At 19, Jake Garn, oldest son of Senator Jake Garn, stood in his grandmother's Salt Lake home as his father delivered the news that his mother had been killed in a rollover accident. Jake had drifted from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for years by then, one reluctant yes to a cousin at 14 leading him a step at a time away from the faith of his childhood. His father, a decorated Navy pilot, the mayor of Salt Lake City, and the first sitting member of Congress to fly in space, could not hand down the one thing his son needed most, a witness of his own.

In this episode of Why We Believe, Jake shares the impression that pressed in from beyond his own mind, the prompting that stopped him putting away his Book of Mormon, and the quiet no thank you on a canoe that opened his way to a mission at 23. He also tells his father's story, sixteen sunrises a day over a world with no borders, a kidney given to his daughter Susan, and a letter from President Reagan quoting the book of Alma. Through it all runs one witness Jake carries today, that Heavenly Father does not get it wrong and does not leave His children alone.

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The plans had the Five Wise Virgins facing south. In the quiet of his studio, sculptor Ben Hammond felt one of the few promptings of his career and anchored the bronze aimed at the Salt Lake Temple instead. Ben grew up moving pipe in rural Idaho, begged master sculptor Blair Buswell for the chance to sweep his floors, then spent nearly ten years as his apprentice. Today, his statue of Martha Hughes Cannon stands in the United States Capitol, his sculptures of the Savior's ministry and the Restoration stand on Temple Square, and this faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints calls the work good, not perfect.

In this episode of Why We Believe, Ben tells Nathan Gwilliam how he pieced Martha Hughes Cannon's face together through her living relatives and what her granddaughter said when she saw the clay. He shares the two weeks he spent studying the death mask of Joseph Smith, the four years that tested his family with illness and an overflowing house, and the morning prayers that kept him pushing the wagon. When Nathan asks why he believes, Ben gives Peter's answer. Good things in his life have come through the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Book of Mormon helps him look in the mirror and like the person he sees.

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On February 9, 2007, Chris Williams was driving his family home when a teenage drunk driver crossed the median at freeway speeds. In an instant, he lost his wife Michelle, who was expecting their fifth child, his son Ben, and his daughter Anna. Taped to a backboard in the emergency room, Chris asked his first question: was the boy okay? His second request placed the 17-year-old's name on the temple prayer roll. A faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a bishop at the time of the crash, Chris had spent two years practicing what he calls for-forgiveness, choosing to forgive before he ever needed to.

In this episode of Why We Believe, Chris sits down with host Nathan Gwilliam to share the story behind his book Let It Go and the film Just Let Go. He recounts the words he heard in the wreckage, the courtroom where he asked mercy for the boy who caused the crash, and the visit years later when that young man asked how Chris could forgive him. Chris also opens up about the forgiveness that took him the longest, forgiving himself, and why he calls letting go one of the most gloriously selfish things he has ever done. His witness points again and again to the enabling power of Jesus Christ.

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Visit WhyWeBelieve.com to download Your FREE guide on 13 Strategies to Increase Faith in Jesus Christ, to support you as you strengthen your own testimony of Jesus Christ.

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Book: https://shadowmountain.com/product/let-it-go-a-true-story-of-tragedy-and-forgiveness/

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