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Mountains and Key Fobs

Sister Sherry Clarke
July 09, 2024 11:15 AM

"Never let people tell you that you can’t do it. "
Good morning, Brothers and Sisters: Thank you for the introduction, President and Sister Kusch. And I want to say a little bit about my friend, Ben Martinson. He was my first bishop in St. George seven years ago, and we’ve become very close friends. And he flew up last night, just to be here at Ensign College. So, I thank him very much. You might notice my nose looks a little different than usual. I kind of fell down on the pickle ball court the other night. But that’s not going to keep me from playing more! And, as I’m lying on the floor with lots of stuff happening, “But I have a devotional to give on Tuesday! I gotta get up! Don’t take me to the hospital!” But, they did, and it’s OK.

So, I am honored to speak with you …” It is a day in my life like no other!” And I would like to speak directly to students. Many of you I know personally, and I feel blessed to be invited on your journey of growth and healing. Thank you!

So, I have titled my talk, “Mountains and Key Fobs”. And by the end of my talk you’ll know why that’s the title.

As a Senior Missionary serving at Ensign College, I am often asked, “How’s your mission going? What’s the greatest part and what’s the hardest part?” The greatest part is very easy …. this faith-filled institution whose motto is “developing capable and trusted disciples of Jesus Christ”. This institution helping each student feel successful –the comradery, kindness, & helpfulness for each person that enrolls here or works here.

What has been my hardest part? And this might surprise you. It’s all these fobs we have to bring. Everywhere you go, there’s a fob, and I can’t get in, out, anywhere. When I lived in St. Geoge, I had this (holds up a fob with a single key attached to it). It took me to my home, it took me to the car, it took me to the mailbox. But here, I have to have all these fobs. So, if I forget one I get really anxious and worried. And one of my friends lost hers the other day, and she couldn’t get in and out of things. So, we should have a handful of fobs.

I looked up the meaning of “fob”. It’s a Middle English or German word for “object attached to keys”. Hmmm. That seems like a metaphor for life. We have many doors that we can only enter with the correct fob. In fact, each phase of life or event or travel along our journey has a particular fob. Each one is used to open doors or one we receive when a goal is completed.

I’d like to review some of mine while you think of yours.

My first key fob was used by my parents, Joe and Ruth Powers, as they helped me enter mortality. And, believe it or not, (referring to slide) that’s what I looked like 80 years ago.  Their decision to give me life started my earthly journey.

 They instilled values which have stayed with me to this day – hard work, perseverance, love of God, family and country, curiosity to learn, good music, being responsible, setting and achieving worthy goals, not giving up (so, when you’re on the pickle ball floor, on Saturday night and you have a devotional, you don’t give up!), standing up for what’s right. To be clear, my childhood home was not perfect. Lots of yelling and screaming, but I have tried to remember the good parts.

I was not raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day- Saints. My mom was Protestant and my dad, Catholic. We mostly attended the New England white steepled church down the street. I remember singing Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam when I was about age three. My mother introduced me to another significant key fob.

In 1963 (and those are real pictures of my missionaries) two missionary Elders talked to her in a street interview in our small town in New Hampshire. It was truly the mission field back then. There were no chapels. We met in a YMCA. The elders sent my name across the state to where I was working that summer. And this is Elder Rich and Elder Bray introduced me to several key fobs.

First, the fob of faith: Learning the first principles of the gospel expanded on what my mother had taught me. I remember singing this song as a child:

Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white,
They are precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.” [1]

I felt loved by Jesus! My faith in Him started very young and I knew He was real.

The 2nd key fob: Repentance. In a recent Relief Society meeting I attended, someone shared, “Sometimes we don’t recognize we are repenting when we are actively striving to improve”. As a therapist and an ADHD coach, I help people every day see their worth in the eyes of God and pursue those changes through setting SMART goals [2] . We are participating in the repentance process as we change our thoughts, behaviors, and beliefs.

A physical goal might be to add some veggies or drink more water. A mental goal might be doing homework instead of playing video games. Choosing music that is calm & uplifting to feed us Emotionally. Spiritual: Choosing to read the Book of Mormon or schedule a temple visit. Relational: Calling your mother (I like that! I put that in on purpose.) Maybe even sending a real birthday card. These do exist. But I know you have to get a stamp and all those kinds of things, so, not very often are people sending them. Or, as Elder Rasband taught in General Conference…words matter. [3] Say thank you, I am sorry, or I love you, more often!

So, another definition of repentance is changing or striving, going toward the Savior, being on the covenant path, “thinking Celestial” [4] .

