A Gift of Discernment

A rush of a wave that fills my chest and body. A tingling to the soul. A warmth that's inviting. A burning of knowledge.
The Holy Ghost is my companion. The Holy Ghost breathes to me God's will in the still silence of a voice, but so strong the feeling is that it encapsulates me. I am promised it's companionship if I am worthy.
I know what it's like to live with it and to live away from it. It's like a testament and reminder of a truthfulness of God's true gospel through song and hymns of praise, through my testimony and the testimony of others. It beacons me to choose the right and warns me when I'm about to falter.
But when I do falter, I can take my step back and turn it into 3 steps forward with a gentle whisper and reminder that my Father in Heaven loves me and Jesus is my Savior and through Him I can repent of my wrong doings and be forgiven.

In a blessing I am given the gift of discernment. I have it with me strong when I am staying on the path God needs me to be on. I can discern the Spirit in others. Since returning to the church I have felt it stronger than ever. I can feel when there is a brother or sister striving to do what's right because I can feel it in them. It can sometimes overwhelm me, this gift. But it is a true blessing. It is that discernment that helped me feel it in the people responsible to bring me back to the truth, through a song and through a testimony.
And it is the same spirit that testifies to me of His divinity, of our Savior's love, of the truthfulness of His gospel through the Bible and Book of Mormon.
Even Moroni at the end of the Book of Mormon tells us of the importance of prayer and asking God if the things that are read in the book are true. With his personal testimony that God will manifest the truthfulness of it through the Holy Ghost.

Moroni 10:  
3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

 4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

 6 And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.

 7 And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever.

I am a proud member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I know this church contains the true gospel, the Priesthood authority from God and saving ordinances for all. I know God lives, I know Jesus is the Christ and He is my Savior. I have a testimony of the Holy Ghost in my life. I know it is real and there for me. 

In the name of Jesus Christ Amen. 

"What's My Line?" Classic TV Game Show

The last several days I've been engrossed on YouTube by the old 1950-1967 game show "What's My Line?" It's kind of interesting watching the episodes because most happened before I was born. When it went off air in 1967, I was only 2 years old. It remained in syndication until 1975. It has an air of familiarity with me, like maybe I did watch it in syndication when I was a young girl. I know who all their mystery guests were though, with only a few exceptions. They had Ronald Reagan on when he was still an actor, Julie Andrews when she was really young, Paul Newman when he was super young, and might I add good looking!
Those whom I didn't know anything about were the panelists, Dorothy Kilgallen, Bennett Cerf and Arlene Francis who were the regulars on the show, and the host John Charles Daly. They would have guest panelists on, some whom I know of, like Jerry Lewis and Tony Randall, Steve Allen and Groucho Marx among others.
One of the funniest ones I watched so far was an episode with Lucille Ball as the guest host. Her noises she made to fool the panelists were pretty funny!

Being curious as I was, I looked up the panelists and started with Dorothy Kilgallen, because my sister-in-law Kathleen's maiden name is Killgallon. So, my curiosity about her was the strongest. Immediately a website concerning her death in 1965 (when I was only 10 months old) came up. She was a writer and there was some evidence that she might have been murdered. If she was, nobody ever figured out by whom. When J. F. Kennedy was assassinated she questioned the validity of it being Lee Harvey Oswald. Someone came forward to her with evidence to the contrary. It was believed she was supposed to meet with this mystery person for the first time the night she died. She was found dead by her hair dresser the next morning. She was all dressed, sitting up in her bed, her head slightly tilted over, and a book she had recently finished opened half way upside down on her bed. The odd thing about it was she never slept in her bedroom. She had a different room in the house she usually slept in. Almost like the bedroom was just for show.

As with any story there are websites to the contrary saying she died of an accidental overdose of barbiturates and alcohol combined. All the accounts are compelling but leave you with not knowing what to believe. The one site I read which believe she was murdered pointed out there was no statute of limitations on murder and maybe if there's anyone still alive with information, maybe the truth will come out. But, maybe the truth died with her, or it really was just an accidental overdose.

All of the regular panel, the host and a lot of the mystery guests they've had on have passed away. But, watching the episodes sure helped me learn about the history of some of the great actors, comedians, singers, etc., they had on the show. The Sunday after Dorothy's death they had a tender tribute to her by all of the panel and John Daly.

I started to think a lot about what's "my" line. What or who am I really? I wouldn't be someone who appears on a show like "What's My Line?" because I don't have any unusual line of work or roles I've played. But I started to realize that even without a college degree and without a lot of job experience, I have done a lot in my 50 years. I did go to college for a couple years and studied public speaking.

I was a wife for 25 years before I divorced. I'm a mother of 4 children all of whom are now adults; Amanda, Zakk, Caleb and Alyssa, and a grandma of 1 beautiful little girl McKinley. Currently the "lines" of my children are as follows: Amanda is the mommy of McKinley. She was married for a short time to McKinley's daddy Greg, but they are divorced now. She has a new boyfriend, Seth whom is a really good guy. They seem really good for each other and I hope it lasts. Amanda has a couple of degrees, one in cosmetology and one in personal training. She is a hair stylist at a salon and specializes in barbering. She's a good mommy to McKinley. :)
Zakk went to school for a little while but didn't finish. He is currently working as a customer service rep at a call center.

Caleb went to college too for a few semesters but it proved to be too taxing on him. I think with his Asperger's the frustration of it was just too much. He hasn't held a job yet, but maybe that will change soon.

Alyssa is currently a freshman at Utah Valley University where she received a first year academic scholarship. She is an English Education major, but might change that. She had straight A's her first semester and hopefully she'll continue that streak. She'll work to get a summer job after this semester is over.

I worked as a substitute teacher for 6 years for K-12. I enjoyed it, but found it to be hard for me to continue because of sciatica pain. Also, I was hardly getting any jobs, most would be taken by other substitutes before I could grab them.

This is my 4th year singing contra-alto in an all women's choir called Chauntenettes. I love to sing, and have done a couple of special numbers for our concerts. I have also sang a few times in church and I'm in our ward choir.
As those who read my blog posts know, I am an avid fan of David Archuleta. His music and who he is mean the world to me. A great young man and a good example to all young and old!

Twice in my life I've sold Tupperware, including currently. I'm enjoying it because I earn extra money, I meet nice people and earn some nice incentives for my sales. Maybe I'll get recruits some day and even become a manager. It is definitely a goal! Nellie's Tupperware Site

The one thing I've done for nearly 16 years which I believe defines me the most, and I get so much joy from doing, is that of being a Girl Scout Leader. It started when my oldest daughter Amanda joined when she was in 4th grade. She continued through 8th grade. My youngest daughter Alyssa went through the entire program from Kindergarten (Daisies) until she graduated from High School (Ambassadors) a year ago.

I've had so many girls I've been a leader for. I know it's over 200, but not sure the exact number. I enjoy going with them camping and on adventures, leading them through badges and leadership skills, etc. And even though it stresses me out, I even enjoy cookie selling time! (The picture on the right is Camporee 2012. It is featured on the Girl Scouts of Utah website to promote Camporee 2015. My Girl Scout troop and I are in there somewhere!)

