Elder Wayne S. Peterson, 61, recently stood with his family at the edge of the Sacred Grove. There he shared his testimony, recalling his first trip to the sacred site and the way it had shaped his life.
As a teenage member of the Ogden Utah Boys' Chorus and Trumpet Choir, Wayne visited Palmyra, N.Y., after performing at the Kiwanis International Convention in Atlantic City, N.J.
An assurance of the events that occurred at the site sank deep into his heart. He knew Joseph Smith had been visited by the Father and the Son. He wanted his children and grandchildren to have that same conviction.
After all, it was that experience that became the cornerstone of his faith, helping him deal with the death of his mother a few years later, a child born with spina bifida, major career decisions and a financial challenge. That testimony also guided him as he married in the temple, as he and his wife raised six children and as he served in many Church leadership positions — most recently as an Area Authority Seventy.
And it is that testimony that will direct him now as a new member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy.
Wayne grew up on a cattle ranch in Roy, Utah, the youngest son of Rulon P. and Naomi Skeen Peterson. There he spent his childhood riding horses and dreaming of carrying on the family business, Peterson Bros. Herefords.
He learned to love the outdoors, hard work and service in the Lord's kingdom from his father, who served as a stake president during Wayne's formative years. From his mother, he learned about faith.
Her faith sustained her when Elder Peterson's older brother, Darrell, 14, was hit by a train and killed. Watching his parents deal with the tragedy, Wayne, then 9, also came to know that his brother was O.K. "I had no question that I would see him again," he said.
But the tragedy took a heavy physical toll on Wayne's mother, already suffering from a heart condition. She was given a blessing and "promised that she would live to see her family raised."
Naomi Skeen Peterson died 10 years later, when Wayne, the youngest child, was 19.
Before leaving for Australia on his mission, Elder Peterson was promised that "he would feel the influence of his angel mother throughout all his life."
"And I have," he explained.
After his mission, he returned to Utah State University — where he had enrolled years earlier with plans to prepare himself to take over the family Hereford business. He majored in finance, played college football and served as student body president. He also met his future wife, Joan Jensen.
The couple married in the Logan Utah Temple in 1962 and moved to the family ranch in Roy. A year later their first child, Linda, was born with spina bifida — yet another defining moment in their lives. Doctors told the couple their daughter would need so much attention they should not have more children. Linda had 27 major surgeries before she was 11.
Through answered prayers, the Petersons watched small miracles occur that changed their lives and strengthened their faith. They had five more children.
Sister Peterson's tireless effort, love and courage coupled with her university degree in child development were instrumental in Linda's progress and development, said Elder Peterson.
Today Linda, a returned missionary and BYU graduate, is married and the mother of two daughters. She once told her parents, "I didn't even realize I was different."
"Challenges bring the greatest growth and a stronger reliance on the Lord," Elder Peterson said.
After he earned his MBA he moved his family to Salt Lake to pursue career opportunities outside the family business.
The Petersons hated to leave the ranch. There they had developed a deep appreciation for all of God's creations. Elder Peterson was also serving as a bishop and didn't want to leave his ward. "But we fasted and prayed and came to know that was the thing we should do," he said.
During the following years in Salt Lake City the family thrived. They developed deep community roots. Elder Peterson served again as a bishop and then as a stake president. He also served the community as president of the Bonneville Exchange Club.
The Petersons stayed in Salt Lake until 1985, when Elder Peterson accepted a call as president of the Oakland California Mission. He and his wife still treasure the three years they served together and the relationships they formed with 502 missionaries.
But when they returned, the Petersons faced another challenge when they found the real estate industry in an economic depression resulting from an energy crisis in the state. Elder Peterson started over financially, forming his own business. Sister Peterson went to work teaching preschool. The couple sold the house where they had once planned to retire.
As challenging as it was they grew together as a family and learned to appreciate all they had, Elder Peterson said. "Prayers are always answered, but at the right time and in the right way, and they were." They have since built a new home and the growing real estate industry has helped them recover.
Looking back, Elder Peterson is thankful for his testimony of the gospel that has played such an instrumental role in guiding his life's major decisions and for his family. "The opportunities and blessings of service in the Church can be attributed in a large measure to the support, encouragement and influence of my wonderful wife," he said.
He is also grateful for the day he spent in the Sacred Grove as a young boy that deepened the roots of his testimony; now he looks forward to sharing that testimony — not only with his own children but also with members of the Church worldwide as a General Authority.
"My life has been all that I could have hoped for," he said. "The gospel has brought the greatest blessings. When you know it is true, there isn't anything you wouldn't do."
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