LDS Podcast "Latter-Day Lights" - Inspirational LDS Stories

Called to Serve? Women's Stories from Doubt to Direction: Tayma Johnson's Story - Latter-Day Lights

• Scott Brandley and Emily Hemmert

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What do you do when God’s plan for your life looks completely different from the one you carefully mapped out?

In this week’s episode of Latter-day Lights, Scott and Emily sit down with author and special guest — Tayma Johnson — to share her journey from never planning to serve a mission, to feeling unmistakably called by the Lord to step into the unknown. Through moments of prayer, spiritual prompting, and unexpected mundane confirmations that subtly nudged her towards mission prep, Tayma recounts how she learned to trust God’s timing over her own fears about the future. Her story offers a deeply relatable look at the wrestle between personal desire and divine direction, and how real intent in prayer can open the door to clarity and peace.

Tayma also discusses the inspiration behind her upcoming book, “Called to Serve?” which features the stories of 27 women navigating the complex decision of whether or not to serve missions, in hopes to inspire others to take the leap. Alongside reflections on companionship, revelation, and faith during uncertain seasons such as the COVID-era missionary work, this conversation explores how God guides individuals differently—and how seeking to be spiritually ready to receive answers can be just as important as the answers themselves.

*** Please SHARE Tayma's story and help us spread hope and light to others. ***

To WATCH this episode on YouTube, visit: https://youtu.be/SGXzYv6Hlgw

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To READ Tayma’s book, “Called to Serve?” visit: https://www.cedarfort.com/products/called-to-serve

To SUPPORT Emily's non-profit organization, "The Marcovia Project," visit: https://themarcoviaproject.org/

To READ Scott’s new book “Faith to Stay” for free, visit: https://www.faithtostay.com/

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Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaylights

Also, if you have a faith-promoting or inspiring story, or know someone who does, please let us know by going to https://www.latterdaylights.com and reaching out to us.

Scott Brandley:

Hey there, as a Latter Day Lights listener, I want to give you a very special gift today. My brand new book, Faith to Stay. This book is filled with inspiring stories, powerful discoveries, and even fresh insights to help strengthen your faith during the storms of life. So if you're looking to be inspired, uplifted, and spiritually recharged, just visit faith2.com. Now, let's get back to the show. Hey everyone, I'm Scott Brandley.

Emily Hemmert:

And I'm Emily Hemmert. Every member of the church has a story to share, one that can instill faith, invite growth, and inspire others.

Scott Brandley:

On today's episode, we're going to hear how one woman who never planned on serving a mission learned that God had a plan for her life and was inspired to write a book to help other women considering serving a mission. Welcome to Latter Day Lights.

Tayma Johnson:

Hi, thanks so much for having me.

Scott Brandley:

Yeah, you bet. So something fun that came out as we were talking before, your husband actually was on the show in the past.

Tayma Johnson:

Yes. Yep. Uh probably about two years ago now. Yeah, he was on.

Scott Brandley:

So now you got both of you in the family. So that's pretty cool. Well, um, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Tayma Johnson:

Yeah. So my name is Tama. Um, I grew up in Washington State, and then I went to college at Southern Virginia University, where I ran cross-country and track and never planned on serving a mission, but um ended up going on a mission after um one year there. I served in Austin, Texas. And after I completed my mission, I went back to SVU. Um, I met my husband about a year later. Um, and we got married and have one one-year-old, and we have one boy who is one year old. Um, he is so fun, so full of light. Uh, love being his mom so much. Um, I have a degree in psychology, and my husband's degree is actually in psychology too. We met in a psychology class, so that was fun. We do a lot of analyzing and analytical thinking together. Um, right now I teach hypnobirthing education classes, which was never in my plan to do any sort of birth work, but I'm so glad it is. I really love that. Um, in any free time, I do sourdough baking, gardening, hiking, and I just love being with my family and and friends and um yeah, spending time with people I love.

Scott Brandley:

That is awesome. So if you're both in psychology, do you ever like try to outthink the other person or like figure out what they what they're thinking?

Tayma Johnson:

Uh no, probably not. Just a lot of like, I don't know. I feel like we have really good conversations and like we think about things differently than maybe other people do. And so it's just like I love a good conversation that makes me think that's like you know, deep, and you feel like the gears in your brain like you know, moving and stuff like that. So that's really fun to kind of have that passion and be able to have those kinds of conversations.

Scott Brandley:

That's awesome. Well, I also want to uh take a second and just welcome Emily Hammer to the show. Um, for those of you guys that are watching, Emily's been my guest co-host for the last few episodes while Alicia's doing her event planning stuff for over the holidays. But welcome, Emily. Thanks for being here.

Emily Hemmert:

But I was gonna ask, did you do hypnobirthing for your baby? I did. Yep. That's awesome.

Scott Brandley:

Well, I don't know anything about that, but I don't know. Is that a popular thing? Is that big is it growing in popularity?