I am also a daughter of God which is of the greatest worth to me. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. My calling in the church is a genealogy consultant. I have been researching genealogy for almost 24 years. I love researching and finding clues to puzzles, stories of my ancestors and building my family history.

My 50th birthday at Cheesecake Factory

I hope on the day I leave this earth (hopefully many, many years in the future) even if I don't have a college degree, nor a steady salaried job, that the impact I've left on others will be felt. That I'll leave knowing my children and grandchildren loved me, that I impacted at least one person in my life. God willing! So, that's my line, or lines!

A "Glorious" Review

Before "Glorious" was released as a single and before we were able to hear it on the Meet the Mormons movie, I was stoked at the prospect of how beautiful it would be to hear David Archuleta sing it. The song, written by the talented singer-song writer, Stephanie Mabey is so beautiful, her video of it is beautiful too. I'm glad these two are collaborating on more songs together.

However, even having loved hearing Stephanie sing it, and how excited I was to hear David sing it, I was not prepared for how beautiful it is. Ever since he sang Angels on American Idol this has been my favorite song of his (Be Still My Soul, favorite hymn). It has now been replaced by Glorious as my hands down favorite. When David sings this he takes you to an entire different realm of reality. The runs and the bridge are out of this world, and his smooth melodic tones are breathtakingly beautiful. The entire song just takes you in, makes you sigh in so many instances, and as for me, emotes joyful feelings. Even tears of joy.

I had started trying to learn it the best I could. Without a karaoke track it was just a cappella. Then low and behold, David along with Meet the Mormons gave fans an opportunity to record their versions for prizes like appearing on a Super Cuts video singing with David (or cuts of their video included in the Super Cuts video?). David provided a karaoke track and though I was busy I went ahead and took the shot. I asked MTM if I could just do audio and never got a response from them, so I went ahead and did that. I recorded it on my phone, in my bathroom, in my robe, so trust me, audio only was a good thing. Ha!

I think I did pretty well, I've gotten a lot of positive feedback, comments and views on my video and elsewhere. I sing very low alto, almost tenor for some songs. I've listened to all 400+ videos and I know there are a lot of really talented people so I have no delusions of winning, but am thrilled at the prospect of David at least listening to it. Always wanted to share my voice with him, have done a couple dedication videos to him with me singing but I don't know if he has listened to them.

The contest deadline was Friday, Nov 7th, 2014. The winners will be announced Friday, Nov 14th, 2014. Even know I have no delusions of winning, it still would be nice. ;)

When I went through all the contest entry videos, I took the time to pick out some favorites. I started out with listing ones that were good, then adding one* to very good, two* to super good, and 3 or more * to extraordinarily good. But, I only trimmed it down to 139 videos. Too many to list on my blog. So I took off the ones that were just "good" and trimmed it further to only 67 videos.

Note: I have no affiliation with David or MTM, I am not a judge, in fact I'm a contestant, so this is just my opinion. Take it or leave it. I will share a few of my overall favorites within the list. I did give myself one* because I think I did pretty good, but I know it's not the best.

Note: The numbers of the videos might be off a number or two if MTM did some arranging or removing of any videos, so I apologize if they aren't correct.

Glorious Videos

(* = very good. ** = super good. *** or more = extraordinarily good)

Solos, w/provided track, with basic recording equipment:

#5 Hattie Ann W.*

#46 Zach B. *

#79 Lucas*

#93 Annalyn*

#112 Kaleigh*

#119 Fitri*

#124 Brittany*

#132 Nana D.*

#159 Hailee*

#204 Kristina*

#252 Brittani**

#256 Allie W.*

#264 Augustine*

#292 Michelle H.*

#303 Jessica M.*

#377 Kelly B.*

#384 David W.*

#395 Audrey H.*

                                                                    #397 Sariah A.**  

#411 Janel W. (me) *

Solos w/provided track, with nicer recording equipment:

#83 Cami*

#133 Eliza**

#144 Jimmy*

#209 Melissa*

#229 Andy*

#232 Kiah W.**

#236 Addie*

                                                                         #292 Rachel K.***               

#310 Dallin*

#339 Diana C. *

#354 Becca **

#359 Hoai L. *

Solos using their own/different instruments:

#56 Anna (w/piano gal)**

#135 Brian*

#222 Courtney*

#223 Robin H.*

#248 Elrika**

#240 Emma *

                                                              #279 Zach C.**

Different key/note changes:

#70 Halayna A.*

#75 Amy H.*

#100 Hannah M.*

#110 Torri**

#251 Brianna*

                                                        #287 Jessica R.** (funny bloopers at the end)

Groups (non professional):

#?? Camarillo, CA Youth Choir*

#346 Cardston Girls Choir**

Other:

#250 Violin Solo Hallie*

#212 Sign Language Sydney*

#403 Sign Language Susan L.*

Professional solo or group:

 

#423 Madelyn of Firefly***

#?? Five Strings, Suzie Brown*

#?? Nathan Osmond**

#?? One Voice Children’s Choir**

#?? PS22**

Duets:

#228 Josiane, Marie**

#287 Braden, Jonathon*

                                                                     #296 Jarna, Dani***

Spanish:

#277 Yllen Ch.*

Acappella:

                                    #346 Itunu ****** (You can tell by the *, she's my  #1 favorite)

Families:

#318 Allen Family*

#338 Lemons**

                                               Trio: Seli, Desi, & Ari M. (sisters) “Eleny” ***

Kids Videos:

#22 Benson B.*

#48 Celeste Rocha*

#64 Reese O.*

                                                           #92 Payton**** (favorite kid performer)

#272 Lexi Walker**

#304 Evie**

#313 Kirra*

#366 Samantha S.*

 

Last Note: I apologize if any of the names are misspelled. Also, Good luck to everyone who entered!

What is it about David Archuleta?

What is it about David Archuleta? What is it that keeps us around always wanting more? What is it that draws us in to him and keeps us from doing anything but patiently waiting for the next thing from him?

Some are taken in by his smile, the way it goes a little crooked when he smiles his biggest smiles. How his happiness is infectious and we smile with him. His goofy laugh and dry wit brightens an otherwise cloudy day.

We remember the times at a book or CD signing when despite being hurried through by his management or the store personnel, he will take the few seconds to hear a fan’s story, to hug a little kid or do a quick photo with someone in a wheelchair. We all have memories of David being genuinely touched by a story whether it was one of our own or someone else’s.

 His love of little children is the sweetest thing in the world. When we see or hear of him visiting children in the hospital, taking part in rising star outreach in India, helping at Toys for Tots, Children’s Miracle Network and others, it touches our hearts. He does none of this out of obligation, always wanting to be there to lift the spirits of God’s precious little ones.

