random friends.
Up before the falls, we made a campfire by a snow bank to roast hot dogs
and marshmallows. It was a really fun
time. Right after that, I picked up Lexie and drove down to Twin Falls for our
family reunion. I think I ran 5k fun run
that year.
Fall 2009
I lived in apartment 62 of the Pines again. This time I got new roommates: Dave Wilcox
and Jason Merrill. By Thanksgiving they
were both engaged. Dave got the swine
flu and I was sick pretty bad too but I never went to the doctor. Dave and I were pretty good friends. We really clicked. We even had a class together (Biology) which
was really fun. I took CS 235, Math 316,
Bio 200, and Chem 106. It may not seem
that much but it was such a hard semester.
All of these classes were so time consuming. Biology and Chemistry were “weed out”
classes. I was taking tests all the
time. It was the first time I ever got a
C and I got two of them. I think my GPA
would be different if I good redo this semester. At the same time I don’t want to redo it
because I learned so much. I tried my
hardest. When grades came out I was a
little bummed or disappointed but I knew for my circumstances that I did all I
could. It was a very humbling experience
and I really had to rely on Jesus Christ to get through it. I went with Dave to an apartment of girls in
our ward to watch General Conference and have breakfast. There were two really cute girls there:
Mallory McCoy and Katie Lundgreen (now Crabb).
Dave told me he was kind of in to Katie so I thought it would be better
for me to try and ask Mallory out. It
turned out to be the best thing. We
dated for a couple of months. I learned
a lot from her. Her family was really
fun too. She was my first
girlfriend. Over Thanksgiving break,
Vance and I had a great idea to climb Tablerock. Not only would there be snow but we decided
to try going up the face when neither of us have ever been up that way. It was snowing the entire way. We almost made it to a peak but the weather
was so bad that we decided to turn around.
The enxt summer we realized that we were up near Alaskan Basin and we
almost climbed Battleship Mountain which is a good distance away from
Tablerock. Close to where we turned
around, Vance noticed that he lost his camera.
We said a prayer hoping we would find it again. On the way down I spotted it in the snow on
the trail. It was such a miracle and a
testimony builder that God really does answer prayers. It was one of the best hikes I have ever been
on even though we were lost the entire time and we hike back in the dark with
one head light. This was Lexie’s first
semester. It was fun to do stuff
together. We both did swimming
together. She was so good. I think she won every race. At the end of the semester we went to Mesa,
Arizona for Chelsea Nye’s wedding.
Because of my finals I couldn’t leave at the same time as my parents so
I had to fly down. I flew out of Idaho
Falls. Alisha and Ben dropped me off at
the airport and helped me get through security.
After the wedding, we went to Disneyland for a week. We were there for Christmas. It was so fun. Grandma Nye, John and his family, George and
his family, Debbie and her family, and David and some of his family (for a few
days) were all there. It was a big
party.
Winter 2010
I was off track. I
moved back home with Mom, Dad, and Lexie was off track too. For Christmas Mom and Dad got us season
passes to Targhee! I took Lexie up a
bunch. She got pretty good. The snow was so good. A couple of times there was so much powder I
didn’t know what to do. Lexie and I
worked at Real Deals. There was a lot of
stuff for us to do. We always had tons
of freight to do and we had to do inventory.
The little machine that they used broke so we had to do it by hand. One time Karmelle wanted it done before a
shipment was going to come in the next day.
Lexie and I seriously worked almost 24 hours straight. It was probably the coldest week ever and the
back of Real Deals is not very insulated.
We were bundled up and had a gas heater that made it bearable, oh what
we do for Real Deals. Another time we
took the big truck down to the Lehi Real Deals to help get it set up. The truck broke down on us on Malad
Pass. More Real Deal fun. Right after Valentine’s Day, I broke up with
Mallory. It was pretty tough. A while later I started dating Beth Westfall
(now Porter). We only dated a couple of
weeks. She broke up with me right before
the next semester started. It really
hurt because I was really starting to like her.
