Greg Johnson

Tyler Dougal interviews Greg Johnson. They discuss Greg's spiritual journey, family history, and advice for younger generations. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Hey everyone, welcome to the Hilds are in War podcast. Thanks for taking the time to tune in today and listen. This is Tyler. I'll be your host today. And today I'm going to be interviewing Greg Johnson. So thank you for joining us on the podcast today.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Yeah, thanks for having me. Super excited about this.

SPEAKER_00 0:27

Yeah, so to start, we kind of like to get to know our guests a little bit. So if you have a day off, what's what's some stuff you might do for fun?

SPEAKER_01 0:36

Uh I grew up in Washington State, right near the Columbia River, and I loved boating growing up. And so that love for boating has stuck with me. And I, man, I could spend all day on the water just uh wake surfing or you know having fun. So anytime I any day off I get, I love to spend on the water.

SPEAKER_00 0:56

Nice. That's super cool. It's super fun. Um and if you were to maybe write a book about your life, what would some of the top accomplishments be, you think?

SPEAKER_01 1:08

You know, that's a good question. Um this may sound silly, but I I would think uh my kids, you know, I'm super, super proud of my kids and and what they've accomplished. And I'm not saying that I had anything to do with it. I guess my main accomplishment is I didn't mess them up too bad. Um, but you know, uh all of my kids so far have turned out, you know, better than I thought, especially, you know, as I look back, as I raised some of my kids and you know, some of the arguments I used to get into, especially with my older son Luke. Um, you know, I think I had a plan for him that I wanted him to, you know, something that I wanted him to be. And it turns out that the Lord had something in store that, you know, a plan better for Luke than I had. And once I kind of realized that and just kind of tried to not get in the way and um and you know, kind of hand it over to the Lord, I I think all my kids have turned out pretty well. So um, yeah, you know, I have some professional accomplishments, but like I said, I think I take the most pride in in my kids, and I'm sure most parents do.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

Yeah, when I ask that question, I feel like I expect to hear a lot of times about their career or different projects they worked on, but it seems to always circle back on their family and their children specifically. So that's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

Yeah, that's cool. And like I said, I you know, I think I'm a marginally successful in my career, but um that pales uh I think into you know my kids and and the great family that I've raised. And again, like I said, I I can't take credit. My credit is I didn't mess them up too bad, hopefully.

SPEAKER_00 2:46

Yeah. So if we chip to some of the the more spiritual questions, how did you convert personally to the gospel?

SPEAKER_01 2:55

So I was raised in the church, you know, born in the church. Um, and as I as I thought about this question, I've listened to other people's podcasts, uh, you know, and and just differing life experiences. For me, um, I recall when I was, so for me, I would it was never a question as to whether I was gonna go on a mission. I always knew I was gonna go on a mission, but I don't know that I had ever read the Book of Mormon or really prayed about it at all. And so, as a young missionary, probably a week in the MTC, I can still remember and and picture in my mind's eye where I was um when I read 3 Nephi chapter 11, and when I read the opening pages of the Book of Mormon, and I really and I read Moroni's Promise and I prayed, uh, you know, as a 19-year-old missionary in the MTC to know if the Book of Mormon was true. And the answer that I got immediately uh has stuck with me. Um, let's see, 31 years later. I can still remember the prompting that I felt, the answer that I got, and the feeling that I have. And so from that point on, um, you know, I was converted. And so, like I said, maybe maybe a little late, maybe it's not the right time to be asking if the church is true when you're a missionary. Um, but that's that's when I became truly converted.

SPEAKER_00 4:24

That's awesome. What other ways have you seen that sacrifice you make made to serve a mission impact you in your life?

SPEAKER_01 4:32

Oh, that's also a great question, Tyler. You know, I look at my life and I think everything that I have today and going back to my great family and kids, every blessing that I have today is a result of me serving a mission and being active in the church. Um, you know, I when I returned home from I knew Becky before my mission. We didn't date, but we were uh, you know, we kept in contact with each other. Um, and when I got home from my mission, I mean, you know, and that gave me the foundation of the gospel. And all the blessings that I have now are, I think, a direct result of uh having served a mission and having been active in the church. That's incredible, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

Do you have a favorite family history story?