His charity doesn’t stop with children. His charity includes helping people in Honduras and other countries through Mentor’s International, visiting a center of special needs young adults, washing the feet of the lepers in India and most recently giving of his time and his talents to uplift and inspire the soldiers in the Middle East. Also, he does not boast about the charity he gives in fact would probably rather the word about it didn’t get out. It’s just another endearing quality about him.

Are we just smitten by how beautiful a person he is inside and out even though he just views himself as a nerd and goofy looking? He can naturally work a camera, and we are stunned by a photo shoot of him especially by the genius photography of Matt Clayton. There are so many pictures of him where we can see that light in him, that spirit; pictures that show us how real he is and reminds us that we made the right choice to be a fan.

Some are proud of him for sticking with his convictions and serving a mission though it was a long two years to wait. His genuine love for his Father in Heaven and his faith in Him is wonderful and adds to his long list of beautiful qualities. Furthermore his love and his closeness to his family coupled with his love for children prove to us that he will be a wonderful husband and father one day. Lucky is the girl who can capture that heart for eternity!

We smile at his ability to sing a song at the drop of a hat in a restaurant, sometimes while reading the lyrics on a cell phone. Or the way he burst out singing when someone says something that reminds him of a line of a song. We are thrilled at the prospect of it happening and more thrilled when it does happen.

Do we keep coming back for more because of how wonderful we feel when we’re near him? We’ve all had that let down feeling that occurs when a concert is over and we’re on our way to our homes or hotel rooms depending on the case. We’re happy for a long while after the concert but can’t help but shed a tear wondering when the next time will be when we see him again. I don’t even think David realizes the full scope of this and that it happens to a lot of fans. He is the real deal, the genuine article. What we see in David is not put on for our benefit. He is what we see. Maybe we put him up on this pedestal and maybe David might feel embarrassed about that. We aren’t that naïve though, we know David isn’t infallible he is human and by his own admission makes mistakes. But we see and feel so much good about him that it is only human to feel that much adoration and love for this young man.

Ultimately, though all the other qualities add to it, it is the VOICE! Remember in Called to Serve when Dean Kaelin talked about Imagine and told David congratulations on his performance on Idol, but “we both know it wasn’t technically perfect”, (could have fooled me) then David said to him he wasn’t trying to be technically perfect he was trying to help people feel the spirit. Feel it we did!! He said in his chapter in “Why I’m a Mormon” that he was getting letters from fans during Idol and few of them were talking about how cute he was. Most of them were asking what it was that they felt when he sang. He realized they were feeling the spirit. What he wanted to do worked. His voice is like silk! Smooth and near perfect. He can sing something pitch perfect a cappella and blow us away at the ability. He can bring us to tears with certain songs capturing our souls, our hearts and our emotions. He puts a smile on our faces from note one and it’s still there at the last note of the last song and beyond.

That is why we wait, that is why we are patient and yearn for more. Hearing him sing Bring Me Home during his Middle East tour reminded us why we wait. We hunger for his voice and we are pulled in with emotion by his heartfelt performances. There has been no singer before or since like David. People can do a karaoke of his songs and some can even sound good, but seriously the voice is just the voice, none other like it. He has such emotion and depth of feeling in his songs, the ballads and the ones you can dance to. He’s a musical genius how he can change up the key in the middle of a song, not the same as we normally know the song to be, yet improve upon the song and make the performances like those some of the most memorable in our minds and hearts.

God bless David as he continues to write songs, to entertain and to bless our lives with his voice and how he is as a person. Can’t wait to see what’s around the “corner.”J

 

David Archuleta: Face to Face LDS Youth Chat, English Transcript

David Archuleta: Face to Face LDS Youth Chat, English Transcript by Janel Woodbury.

Opening:

Jake: Hello everyone thank you for joining us tonight live from Salt Lake City, my name is Jake,

Cami: and I’m Cami and we’re so happy that you’ll be joining us for the next hour.

Jake: This is the first time ever live face to face youth event.

Cami: This event is world-wide. Right now we’re connecting with youth from all around the globe.

Jake: Tonight we have as our special guest, David Archuleta who recently returned from his mission in Chile.

Cami: He’ll be performing for us tonight, we’ll also be having a live Q & A, you can ask your questions below or on Twitter using #LDSface2face. He’s inside, let’s go check it out. He’s right back there!

Jake: Hosting the show tonight will be our young men general president Brother David L. Beck.

Cami: and our young women general president Bonnie L. Oscarson.

 Jake: Well ladies and gentlemen it’s time.

Cami: Beginning this night with a song, here is David Archuleta.

Segment #1 @:59

David sings “If the Savior Stood Beside Me” accompanied by Kendra Lowe. Song by Sally DeFord.

Sister Oscarson: Well done, that was wonderful.

Brother Beck: Beautiful David, Thank you.

David: Thank you.

Brother Beck: So um, you had some Spanish in that uh song.

David: I did

Brother Beck: And it sounded really, really good.

David:  Thank you

Brother Beck: So uh how did your Spanish get so perfected?

David: Well, I don’t know if you’d call it perfected quite yet, but uh I guess that what happens when you’re serving in Chile for two years, so…

Sister Oscarson: Did you speak Spanish before your mission?

David: You know what, I didn’t a whole lot.  Even though my mom’s from Honduras, I wasn’t that flu- I understood a good amount, but nothing like now. I’m able to speak way more now.

Brother Beck: So the Spanish you learned in Chile is a little different in terms of pronunciation?

David: Oh yeah, yeah. They-when I, when I got back, or when I’d talked to my mom, ‘cause the missionaries, they’re able to call in twice a year, and so when I’d call in for Christmas and for Mother’s Day when the missionaries can, um, I was talking to my mom in Spanish and she’s like “What are you saying” because it was a different dialect of Spanish or Castilliano, uh, it was just funny. And my grandma I’d talk to her and she’s like “I don’t understand him” and she doesn’t really speak a whole lot of English which is kind of funny.

Brother Beck: Wow!

Sister Oscarson: Sounds good to me though.

Brother Beck: Absolutely. Well uh, it’s, it’s just so great to have you here.

David: Thank you.

Brother Beck: And uh appreciate you coming. We’ve got a lot of questions from youth all over the world.

David: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Brother Beck: And uh, uh, shall we start and…?

David: Sure, yeah.

Brother Beck: Ok, we got uh, we got Marin who asks this question. I think it’s really appropriate, uh, how has music changed your life? I think your music has really impacted a lot of people, but how, how has it impacted you?

David: How has it impacted me? Man, well we were just speaking a little bit about my music background in the Spanish chat and I was, I think just, once again I mentioned it in the Spanish one but, just how Marina, the music it just has helped me understand myself better. Things, I always had a hard time talking and communicating. Bad communication skills, and I was anti-social and people in school knew me for the kid who didn’t talk. But the kid who was smiling all the time I guess. But, music was a way for me to me to understand how I was feeling. I was like, I feel this way, what am I feeling? And I would start singing and I was like oh, now I get it, now I understand what I’m feeling.

