My call to serve as bishop

At the January 1995 dedication of the Bountiful Utah Temple, as we sat in the celestial room of the temple, the Spirit whispered to me that I would be the next bishop of our ward. Knowing somewhat of what such a call could mean, I spent the better part of the year asking the Lord in my prayers that such a thing not happen and arguing that as long as President F. Michael Watson were the stake president he would not want to release me as his stake executive secretary.

Sometime in December my prayers started to change: I no longer asked that this cup pass from me but instead prayed, "not my will but thine be done." As one of my latter-day heroes, Spencer W. Kimball, did a couple decades earlier, and as Caleb did anciently, I began to pray, "Now therefore give me this mountain" (Joshua 14:12).

On the evening of January 2, 1996, the day after our return from spending the New Year's weekend with Cade and Rebecca in southern Utah, I was at the stake center, as I was every Tuesday evening, when President Watson called me into his office to discuss the change in our ward bishopric. He asked what I thought of a couple of ward members he was considering as bishop, either of whom I agreed would make an excellent bishop. He then inquired concerning my health and whether it would preclude my serving as bishop. He emphasized that it was just an exploratory interview, that no call was being extended, but I assure you I got little sleep that night. And it seemed to put future plans pretty much on hold.

Exactly two weeks later, on January 16, I was at the stake center again. Without knowing that President Watson had phoned Claudia and asked her to come down to his office, I looked pretty shocked to see her walk in, and I knew immediately what was going to happen. We were invited into his office, where he extended the call and explained that the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve had approved my serving as bishop. I didn't sleep much that night either.

The day after President Watson had first spoken with me, I wrote him a letter:

"In regards to our conversation last night, I have spent a considerable amount of time since then thinking and praying about the issue of my health. As I stated then, my condition appears to be fairly stable at present.

"I am convinced, if the inspiration comes to extend a call, that the Lord will bless me with sufficient health to be able to serve. In context of accepting responsibilities of service, my patriarchal blessing states, 'Your health and strength, I promise you, will be adequate to your needs and you shall dwell upon the land long enough for you to fulfill the full purpose of your being.'

"When we were talking last night, I probably should have mentioned a recent sacred experience I had the Sunday mornng Elder [David B.] Haight spoke to the priesthood of our stake. He shared a story about a man who, after his heart machine malfunctioned, wrote a note to his wife that he had seen the other side and was needed there and asked her to let him go. At that moment the Spirit whispered to me that I was not needed on the other side, but was needed here, where I still have much to accomplish. That came as an answer to months of prayerful soul searching about what lay ahead for me. Later that day I wrote in my journal, 'I take this to mean my disease will not progress substantially anytime soon.'

"I have some peripheral notion of how busy a bishop has to be, and I think my strength is sufficient to serve in such a calling without jeopardizing my health and without neglecting responsibilities at home or at work. It would be a temptation to hide behind health to avoid the onerous burden of leadership, but that would be neither honest nor true to the covenants I have made in sacred places. I have given my life to the Lord and am at the disposal of His servants to use as needed in serving His children and building His kingdom.

"I just wanted you to know these things so you know where my heart is as you seek the inspiration you need in finding a new bishop for our ward."

I didn't actually give this letter to President Watson until two weeks later after he extended the call.

I spent the next few days pondering and praying about my counselors, although the final selection, confirmed by the Lord, was the same as the first two names that popped into my head the night I was called: Larry Young as first counselor and Kevin Thueson as second counselor.

We were sustained in sacrament meeting on Sunday morning, January 28, 1996, and ordained and set apart that afternoon. I was the eighth bishop to preside over the Bountiful Twentieth Ward since its creation on April 30, 1961, following in the footsteps of John White (who served from 1961 until 1967), Duane Beazer (1967–1972), Glen Taylor (1972–1977), Don West (1977–1980), Jay Anderson (1980–1985), Delbert Strasser (1985–1991), and Gail Anger (1991–1996). I had served as second counselor to Bishop Strasser from July 1985 until my call to serve on the stake high council in March 1987.

The sustaining vote of the ward members, followed by numerous expressions of love and support, truly meant a lot to us as we began our new ministry.

We were grateful that many of our loved ones from outside the ward could be present—including Michael and Shauna, Cade and Rebecca, Grandpa and Venna Lange, Mac and Joan Christensen, my brother Kay, all of the stake presidency, and most of the high council—and undoubtedly numerous loved ones on the other side of the veil.