In the past few weeks I’ve been asked by several people to share this. I know some of you following this page didn’t know Dallin personally but I hope this gives a glimpse into the kind of person he . . . is. The last General Conference, before Dallin returned home from his mission, was in October 2011. He wrote home and was so excited. He told us he had written over 20 pages of notes! We later found out that one of his favorite talks, was given by Elder Richard G. Scott. (https://lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/the-power-of-scripture?lang=eng) This is the talk where Elder Scott shares, his experience of recording his voice, reading the Book of Mormon as a special Christmas gift for his family. Dallin took this talk to heart and without any of us knowing, one month before he came home, began his own personal journey of recording “his” voice reading this entire book of scripture. In just under two months, he finished this labor of love. (531 pages!) The completion of this endeavor has special significance when you realize that Dallin had struggled to read his entire life growing up. In fact he agonized over each printed page placed before him. For years we did not know Dallin had Dyslexia, and we had no idea how difficult this challenge was for our son. There were times he was made fun of, times where he deliberately got up, in the middle class to “get a drink or visit the restroom” so he would strategically miss his turn to read out loud, and countless times of tears, shame and frustration. In August 2005 before Dallin’s 15th birthday, our then Prophet, Gordon B Hinckley, issued a challenge for all of us to read and/or re-read the Book of Mormon, before the end of the year. Dallin with whole-hearted faithfulness accepted this challenge. But after several weeks he came to me completely discouraged, as he realized he could not reach his goal, at the rate he was struggling. I made him a deal. I told him I would purchase the Book of Mormon on CD and he could listen to it, “IF” he promised to follow along with his finger, in his book as he listened. He agreed and not only did he finish by the end of the year, he was blessed for his faithfulness and given something extraordinary . . . the ability to read! I remember him coming to me and excitedly showing me a verse of scripture that had touched him deeply. “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” (Ether 12:27) From that point forward the scriptures became an integral part of his life. He truly feasted on them. “ . . . Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” (2 Nephi 32:3) What had been a weakness, not being able to read, now became a mighty strength in Dallin’s life, and he freely shared it with everyone. Anyone who knew Dallin could tell you he adored his family, he lived for missionary work, he loved the Lord and he cherished the scriptures. After returning home from his mission, he made arrangements with one of his friends, to transfer “his” recording of the Book of Mormon onto flash drives, which he then intended to give, as gifts, to his family members. None of his family knew he had done this, until 2 years later, as he lay unconscious in the ICU. His friend hesitantly contacted me through a text not knowing if sharing this intended gift was good timing or not. In reality it couldn’t have come at a better time. In all of the craziness, anguish and heartache since Dallin’s passing, hearing his voice, steady and true, reading from the scriptures he loved, is a testament to me that Heavenly Father knew Dallin would not be with us, here on earth for a normal lifespan, and through His Spirit, He inspired Dallin to give us a most priceless gift. I also believe with all of my heart, Dallin, though he may not have known exactly why, was in tune with that Spirit and followed those promptings. Allow me to personalize the scripture I mentioned before . . . “Wherefore, I said unto you, (Dallin) feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” Because Dallin listened and did what Christ told him to do, we have all been blessed and more importantly, his son, arriving this coming week, will someday be able to feel his father’s love for the words of Christ as he hears his daddy’s voice reading from the Book of Mormon. Thank you Heavenly Father. Please tell Dallin that we love him and are so very proud of him.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 07:35:02 +0000
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