HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREGORY!! - Gregory's First Young Men's Camp at Zions National Park

Gregory was asked to speak in Church today about his experiences at YMs Camp. There is a copy of his talk at the end. He did so well and made me so proud. He is such an amazing young man. I cannot believe that he turned 13!! I have a teenager. This is very exciting but also crazy. My baby boy whom I absolutely adore is growing up! He spent his birthday which was Friday at the Young Men's Camp. We celebrated him when he got home with presents nice Skullcandy Bluetooth over-the-ear headphones, 13 balloons, out to eat at Olive Garden, and cake and ice cream with family today after Church. I love you Gregory and so very proud of the man you're becoming! Love you so much!!!

Hello, my name is Gregory Nelson. This past week, I have been at the Young Men’s Camp out in Zion National Park. I was asked to speak about some of the highlights of camp.

Repelling. When we first hiked to Birch Hollow there was a 120-foot drop that we were supposed to repel down. When I saw the big drop, I was shocked. When I had practiced before it was not as deep, and it was inside a facility. But at this moment, I just could not do it. I froze. Luckily, for this drop, I was able to hike around it and meet the group at the bottom… however there was 11 more drops and the next 11 did not have a trail to hike around so I was going to have to repel.

As I hiked around this first drop, I began to pray. I asked my Heavenly Father to help me gain the courage needed to do the repels. I am grateful for the love I felt from Him, and the love I felt from my Young Men’s leaders as they helped me and guided me. I was able to find the courage to do it!

The second drop had two overhangs and when I was going down, I did not have a good grip on the rope, so I began to fall but Brother Stradling – my hero – was on the bottom and caught me mid-air with the safety rope. At that moment, I realized that I had people around me that would not let me fall. This reminded me that Heavenly Father will be there to help us and catch us when we fall.   After that it went very smoothly. I was able to repel the next 10 drops without any trouble. I am grateful for this opportunity and for what I learned.

At camp we also went on other hikes, swam at the pool, and ate lots of food. My birthday was Friday, and all 40 campers sang happy birthday to me and ate cupcakes that we had packed.

The last day we hiked to a special spot, and we looked at the stars and we shared our Book of Mormon and Bible heroes. I felt the spirit as we all shared the great things that these heroes did. I know the Book of Mormon and Bible are true!

I want to bare my testimony. I do believe that I am a member of Christ’s church – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I do know that God lives, and he is there for us, and I know our prayers do get heard, and He does answer them. I know that Jesus is my Savoir. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and it was translated for our day and that the people in that book are real people. I am grateful for camp, for all my amazing leaders, for the Spirit I felt, and the experiences I had.

In the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN.