The Beginning of Change
About 5 years ago, I had just moved to Gilbert, AZ, I was just getting my feet wet working in the pest control industry, which is why I moved here to begin with, since it gets too cold to do it year-round in Utah where I moved from, I relocated along with my wife to Gilbert after establishing work and a place to live. I enjoyed listening to talk radio while I worked, and one day while I was listening to a radio show which is no longer around, I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be nice if I could get a job somehow in broadcasting?” This got me thinking, I wasn’t stuck in the job I currently had, I could do something that I was passionate about, and enjoyed. Don’t get me wrong, my then and current job is enjoyable, mainly because I am unsupervised and I simply get my work done at my own pace, within reason of course. Over the course of the next few years, I determined to go back to school and get a degree in Communications which I could use for many different career fields, like broadcasting, marketing and advertising or even independent journalism if I chose. So, I applied to BYU Pathways and was accepted, I started school in January 2025.
One of the first things they taught me in college when learning about communications was how to introduce yourself. I got kick of out how they described it because it was so true! They said that when people introduce themselves, they have a basic format, sometimes it’s a format given them by those facilitating the event, but even when we get to choose our own format, we often default to this.
Content I Have Learned How to Crate Content In College.
The goal was below was to create a postage stamp of a family member that has impacted my family in our history and what that impact was. I chose my grandmother who departed this life in 2017. She is greatly missed, but here legacy of devotion to God and family are forever ingrained in my family.
Top 10 Article: 10 Ways To Bring Back The One
A few years ago, I watched a session of General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, when the time came for the Prophet who at the time was President Russell M. Nelson to stand and speak, he spoke with such power about bringing back the one person who had fallen away from the church and what we should do about it.
It has been several years now since my oldest sister, who shall remain anonymous, left the church along with her husband and naturally by no choice of their own her young son and baby daughter. I was blindsided by this when she told me that they had decided to leave and that it was a long time coming. Admittedly, I did not handle the news well. I was at work when I received a voice message through an app that she and I both used to communicate with each other; this was before this type of communication was standardized into our modern smart phones as it is today. She and I went back and forth for over an hour as I asked questions to try and understand how this had happened all while I tried to get my work done. Although I decided to finish my day and talk later, we established that her family was leaving the church and the decision was final.
This was and still is a difficult thing in my life to bear, although not impossible. Because I have followed the council given by Prophets and Apostles of our modern day, I am better equipped to do my part and not come across the wrong way. The following steps are a result of research into past general conference talks and my own life experience.
- Love them – It is the second great commandment from God that we love our neighbor as ourselves. This means that we must choose to love our family members, friends, or whoever it is that left the church unconditionally. This means that we set all differences aside and show nothing but love to them.
- Do not judge – President Russell M. Nelson taught “Do not judge those you love who have left the church. They do not need your judgement. They do not deserve to be judged for leaving any more than you deserve to be judged for staying.” I personally saw a bumper sticker that read “Don’t judge me for sinning differently than you.” This struck me hard as I tended to be critical of others. So, this was a bit of a wakeup call to me.
- Do not preach without invitation – No matter the reason you loved one left the church, or has chosen to not believe in God at all, they DO NOT need nor do they want you to preach to them about how misguided you think they are, or how they got something wrong that caused them to doubt their faith and leave. If they ask a specific question about your beliefs, answer as concisely and directly as you can. Or tell them you need to research it to give an appropriate answer and ask if they will give you some time to find an answer.
- Do not condescend – As active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we may have the tendency to want to respond quickly when asked a question by one who has left or gone less-active. When answering, we must avoid phrasing things in a way that may seem condescending or self-righteous to the inquiring party. For example, when my sister spoke with a family member why they were not receiving an answer to a prayer, they blurted out “you have to do it with a sincere heart,” without pausing to think about how they phrased it or the tone of voice it was delivered in. This offended my sister who understood it to mean, “Well you are not doing it right.” Please always approach these types of situations with love and understanding rather than quick responses.
- Pray for help – We should always be praying and seeking guidance in our daily lives. Pray for help for yourself to not say or do things that may harm the work you have put into helping them to this point. It will also provide comfort for you when those conversations get heated by the party you are trying to help.
- Pray for them – I recommend praying by name for the individual to help you know what you can do to help them. Remember, the Lord knows them better than they know themselves, meaning that he knows how they will respond to situations before they are in them.
- Wait – This is the hardest part of this process for me. Because this happens while you are doing all the other work. This part at times can feel like you are making no progress with them.
- Support them wherever you can – Clearly you cannot support them when you feel impressed not to. But for most things you can and should. This will show them that you love them. In a book by Becky Mackintosh titled “Love Boldly: Embracing your LGBTQ Loved Ones AND Your Faith” which is sold everywhere including Deseret Book, she states that her son who was active in the church and served an honorable mission chose to pursue same sex attraction and when getting married to his partner, Becky and her husband researched the choice that they were making. They felt they could not support his choice, but they learned they could but should. She states in the book that her family was not endorsing his life choice of same-sex marriage by attending his wedding, but they were simply loving their son unconditionally. That truly is love and a notable example of my point. If it helps, change the phrase “Loving unconditionally” to “Love without conditions.” Additionally, you can support career choices and educational achievements; the sky is the limit.
- Teach by example not by speech – Rather than preaching to or lecturing those who have left the church, we should choose to show them the example of living a life of happiness by living ours the way we believe will bring happiness and simply allow them to observe. Do not point it out to them, but do it, and they WILL notice, even if they say nothing to you or others about it.
- Accept their agency and love them without any conditions – This part might be viewed as the hardest part by some. But for me, it is the easiest part because it allows me to simply love and show them the respect they desperately crave and deserve. Them living the life they have chosen does not give me a license to judge or speak ill of them behind their back. Vent frustrations to the Lord, or to a spouse, parent, friend, or anyone who will keep your confidence. But remember to keep loving them without conditions for that love.
I believe this formula is a winning formula. It may get revised at times due to things that I feel need changing or rephrased. But, the overall idea is spot on, Love them, do not judge them, do not preach to them without invitation, do not condescend, pray for help, pray for them, wait, support them wherever you can, teach by example NOT by speech, Accept their agency and love them without any conditions.
It is entirely possible that they may choose never to return. Accept that if it happens and love them without conditions. They may choose to return, do not overwhelm them with missionaries and visitors regarding it, love them, and offer to help wherever you can. I believe this will help. But always follow the council of the prophets first.
Recreation of famous photo.
I narrated a book of my choice. I have always enjoyed The Hunt for Red October. That said, I only narrated a few minutes of it.
This is a Documentary I made about something that I was interested in. It was supposed to be a Top 10 Video. For whatever reason, that part did not compute in my head until it was done. So, I submitted my work as is.
I don’t believe in the alien craft paranormal theories at all. I simply have fun with this form of entertainment.
About Curtis Hansen 