SPEAKER_01 5:17

Uh I do. So um it's a little long, so I'll try and get through it uh as quickly and as efficiently as possible. But so my ancestors uh grew up in Denmark, and there's one in particular, her name was Annie Marie Peterson. And so by all accounts, her family was quite wealthy, and they met the missionaries. And this is probably my third great-grandmother. So, going back a while, um, so her family met the missionaries, they were baptized and decided to come to America and eventually make their way to Utah. Uh well, she was a young girl at the time, and on the way over to America, uh, three of her siblings died on the ship that brought them to America, and they had to be buried at sea. Um, and then when they finally made it to Utah, her mother died, and she also had a little sister who died as well. So just on the trip over, she lost uh her mother her mother and three siblings. Um, to pay for the wedding for her mother and this baby, her father sold all these nice dresses um that her mother had. And after all the funeral expenses were paid for, uh, they had a dime left over. And so Annie Maria's father carved a wooden box, put this dime in it, and gave it to Annie Maria. Uh eventually she married, Annie Maria grew up, got married, um, and had a daughter of her own, and her daughter's name was Annie. And then Annie married a guy named Heber Christensen, and they had five children, one of whom was my grandpa, my grandpa Christensen on my mom's side. Um, but before these five children were grown, both Annie and Heber Christensen died. So Annie Maria had to take care of my grandpa and her uh my grandpa and his four uh siblings. Um, but she never um you know she never murmured a word of complaint, was very strong in the gospel, and she used to tell my grandpa stories about her life in Denmark. And uh I've even seen that dime um that was you know passed down through the family. It's uh it's on the other side of anyway. Annie had a daughter and it the dime went to the the daughter side of the family. But I remember as a young kid, probably about 10 or 11, visiting this, my grandpa's sister and seeing this dime in this wooden box. So, you know, pretty cool story, you know, story of sacrifice that we probably won't ever be asked to do. But um uh yeah, pretty, pretty interesting story. That's a that's a favorite for us.

SPEAKER_00 7:59

That's super cool. That's that's powerful. Um, do you have a favorite scripture story?

SPEAKER_01 8:07

I do. I've got a couple, um, a couple silly ones that I that I like to share when my kids are complaining about church meetings. There's uh one in Acts. Um there's uh a guy, I I can't pronounce his name, it's like Euctus. And he anyway, he was Paul was preaching, and Euctus was sitting up in the rafters, and maybe you've heard this. He was sitting up in the rafters uh as Paul was preaching, and Paul must have gone on and on for a little while, and this guy fell asleep and fell off the rafters and died during Paul's during Paul's preaching. But Paul that didn't that didn't stop Paul. He went and he raised the guy from the dead. Like the guy, like death couldn't get this guy out of this boring church meeting. And Paul like raised him from the dead. Um, so that's kind of a silly one that I that I like to to talk about. Um another one, another silly one that I like is in 2 Kings, and it's um Elisha is the prophet, and he's walking around. Maybe you've heard this one too, Tyler. He's walking around, and these children come out and start making fun of him because he's bald. And in fact, in 2 Kings it says, the little children they mocked him and said, Go up, thou bald head, go up, thou bald head. And Elisha looked at him and then cursed the children, and then a she bear came out of the woods and like uh killed all these like 42 kids.

SPEAKER_00 9:37

Oh my gosh, that's hilarious.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

So anyway, though those are the silly ones that I like, but I I think you know, in general, you know, in seriousness, I think any story of Nephi I like. I mean, you look at Nephi and and he says at the beginning of almost in the first verse of the Book of Mormon, right? I, Nephi, have been born of goodly parents. But then he says, But look, I've been um, you know, I've been subject to trials and tribulations my whole life. And I think if you look at Nephi, and and I think just like all of us, right, we're trying to do what's good, we're trying to do what's right, we're trying to obey the commandments, and not everything works out for us all the time, right? Same with Nephi. And Nephi is a much greater person and much more spiritual than I am, and he had struggles. And so I think as we look at Nephi's life, we can think, hey, yeah, we're trying we're trying to do good things. Um, but you know, things aren't necessarily going to work out the way we we expect. But the Lord is is looking out for us and the Lord is helping us through those trials. So that's why I think Nephi is probably my, you know, the the life of Nephi is probably my favorite.

SPEAKER_00 10:44

Is there any trials you went through where you you felt Jesus Christ helping you through it?

SPEAKER_01 10:53

Yeah, one one that sticks out to me recently. Um so a few years ago, I had an opportunity to join a new law firm. And I thought it was going to be a really great opportunity for me. And I pray and I for the first time in my career, I had great clients. I had um, you know, I was doing really well. Uh these clients were were really prestigious clients, and I had the opportunity to move firms, and I prayed about it, and I thought, yeah, I think this is the right move for me. I'm going to take this firm and hope my clients come with me. I had a good feeling about this. And I left and I went to the new firm, and none of my clients came with me. And as an attorney, you're only as good as your last billable hour, as your dad knows. Um and so there I was at this new firm with without any clients. And uh to be quite honest, I was a little upset and a little bitter. Like, hey, I prayed about this and you told me at least I felt that everything was gonna work out. And it didn't. In fact, it was exactly the opposite. Um, and it took me about uh three years to um to to build up a new client base, and uh and in fact uh about two years into this new law firm, this one client in particular, it was Microsoft, came to me and said, Hey, we think we'd like to do work with you. And I thought, oh, here it is, here's the promise, right? This is what the Lord told me was gonna it was gonna feel good, or this is why the Lord told me to go. Here's you know, Microsoft's gonna come back. And and they didn't, I didn't get the client. And in fact, I had to eventually move firms um because my old law firm, the law firm I had moved to, I think they were getting tired of the fact that you know things weren't moving as quickly as possible. But you know, four years later, uh, I think I'm in a better spot than I would have been. And so maybe that was the plan all along. Um, but I I felt uh I felt Jesus Christ next to me during, you know, during that period of time. It was uh, like I said, pretty difficult. Um but looking back, I think it was the the best move, even though it didn't quite work out the way that I wanted.