Sister Oscarson: At what age did you start singing? Because it might be kind of interesting for the youth to know when you kind of started to know that this is where you wanted to go with your life.

David: Yeah, well I mean we started Christmas caroling when I was like 3, but I wasn’t really singing then I was just wearing the Santa hats with my cousins and my siblings but, when I was, it really started when I was 6 years old, is when I just, started just singing all the time, all over the house, I didn’t really think of it as professional, but I just liked doing it. I didn’t have the greatest voice, but I just liked it, I liked how I felt when I sang, I loved listening to songs and I’d like analyze them and... Maybe I didn’t, I didn’t think of it technically when I was 6 years old, but I paid a lot of attention to how I felt, like how a song would made me feel, make me feel.

Brother Beck: We’ve got a lot of questions that have come in asking about what a mission is and how your mission was for you, and could you just talk, you know just share some thoughts and feelings about your mission.

David: Yeah, I, man, for, well to explain a mission in a nutshell…I guess its-

Sister Oscarson: You know it might be interesting for you to explain what a missionary does on his mission because maybe we have some of those that are not familiar with the missionaries.

David: Yeah, um, well a missionary. Well I don’t know if you guys have seen the, for those of you who, maybe some of you out there are not familiar with what, who the missionaries are, the Mormon missionaries, they’re the ones that uh, have the name tag, and usually they’re riding their bikes around with a shirt and a tie. And, what missionaries do, they just teach, they teach people about the teachings of Jesus Christ or his gospel is another way of saying it. And, as a missionary you dedicate two years of your life and you get away from everything, you don’t even have internet, well I guess once a week you can talk to your family for an hour, but other than that you don’t have internet, you’re not just calling people whenever you want, and you don’t have TV. Everything that you do 24-7, from the minute you wake up to the time you go to bed is about serving other people.

Sister Oscarson: Was it hard for you to give up those things like the internet and cell phones and…?

David: You know what, I thought it’d hard, but it was such, I just felt free, It was like, I don’t have anything distracting me, I can hear my own thoughts better, I’m more in tuned with the guidance of God and his Spirit. And so, I mean as a missionary you try to, you try to keep this feeling with you all the time, like always. And that feeling is called the spirit, and it comes with you when you read and you pray and when you obey the commandments of God, and that’s why the mission is so AWESOME ‘cause you just, you feel a change happening in you, because you’re able to that and focus on it constantly. And you’re not perfect, I wasn’t perfect, but it’s hard to be obedient all the time, or keep your mind focused all the time. But the fight, just it’s like you know what, this, I just came here to focus, and I want to help people, and I want to have that feeling with me, I want to have that spirit ‘cause that will change everything you do it the day, so.

Brother Beck: Something we hear a lot from return missionaries is how much they love the people that they served, and how that just goes with them from the mission, that love. And, we have uh, April from Chicago she asks, what have you learned from the Chilean culture? That’s an interesting question.

David: Yeah, oh, the Chilean culture. Well, I learned, wow, you know, I love Chile, oh! And it’s a lot like my home, our home Utah. Just there are mountains on both sides, at least in Rancagua where I was, you’re just surrounded by mountains and I just love that feeling, I feel protected, I feel like secure. And, the people are just really laid back, they’re really easy going, and they were pretty honest as well, and I liked that, they’re just, they’re pretty honest on what was on their minds, what they were thinking, and how they felt. They were very honest with how they felt a lot too and I liked that. But the food as well, and I mean I uh, I’m always going to talk about food because I’m a food lovee, lover, foodie.

Sister Oscarson: As a matter a fact that’s one of the questions from Canadian Archie.

David: Oh Yeah

Sister Oscarson: I assume she’s from Canada so, she says, “What were some of your favorite Chilean dishes?

David: Yeah, well yeah, going along with the Chilean culture, I, you know they eat these, they eat hot dogs, but they’re not your typical hot dogs. I didn’t really eat hot dogs a whole lot but I love these Chilean ones ‘cause they’re called Completos, and the difference with them, is they, so it’s a hot dog in a bun but then they put tomatoes, diced tomatoes and then they put a bunch of avocado, like um mushed avocado. And it is so good ‘cause I love avocados. So, that’s their like the most common thing I guess that they eat, and of course Empanadas, they have a lot of Empanadas. And then they have this thing called  Mote con Huesillo that they drink during the summer which is um, well, if we start talking about food I might take the whole hour talking about this so maybe, but it’s good…

Sister Oscarson: Tell me what an Empanada is though.

David: Empanada? Ok, let me think, so it’s like a dough, so it’s a dough, it’s hard to explain in English. They get a dough out and they just stuff, they fill it with, there’s cheese, you can put cheese in them, and, or you can put like meat and cooked onions, carameled onions or something like that, caramelized onions, or you can put chicken, or they put corn and cheese and it’s so good. Just talking about it makes my mouth water. But I like the baked kind. But, they either bake them or fry them, they’re just good.

Sister Oscarson: Sounds like you were well fed on your mission.

David: Ohhh yeah! Wow, I gained a lot…

Brother Beck: Did you gain weight on your mission?

David: I did and I had to lose it, so you know, exercise was important for me. I’m trying to keep the exercise going after the mission.

Sister Oscarson: One of the biggest questions that, that keeps coming up with youth for instance MariJean from the Philippines asked what was one of things that motivated you to go on a mission in the midst of a really successful music career?

David: Yeah, um, well, once again, I had, I had mentioned this in the Spanish one and it got me thinking a little more about the whole experience. Cause, a mission was something I, I’ve always wanted to do. It’s never, it was never necessarily like, oh well, I’m doing this, well forget about a mission, see ya, chow, um it was something that always, it’s like I always would have liked to do it. And when I got to the age I wondered about it. And a lot of people said “well you don’t have to go on a mission.” “You’re already doing a lot of good where you’re at. You’re probably doing a lot more good where you are now than if you were to leave and go to a different country, and you know leave the face of the earth.” But, and I thought at first, well maybe this is my mission in life, where, and, and you know part of it is, you know music’s part of my mission in life. But I was never ok, satisfied with just, don’t, like not going on a mission. I felt like there was something I needed from that experience. There was, and I kind of, I kind of talked about this too, like, I felt like there was someone waiting for me. And at the time I wasn’t sure exactly what happened, now I, I know, I know who those people are, those people are and their faces and experiences and getting to know them and watching them change, and then me changing was just amazing.

Sister Oscarson: Yeah, those are life time eternal relationships really. The ones that you, that you bring into the church, that you touch their lives, so.

David: Yeah

Brother Beck: Is there one in particular you’d like to share, a person or story?