Recently President Nelson asked us to seek out the One (our birthday gift for him), and I know President Kusch referred to that a couple of weeks ago--# 99plus1 [5] . I hope all of you have gone there. And these were specifically people we could seek out.

“Who do you know who may be discouraged? Who might you need to reconcile with or ask for forgiveness? Has one name been on your mind lately, though you haven’t quite known why?” [6]

So, 3rd and 4th key fobs: Baptism and the Gift of the Holy Ghost. What doors do these fobs open? It was ‘a day like no other’ when I entered the font at Joseph Smith’s birthplace in Sharon, Vermont. It was the official start of my journey on the Covenant Path.

 I also received the gift of the Holy Ghost that day. President Nelson has said, “It has never been more imperative to know how the Spirit speaks to you than right now.”
 We call them promptings, personal revelations, and impressions.

They speak peace to our minds and hearts, a burning within, a feeling that it’s right, a whisper. Pres Boyd K. Packer has said, “it is a voice that one feels, more than one hears.” [7] Pres Oaks has said: “The Lord will speak to us through the Spirit in His own time and in His own way. We wait upon the Lord for his Revelation.”

 Sometimes it’s a little hard for me to be patient, but I’m trying.

 o, a scripture that’s been very, very important to me is Doctrine and Covenants 6, verses 22 and 23.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart…Did not I speak peace to your mind concerning the matter?  What greater witness can you have than from God?

This is my very personal fob since 1989, when I was encouraged to read it in a priesthood blessing. When I have a strong impression to do something in my life and know it is a message from the Lord, but then maybe I start to hesitate or doubt, or really, really…I remember that scripture!

5th fobEnduring to the end.  President Gordon B. Hinckley shared a beautiful analogy from a newspaper column he read back in 1973. The author likened life to an old-time train journey—a journey filled with delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts. But amidst these challenges, there are occasional beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The key (or fob), according to President Hinckley, is to thank the Lord for letting us have the ride [8] . Prayer.

These key fobs lead to another metaphor. Each time I have a major goal, a struggle, a challenge ahead, I visualize myself climbing a mountain. I chose Mt. Rainier, near Seattle, because I used to live near there, and I actually walked around the base—not up—but just around the base. The climb is hard, seems long, seems impossible, looking at the top I say to myself: “Am I ever going to get up there? How far it is? I’m tired. What if I fail? What if I stumble and fall—like I did Saturday night?” And that was kind of a mountain. But I got up. Finally, I make it to the top and look out at the vista (as President Hinkley described), the valley below, the horizon, and have the positive feelings of overcoming my doubts and fears and accomplishing my goal!

I now have decades of climbing mountains and know I can use what I learned in the past as I climb the next one.

I visualize myself at the top looking out over the valley below and the magnificent vista and it gives me the courage to keep climbing.

Let’s talk about the most important fob, which helps us climb those mountains…Christ’s Atonement. Elder David A. Bednar has taught:

“The enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity”. [9]

Two other quotes I’d like to share. From Elder Gong: “Jesus has the porch light on!” [10] I just loved that when I read that, I think (it was) in Come Follow Me. In General Conference, our newest apostle, Patrick Kearon, said: “Christ’s goal is to bring you home…the Father’s plan is not about roadblocks. It never was it never will be. Are there things we need to do, commandments to keep, aspects of our natures to change? Yes. But with his grace, those are within our reach, not beyond our grasp.” [11]

I’d like to share some of my mountains and suggest you think about the many fobs I needed to climb them; and key fobs I received, climbing those mountains.

I received my Endowment and was Sealed in the Salt Lake Temple by the keys of the holy priesthood. In 1965 it was the Closest temple to Washington DC, where I lived, and we literally climbed many mountains to get there.

Then, years of raising my children. We were told that we would have no more children after the first two. These are my five beautiful children. They don’t look quite like that anymore. But they’re still beautiful. The Doctor said we’d only have two. A lot of miscarriages and miracles—we got three more. So, sometimes the Lord knows best.

Next, I was a homeschooling Pioneer in the early 80s when few were doing it. I was sued by the State of Maryland and had to stand up for my constitutional and legal rights. I went on tv, radio, newspaper. It even hit the national news. Three days before the scheduled hearing, Maryland dropped the case because they knew we would win.

 Another couple of tall and rugged mountains were two divorces.