SPEAKER_00 13:13

Yeah, that's very good. That's very good. Um is there any time recently where you've felt the spirit that you'd like to share?

SPEAKER_01 13:23

Yeah, I th I think the the one that sticks out um uh recently was well, as you know, and you just received your mission call. And so my son Josh just received his mission call to Paraguay, and when he when he opened his call, I definitely felt the spirit and felt that that was where Josh um needed to go. I d I don't know that he was supposed to go there, but I think that it will be it will be good for him, and just the little the little things like uh he had a cousin who just served there and returned a year ago. Uh my other son, Luke, served in Argentina, and it's literally right across the river. Um, you know, and again, it's it's a timing thing. Josh put his availability in August and isn't going until October. And since then, there's been other mission people who have opened mission calls, you know, who have left earlier than Josh. And, you know, and I wanted him to leave and come back and get back in time for school. Um, but with an August or with an October departure date, that probably not gonna happen. But I think that you know, the spirit told me that, hey, that's this is where Josh is gonna go. This is a a good this will be a good experience for him. So that was one that sticks out to me.

SPEAKER_00 14:45

Yeah, that's great. I mean, it can be so hard when you're doing your mission calls because there's so much uncertainty, and especially with the availability date and everything, you just have to really put your trust in the Lord and trust that He He said it that way for a reason. Yep, I agree. So, what's one thing you love most about our ward?

SPEAKER_01 15:06

Well, in my current calling, I'm second counselor in the bishopric right now, and uh I'm a little introverted. And so one thing that I I like about the calling is it forces me to go meet with people in the ward. And I love doing that. I love uh and because I normally wouldn't do that, right? If if I didn't have this calling, I'd probably go to church and say hi to a few people and then go home shortly thereafter. But as I've gotten to know members of the ward, man, I just think they would be willing to do anything for you. If there's a problem, if there's an issue, if you're struggling, I I think everyone in the ward would step up. And um and I love the fact that they're I love their testimonies, their stories, their stories of strength. Um, and just getting to know them in sacrament meeting and hear their experiences, uh, I think it's great. I I couldn't ask for a better award.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

Yeah, our award is great. I listened to a couple of these episodes and I just learned so much about people I would have never known. Just by reaching out to some people, you can just learn so much and get closer to the people around you. Um, if you could go a hundred years in the future and talk to your posterity, what's one lesson or just something you would be interested in teaching or telling them?

SPEAKER_01 16:29

Yeah, I would tell them or one lesson that I've learned is like be where your feet are. Uh so for a long time in in my life growing up, I thought, man, once I once I get out of undergrad, right, I'll be happy. Or once I get married, I'll be happy. Or once my kids get out of, you know, get to be teenagers, I'll be happy. Or once I buy a boat, then I'll be happy. Now, granted, the boat, you know, I am happy with with the boat, that makes me happy. But uh I will say that, you know, I I probably spent my early 20s and 30s, you know, I was in law school, we were poor, um, you know, we didn't have a lot of money. And I I just remember thinking, oh, once, you know, once I get done with law school and I start making money, then you know, then I'll then I'll be happy. And right, it it doesn't. Um, you know, and in fact, I remember working for a guy in California. I was living in Colorado, I was flying to California every week. He paid me more money than I had ever made in my life, and I was miserable. I didn't like working for him, I didn't like traveling, I didn't like being away from my family. And that's kind of when I realized, hey, you know what, this like just just be where you are. And now, um, you know, my kids are mostly gone out of the house, just Dax and Josh are left. And I think, man, I hope I didn't waste the last 30 years of my life looking forward to, you know, hey, if if this happens or if this event happens, then I'll be happy. And so that that's my advice is right, be be where your feet are, be happy in the situation you are. Um, because sooner rather than later, you're just it's all gonna go by. And now I'm looking back thinking, man, I hope I didn't squander those opportunities to to be really happy and be and enjoy the moment um that I had with my kids.

SPEAKER_00 18:24

Yeah, that's that's really good advice. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. I think our ward is really gonna love this this episode, and it's gonna inspire a lot of people. So I hope you have a great day, and I hope you know how much our ward loves you. And thanks again for coming on the podcast today.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

Well, thanks, Tyler. You did a great job. Great chatting with you.

SPEAKER_00 18:44

Yeah, thank you.