Tayma Johnson:

Um, yeah, it's probably growing. It's not super popular. I guess like in a nutshell, it's like, you know, think about being um super focused on like reading a book and you know, you feel like you're in it, right? And like you kind of lose track of time, or you're like watching a movie or in a good conversation. You know, you're just so focused that everything else around you kind of goes away. It's like being really focused in your situation. All of that would technically be self-hypnosis. So in hypnobirthing, it's um basically about like training your mind to be really focused on your birth and relaxed and present. And yeah, that helps you, at least for me, it helped me have a really um great birth experience. So I love getting to teach moms some of those techniques now and help them prepare for their journey to motherhood.

Emily Hemmert:

Awesome. I had a friend do hypno birthing for her baby, and she delivered in her shower while her husband was sleeping.

Tayma Johnson:

So it can happen.

Emily Hemmert:

Oh yeah, they call out and be like, okay, I had the baby.

Tayma Johnson:

Yeah, it's probably one of the more rare ones, but yeah, sometimes people don't even realize like that they're in labor just because of you know how it can be portrayed on movies and things like that. And then like they don't have that experience and they feel very relaxed and calm and in control, and then they have a baby and they're like, Oh, that's like you know, not how everybody else thinks it is, but how it definitely can be.

Scott Brandley:

So wow. I think if I was a woman, that would be the way to do it. I think so. Okay, well, um, we'd like to turn the time over to you and tell us where your story begins.

Tayma Johnson:

Yeah. So um I think my story begins probably with my decision to serve a mission. Um, that happened long before I ever considered writing a book about that. So as I mentioned, I was at uh Southern Virginia University and I didn't plan on serving a mission. There wasn't anything in particular that made me think, oh, I don't want to do this. It just wasn't in my plan. And when I come up with a plan, I think I just tend to stick to that and don't really want to deviate from it. So that's kind of what was in my head is that I would just go to SVU and study psychology, run cross country and track and kind of see where life uh took me. Hopefully, um meet my husband and start a family somewhere along the road. But that first semester, I became fast friends with a girl named Morgan on my cross-country team. And she also lived in the same dorm building, just like uh the floor beneath me. And she had just got back from her mission a couple months ago. And she started asking me um, you know, why I didn't want to serve a mission, how I came to that conclusion. She talked a lot about her mission, and it just really opened my eyes to the possibility that I could serve a mission and why why was I against it? Like, why did I decide at some point that I didn't want to? So um that brought me just a lot of to a lot of thought and reflection and prayer. And when I went home for winter break after that first semester, I turned 19. And so the question was just very ever present on my mind. I had a lot more people asking me if I was going to serve a mission. And um, I went to my previous young woman president's house over that Christmas break. I was friends with her daughter all growing up. So, of course, we were hanging out while we had the chance. And as I headed out the door um when I had left for college that first semester, I had been like, oh, do you have any advice for me? And she jokingly was like, Oh, don't kiss too many boys. And so then this time leaving, I was like, Oh, what advice do you have for me this time? And she said, Don't hesitate putting in your mission papers. And I was like, um, okay, you know, I'm not planning on going on a mission. Like, why would you say that? And I was like kind of frustrated, honestly, like, that's like what you're gonna tell me. Like, okay. So I left um her house and got ready to go back to college and for the next semester. And that night I remember praying, and because what she had said, like, though I wanted to just push it away, I it did like stay in my mind at that comment. And I was like, okay, I'm gonna pray about it honestly tonight. If I think that I should go on a mission, if that's something that Heavenly Father has in my path and his path for me. And I think that was the first time that I really prayed, like with that real intent. I think real intent is praying um with a desire uh to accept whatever answer he has for you. Rather, I think my prayers in the during the fall semester had been more like, hey, I'm not planning on serving serving a mission, tell me that's okay. And this time I was like, okay, should I go on a mission? And I just felt more willing to accept what that answer was. And I felt very strongly that I did need to go on a mission, but um I decided to fight that for whatever reason. Still, I'm can be pretty stubborn. And so I I I wanted I wanted my will to be Heavenly Father's will, but I didn't feel the desire. And I think that was like my biggest holdup was that I I wanted to do what he wanted me to do, but I didn't want to do that thing, you know, that he was asking. I'm sure we've all felt that in our lives. Um, so I went ahead and um got on my plane the next morning to go back to Virginia, and I found myself uh in the Atlanta airport for a layover, and it was about dinner time. So I went over to Wendy's, grabbed some dinner, and sat down on the counter. Um, it was Book of Mormon Come Follow Me had just started, and so I opened my scriptures and Come Follow Me and started reading. And I was just so impressed um by Nephi's example to leave everything he knew behind and go into the wilderness. And I'm sure he had um, you know, moments where that was really, really hard. And maybe he wondered, you know, is this really what I'm supposed to do? And he had a lot of trust in his father as well to follow him and you know, ultimately what God was asking them to do. And I thought about it and I was like, huh, I wonder like if the prophet or if Heavenly Father asked me to go into the wilderness, if I'd be willing to go. And immediately, even with all the hustle and bustle in the airport around me, I just felt the spirit go. I am asking you to go into the wilderness. I'm asking you to serve a mission. And so right then and there, I I knew that I was gonna go. And I started to have that desire because I wanted to follow him. And I I I wanted like that experience, I guess. And you know, ultimately, I I just wanted to follow what Heavenly Father wanted um me to do. So I made up my mind that I was gonna go ahead and do that. Well, of course, you get back to college, and you know, peak spiritual experiences can be more easy to forget than I'd like to admit. Um, kind of got caught up in classes and practice and everything, and then Sunday rolled around and um they announced that mission prep was gonna be the afternoon at four. And I didn't really think anything of it. I went back to my dorm, changed out of my church dress, put on sweats, and I just had the strongest feeling you need to go down the mission prep. So I was like, okay. So I put on my dress back on and I uh called on my friends and I said, Will you go with me? Because I did not want to go by myself. And I knew that she was thinking about serving a mission. So we ran back down the hill to the church building. And as soon as I sat down, I just felt again the spirit so strongly. This is exactly where I need you. So I was like, okay, I can do this, I'm gonna do this. I did, I did make this choice. Um, and so yeah, continued to go about college after that. Um, I still was planning on serving a mission, hadn't made any steps to start my mission papers or meet with my bishop. And there was still a part of me that didn't want to go that was coming up with just all the excuses, you know. I I could name so many of them. And I really only had one reason to go, and that was because I felt that that's what I needed to do and what Heavenly Father wanted me to do. But that one reason, you know, could outweigh every excuse that I could come up with. So um a couple weeks later, then I was at the armory in New York City, which is an indoor track. Um it's really big, a lot of records have been set there and just a lot going on. Um, and I was just thinking about my mission papers, you know, while I'm at this track meet. And for some reason, right there before I went um for my to warm up for my event, I ran the mile. Um, I was like, I'm just gonna text the executive secretary right now and set up a meeting with the bishop. So that's what I did. And then it was off my mind, and I went and took 10 seconds off my mile time and won my heat. And so I was feeling pretty good, I guess. So um, yeah, I set up the interview, and you know, my young woman pres, my young woman's president, um, president's words came to me again. You know, don't hesitate putting in your mission paper. So I worked very quickly to get everything done that I needed to. Uh, after that, I borrowed a friend's car to drive to the appointments I needed to, um, got through my interviews and I put in my papers one week before the COVID pandemic hit. And if I had delayed, my timeline just would have been completely different.