David: Oh, there are so many people that you get to meet on your mission. You know people who are members of your church then people who aren’t members of the church. Strangers you get to meet and become friends with and just grow to love and you just serve, and it’s so crazy, you’re just on the street and you just want to help people. And it’s like you know what, this is what my time is for, I came here to help people. And so everything, you know you don’t have a phone, you don’t have internet, you’re not saying what movies my friends are going to tonight, nothing, what are people saying on my Twitter, no, everything is about what can I do for someone. And you get to do that constantly and just watch people’s reactions. You just feel different doing that. But, then getting to teach people, help teach them principles that can change their lives or can help them. What I loved, there is a quote, if you know who said this, maybe it was one of the presidents of the church said the gospel of Jesus Christ helps bad people become good and helps good people become better. And so a lot of, a lot of times people would be like, why do we need, why do we need to talk to you, tell me how you can help me? It’s like you know, we’re not here to tell everybody’s a sinner and you need to repent, but, this will help your life, it will improve it, and it makes, you know, I’m sure you’re good, you know, we’ve met a lot of great people, but it helps good people become better. And I met some of those pretty awesome people who, man I don’t even know, well, there was one family that I just absolutely loved and they were just great, you know they were really close with their kids and just as a family together but they felt like something was missing, and just getting to teach them and see the change happen. Inviting them to you know, do things, and like you know try living this commandment, try following this principle, come to church, or trying praying as a family every day and see what it does. And, helping them get closer to who Jesus Christ was. And, it just, wow, I don’t know, I think you have to go on a mission to know what I’m talking about here and experience it.

Brother Beck: But it is the joy of service that comes through. You can just feel it. And it’s something that so many people don’t understand just how much happiness can come when we serve, and you have to experience that really to understand that don’t you?

David: Yeah.

Brother Beck: Yeah.

Sister Oscarson: Well every mission has its highs and lows too. We have a question here from Trenton, who doesn’t say where he’s from. But um, he asks, “what were the biggest struggles you faced on your mission and how were you able to overcome and grow from such trials?”

David: Well, yeah…that’s uh

Sister Oscarson: Did you ever experience home sickness, or were you anxious or uncertain?

David: Yeah, it’s, that’s something that, at the beginning I did, you know, you missed home, where it’s like, oh, I’m not with my siblings, I don’t, I don’t know what’s going on, what they’re doing, I miss my mom.

Sister Oscarson: Yeah and the culture shock. Oh, yeah, your mom will be glad to hear that.

David: Yeah, the cultural shock. But, then you just remember, “It’s like well, why was I willing to come here in the first place, why did I leave all of that? Why?” And, just thinking, well I came here to serve the Lord, I came here because, I don’t know if necessarily you know if maybe I felt like He, He needed me to do it, but I needed it, I know that I did so He knew that I needed Him you know too. 

Sister Oscarson: Well I think that’s the great thing about missions, it’s for both of you, it’s both for you and your conversion and for those that you will reach and teach too.

David: Yeah

Brother Beck: There’s a great missionary anthem “Called to Serve” that uh, missionaries love to sing, I don’t know if you still sing it or?

David: Oh yeah, yeah.

Brother Beck: Is that maybe something you’d uh maybe consider singing tonight?

David: yeah, of course, I have that one actually prepared.

Sister Oscarson: Every future, and present and past missionary would love to hear that tonight.

David: OK, yeah, my pleasure

Brother Beck: Thank you.

David: I have to get it out in English here.

Segment #2 @ 20:36

David sings “Called to Serve” LDS hymn #246. Accompanied by Kendra Lowe, music by Adam Geibel.

Sister Oscarson: That’s great!

Brother Beck: I’ve heard that song sung a lot David, but I’ve never heard it sung like that.

David: Oh man!

Sister Oscarson: Did you sing it like that at the MTC when you were there?

David: Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know if we sang it like that, but…

Sister Oscarson: Or when you were standing there singing with the other missionaries did they stop and go, is that David Archuleta?

David: Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know I didn’t pay attention really to that, but.

Sister Oscarson: That brings up a good question, did people recognize you, in, when you got to Chile?

David: In Chile? You know what, they didn’t a whole lot, which is nice.

Sister Oscarson: Yeah, probably you were able to do what you were there for.

David: I was able to, yeah, So I was able to get the door slammed in my face all the time, I was still able to, I don’t know get people yelling all kinds of things at you. But, people sincerely, you know, seeing if people are sincerely interested. But there were times also when people did know who I was, and it caught their attention, it’s like what are you doing in Chile? What is, what’s you’re get up?

Sister Oscarson: It’s a good chance for you to tell them.

David: Yeah, so it was really neat as well. It was a great, it was a great tool to, well I mean, not just who I was but music as well.

Sister Oscarson : Yeah, I was going to say I bet you did use music to uh help bring the spirit.

David: Yeah, yeah. What was really nice is because most people didn’t know who I was, just getting someone to listen without any expectation, without just like, ooh David Archuleta is singing to me, it was just OK, let me see what you’re going to sing to me. I don’t know who you are, I’m just walking down the street or you’re just, you’re here standing at my door, this is kind of interesting. And then being able to sing a song, and a lot of times people would even, you know they wouldn’t be interested in what we had to say, like I don’t know you’re just a bunch of religious people at my door step trying to I don’t know, convince me of something else now. But when you’re able to, you know it’s like well will you at least listen to a song?

Sister Oscarson: So you used your music as a door approach then.

David: Yeah, yup.

Sister Oscarson: Good for you. That’s very creative.

David: yeah, yeah it was fun. It was great.

Sister Oscarson: Did you ever do that on your mission Brother Beck?

Brother Beck: No they would have really slammed, they wouldn’t have even…they would have done worse than slam the door on me.

David: No, you know when…

Sister Oscarson: I’d be interested to know, what was their reaction when you started singing because obviously you don’t have, you don’t have our kinds of singing voices.

David: Well half of the time I would sing, like a lot of times I’d sing on my own but a lot of times I would just sing with my companion. Because I think you know he had the same purpose as I did. And it’s not like, well I sing better so I’m going to help people feel the spirit not you. It wasn’t like that, it’s like we both, if we’re both dedicated to this, we both believe what it’s saying, they’re going to feel the spirit. And so, a lot of times, especially in the beginning of my mission when I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t speak Spanish and on top of that I wasn’t good at talking, um teaching, it’s like, just listen to the song ‘cause it says what we’re here for. And to see people and to see their faces change and have, and then they’d invite us in. A lot of people it’s like wow, they always talked about the feeling they felt and it need to see that it was not with any biased opinion to know that they felt something and they felt the spirit. And they understood our purpose even better.

Brother Beck: Oh that’s great, music is so powerful.

Sister Oscarson : Yeah it is

David: Yeah.

Brother Beck: So uh, we’ve got a question from a young woman in Brazil, Dadeeny. If you weren’t a singer, what would you be?

David: Hmmm (laugh), wow, you know that’s a good question Dadeeny. I think something that I’ve been interested, I love just watching people. I love observing them. And that’s partly why I love, maybe why I loved the mission so much. You get to meet people, you get to see how they are, their lifestyles, their culture, their beliefs, their problems. And to see the way their decisions and the beliefs changes the way they live, their lifestyle, or what they look towards in the future, or why they are the way they are. And that’s something that’s always been something that’s fascinated me. So I’ve always liked things kind of like that. Like I’ve thought about learning more about psychology or I don’t know, sociology or…

Sister Oscarson: ‘Cause just a people watcher doesn’t pay a whole lot but maybe….

