For whatever reason I thought about this a little while ago, wondering who the five people I would meet in heaven. As I researched a bit about the book, I thought about how I could write something about specific people that helped mold me into the person I am today. Some of these may surprise you, others may not.
Disclaimer: I am going to try to avoid obvious selections like Kaylee. parents (grand or otherwise), siblings and my closest friends those of you who I talk to on a regular basis (hopefully you all know you've had a huge impact on my life). I also will not select Christ as one of them, because I believe we will all meet Him when the time comes.
"Doesn't that sound like a pickup line when taken out of context?" My seminary teacher, Brother Benjamin Fryar, said after reading a particular scripture which I can't remember anymore. The entire class agreed. "Anyone want to give it a try today at the end of class?"
Everyone's eyes turned to me. I was the class clown for my seminary class, which was weird for me, because typically I was the quiet one in class. I didn't enjoy being in the spotlight, for whatever reason, this class was different.
"Jordan? I'll give you five bucks," he said, pulling out his wallet. "Uh, three dollars. I don't carry cash on me."
"I'll do it," I said after briefly thinking about the consequences of agreeing to it.
The class went by as normal as can be, until we got nearer to the end.
"Jordan, you ready? Let's go on a field trip," Brother Fryar said. I had been contemplating this for the entire call period. I got the scripture memorized, now it was time to execute it. Butterflies began to flutter in my stomach.
"Yeah, I think I got it," I replied.
We all grabbed our stuff and headed for the crosswalk of just sidewalk between the school and the seminary building, waiting for my victim.
A girl walked out of the school, she was age and even though I knew who she was, she probably had no idea who I was.
"There you go, Jordan," Brother Fryar urged.
'She's not LDS. She's going to think we're all weird,' I thought to myself as I walked closer, but I couldn't let the class down. The awful, Bible-inspired pickup line proceeded from my mouth and the class gave a quick laugh.
"What?" The girl, Rachel, asked. Then, realizing it was a joke, turned and walked away. I felt my head drop a little, I closed my eyes and shook my head slightly.
"That was awesome!" A few of the students said as they walked up to me and headed for their cars because the school day was over.
"I didn't think you'd do it," Brother Fryar said as he reached for his wallet. "Here you go."
"No, it's alright. That was just for fun; It was for the class," I said.
My first person on my list of five people is Brother Fryar. He was my seminary teacher at Pine View High School my junior year.
Here is a picture of Brother Fryar I found on the internet. Thanks to whoever posted it.
High School is a strange time for a lot of people. I was one of those that was incredibly quiet and kind of awkward. As mostly everyone else, I was still trying to figure out life. I didn't know for sure what I wanted to do after school.
He might have not known it because I was typically late and loud (yes, the quiet kid) in class, but his lessons both within the gospel and outside of it had a profound influence on me. He was the first person that made the gospel interesting to me (and it was the Old Testament year).
Since, I was a bit more outspoken, this was when I started to break out of my shell a bit. Brother Fryar dealt with me in the best way possible. He knew I was learning, even if I didn't act like it. He would call on me to do the most random things, like this pickup line for example. I was the go-to joker, which I really enjoyed.
Brother Fryar was the one that got me interested in people and the gospel, and for that I thank him.
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