Scott Brandley:

Yeah.

Tayma Johnson:

So I'm very grateful that she was inspired. And, you know, she had no idea that was gonna happen. I had no idea. Um, but I was I was able to put my papers in at that time. Um, my call, I was still delayed in getting my call. Um I my stake president reached out to me a couple weeks after that and just asked me to get a little bit more medical clearance because they were being, you know, just more cautious with everything. Wanted to make sure that, you know, anybody that was going out or in the field was like healthy and able to be there as we didn't know a lot about COVID. And so it did take a bit longer, and then there was some other issue. I can't remember the details with that. And like my papers were in, but they weren't like in in and that I was like in line to get my call. And I just remember being like, okay, I put my papers in two months ago, and now it almost feels like I'm not able to go on a mission at this time. Nobody knows what's happening with COVID. And I was just so confused because I knew so strongly that I needed to serve a mission. And then on the other hand, I just felt so confused. Like, why wasn't it working out right now? Um, so the scripture that brought me a lot of comfort was first Nephi 3.7, um, which says that the Lord um, you know, won't give us a commandment that we can't like keep that He um he'll provide a way, you know, for us to keep the commandments and the commandments that He's given us. And I knew that the Lord, in a sense, had commanded me to serve a mission. And so um by that virtue, I knew He was going to provide a way. And lo and behold, a week later, I got my mission call to Austin, Texas. Um, and I left about three months after that. And you know, throughout that whole process, the hardest thing was not leaving to go on a mission, for me at least. It was in making the decision. I wanted to know how everything was gonna work out. I like got really caught up at one point that if I went on a mission, that like I would miss out on meeting my spouse or just like little things like that that I know in the big picture, like Heavenly Father's taking all that into account, and like we're not gonna entirely mess up our future, even if like he wasn't asking me to go on a mission and I I chose that, like he's got a plan for us and it's okay, and like things were gonna work out, but you know, it was easy to get caught up on some of those little things, and I just I wanted to know how it all worked out. And so for me personally, and I think for a lot of young women, the hardest part is just like in making that decision and feeling that peace that what you're choosing is right and good, and that Heavenly Father is happy with that. And um, one of the reasons that I decided to write this book was that fall semester, um, there was a special devotional by President Nelson, and I don't even remember what um he said in it, but uh classes were like let out early for the day so that we could all go to the gym and watch it. And as we were walking over there, like um, and I I hadn't made the decision to serve a mission at this point, and I was like, Oh, I wonder if President Nelson will just ask women to serve a mission. Like that would be so nice because like I trust him, just somebody make the decision for me, and then I'll go, like hands down, like that's fine. I just I you know, I didn't know there was so much unknown there. And as I sat down in the gym, I heard the girls in front of me talking, and one of them said, I wonder if President Nelson's gonna ask women to serve a mission. That'd be so nice. And I was like, Okay, I'm not the only person feeling this way or like struggling with the with the decision. And I think as women, um, you know, we are blessed in that we get to make that decision. And, you know, the prophets have said that we get to counsel with the Lord and um, you know, we're encouraged to go if we want to, but it's also totally okay to to not go. Um, and I think that coming to that, you know, decision, is it okay for me to not go on a mission, you know, when everybody else around me is, I think that's just as hard of a decision to make as it is to go on a mission. And like I said, ultimately, I think everybody just wants to have a sense of peace um in what they're doing. So when I got back from my mission, um, or actually during that semester too, was I was thinking about, I remember turning to one of my friends and I was like, somebody needs to write a book about this because I was asking everybody I knew just about how they decided to serve a mission or not, um, and just like how they made decisions in general and how they like felt the spirit and received answers through prayer and all those things. And so I told her, I said, somebody needs like to write a book about this, and she was like, Yeah, you should. And so I was like, Oh, okay, ha. Um, and then when I got back from my mission, it was still like very present in my mind that I should do this, and I just felt like I don't know, like the spirit was prompting me like with the idea. And so I shared that idea with my husband. I guess he was my fiance at the time. Um, and he was basically like, Yeah, why haven't you started working on that? And so I did immediately, and uh that was in the spring of 2023, so um, it's been a long process. And something I knew with this book was that I wanted to share other women's stories. I think that stories are such a powerful teacher. Um, you know, if I tell you the story of Tara who goes to college and is planning on serving a mission as soon as she can, and she has hoped to do that her entire life, but then she meets um a young man that she feels that she needs to pursue a relationship with over a mission, you know, and that conflict, you know, in her mind that she goes through, and then how she studies the scriptures and asks for priesthood blessings and talks to her parents and leaders and just all the things that she does. That story is gonna stay with the reader a lot longer than me just giving you a list of like principles that you could apply to make a decision. So um, this book has 27 different stories of women, every different background that um I could get. We have people that, you know, were um very, very successful athletics. Um, you know, do I leave this and serve a mission? We have people that um wanted to serve a mission their whole life and go and then realize, you know, that it's like still a choice to be a missionary every day. We have people that never planned on serving a mission that go, people that plan on serving and then don't go. Just, I mean, every situation that that you could think of. So I just hope that, you know, when people read this book that they feel like they're talking to a good friend, you know, that they're just having like a late night conversation or things like that, that they're just getting advice that really soothes the soul, um, and that they just feel uplifted. And I hope that everybody that reads it can come away with something different because it can speak to so many different people in so many different ways. And yeah, so I hope that I hope that the people that read it um that it can offer some help in their in their decision making journey, no matter the the outcome of the decision they make.

