Preston Dale: Sam I Am

Hi, My name is Preston. I want to tell you a little bit about myself. I was born into a perfect family. My parents great great (etc) grandparents crossed the plains to settle Utah. I’m pioneer breed Mormon. I have not-so-distant relatives who are General Authorities. In High School, I was on an All-state Basketball team, became a piano virtuoso, and graduated Valedictorian. My time as class president in my seminary class prepared me to serve a full-time mission. I always knew that I was called to serve and couldn’t wait for my turn. My family is ‘highly favored of the Lord.’ There are 10 of us in the family. My dad is the Bishop and my mom the Relief Society President at church. My dad has his JD MBA and makes more money than he knows what to do with.

By my 19th birthday, I knew the scriptures well enough that I subbed for the Institute teachers as needed. As the Assistant to the President, he asked me to be the first missionary to be officially recognized in China, where I served the remainder of my mission. After returning from my mission, I attended Brigham Young University. I had a ring before Spring and have been happily married to my wife for a while know. I play for one of the sports teams at BYU. Between my athletic ability and my brains, I am being paid to go to school. Although its nice to have that taken care of, its not necessary. My parents are willing and able to pay for my schooling but even if I didn’t have the scholarships, my internship in my chosen field pays more than enough to support me, my wife, and my soon-to-be son.

No, no. Wait that’s not right. Lets try this again.

Hi, my name is Ferg. You can call me “ferg". I want to tell you a little bit about myself. I was born into a horrible family. My mom had me when she was 16 and gave me up for adoption because she didn’t want to have anything to do with me. I spent most of my childhood in a ‘boys home’ where I was mistreated. I was finally adopted only to find myself in an abusive home. With everything that had happened to me, High School was a joke. To escape the new parents, I didn’t mind spending time in Juvy. I ended up dropping out of HS and have been living on the streets every since.

Wait, that’s not right either. One more try.

My name is Preston Dale Ferguson. I was born into the perfect family for me. Although we’ve had our fair share of trials, we have also had our fair share of successes. My parents were married in the temple after I was born. Growing up, I was able to participate in a wide range of activities. Although I was no Lebron James or Albert Einstein, I was on the varsity basketball team, took college level credited classes, and help start a broadcast journalism class in high school.

Although I always wanted to believe in the Church, I didn’t always know it was true. I had (and still have) my fair share of ‘sins and short-comings.’ Although I didn’t really know why to start, I served a mission in the Anaheim California Mission, Spanish speaking. I loved my time there and was able to serve as a zone leader for nearly a year. After I returned, I was denied entrance (3 times total) to BYU but attended LDS Business College. Looking back, it was the perfect path for me.

Although, I’m not able to focus on school full time, I have been able to pay for myself. I have been blessed with the opportunity to learn and grow from the jobs that I’ve held. I’ve recently been able to land an internship (3 positions out of 100 applicants) in the field that I want to go into. I don’t know that it will work out.

What does all this mean? It means that I don’t live a perfect life. It means that life happens and you take what you get and roll with it. It means, like everyone else, I have my own set of trials and successes.

The real question isn't what has happened in the past, but what I choose to do in the future.