I probably liked her the most out of the girls I have date (speaking in
Dec 2011). I guess I know how Mallory
felt now.
Spring 2010
I moved back in to Pines 62. My roommates were Vance Boyer, Jordan Neal,
and Michael Carlson. Michael was a very
interesting guy, kind of hard to get close to.
It was a good experience but I am glad he moved out at the end of the semester. I took CompE 250, PH 121, CompE 340, Science
101, and D&C. It was definitely an
easier semester. I was able to get good
grades and get my confidence back from last semester. Lexie and I had our Science class together. It was really fun sitting together each
day. After class we would go home and
have lunch together. I played competitive basketball. I was on the Thunder. My coach was Blake Peterson and the
assistance coach was this girl (she and her husband were really good friends
with Mallory’s sister Chelsea and her husband Blake). She was really intense. I had some real issues with her. I felt she was a little mean and too intense
in practices. I was a little intimidated
and scared around her (this sounds kind of dumb but that’s how I felt). I wanted to quit and not play basketball
anymore. I really tried hard to have a
change of heart about her. I prayed a
lot. Through the semester I came to
realize how much she cared about me and my team. That helped me see a difference in her. It was a really cool experience. I had so much fun playing basketball. I am glad I didn’t give up and quit. My calling this semester was Elders Quorum
Teacher. I felt a huge improvement in my
teaching from the last semester. I
really tried to come up with thought provoking questions before hand. It led to some really good discussions. I tried to date Sydnee Barney but she left me
for a mission (she is serving in Texas right now). I got a long with her really well. I might see what happens when she gets
back.
Fall 2010
I lived in Pines 62 again with Vance Boyer, Jordan Neal,
and James Hatch. I was praying for a
roommate that I could just talk to. It
was so hard last semester to be with Michael.
We hardly ever talked. James was
a perfect match. He is a little crazy
but we had so much fun together. He is
still a good friend. This experience
showed me that God cares about me and answers my prayers. I took ECEN 350, ECEN 324, ECEN 470, CS 237,
American Foundations, Family Foundations, and Math 108 Test Out for a total of
18 credits. It was so hard. I don’t know how I made it through it
all. It was a really good semester. I was able to trust in the Lord and I saw his
hand daily. After I had signed up for
these classes, Brother Smith asked me if I would like to work for him. Seeing this as a good opportunity, I took it. I worked five to ten hours a week. I re-wrote the ECEN 250 Labs and I helped
students with their Labs. It was a
really good learning experience. I
didn’t play a sport because of my already busy schedule. I continued my calling as Elders Quorum Teacher. I continued to get better. I was amazed.
Part way through the semester, I ended up getting on Fast Grad so I
could take a special topic class only offered winter semester. Austin got home from his mission this
semester. It was really neat to see him
again.
Winter 2011
I stayed in Pines 62.
My roommates were James Hatch, Jordan Neal, and my very own little
brother Austin Tew. Vance would come to
visit often. It was a really fun
semester. I did competitive swimming
with Austin and Lexie. I almost didn’t
do it because I thought it was going to be too hard. I ended up going to tryouts and continuing
swimming. I am so glad I did. It was so fun to swim with Austin and
Lexie. I took ECEN 360, ECEN 380, ECEN
490 (special topics), Heroic Journey, and the first part of the New
Testament. I had New Testament with
Austin and Kyle Martin. I really liked
EEN 360 with Brother Karl. He is a
really good teacher. My special topics
class was Power Systems. I didn’t like
the class too much but I think it was because of the teacher. I really like Brother Grimmet but I struggle
with his teaching style. Now, I got a
job because of that class. I am glad I
decided to get on Fast Grad and take it.
For a while I doubted whether it was the Spirit leading me to do it but
now I really feel like it was. I
continued working a few hours a week for Brother Smith. At the beginning of the semester I went to
the Career Fair in Provo. I had an
interview with HP. It went pretty good
but I mainly did it for a learning experience.