Scott Brandley:

That's awesome. That's awesome. What what was your what was your experience, Emily?

Emily Hemmert:

So uh I Comfort to the church, and I joined the church when I was in college, and I really wanted to serve a mission. I got my Patrickle blessing, and it said, if given the opportunity, you should serve a mission. And my one of my biggest hangups was that my dad, who um was older and like not the best health, I was just like, what if he dies while I'm gone? Like, I don't know. I just was really feeling like that was like a long time to be gone and away. And like when I served, it was before you could call all the time and stuff. So I was like, you could call it Christmas and Mother's Day, right? But like he didn't know how to email. So it was like, I basically was going into this, like, I'm not, I'm gonna be like have very limited communication with my dad. That was like one of my biggest hangups, but I remember like I had a strong, just like a voice of like, your dad's gonna be okay. I was like, okay, cool. So I started like getting everything all ready, and then my sister called and she's like, hey, like, dad's um in the hospital, like he's in really bad shape, and like we don't know if he's gonna make it, you know, kind of thing. And I was just like, what the heck? Like, I had this like confirmation that my dad was gonna be okay, and like now he's in the hospital. It's hard because you have those moments where like you have a confirmation and then like having that faith to be like that he was gonna be okay. So anyway, um, he ended up recovering, and um I put in my papers to be able to leave in December, and like I didn't leave until July. So I was thinking, like, when you're talking about the timing, sometimes a lot of people want to like get way out ahead of ourselves of like, I'm gonna be able to leave this time and I'm gonna get back this time, and this is how this whole thing is gonna play out, right? And a lot of times that's just out of your control because things can happen and you can get delayed and all the things, right? And so I think it's good to just not get too far ahead of yourself in thinking like where you're gonna be when you get back from your mission, everything, right? But um, yeah, that was kind of that was kind of my experience, but I'm I'm glad that I went. Um, it was interesting because the missionaries that I knew were like YSA missionaries in an institute, and it was just it looked like so much fun. Like they were just like hanging out with kids and whatever, and I was like, oh, this is gonna be so cool. And then I went to Honduras and I was like, this is not what I signed up for. Like, this is not the like I was expecting a mission would be. You know what I mean? Like a lot of the missionaries, like the missionaries that taught me or that I was around were like BFF, and they just had like this, it just made it look like rainbows and butterflies and whatever. And I got to Honduras and I was like, this is not rainbows and butterflies, and you know, it was like but I that's I I like to tell people who are considering going on a mission, like it's gonna be the best thing that you do, and probably one of the hardest things you do, right? So it's I think it's good to be prepared. Yeah. We have a lot of missionaries in our in and out of our house because my husband is a branch president, and we had a sister here who was here recently who was thinking about going home, and she was like, If I'm supposed to be here, like why do I feel unhappy here? And she really struggled with like just how hard the mission was. And I was you know, trying to help her understand, like because I think she was thinking like she was wanting an answer of like peace and comfort of like you know, feeling good about it. And it's like, well, this you know, it's hard, like a mission's hard, so you know, you might not have that like that rainbow and butterfly, you know, thing that we're maybe expecting or whatever, I don't know. But I you know, it's in the time past, now she's doing a lot better and she's kind of turned a corner, and so it was it was interesting anyway to like talk with her through that because um I think that's another challenge too, is like, do you stay on a mission once you get there, or like do you do a service mission, or I don't know. It's big decisions and it is it isn't, you know, don't take it lightly, right?

