Youth Conference Testimony

Testimony for Youth Conference

June 15, 2019

SING: Come Thou Fount

Thank You

Before I begin, I want to say thank you for Ryan for inviting me to sing and share a brief testimony with you today.  

I also want to thank Mike Anderson for so willingly sharing his talent and accompanying me on the piano.    

Come Thou Fount

The song I just sang is Come Thou Fount. It one of my favorites.  I remember instantly falling in love with the melody and I was drawn to the lyrics but I didn’t really understand them. So I did a little bit of research. I am a history buff but for all of you who aren’t- I’ll make a long story short. 

It was written by a 22 year old, coincidentally the same age as me, named Robert Robinson.  He had had a rough beginning, losing his parents when he was young.  He was now running with the wrong crowd, doing things he wasn’t proud of, and making poor choices.  One day, while he and his friends were harassing a drunk gypsy, she has a moment of clarity and he was told by this fortune. She said that he would live a long life his children would grow up looking up to him. 

This would be a great fortune to receive but in moment, it caused him to stop and think about his actions and the life he was living a life he wasn’t proud of and definitely did not want his future kids to grow up looking up to. In that moment, he made a CHOICE.  He chose to change and to follow Christ.  

This song is basically a thank you letter to his Heavenly Father for being FORGIVING, LOYAL, GREAT, and LOVING. 

Choices

Each day, we get to make choices.  Some as simple as what to wear or what to eat. Choices that don’t hold a lot of weight.  But we are also asked to make important choices that require courage and sometimes change as it was with the author of the song.   

I had the opportunity to be on national tv.  I was a contestant on Season 13 of American Idol.  In the beginning, it wasn’t really my choice,  my mom tricked me one morning and drove me to the auditions when I had repeatedly told her I had NO PLANS of trying out.  But after making it through the several producer rounds, then executive producers, and then judges rounds, and the dreaded Hollywood Week, I found myself at the end in the Top 15 girls at Live shows.  

Being on American Idol was an experience I will never forget, one I don’t regret, and most importantly, its one that brought me closer to my Heavenly Father.

But before I go on, I want to emphasize that my experience on American Idol, believe it or not, isn’t much different than what you experience every day in school, at your jobs, on your sports and dance teams, even with your friends and family. Having courage to follow the Savior whether in public or in private, that challenge is the same.  

So I hope that as I share my experience, you will know that blessings come if you have the courage to stay true to yourself and your beliefs, regardless of who or how many are watching.

American Idol 

While competing on American Idol, I knew being the only member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on the show that season, that my faith would be a topic of conversation.  I knew I would have lots of opportunities to share my beliefs.  And I spent a lot of time pondering how I was going to handle these moments.  

I sat my mom down one day before heading back to LA.  She, like I am sure many of your moms, always encouraged me to bear my testimony.    I didn’t want to let her down, and I really didn’t want to let my Heavenly Father down, but I wanted her to know that I had decided, when my faith was brought up, I was going to do my best to detour the interview back to my music.  My music and my faith are both parts of who I am but in this situation, I wanted the focus to be on my MUSIC.   She understood and supported my decision.

  I imagine HF hearing this conversation and laughing. Because it is funny how once I had decided to focus solely on my music, the opportunities to share my beliefs came pouring in. Like once In a wardrobe meeting, when they wanted me to wear something a little too revealing for my standards.  Or in rehearsals, when everyone was sipping coffee to try to stay awake and endure the long nights. Or when I wore a CTR ring people asking what those three letters meant. 

But I am shy when it comes to socializing.  I am not a big conversationalist - whether it be about the gospel or just day to day stuff.  I don’t carry my faith like a neon sign. It’s a quiet commitment that I have made.  

I decided long before American Idol, that I would never let outside influences change me or determine my choices. No matter what the world demanded or wanted from me, I had made my decision and I never felt I needed to explain myself or make excuses. Believe it or not, it wasn’t hard to stay true to myself and my beliefs because i had already made the choice.

Conclusion

I learned a lot about myself and my testimony. I learned He avenly Father never gets tired of our prayers. I really did imagine Him up there saying, “you again?”  Prayer became my secret weapon during those scary and stressful moments.  It calmed my back stage jitters, and brought comfort when I stood outside CBS studios when my time on the show abruptly ended. 

I want you to know that you too have that secret weapon. “He really is there. He will always be there.” I hope you will all TODAY will choose - make the choice right now, that you will stay true to YOU.  Stay true to who YOU ARE and what you KNOW is true.

I have one more song for you today but before I sing I want to leave you my testimony that as we choose to follow our Savior and strive to have a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father, Blessings Come!  

I say this in the name of Jesus Christ amen.