David: (laughs) A people watcher doesn’t.

Brother Beck: But it certainly influences your music

Sister Oscarson: It does.

David: Yeah.

Brother Beck: Yeah, you observe and you respond.

David: Yeah, well that’s, I guess I didn’t think about it that way, yeah. I think uh, with music and especially like I’ve always kind of said, it’s like you, a lot of times singers have to be interpreters. They have to put themselves in someone else’s shoes. And I don’t think that’s just, it’s not just music that did that for me, I’ve always liked that, ever since I was little I remember just, I’ve always wanted to understand other people. And maybe that’s had some kind of effect on music. It definitely had an effect on me my mission and why I wanted to go on a mission just to not only understand the way people work and just say OK, that’s nice, but be able to say you know what, I understand, and this is what’s helped me, and I know it will help you. And it was just cool to be able to combine all of that on the mission.

Brother Beck: Which is uh so important for a missionary to be able to really seek to understand those that they meet and what their needs are and be able to interpret those needs and, and be responsive to those needs. Great missionaries do that. You’re a great missionary.

David: (laughs) Well I don’t know if I was a gr…, well I learned a lot that’s for sure. But thank you.

Sister Oscarson: This is an interesting question from Macarena in Ecuador. Think that’s a real name? You think?

David. Macarena.

Sister Oscarson: Macarena?

David: Yeah

Sister Oscarson: Ok I thought it was a dance, so.

David: (laughs) that too, well it’s a…

Sister Oscarson: But it must come from a name.

David: It does, it comes from a name. (laughs)

Sister Oscarson: Well anyway, she asks, she asks the question, “How do you keep your life in harmony with the Lord even though you’re surrounded by a lot of worldly influences?” She says by fame, money and popularity.

David: Yeah you know actually, I think I, we talked, this question came up in the Spanish one too and it’s a great question. So it’s, just…what I had said before in the Spanish chat is, well I don’t know if I remember what I said, but in uh…like the question is how was it, did it effect…?

Sister Oscarson: How do you keep your life in harmony with the Lord? Um how can you be in the world you’re in I guess is the question because it is a, it is a tough environment sometimes I’m guessing, um and how do you stay in tune with the spirit when you’re, when you’re surrounded by these worldly influences. 

David: Yeah, you know it’s so interesting because, I don’t, there are a lot, especially in the entertainment indus, life in general I mean I talk to my sisters and see what’s going on in the high school and junior high but they’re going through the a lot same things I am in my work.

Sister Oscarson: It’s, it’s true the youth are surrounded by some things that…

David: But, a lot of people try to tell you, you know this is what’s going to make you happy, this is what’s going to make you feel good, and sometimes you believe them, sometimes you do. Like you know making a lot of money is what’s going to make you feel good. Or you’re going to be successful, you know you’re going to be successful when everybody knows you’re name or everybody recognizes you, or people are screaming your name and things. And sometimes you believe them it’s like well, maybe that’s what success is. But after going through it, it’s like well, ok that was cool, I got an adrenaline rush, but why do I not feel any like better about myself? Why do I not feel successful? And it’s like look for it and it’s missing. And that happened to me. Like when the first, I remember just after doing you know American Idol and having the first album come out and all of that, I… you know everyone was telling me you know this is what happiness is, aren’t you on cloud 9? You must just be so happy right now. It’s like well I guess I’m happy but at the same time I was missing something. Because everyone was telling me to look in here, and telling me, if you do this you’ll be you’ll feel better. I just didn’t, I was like, what’s wrong, it’s not working, why don’t I feel good? And I started getting depressed, I started feeling down. And I kept trying to convince myself that everyone was right when I knew they weren’t. And I, that’s when I started realizing, you know what, I’m forgetting the things that always made me happy. And those things when I started doing them like my family, or remembering who like I was, that God was there, he had a plan for me, I was His son. And if living like a certain way, the way he asked me to, makes you feel good. And I started doing that again. And I wasn’t, you know during that time I didn’t consider myself inactive, but I wasn’t going to church. ‘Cause people said you don’t have time to go to church. I was like OK, and some people would even say “well God will understand that you can’t go to church.” But after a few months I didn’t realize how it was affecting me. And after that I started, I made a New Year’s resolution, it was like you know what, I need to go to, I need to get my things in order here, going to church and spending more time with my family even though like I’d have to fly on the weekends back home and it wasn’t convenient exactly but in the end it was because I’d rather, my family, I need to be with them, I need to be with my sisters. I’m still, we’re still all young.

Sister Oscarson: What a powerful message for the youth to hear from you.

Brother Beck: And the mission really helps to show that contrast of life in the world and life when you’re pursuing the things God wants you to do. Isn’t it just some bright lights the difference you feel and what you should do?

David: Yeah, what I realized, you know actually my, the pianist here Kendra she was actually my first, the first band I had she was the, she was the keyboardist and went on tour with me, and she, so she still comes. And she was the only LDS member I had on the road with me. And she said “well, would you like to go to church?” And I said “well, we can’t go to church, we are busy today.” And she’s like “well, well look, I found a church that starts at 9 O’clock. You don’t, you’re not closed and confined until noon. What if we just went to sacrament meeting? I was like oh, and you know before people told me I couldn’t go. Like they told me, like I couldn’t. And then I realized, you know what, I have more of a say than I thought I did, and I went, I started going to church every week. And we were traveling all over the place, but we were able to go to church.

Sister Oscarson: And did that, what difference did that make in your life?

David: It was huge, ‘cause it just made me realize, I can still be myself who I want to be, and still keep the things that matter to me with me, it didn’t matter what other people said. And even before that like I was afraid to telling people I’m a Mormon, oh they’re going to think I’m a weirdo. But I still went to church, I still read my scriptures but I was, I wouldn’t even tell people like my religion, my beliefs. And that completely changed, now. I just, I just don’t care, that’s why we’re doing this I don’t mind. But it made such an impact on me and it made me realize I can keep my priorities and I don’t have to change them for anybody.

Brother Beck: David this question just came in from Jackson, uh, he’s in Utah. He writes, David I am here with my Priest Quorum listening.

David: Ah no way!

Brother Beck: What do you wish you would have done to prepare for your mission?

David: What do I wish? (laughs) Wow!

Sister Oscarson: Oh and in connection with that, this-this is a good one, somebody named Limhi. I don’t know where he’s from, if you could, Book of Mormon. If you could go back to the past and tell yourself some advice to be more prepared to serve the Lord, what would, what would you say?

David: (Laughs) Well to Limhi and to the Priest quorum, to??