Tayma Johnson:

Yeah. Well it's um when you're talking about that um one sister there who who wasn't uh you know feeling necessarily that peace and comfort, I think sometimes that comes up in the decision making too. Um I have one story from a sister who, you know, wants to serve a mission, wants to serve a mission, and um she ends up um having to delay her mission a little bit um just to be able to do some like further repentance and stuff with her bishop. And that whole time she's like, I'm not feeling better. Like I don't feel like good about going on a mission anymore. I don't feel like bad, like I should stay home. She's like, I just don't feel anything like about it. But she's like, you know, I I did feel good about it at one point, and I'm just gonna trust that. And so she goes and she says it wasn't until like she got to the mission field much later that she like felt like she really received that confirmation, like, yes, this is where you're supposed to be. And that can be so hard too to to have to take that step of faith where you don't feel a lot of direction. Um, either way, but you know, in in doing that, whether she I don't know, had had stayed or gone. Um, I know Heavenly Father, you know, directed her path, and I'm glad that she was able to go and to receive that confirmation there and and serve her mission. I was able to um serve around her on my mission, actually. Um, and she's a wonderful, wonderful missionary and had a lot of um great uh insights and experience actually because of that um time that she she spent at home before going.

Emily Hemmert:

So I think something too to for people to keep in mind if if think about serving a mission is like would you be willing to go anywhere, right? Because that's kind of like what God asks. And so it's funny because in Nevada we have a lot of missionaries from like Utah and Southern Idaho that are from really close. So we always kind of ask, like, how did you feel about getting called to Nevada? you know, and a lot of them will say, like, well, I was disappointed, or you know, like I wasn't what I was hoping for, or whatever, right? And then they have this full circle moment of like, but now I'm grateful that I'm here and this is like where I meant to be, and it's great, right? Yeah, and we just we've had like one sister who was like, I was so upset, like I almost didn't go, and I hate it here, and like she didn't have that like full circle moment, right? So it's like I think it's good beforehand to really be prepared and accept like being willing to go wherever it is that the Lord asks you to go, and it might be like going three hours away, you know. Like we talked to our kids about that, like because we have kids that come from Salt Lake to Elko, and it's like you could end up in Salt Lake and be right there close, you know.

Tayma Johnson:

So yeah, yeah, that's really good.

Scott Brandley:

Yeah, so how did you get the 27 stories? How did how did you collect question?

Tayma Johnson:

Um, various different ways. So some of them um were people that I served with in my mission. Um, some of them were people that I knew from college, some were people from my home ward that I grew up in. And then I have a couple that were just like people that were writing or, you know, that I was either interviewing or they were writing a story for the book, and they were like, oh, I know this person, they would also be really good for this. So some of them were like, I don't know personally, I didn't know personally. I've worked with each person, so I feel like I know them now, but um, yeah, lots of different uh places.

Emily Hemmert:

So funny story. So my very first companion in the MTC went home on the second day because she was like, I can't remember if she was Tongan or Simone, but the guy she was dating was Tongan or Simone anyway. Their family didn't like really support them being together because of being like inner race or inner anyway. So she was like, Okay, then I'm going on a mission and got to the MTC and regretted it, and he like came and picked her up the next day, and now they're married, and so it's funny.

Tayma Johnson:

Yeah, it's funny how those things can can work out. Something that came to mind too is you were talking about um earlier the timing of things and not getting caught up on it. It's interesting how um you know, I had put in a couple years of working on this book, and then um President Oaks just made the announcement about the age change, and I just feel like so grateful that I had started working on this so long before because I feel like now there's even more sisters that are like right now, like, do I go on a mission after high school? Like this is months away, you know? And so um I just that's a timing thing that Heavenly Father really does know the timing on everything, and I'm grateful that he could, you know, kind of see that and that I was able to um have this in the works long before that. And I hope that you know some of those people that are making that decision in just a few months can can find it and use it as well.

Scott Brandley:

So yeah, that is good timing. Yeah, well, so we'll have to get this out so they can have that time to make their choices before school.

Tayma Johnson:

Yeah, the book releases the tentative release date right now is March 2nd. So it'll be available for pre-order, pre-order before that. But yeah, we're coming out right in time.

