Audrey Potter - Arcadia Ward

 

Hi! My name is Audrey Potter. I grew up in Orem, UT, and then moved to the LA area after I graduated BYU to obtain a master's in teaching on a secondary level. My husband, John, was the first person I met out here and after being friends for a year, we started dating and subsequently got married--three years ago in March. We're expecting our first baby, a little boy, in the middle of May. 

Something that I've continually learned is the importance of faith and giving control over to the Lord. For example, when I was 19, the missionary age change occurred. All of a sudden, waves of girls my own age were leaving for a mission and I felt very conflicted about whether I should go or not. Previous to the age change, I'd known I'd wanted to serve a mission, but suddenly my feelings changed and I felt guilty. How selfish of me to not serve! Didn't I have a testimony? I spent the next 3 years trying to make the decision. I prayed about it every day. I fasted about it every month. I had well meaning family members and friends pushing me to go, asking what else I had to do that could be better. I didn't have an answer, but I wanted to go for the right reasons, not because I was being pushed by those around me. The decision was between me and the Lord. Looking back, I received the answer to not go many times but I didn't trust it. Finally, I graduated college and decided to receive my endowments. As I attended the temple and continued to pray, I became more comfortable with the answer I received and finally decided to surrender to it: don't go on a mission because there are important things for me to do. Within a month of making my choice, I found the grad program in LA that I applied to, was accepted to their summer semester, and moved to Southern California! Within a week of moving, I met the man I'd come to love and marry, started getting my secondary teaching credential, and got a job working with high school students at a local school. Over the past 5 years, I've had the privilege to see the hand of the Lord work through me in my family life and in the lives of the students I come across. They have changed me for the better and I've had an equally positive impression on them. It's as if the Lord was waiting for me to trust His decision before He gave me the work He truly needed of me.

It's hard to have faith. It's hard to let go of the desired plans for our lives and allow the Lord to take us places we never thought we'd go. I never wanted to live in LA, but I love it here now and the move has made me draw closer to the Lord. I can see His hand more clearly because I know what it feels like to be moved by it. I'm reminded of Ether 12:6. Moroni tells us that, "...I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." These trials of my faith continue to strengthen my resolve and surety of in whom I put my trust. It's difficult to not see and to act without a complete surety, but I do know that the witness does come and remembering those lessons and the times I've been delivered helps me feel more sure with the next step I have to take.  Audrey Potter - Arcadia Ward