There are just some stories that have to be told. When Andrea Gessell, Stake Relief Society President, gave a talk in Stake Conference a few months after the death of her husband Glade last December, the spirit whispered to me and said we needed to get her story out to the world. My first thought was to make a video and put it on YouTube. (Look for it in January.) My second impression was that I should do a story for the newspaper.As it turned out, this was easier "thought" than done. I sent a query to the editor and was ignored. Adelle Barrette called him and talked to him. He said he needed to talk to his editor. Time went by. Adelle checked again and he hummed and ha ed around saying he might want to do a story on how people of all religions dealt with death.
By this time I had filmed Andrea for the video, taken still photos, and interviewed her, so I had lots of information. I emailed the editor with a detailed description of why they should run such an article. He wrote me right back and said he "understood," and to submit the article. I wrote it immediately and it was published four days later.
What drove me to do this? When the spirit speaks, I listen. This has been true many other times in my Public Affairs calling, but this is the first time I've written about it. Now I'm beginning to see why. It has only been four days since the article was in the paper and I have never received more calls, emails, and comments about any story I've ever done.
The story struck a chord with many people. Some told me that the story captured the essence of her life. President Cook said it "created a bond and understanding between the community and members of our church." President Anderson said "It shows the community one of the most important purposes faith serves in our lives."
Sister Gessell wrote, "I was able to forward the link to many non-LDS friends and have been hearing back wonderfully positive comments from them. The article rang true, struck a positive chord, and reminded many that we are more similar than different."
I'm sure that only time will reveal all the reasons this story had to be written. If you would like to read the entire story, you can find it on the Internet here.