Emily Hemmert:

For anyone listening who's considering going on a mission as a sister, one thing I'll say is like it's really good for training for marriage because you're gonna find out like who you what type of person you're compatible with, maybe what type of person you're not compatible with, right? It's kind of like dating because you have all these different companions and you kind of like learn how to navigate that and everything. But like one thing that um we tell a lot of the missionaries is like ultimately you can only control yourself. And in marriage, you know, it's like your spouse, like you can kind of um help them, but ultimately, like they're gonna make their own decisions, you know. And it's the same with your companion, like you can't really like force your companion to do anything, right? And and I think that's a good life lesson to learn, like ultimately at the end of the day, like we're responsible for ourselves, we can help others, but you can't like drag your husband to heaven or whatever, like yeah.

Tayma Johnson:

I do have a I do have a story about working with a companion and um just like how we were able to work together and uh receive some revelation. If I can share that, if that's all right. Yeah, that's awesome. Okay, so um it was in my first area. My first area was uh Gonzales, Texas, a very small town. Our area, like geographically, it like took us an hour to to drive from one end to the other, which I know there's much big areas out there too, but for Texas and like this mission, like that was unique. And um, anyways, out in the middle of nowhere, not close to any missionaries. Uh, I was in my second transfer. I had had one trainer, and then um being a missionary during COVID was also just crazy. And so we had random transfers all the time and stuff like that. Anyway, so had this transfer part way through my training, got a new companion. Um, and then shortly after that, um, Elder Piper of the 70 visited our mission for a mission tour, and he talked to us about um receiving revelation and like he just presented a whole new wave of like praying that I had never considered before. And so he was saying, he's like, when you're praying to go out and know who to find and serve that day as a missionary, he's like, you should be having a conversation. Pray and ask, not like, please bless that we can find people today. He said, say, Heavenly Father, who do we need to find today? What is their name? Where are they gonna be? How many people are we gonna find today? And when you start to feel those answers, or maybe like you don't feel anything clearly, start asking things. Heavenly Father, can we find someone at the park today? You know, is that a good idea that we go there? Rather than just kind of like passively putting in, you know, this prayer. Um, and so my companion and I, Sister Crook, we're we were so excited to start praying this way, super pumped up. And so we decided that in order to best do this and um, you know, just focus on the spirit and what we were feeling, that we would um pray separately first in the morning and then we would pray together as a companionship after praying separately, you know, share whatever thoughts or insights we had. Um, and so we um were doing this, we were trying our best. We like felt a little silly. It's different when you've never done that before, too, to start praying in this way. But um so one day uh we were saying our morning prayers, and I started, okay, Heavenly Father, how many people do we need to find today? Two, no, I think we need to find one person, and I I felt, okay, one person. Um, and I said, Can you tell me about this person? Can you tell me what their name is? And uh I felt the name Joe come to mind. I said, Okay, Heavenly Father, where are we gonna find Joe? And I felt like we would find Joe in HEB, which is a grocery store in Texas. And I said, Okay, H E B, where in H E B are we gonna find Joe? In the frozen food aisle next to the turkey. Okay, okay, Heavenly Father. So I end my prayer and um I turned to my companion and I said, Okay, we need to find someone named Joe at H E B today. And my favorite part of this whole story is not receiving that revelation, but she looked at me and she said, Okay, what time? Just her trust and like faith in our companionship and that I could receive revelation and that she trusted me was one of the most like powerful experiences on my mission. And I always tried to follow her example and be that companion, and you know, you don't always know what you're doing, but um, you know, having having that faith in your companions as well um to to follow and to maybe do things that might seem crazy, but but you're just trying to to follow the spirit, anyways. So after that, so so she says what what time? So we pray again, and she says, I feel like 12 30. We need to find, we need to be there at 12 30. So about 12, we hop on our bikes and we bike down to HEB and um we start just walking around like smiling and talking to people. And because it was COVID, like we had um a lot of restrictions, and so we weren't like um, we couldn't like knock on doors and stuff like that. And I think at the time, like, you know, like we could talk to people, but we just couldn't be super, you know, like we're all wearing masks, and it just feels harder to like connect with people and you know stuff. Anyways, but we're just walking, we turned the corner, we're in the frozen food aisle, and this lady pushing her shopping cart, she stops us and she says, I've seen you guys before. And we were like, Really? Where? And it turned out that we visited an elderly member in our um branch, like across the street from her. So she had seen us um coming and going frequently to visit him. And um so we said, Can we ask your name? And she said, My name's Joe. And it was like it was just amazing that we got this revelation as like these two 19-year-old girls out here, just like trying, trying to do the Lord's work and believing each other, believing the Heavenly Father would direct us. And um we gave her our number. And honestly, I don't know that anything ever came of that. Maybe I I you know, I I don't know, but I think that experience was for us and for our companionship and for um learning how the spirit speaks to us. And um, you know, it was funny as we left it, I was like, wow, like that was the coolest thing. And my companion was like, Yeah, but she's like should her face, she was just like, Yeah, I know I knew like that was gonna happen. Like I knew we would find Joe there, like you know, like you got that revelation. And I was just like, wow, like she's just so unshaken, you know, in that way. And I that was not the only time that happened to us. There were many other times that we had names come to mind and we found them. And so I don't know, I I just share that story um as an example of of a companionship working together and and with the spirit with them too. Um, you know, I think that transfers over to marriages we were talking about as well, that having the spirit in your companionship in marriage and trusting each other um and working together will, I mean, bring so many blessings and help you get farther than than you know you were ever would without it.