I got a business card from Reliable Controls which I didn’t think much
of (now I have an internship with them).
Spring 2011
I lived again in Pines 62. My roommates were Austin, Vance Boyer, and
Jordan Neal. We kicked James out but he
was always at our apartment. I took ECEN
390, ECEN 480, Senior Project, English 201, and Teaching of the Living
Prophets. It was such a busy semester. I still worked a little bit but I didn’t do a
sport. For my Senior Project Beau
Heartling and I build Brother Smith a cruise control system for his
tricycle. I really enjoyed it. It didn’t work perfectly but I learned a
lot. I was called as Assistant Ward
Clerk for the Records. I worked with
Brother Scown. I dated Brooke
Walker. She was in some of Lexie’s
classes. She saw me on Facebook. Lexie told me I should ask her out so I
did. I called her up and we went out. I had a lot of fun with her. We went kayaking, to Mesa Falls, to
Yellowstone, and we did a lot of fun things around here. I thought I was going to continue dating her
through the fall semester. The last week
of school I felt I need to end it. I
felt terrible. I broke up with her. It did not end well. I am glad to say that we are on speaking
terms again (for a while I didn’t think that would ever happen). At the end of the semester we ended up going
to Hawaii as a family. We went to the
island Hawaii or the Big Island. I could
write pages about that. It was so much
fun. I feel like that Island was made
for me. It had so many things that I
loved like mountains, mangos, Temple, and awesome beaches. It wasn’t even too crowded. Rebecka, Dan, Danny, and Kate surprised us
and were there when we got off the plane.
It was a nice treat.
Fall 2011
I was adventurous and I decided to move this
semester. I moved all the way arcoss the
hall to Pines 63 (probably five feet away).
My roommates are Austin Tew and Kyle Martin. It has been so much fun and really
relaxing. This is my last semester so I
decided to play competitive baseball. I
wanted to have a different attitude. I
tried so hard to pick everyone up and keep them from pulling the normal
baseball fits. It was a huge success. I had so much fun and my team was
awesome. It felt so good to pitch
again. The last game I was really seeing
the ball. My first at-bat I hit a
triple. I hit an RBI single that tied
the game so we went on to play extra innings.
We ended up playing 11 innings (5 extra innings). It was such a long game. I continued to work a little bit for Brother
Smith. I took PH 220, CS 308, ECEN 450,
Capstones, Family History, and the second part of the New Testament. Peter Stevenson (he was in my Chem 105 class
too), Stacy Clements, and Megan Bigilow are all in my Capstones class. I sit with Peter and Stacy. It has been really good to see Peter
often. I feel like he is a pretty good
friend. I continued on with my same
calling. I really tried to get to know
everyone’s name in the ward. I did
better than I have done in the past but I didn’t get to know everyone. Austin and I have had success with home
teaching. Two of the girls we home teach
(Michelle and Emily) have asked us for blessings this semester. I was happy that they felt comfortable enough
with us to ask us that. I went to the
Career Fair in Provo again. I got five
interviews. Nothing came from any of
them. I have really been searching hard
to find an internship and a job. Mainly,
I have been trying to decide what to do after I get done with BYU-I. Kyle was taking the GRE for Grad School. I really felt like I should take it too. Since I was signing up kind of late I had to
take it down in Lindon, Utah on a Monday.
I went down with Mom the night before and we stayed with Kelsey. Mom went to work with her and I took my
test. Then, I met up with them at
Kelsey’s work. Little did I know they
had other plans for me. Wendy, a lady
that works with Kelsey, has two daughters that our close to my age (Megan and
Aubrey). They just happened to be there
helping out with Kelsey’s class. I
didn’t think anything of it. I helped for a while too. For some reason I was
always paired up with Aubrey. Later, we
started talking on Facebook and I went down to see her. We have been out a couple of times. I don’t know what is going on between us but
I have had fun getting to know her better.
