This past year I packed up a few suitcases, and went to a University in Washington, DC, for the summer to brush up on some skills I needed for my career.

On the first day of class I noticed a girl from New York was in a few of my classes. I like to think of my self as a kind, accepting person, but I really struggled not to judge this girl right away! Her clothes left nothing to the imagination, her language could make a sailor blush, she thought she knew EVERYTHING and made sure everyone else knew it! Within a few days it was obvious that everyone in the class felt the same about her as I did.

One morning I came into my 7:00am class a few minutes late and everyone had already paired off to review the readings from last night’s homework. As I looked around the class, I noticed the girl from New York walking in right behind me. We sat down together and since I already knew I wasn’t going to get many words in, I got comfortable and sat back to listen. She started talking and rambling on about things that didn’t always relate to the readings, but I started to notice that her ramblings were actually because she was insecure. Soon she began to talk about a story she read last night and compared it to experiences she had in her own life. It became obvious real quick that his girl had a hard life, harder than I could ever have imagined, and the bold, obnoxious persona she put off was just hiding all the pain, hurt and insecurity she really felt.

That day we ate lunch together, and once again I didn’t get to talk much, but this time I was happy to listen, and wasn’t so quick to judge. She quickly became my closest friend at the school, and I found that behind the revealing clothes and crude language, was a girl who loved “her Jesus” and was only able to get through all the trials of her childhood by relying on Him. She had faith in the Savior and a relationship with Him, that I can only hope to attain some day! While our understanding of doctrine was very different, our friendship was based on our love for the Savior and doing his work!

After our classes ended, she moved back to New York, and I to Utah, but we kept in touch. She decided to fly to Utah to spend a week with me. While here, we took her to Temple Square and shared with her our beliefs and understanding of the Savior. We were able to testify to her of the restored gospel and The Book of Mormon. By the end of the trip she wanted a copy of The Book of Mormon, and agreed to have the missionaries come to visit her family in New York.