Scott Brandley:

Wow. Yeah, that's a cool story. We had a guest, do you um Mally Bonner, he's part of the Bonner family of singers. He was on our show and he told a story kind of like that where he actually um he was making a movie about black pioneers in in the church, and he realized that there weren't any monuments that celebrated black pioneers, and so he decided that he that he wanted to do something about it, but he didn't know what to do. And he tells this story about how he met three general authorities all a week apart at exactly 5 35 p.m. Wow, and how each one of them helped him to to create to put these monuments together at This Is the Place and at Different Places in Salt Lake. And the the cool part was every time it was at 5 35 and and it was the same time that next week. And the third time that he did it, he was in California and he got the prompting, and he's like, You have to be in Salt Lake tomorrow at 5:35, and a general authority is gonna meet you and talk about this thing, right? And so he's like, uh okay. So he had to tell his wife that he had to fly to Salt Lake the next day, but he did it and he got to Salt Lake and he didn't know where to go, and his flight barely made it in time, and so he gets in a taxi and he's driving around Salt Lake and it's raining. He gets out, he's like, Finally, it was like 5:34. Where and he's like, Okay, let me out here. And he gets out and he's standing under this tree, and it's in the rain, and then he looks over and a car comes around the corner and it pulls up. And um, the what's his name? The new apostle that just got called. He gets out and he stands under the tree right next to Molly. And so Molly goes over, he's like, Hey, I have an appointment with you right now. He's like, What? So he talked and he's like, Oh, yeah, I know all about your your monument thing because I've because we talked about it in our presidency meeting, and it was like crazy. So with your story, right? Like, if you have the faith and you just put it out there, like, I need God, I need your help. What what do you want me to do? Where should I be? He'll he'll make it happen.

Tayma Johnson:

Yeah, so and I think just like asking those questions, like there's so many things that like you know, we just like need to ask, you know, and like he is so so willing to help us. And you know, I had never sat down and said, Um, you know, how many people do we need to find today and what's their name? I had never prayed and asked, like, tell me who this person is. And then when I did, you know, not every day was that clear, but like there were days, and if I hadn't been asking, I don't think I would have, you know, received that. So that's awesome.

Scott Brandley:

Well, that just reminded me of that. Yeah, that's it takes faith. It takes faith to to say a prayer like that, right? And like just go and show up. You're like, okay, yeah.

Tayma Johnson:

Yeah. And then in times, you know, sometimes you are praying that way, and there were other like points on my mission that I I wasn't, I don't know. I I didn't feel it like that strongly as I did sometimes in that area, and I was like, okay, like what am I doing wrong? And you know, and sometimes I think it does flow, you know, like that. And I don't know all the reasons to that, but part of it maybe was just, you know, a need in in that area, and not to say I everybody everywhere, you know, needs revelation and the gospel and things as well. But I don't know, I just think there's like also different um times and places that like things like really need to happen, and um, you know, Heavenly Father will will provide that way.

Scott Brandley:

Yeah. Um, anything else you want to tell us about your awesome book?

Tayma Johnson:

Um I'm trying to think. Yeah, I'm I'm just really excited that um I get to share so many other people's stories. Like I said, this was a book that I wish I had um in that that decision making process. And uh while it is specifically for, you know, written for the audience of young women deciding whether or not to serve a mission, I think the principles can really apply to any decision making. Um that's like in short, it's uh inspirational book about decision making. So no matter where we are in our lives, um I think there's something that can be be taken from it.

Scott Brandley:

Awesome. Emily, any other thoughts?

Emily Hemmert:

Um like there's a Aside from blessing others and everything, like that's all really great. Like, there's so many blessings that can come from the people that you meet and the things that happen on your mission. Like, in my case, um, you know, one of my mission companions and I like were able to start an organization in Honduras where I served. And it's like all the timing and everything, like we were talking and we looked back at like everything that had to happen that I like got on a mission at the point that I did, and she got on the mission at the point that she did, that we were companions and we met, and like all of these things that happened after. So I think like yeah, don't underestimate like the role that your mission, even though it's like small, the role that it plays out after your mission, you know what I mean? Like in terms of the people that you meet, or like maybe you'll meet your spouse, or maybe you know, it's like those kind of connections and stuff, it's like how that all plays out. Like we had a sister here that um didn't end up, you know, having anybody really get baptized, but then like met her spouse, right? So it's like maybe that was her mission, or like you know, like that was her reason in being in this mission at that time and everything. You know, you never really know like all the repercussions, I guess, of the decision to serve a mission because it can be so expansive as far as everything that it blesses all the ways that it blesses your life outside of just the mission itself. Yes, so true.

Scott Brandley:

Yeah, I like what you said earlier, Emily, where it helps you prepare for marriage. Yeah. Right. I mean, getting to having to live with somebody for two, you know, a year and a half to two years, a lot of different people actually. You get to see a lot of different personalities. You kind of get to see the type of personality you get along with, right? And you have to take care of yourself for the first time without your mom or dad there. So probably not as big a deal for you two, but for guys, that's rough.