Because of her, I have been thinking of going to Utah. I decided to start looking for a job in
Utah. Then, I could stay with
Kelsey. I felt really strongly that I
needed to be in Utah. A month again I
would have never said that. I happened
to find the business card for Reliable Controls that I got at the first Career
Fair in Provo. I saw on their website
that they had an entry level position opened.
I submitted a resume. A few weeks
later I got an email back saying they would like me to come down for an
interview. I went down and the interview
went well. They offered me a position a
few days later. I was so relieved. This was another experience that showed me
that God answers prayers and actually cares for me.
Winter 2012
I don’t really know what is going to happen but in a week
I will be off to Salt Lake to start my job/internship. I am sad and excited to leave BYU-I. I guess I will update this when I get done
with my internship.
Last Lecture
Last Lecture
For the last three months, I
have been able to study the second half of the New Testament (Acts –
Revelation). I have learned so many
great things that have strengthened my testimony of Jesus Christ. Today, I would like to share two main things that
greatly impacted me along with an example with the hope that they will help strengthen
your testimonies too.
First, I have come to better
know that Jesus Christ lives and I am not ashamed of it. This simple knowledge makes life’s hard times
better. Paul was faced with many trials
and adversity. While he was on a voyage,
he and his crew were in a terrible storm.
An angel came to comfort Paul.
After receiving this spiritual boost, Paul comforted his crew. He said, “Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer:
for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me” (Acts 27:25). It would have been easy for them to give
up. Because of their belief in Christ,
they were able to find joy and continue on through their hard times. I love Paul’s advice. I try to use it in my life. I am happy for I believe in God! Having a strong testimony of Christ can
really help you. It is not always easy
to have that testimony of Christ or to act on it. Sometimes, you are faced with trials were
living the gospel or the testimony of Christ can be hard, embarrassing, or even
life threatening. This should not stop
you. The New Testament helps you with
this difficult task. A few chapters
later Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the
power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and
also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). Here Paul
teaches that the Gospel of Christ will bring salvation to everyone and there is
no need to be ashamed of it. This
scripture influenced me so much.
Whenever I read it I think, “Do I follow Christ when it is convenient or
do I follow Him no matter what?” You
should follow Christ at all times. Like
Paul said, you don’t have to be ashamed of the saving power of Christ. Believe in Christ and don’t be ashamed of him
for in doing so you will find joy.
Second, I have come even closer
to Christ by understand more and relying on His grace. There are so many commandments that you need
to do that it is easy to think that if you don’t keep them you won’t be
saved. This reflects the idea of saving
yourself which opposes the gospel of Christ.
You are saved 100 percent by the grace of Christ. Not enough of you focus or like to focus on
this. It is because you can’t do
anything about it. You have to rely
solely on Christ. Understanding and relying
on grace will bring more peace into you lives than all of the works you could
ever do. Paul said, “For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of
works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is not easy to accept this gift. You must accept your weaknesses and that you
can’t do it on your own. It is the
ultimate step of humility. By humbling
yourselves to the grace of Christ, you will find ultimate joy. After I understood this, I felt so
happy. Before I felt guilty when I
sinned because I made Christ suffer more.
Now I understand that I can’t be perfect this life. I have weakness and I will sin. I still try my hardest to follow the
commandments but I have a peace knowing that I will be made perfect because of
the grace of Christ. You can have this
peace too. Understand and rely more
fully on the grace of Christ.
Third, I want to share an
example that will help you better understand these two points. Imagine you gave your best friend the nicest
car in the world. Your friend thanks you
and takes the car home. Your friend doesn’t
understand anything about cars and is kind of embarrassed of the car. Your friend hides the car in the garage and
never uses it. Years later you see your
friend driving around in the same old beat-up car that he or she has had for many
years. From this, you may feel sad for
your friend because he or she missed out on all of the fun of driving the world
nicest car. The same is with Christ and
his gospel. If you are ashamed to live
His gospel and partake of his grace you will miss out on some of the greatest
blessing He has in store for you. Don’t
doubt. Be happy! Believe in Christ! Accept his grace! I know that Christ lives and is the way for
eternal life.
