President Monson
9 years ago, I had the coolest experience
The kind you can’t plan.
In 2018 I was in the thick of motherhood with three little kids at home, endless messes, and no breaks. One day I left the house just to leave the house. It had probably been a week or two since I’d gone anywhere. I had no money, it was the middle of winter, and nowhere to go.
Once everyone was buckled in, I said a little prayer that sounded something like this:
“Heavenly Father, I have no money, no plan, and I just need some kind of acknowledgment that I’m a human. Can you lead me somewhere worthwhile so I can feel something for a minute. Please?”
(Yes, I actually prayed that.)
The feeling came: Go straight north on 1100 East until you can’t go any further.
So I did. I had no idea where I was headed or what I’d find.
Every time I thought about turning around, or making a turn to go grab an icecream, the feeling nudged again: just keep going north.
1100 East led all the way up to Q Street in the Avenues, a beautiful neighborhood overlooking the whole Salt Lake Valley.
And then…the road ended at a cemetery.
I literally couldn’t go any further north.
I laughed out loud. How fitting that God led me straight to a cemetery. I did feel a little dead inside — maybe this was symbolic.
I parked and sat in silence for a minute contemplating what I was supposed to learn from this or if I was just crazy for believing the prompting that led me to this spot. That’s when I noticed the discreet security guards surrounding the entire cemetery.
A couple walked past my car, so I rolled down my window and asked, “Who passed away?”
They looked at me, bewildered.
“The Prophet, Thomas S. Monson.”
If you don’t know who Thomas S. Monson was the 16th prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving from 2008 to 2018. One of the kindest humans to ever live.
Aspen and I got out of the car and quietly walked the perimeter of the service. It was peaceful, calm, and a super special moment. Only 30 people were in attendance.
When everyone left, Aspen and I quietly walked by his headstone, said goodbye, and went home.
It completely blew me away. That little moment taught me three things:
That even simple, almost silly prayers are heard by a loving Father in Heaven.
That God doesn’t just answer in small ways, sometimes He answers loudly.
That God saw me that day — a tired mom drowning in the everyday mundane —
and thought, “I’ve got just the thing for you to do with your kids, is free and is super special!”
I could’ve ended up anywhere that day.
But instead, I ended up there at the perfect place, and at the perfect time.
If you don’t believe God listens to you, try Him! Ask.
You never know where He might take you.