Brother Beck: Jackson

David: To Jackson and the Priest quorum, I would have liked probably, I would have liked to have studied Preach My Gospel more. Which is like a missionary handbook, tells you like how to prepare, and what you need to know to be a missionary. And you realize you don’t know, you don’t, well I was like, I don’t have the whole, I don’t have all the scriptures...I don’t have the Bible and the Book of Mormon memorized, I’m not going to be able to teach people, but you don’t have to. You just have to be willing to dedicate yourself and to learn. To know a good enough amount, but to be teachable, you have to be teachable on the mission and Preach My Gospel prepares you how it like, teaches you how to be teachable does that make sense?

Sister Oscarson and Brother Beck: Sure, yes it does. Oh yeah, absolutely.

Brother Beck: It’s a great resource to.

David: It is. And you’re going to be studying that every day on your mission, so might as well start now. I mean the, chapter 10 was such a huge, I think it’s Teaching Skills in English. Teaching Skills I think, that one is a huge help for me, it was a huge help. And then there’s the…

Sister Oscarson: And we hope all those Priests out there, are you listening?

David: Yeah and in seminary…

Sister Oscarson: The whole quorum.

David: Yeah, and you know another thing I said in the Spanish one, because there was a similar question to this is aside from the things that honestly we’re always told to do and we hear it so many times that we kind of overlook them. But, if you’re reading your scriptures daily, if you’re praying and keeping you’re keeping your con, communication, keeping in touch with God daily, if you’re going to church and paying attention, and seeing how you can serve there, you are preparing for your mission. And another thing that I mentioned was something that helped me so much was being able to go to the temple. Before my mission, you know after realizing I could go to church every week, I made it a goal to go to the temple every week, and that was such a huge help to me. Because you are not with any distractions, you’re just there with the Lord in the house of the Lord, and just talking to him and you can hear him so clearly. You know we, we all feel the spirit, like we can feel those promptings of the spirit in our lives. But in the temple it’s different, and it’s just clearer. You can ask him questions and say, “Heavenly Father so I’m doing this, what can I do better to prepare? And you receive that guidance. And you’re doing something great so,

Sister Oscarson: That’s great, yeah that’s…

David: So I would, that was something huge for me is going to the temple every week.

Brother Beck: Yeah, great advice

Sister Oscarson: Great, great advice. I think we need another song whata you think?

Brother Beck: Yeah we’ve fired a lot of questions at you so…

Sister Oscarson: Yeah we have

David: Yeah Ok, yeah, no it’s good

Sister Oscarson: Let your brain rest and use your vocal chords a little here

David: It’s fine, I get to be a little long winded sometimes talking.

Sister Oscarson: Oh no, you’ve been doing great.

David: Alright.

 Segment 3 @38:55

David sings “I Need Thee Every Hour” LDS hymn #98 by Annie S. Hawks. Music by: Robert Lowry. Accompanied by Kendra Lowe.

Brother Beck: Wonderful

Sister Oscarson: Absolutely beautiful.

David: Thank you

Sister Oscarson: Thank you.

Brother Beck: Here’s a question that just came in. I think uh, it’s really interesting. It’s from Allie from Wisconsin. Even though I may not be LDS, I am Lutheran, you truly inspire me with your faith and ambition, thank you for that.

David: Oh thank you.

Brother Beck: Um, there are many people with a shared faith and ambition from different religions. What message of the gospel do you feel seemed to be universal with everyone you’ve met?

David: Hmmm, well thank you first of all Allie. I think you know there are a couple of things, the biggest thing I think everybody wants to feel and looks for, they want to feel loved. Everybody wants to feel like they’re loved and have a reason that they’re here. And people I think once they come to know, you know God, or even just feeling loved, they want to give it back. The more you feel loved, the more you want to love other people. And, to get to know people and see them missing that, and looking for it, and then finding it, being able to be there to help them along in finding that through the gospel of Jesus Christ, through his teachings, and them gaining that desire to love other people more, because they’re finding themselves, they’re loving themselves better, was something I saw in everybody. Everybody was looking for that.

Brother Beck: Yeah, you know I think that’s one of the sweetest experiences of a mission is to feel God’s love that he has for His children.

David: yeah, uh-huh

Brother Beck: To really feel that in your heart, and to be able to try and express that as best you can in serving them.

David: ummhmm

Sister Oscarson: and I think it helps you realize that, that Heavenly Father, that we are His children, and that he cares about each one of us and is interested in our lives, and we start to feel a portion of the love he feels for each one of us. It’s interesting.

David: ummhmm

Sister Oscarson: Um, then, I don’t know how say this name, this young man from Brazil Venisius?

Bro Beck: Venisius, uh-huh

Sister Oscarson: Venisius from Brazil asks: How has this mission experience changed your relationship with God?

David: Wow

Sister Oscarson: That’s a good question isn’t it?

David: Yeah, ooh, my mission, and I would imagine it’s, if other people have served they’ve probably have felt this way too. I thought I was close to God, I tried you know, to be close to him. Being on a mission and not thinking about yourself; focusing on serving other people, is what brought me closer to God than anything else. And making the time to study, really study the scriptures and realize how important that was, and realizing that I needed the spirit to be with me in order to be a better missionary, and realizing the things I needed to change to do that. It’s like I need, I can’t, I thought like coming to the mission I would, by being obedient and just giving this time I would, it would be enough and I would become closer to God automatically. Like a just, like a little you know factory with those little belts that you go on. But I realized even doing that and even doing all I could, I still, wasn’t enough if I didn’t have the help of the Lord with me. And that’s when I really humbled myself and realized how much I needed Him. That even doing my best, (David gets emotional here) wow, doing all I could, that I was still going to be imperfect, I was still going to mess up a lot, and I needed Him. Wow, and…learning what the atonement was of Jesus Christ which is his sacrifice, when he died for us, when he suffered for our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane, realizing how to apply repentance, being honest with myself, being honest, admitting the things I was doing wrong so that I could change them, and realizing how much I needed that help of the Savior to treat myself better, love myself better, love other people more, and be closer to God. That is just something invaluable that I would never, ever trade in my life, and I’m so grateful I went on a mission ‘cause I did not understand that until I went there and got rid of all those distractions and all of my priorities that I had, it changed on my mission.

Sister Oscarson: Well that was beautiful, thank you for sharing that, that’s a tender experience.

David: Thank You

Brother Beck: You learn a lot of patience with yourself and with others.

David: Yeah

Brother Beck: One of the interesting aspects of the mission is uh you have a companion.

David: Oh yeah, yeah (laughs)

Brother Beck: And uh, you have a companion 24-7. And uh, so this question from Sam, he lives in Nevada is about that he asks um “I stayed home from a trip to watch this.”

David: Oh really, wow, well thank you…hopefully.

Brother Beck: …and asks, what were your companions like?