Emily Hemmert:

You know, my son can be helpless. I'm like, what are you gonna do on your mission? He's like, my companion's gonna take care of me. I'm like, well, good luck with that. Yeah, like what if you get a helpless companion? You guys will both just be helpless.

Scott Brandley:

Better hope there's a McDonald's nearby or something, right? Awesome. Well, Tema, what's the name of your book?

Tayma Johnson:

Called to Serve with a question mark after it. Um, and then the subtitle is Woman's Stories of the Decision.

Scott Brandley:

And you said that'll be available in in March?

Tayma Johnson:

Yes, March 2nd. Um, I'm publishing with Cedar Fort, so it'll be available on their website. Um, and I believe also on Amazon.

Emily Hemmert:

Do you have any advice or thoughts for someone who maybe like doesn't want to serve and feels like they should serve and how to come to like peace with that?

Tayma Johnson:

Yeah, I mean, that's definitely I felt a little bit of that um in the beginning. Um that winter break when I was like, okay, I think I need to serve, but I don't quite want to yet. It's a it's a hard place to be in. Um, I think just be really honest with Heavenly Father and tell him that that's like how you're feeling. And that's okay. Like you don't need to hide that and feel bad that that's what you feel like you need to do, but you don't have the desire. You can pray for a desire to have the desire. It's okay if you don't um, you know, start start with a burning desire. I think the other thing um really for anyone is to also pray to know how to be spiritually in a place to receive the answer that he has for you. Because sometimes, you know, maybe we just like need a little mindset shift, or um, you know, maybe there's something that we're doing where we need to start doing or stop doing that is keeping us from fully having that this um desire or receiving the answer that he has for us. So, you know, if you don't feel ready to completely receive the answer, oh, I need to go on a mission, or you know, that there's another plan in store for him, pray to know how you can be in a position to receive that answer. And then, you know, I take that one step farther, like Elder Piper taught us, and say, okay, Heavenly Father, um, you know, I don't really feel like I'm in a position to receive an answer yet, but I do feel that if I go to the temple more often, that I can be in that place to receive that answer or insert whatever it is that that you feel like he needs you to do. Um, I think that can help anyone who's feeling that way or maybe is just a little apprehensive about receiving an answer in general.

Emily Hemmert:

Yeah, thanks for sharing that. I have mad respect for the missionaries that served during COVID because I don't know about you, Scott, but like if I had to be in my apartment with my companion, like, you know what I mean, without like being able to like leave, like I don't know how it was for you, but in Elko, it was like they had to have meals dropped off and they could do a one-hour walk outside every day. And then they were in their apartment, and I was like, I'm pretty sure somebody would have died and we would have murdered each other.

Tayma Johnson:

Yeah, ours wasn't quite that restrictive, but we definitely had like some phases that were similar, so yeah, it was definitely a different time for missionary.

Scott Brandley:

My daughter served at the same time as you did, Tama. She loved it because she's an artist and she just drew pictures and stuff, right? So she thought that was the best. Yeah.

Emily Hemmert:

Yeah, we met the missionaries like right after all the everything was kind of lifted. And so they had come over, and I was because we're in the Spanish branch. So I said, you know, on our street, there's a red door, go, and then our neighbor right there speaks Spanish, you know. I'm telling them, and they're like, So what do we do? And I was like, Well, you just go talk to them, and they were like, Well, we just like have never talked to any, you know, it's like knock doors or whatever. They were just like, I was like, they had an experience of that, and I was like, Well, you just go up to the door and try to strike a conversation up with them.

Tayma Johnson:

Yeah, I I was training a new missionary when they were like, Okay, you can street contact like normal. And I was like, I don't know, I can't do that myself. And I'm like, supposed to teach someone to do this, so yeah, there was a big learning curve for both of us.

Scott Brandley:

Good times.

Emily Hemmert:

I'm excited to read your book. That sounds like and I want to share it too with some of the young women that I know that are like you said, have now they have that opportunity to leave at 18.

Scott Brandley:

So yeah. And are you gonna make an audio version?

Tayma Johnson:

Um, I would like to. It's not in the works or anything right now, but um, yeah, I hope to.

Scott Brandley:

It's easy. I've done it, I've I've made an audio version of several of my books, and you just get a mic and talk into it. I mean, it's it's pretty easy. You can you can get an audio version done within a day. Oh, okay. Nice. But it's but it's helpful because it gives because um a lot of people are audio audible learners, and so it just gives them that that uh um something that allows them to absorb it more easily, and it gives you two ways to promote it too, right? So I would recommend that you you make an audio version. Cool. And if you want to meet after, I can give you some pointers. So cool. Well, thanks for being on, Tema. This has been awesome. Anyone watching, go hit that share button. Let's make sure that the sisters that are thinking about going on a mission, especially now that the age has changed, let's make sure that they get this information and so so they can make a good educated decision and feel good about it, right? So awesome. Well, thanks again, and thanks, Emily, for hanging out with us. And also go check out Emily's nonprofit. It's called the Markovia Project, it's an awesome thing, and she helps a lot of kids in Honduras. So with that, take care everybody. Thanks for tuning in, and we will talk to you next week with another episode of Latter Day Lights. Till then, take care. Bye-bye.

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Scott Brandley

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Alisha Coakley

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