 And as it has been mentioned, at Age 50, I went back to college for my master’s degree in counseling psychology. My Patriarchal Blessing says: “your life has been preserved for a purpose... to labor in the interest of improvement among your associates.” Some discouraged me and said: “You are too old!” But I didn’t believe them. Thirty years after receiving my bachelor’s degree, I earned my Masters. And now it’s been thirty more years. Age is only a number, as they say.

Then…you’re probably wondering why I have a Ryder truck on this slide. This is a fun and an interesting mountain. I drove a big moving truck hauling my Honda Civic behind, 3005 miles from Seattle, Washington to Washington DC. Again, some doubted me, but I knew I could do it. But here’s the funny part; I’m kind of short, as you’ve noticed, so when I went to pick up the truck, I couldn’t reach the pedals. So, a very kind friend of mine got big blocks of wood, taped them to the pedals, and I drove 3005 miles across the country with blocks on my pedals. So, never let people tell you that you can’t do it. And I’m sure the Ryder Company wouldn’t have been happy with them. But I didn’t tell them. Maybe that’s some repenting I need to do.

My most recent mountain:  For a few years I’d thought about serving a mission, but didn’t believe I could afford it. So I was delaying my decision. I guess the Lord got tired of waiting. A year ago, while sitting in Stake Conference, with my good friend here, I received a most distinct prompting in three sentences. 1. Sherry, you need to go on a mission. You have three choices: Be a Temple worker, stay at home (as a Service Missionary) or go away 2. Sherry, if you serve, miracles will happen (and don’t we all want miracles?) and 3. Go to your Bishop and ask him to pray about it.

Whew! I got home after Stake Conference and I wrote it all down. And right away I called the bishop and scheduled an appointment. He prayed and later told me: “Sherry, a definite “no” to temple worker and stay at home. A definite “yes” to going away. Many miracles have happened since.

At the same time I was preparing and receiving my call to serve at the Utah Salt Lake City Headquarters Mission, leaders, sitting right here in front of me, were praying for a Licensed Therapist to serve here. I came, they heard, met me and the rest is History. The Lord is in the details of our lives and He puts us where He needs us to be. And I am extending my mission six months, or, as someone recently told me, “Five or six years, Sister Clarke.” I don’t think so! And so, I love this quote by President Jeffrey R. Holland:

“Don’t wait to live, this isn’t a rehearsal, this isn’t a dry run or pre-performance. This is IT! This is real life! Don’t wait! Savor every minute!” [12] In other words, Show up and be willing and courageous to climb those mountains. And use your key fobs.

 In conclusion, everyone, but especially the students, get out your badge, whatever you have, I want you to raise it high! These are your key fobs to many doors which can open in your lives, help you climb your mountains! I testify from a lifetime of experiences this is TRUE!

 And I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen


[1] “Jesus Loves the Little Children” Clarence Herbert Woolston
[2] Doran, George T., S.M.A.R.T. Goals, Management Review, November 1981.
[3] Ronald Rasband, “Words Matter”, General Conference, April 2024
[4] Russell M. Nelson, “Think Celestial!”, General Conference, October 2023
[5] President Nelson Invites All to Extend a Gift of Love for His 100th Birthday, Newsroom-Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jume 1, 2024.
[6] President Nelson Invites All to Extend a Gift of Love for His 100th Birthday, Newsroom-Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jume 1, 2024.
[7] Boyd K. Packer, “The Candle of the Lord,” Ensign, Jan. 1983, 52.
8] Gordon B. Hinckley quoting Jenkin Lloyd Jones, BYU Devotional, September 25, 1973.
[9] David A. Bednar, “The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality,” Ensign, April 2012, 42-43.
[10] Gerrit W. Gong, “Covenant Belonging”, New Era, November 2019.
[11] Patrick Kearon, “God’s Intent Is to Bring You Home”, General Conference, April 2024
[12] Post shared by Jeffrey R. Holland (@jeffreyrholland) on Oct. 19, 2018 at 11AM PDT



About the Speaker

Sister Sherry Clarke

Sister Sherry Clarke was born in New Jersey and raised in New Hampshire.

She attended the University of New Hampshire majoring in Political Science. In 1992, she enrolled at St. Martin’s College in Lacy, Washington, graduating with a master's in counseling psychology thirty years after her bachelor's degree. She later completed post graduate courses from Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland, and Hood College. Sister Clarke has been a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist for thirty years.

Sister Clarke is a senior missionary in the Utah Salt Lake Headquarters Mission and has been assigned to Ensign College's Counseling Center.

Sister Clarke has five grown children, twelve grandchildren, and five “greats!”
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