Just Thought I'd Say

Dear Ashley,

I love you.

Love,

Your sweetheart

A Poem

An old man, going a lone highway,

Came at the evening, cold and gray,

To a chasm, vast and deep and wide,

Through which was flowing a sullen tide.

The old man crossed in the twilight dim;

The sullen stream had no fears for him;

But he turned when safe on the other side

And built a bridge to span the tide.

"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim near,

"You are wasting strength with building here;

Your journey will end with the ending day;

You never again must pass this way;

You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide,

Why build you the bridge at the eventide?"

The builder lifted his old gray head:

"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,

"Therefore followeth after me today

A youth whose feet must pass this way.

This chasm that has been naught to me

To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.

He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;

Good friend, I am building the bridge for him."


William Allen Dromgoole




I love the message this poem speaks. Christ was
our bridge builder. He led the way, first, before
us all. He went through all our trials and suffered
so that he would know how to help us.

Christ crossed our chasms and has built us bridges
to show us the way across. He has shown us the way.
Do what you can to build a bridge for someone else today.

A Few Words On The Priesthood

Sometimes when things get tough you just wish there was someone there to help you. You may feel sick, frustrated, tired, sad, or many other things that just seem to bring you down. I am so grateful that I have the Priesthood. It is an wondrous comfort to know the Priesthood is here to help all that have the faith and stand in need. I feel so humbled to have that authority and I pray everyday that I may be worth to carry that power with me, always. Carrying that Priesthood is such a blessing to me. It entitles the Spirit to heal, comfort, guide, and direct whomever is being blessed. It allows for the salvation of man through Christ's great Atonement. The Priesthood grants the opportunity unto all who wish to donate to save another's life, to give food to the poor, clothing to the naked, comfort to the weary soul. I cherish this Priesthood in my heart because of the service I can render through it. My having the Holy Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthood allows the Spirit to be with all of God's children.

I am also so grateful to the many amazing daughters of God in this world. Young and old, that recognize the Priesthood, and they strive to help young men like myself, to always be worthy of it. Ashley, I am humbled to be around you; to feel of your love, your comfort, and your conviction of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you so much Ashley, for always pushing me to do better, to always be worthy, to be the son of God I know He wants me to be. Thank you for being there right beside me to help me along the way. Thank you for the person that you are. You are such a great example to me everyday.

In preparation to go and serve the Lord, I thank my parents for their love and their guidance. They have always been there for me, and taught me how to be the best Priesthood holder and a better person each day. Thank you dad, for your example of an amazing father and an honest and selfless husband. Thank you mom, for listening to me, for pushing me to do better, and always believing in me.

Our First Kiss

Our first kiss was perfect. I'm sorry I have to be honest with everyone but it truly was. We had been dating for about a month, and we were both anxious for the right time, just not talking about it too often. It was on a stormy yet warm afternoon during the summer. We went up Parley's Canyon to go shoot the tube (ride inner tubes down a water reserve tunnel that went through the mountain). When we got there, we hiked down to where the water was. Ashley slipped and fell on her cute bum and felt embarrassed about it, but it was fun!! We soon found out that the water was too cold, and it started to lightly rain. So,.. disappointed, we hiked back up to near the parking lot. On our way up there, we stopped just for a second to see the sun coming back out, and in front of it were two gorgeous rainbows. It was such a beautiful thing to see. I'm sure Ashley was so amazed to see it...myself, I was busy amazed looking at her...seriously. When we got to the parking lot, we decided we would just lay on the grass underneath a tree nearby. We got closer and, for the first time, I got to just hold Ashley, close, in my arms. I looked her into the eyes, waited to feel that it was right, and I shared a short, wonderful first kiss with my Ashley, my sweetheart. I will never forget this moment. I wanted so bad for her to have the best first kiss, and I feel like that day was nothing short of amazing. After we both felt so good,...Ashley jumping around for joy, and myself, I just saw such a beatiful daughter of God, and I wondered and awed at how lucky I was...I still feel that same exact way about her, today.

The day we met

It's always asked, what you thought of your first impression...
When I first met Ashley, we were both working at the Draper Pool in the summer. We had our first meeting together as all employees and managers. I got to meet everyone, and I saw Ashley. She looked so pretty!! I love the long blonde hair, the amazing cute smile, the big blue eyes...and even the bandage she had on her nose from surgery. She was adorable. She was, at that time, as she is now, the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. I have a hard time even describing how she looked. I will just say that I could see the Light of Christ within her. Ever since I met her, she has always had this light about her countenance. The many people that get to know her (especially me), are so blessed. She puts light into other people's lives.

While working at Draper Pool we both (secretly) wanted to work the shifts together, which only happened a few times. There was something about her, that I just couldn't make out. Something about Ashley, was so inviting, so warm, so comfortable, and so Christlike. I'm speaking of how I felt then...There was something about her.

She is the most wonderful person I know and I'm so grateful that she is even my friend. I so excited for everything we can share together. Ashley told me this once..

We have fun times cause we are friends,

We have spiritual times cause we are a team,

and we have slow times cause we are sweethearts.

I have never forgotten those words and I am so excited to share all those times with you, Ashley Maree Smith, my sweetheart.