David: My companions. It was…Sam

Brother Beck: Sam uh-huh

David: Well Sam, I had, I cannot complain about my companions. I had, I had 6 from the US, the United States and I had 7 from Latin America. And they were all just great, like from my first companion and just him being a go-getter and just being adventurous, Elder Carbahal? from Argentina, he was my trainer. And he was just full of energy and he just so…he was just good with people and I was so anti-social like I was not good with people, it’s like you know what, I don’t know how he does it but he helped me just learn how to really love people and be yourself. And, to companions that were a little more difficult as well, I’m not gonna lie. I had some pretty hard companions and I got in arguments with them. And I, I’ve always tried to be a peacemaker all my life, but there was one companion I had, it was just hard, like whether I, we just argued, we’d, but he was one of the best companions I had. Because there was, even though we fought the most there was probably not one I was closer to.

Sister Oscarson: Kind of like a brother

David: Yeah, ‘cause when you fi…when you get in an argument, you get mad, you can’t just go away and avoid it. He’s right there next to you, when you wake up you know the next day he’s right there. So you have to learn how to figure out and resolve, uh what are those called those in English?

Brother Beck: Differences or…

David: Differences and yeah, and arguments.

Sister Oscarson: I-I, Sorry to interrupt you, I have to ask a question, this is, I think this is from my granddaughter.

David: Really, woah wow

Sister Oscarson: Who lives in Portland she’s 15, Waverly in Portland. Um, she wants to uh know if you have a boy, if you have a girlfriend.

David: If I have a girlfriend (laughs)

Sister Oscarson: Yeah, you know this question had to come up at some point, so...

David: You know, yeah, they asked it before actually. I, I don’t currently have a girlfriend. But you know, especially on the mission we were teaching about families and how they can be together forever, and watching how happy they are, you can’t help but want that.

Sister Oscarson: Good, good for you

David: So, I’m definitely getting to know people. Before my mission I was so self-conscience, and I was so focused on work and so self-conscience, I just, I probably went on one date once a year, a date a year. And, but you know that is kind of dumb, it’s like you know that’s, a family is one of the most important things, greatest things that you can have in your life.

Sister Oscarson: Well, here’s a good follow-up question then, what, what would you say are the most important qualities that you’d look for in a future wife?

David: Yeah, well…

Sister Oscarson: And, and it’s OK to put in a plug here for young women and say you know...

David: (laughs) …for young women. You know I actually wrote a song about this because everyone, there was a time when everyone was saying well you need a love song, you need a love song, but I didn’t want to talk about all that kind of sho… you know all that kind of stuff, so there’s a song and I called it My Kind of Perfect, and so I’m definitely you know, it says, a lyric in the song it says I’ll keep searching for my kind of perfect, and it’s definitely, it doesn’t say I’m waiting for my kind of perfect, sitting back doing nothing, you know you have to go search for that person, ‘cause I learned you know, you know God will respond when you act. But um, going back to the list

Sister Oscarson: Yeah, yeah, you’ve been a little vague there, but that’s OK, maybe it leaves it open.

David: No, yeah, I’ve actually made a list of things and obviously, you know, I don’t know if it’s cheesy, but I think it’s OK, you know I think someone needs to love, you know, love the Lord.

Sister Oscarson: That’s not cheesy at all.

David: OK, and I honestly, I would hope they love, well obviously it’s like a given, they need to love to Lord more than they love me. ‘Cause then they’ll have their priority set. And if they do that, then we can make the same kinds of goals together and in our family. I feel like, you know I think you know, that really lines everything up. You know someone who is confident, sure of themselves, carries themselves well, someone who’s fun to be with, who can make me laugh, I think that’s important too, but…

Brother Beck: How about a singer?

David: Um, it doesn’t matter, you know it really doesn’t. They just…

Sister Oscarson: You just made a lot of young women happy.

Brother Beck: Yeah, yeah that’s right

David: (laughs) I mean they have to be supportive in what I do I guess, someone who hates my music that would be pretty hard, but if it’s someone who’s obsessed with me that’s kind of weird too. But you know I think someone who loves the Lord, someone who’s, something I would say a lot is even before my mission is that I said at a fireside one time, a virtuous young woman, someone who has virtue. You can look at them and tell that’s someone who gets what virtue is.  And what is virtue it’s like well I see a lot of, when I think of virtue it’s like someone who, I think of the temple when I think of virtue, and clean, like something clean and pure and someone who strives to live their lives that way.  It makes just all the difference, and you can feel something different with them, you learn from them and I don’t know it’s cool.

Sister Oscarson: That’s a great answer

David: Oh, OK.

Brother Beck: Izzy on Twitter asks, the youth in my ward are watching and want to know when was the first time you were able to recognize the spirit?

David: You know, well I have, I don’t have the greatest memory, but because I would talk a lot about music, I do remember how the spirit would influence me, and realizing when a song would make you feel closer and feel better, closer to God and when a song wouldn’t and make you feel kind of gross inside, kind of dirty and just lacking the feeling. And, I remember when I was six years old, just songs doing that to me, and things prompting me to do things. And I was six years old but that doesn’t mean that I, you can still feel something good. And I didn’t know it at the time, but as I got older espec… you know, especially when I probably was a teenager I think I just, you have a whole lot of emotions going through you when you’re a teenager when you’re trying to find yourself, when I hit 12 and 13 I was just, going through a whole lot of emotions. But, even more when I, I started realizing how big of a difference it made in music in my friends, the people I was around. And there was a time I didn’t surround myself with the greatest people. They didn’t do the greatest things. But, uh, it makes a, as I got older like 16, I started realizing how everything impacted the way you felt, or basically now that I realize is whether you have the spirit with you or not from the conversations you’ll have, from a movie, and being willing to get up and one time I was with my sister and people were telling us how a funny movie was and we were watching it, we just look at each other, we both realized we felt something not with us, we didn’t feel good and she was like should we leave? And I was like yeah, let’s go. Even though we paid for it, we both left, and we just, we felt good afterwards. But every little thing makes a difference from who you choose to surround yourself with to the songs you listen to, to what you’re thinking about, and I know it’s hard to control your thoughts and you know sometimes thoughts just come or something you don’t expect comes across. But doing your best to just you know “hum your favorite hymn” or something, that, it  makes such a difference.

Brother Beck: Right

Sister Oscarson: This has been delightful.

Brother Beck: It sure has.

Sister Oscarson: And you’ve, you are such a great example for our youth we appreciate that.

David: Thank you

Sister Oscarson: Some of the things you’ve said to give them advice so, um…

Sister Oscarson: I think we’re about to…

David: Well, I appreciate you guys.

Sister Oscarson: Well thank you, you’re just…

Brother Beck: It’s been great

David: It’s a privilege to be here with you two as well so thank you

Sister Oscarson: I think we’d like to hear you sing one more song if…

David: Yeah, I’d love to.

Sister Oscarson: Ok

David: Yeah

Sister Oscarson: We’d love to I’d think everyone else would love to too.

Brother Beck: Thank you David

Sister Oscarson: Thank you so much.

David: Awww, thank you.

David sings “Spirit of God” LDS hymn #2. Text: William W. Phelps, 1792-1872. Included in the first LDS hymnbook, 1835. Accompanied by Kendra Lowe.

(Ending and goodbye’s thank you’s)