My mother was always singing.  She sang as she worked.  One song that she sang made me sad.  It was about a boy and a girl who never met because there was a mountain between them.  “They never met, they never will; 'cause she lived on the morning side of the mountain, and he lived on the evening side of the hill.”

If that was real life, you could count upon the fact that the two of them weren't supposed to meet.  That boy might have been John Boyer, and the girl, Nancy Defrees.  Hunt Mountain stood between that Haines boy and the Sumpter girl, but they met and married because they were supposed to.

I believe that there was a life plan put in place for each of us before we ever came here.  That life plan included when we'd get our chance on earth, where we'd be, who would be our parents, who should be our spouse, who should be our children, whether or not we'd have the gospel and covenants, and what our circumstances and individual trials would be.

It was an individualized curriculum designed specifically for each individual to give him or her the maximum opportunities for growth.  It was tailor made for each individual.  It depended upon our choices, and we surely had some say in what the plan would be.

We are told that we covenanted with our fathers before we came.  That means that as a father myself, I also covenanted with my future children.  There are reasons why my fathers came to earth when the opportunity for gospel covenants wouldn't be available.  I think they agreed to come then because I promised to make those covenants and temple ordinances available to them when I arrived under better circumstances.

I think it no accident that I live at Haines, Oregon,  I'm sure it was no accident that I met, recognized, and married Marjorie Hunt.  It was no accident that she should be the one to give me a Book of Mormon.  It was not happenstances that we had these 10 particular children.  Prophets have told us many times over that these children were reserved to come to earth at this particular time.  There are reasons why they weren't born into a family in central China 4,000 years ago.

There are reasons why they were born into the lineage of Ephraim in the 1900s under choice circumstances never experienced or dreamed of by any king or queen in any previous age.

I'm of the belief that the Chinese boy or girl of 2,000 B.C. chose that particular life as being best suited to his or her aspirations, abilities, and readiness for the particular responsibilities and blessings that would be offered him.

I'm of the belief that Nathan and Katie and their siblings were ready and anxious to shoulder the full load of responsibility that would come with having the full gospel of Jesus Christ.  They knew that they could do it.  They knew that they could do what would be required of them.  They hit the ground running.

I've improved upon my father's faith and conditions, and my children have improved upon mine.  The faith of my grandchildren is going to exceed the faith of their parents'.

It's a marvelous life plan.  We each have one.  Each individual's plan will play out as it should if we each just strive to be good, and learn to heed the promptings of the Holy Ghost.  The Lord has probably had to make some adjustments to my plan because of some choices that I've made, but I'm satisfied that my life plan has played out as it should.

My children are all on course with their life plans, and it's thrilling to watch the life plans of my grandchildren playing out.