Michelle Black

Claire Stucki interviews Michelle Black about her spiritual journey, family history, favorite scripture stories, and advice for younger generations. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:11

Hi everyone, welcome to the Highland Drange Board Podcast. Thanks for taking the time to tune in and listen. This is Claire Stukey. I am your host today. Today we will be interviewing Michelle Black. She's an awesome member of our ward. Michelle, thank you so much for joining us today. My pleasure. Ah, okay. With that said, um, let's start with our first question. What is your personal conversion story to the gospel? How did you convert?

SPEAKER_00 0:35

So I was brought up in the church. My dad was Air Force military, so we moved around a lot. So I was born in Louisiana. We moved to Indiana, moved back down to Louisiana. My sister was born, we moved to Maine for a year and then England for four years, and that's when we were sealed in the temple because my parents were did a civil marriage before. So my sister and I, and my mom and dad were married or were sealed in the London England Temple. And then my brother came a year later, you know. So yeah, and then we moved back to the states and we moved around a lot, and we ended up in Colorado. But my uh even though I was brought up in the church, I think it was because I moved here to Colorado in 1985, went to high school, and around my junior year I started questioning a lot of things. I won't go into detail, but there was a lot of stuff that was happening in the church, you know, and you know, it's Christ, it's it's God who makes the church, it's not the people, right? So I just I had seen some things and just kind of lost my faith in people and went away from the church in 1989, and then I came back to the church full-time in 2004 and never went back. And so it wasn't until I was really 32 when I became completely converted to the church, and I never went back after that. I was inactive from like 89 till about 2004, but so and I tried to come back a couple times in between, but it's just you know, the adversary is really strong, you know, and points out all the imperfections of people, I guess you could say, you know, but a lot of the stuff that I learned over those years helped me be able to relate to other people, including my two kids who they don't go to church anymore and stuff, but I still I still have a good relationship with them because of what I went through through my wayward time, and uh yeah, but ever since I came back in 2020, 2004, they put me in as the um I think it was oh yeah, enrichment leader. So that's what they called uh However Release Society, and then soon after that they had me be the ward um activity leader, just myself, you know, for a little bit, and then I was in primary for the last 25 years, so but yeah, 2004, and it was it wasn't like I came back and I stopped everything I had done over the last 15 years or whatever. I it was a slow transition, but it like these talk about born-again Christians. Well, born-again Christians who are of the Mormon faith. Oh my gosh, it's like a fire's lit under you. It was crazy, and my my testimony just grew after that.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

Wow. Oh my goodness, that's so amazing. I love what you said about how you kind of learned some like things from when you weren't in the church and when you weren't in the gospel, and those are things that kind of like you said, uh I feel like you make you more understanding of your children and of people who have a hard time coming to church. And I totally would agree with you. I think it would be very difficult to come to leave for a while and then come back. And I like we said, like, this is like a fire, like it's sometimes you might think it's all or nothing, but it's okay to just take your own process and put it back in because Christ is respectful and loving of your time, and we hope that the church is too, and that's what we want is to be accepting of what you have to offer. So that's amazing. Thank you for sharing that. Um, okay, our next question is what is your favorite family history story that inspires you?

SPEAKER_00 3:54

Well, I had to dig this one a little bit because it's always it's usually my mom's side. My mom's side of the family is from the the um the north uh eastern part of the United States, so from the just New England area, and so it I'm gonna show you some pictures, I'm gonna put up to the camera, but it's uh it was from my mom's mom's mom's side, and so they're from the coffin, and the coffins are a long line that originated from my ninth great grandfather, who was Admiral Tristam Coffin, who was one of the founders of Nantucket. And Nantucket is an island 30 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, and so he was one of the founding fathers of that particular island right there that people go to now, like Martha Vineyard, Cape Cod, and all the bougie places they like to go, you know, and everything. But but yeah, he was one of the founding fathers there, so I'll have to show you a picture. They have um there I went through, so they have a lot of information. Here's the family tree. I wish I could learn how to do the share thing, but I'm old school. So I don't know if you could let me see if I can do this. There's the family tree, and you see the one that says Stephen? The one that says Stephen, that's my grandma's line. Because he had five kids. And yeah, and then they had this is their family crest, they're from a woodling, so a fisherman. So I'm just like I really related to that one because I'm an angler. So yeah, it's kind of cool, and then here's a depiction of him, Tristan Coffin. So he was the first of the race that settled in America, first chief magistrate.

SPEAKER_01 5:31

Let's go show your picture.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

So there's a depiction of him there.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

Oh my gosh, that's kind of cool.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

And they they met it made a medal. Let me see if I can get it here. That kind of cool.

SPEAKER_01 5:44

Yeah, wow.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

Yeah, and then the back of it it says uh do honor to his name, be united. So a lot of English stuff in there. And I found some information. So my mom has these books. Tales of New England past. And this other one, Tales of New England Coast. And then this one is funny because like I was trying to like, oh wait, what is it? It was the past one, I think. Yeah, because they're talking all about fishing, and they go story mode, it's not like it's not just like history and stuff. So while the lunch was in process, the fisherman's son pointed out a group of black pointed dimples, dimpling in the surface of the water about a hundred feet from us. They're all on this boat on this like fishman tour, and no one's catching anything, right? So they're like, there, he said, goes a shoal of bluefish, and so I'm assuming this is like tuna or something, but going oh down with their lunch and out went the lines, throwing the lead beyond the shoal. We drew it rapidly uh through, and each hook was followed by a half a dozen more of ravenous fish snapping, darting, and leaping up to the whale, uh, to the whale of the boat, you know. So it's talking about a fisherman story, and so I'm thinking about, you know, I'm just like, I know you can use it as an object lesson for, you know, everything we've been learning and you know, about the Easter and when when Christ came back about putting your net on the side of the boat and pulling it in and all that other jazz, but I just thought it was cool that they were a whale, you know. I'm not a you know, when it comes to whaling and stuff, I know it's not a good thing, but they were fishermen, you know what I mean? So it was just a nice connection to have with that for sure. And then let me see what else they had. Yeah, so my great, see, he was born, so it's Tristam, so T-R-I-A-S-T-R-A-M, Tristram coffin. He was born in Brixton, Devon, England in 1609, and then but died in 1681. But it was just kind of cool to see of all the history that was behind it, and it's amazing that when you go into your ancestry, the link that you know when you go to the temple and you take your name, it takes you over to that link. It's amazing the information that they have in there. I mean, it showed the coffin house.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Wow, and then it showed the tree, and then the crest, and then it showed here's the homestead. Let me see if I can get that. There you go. Oh the coffin. So my mom's mom's name is Mary, and one of his did uh descendants that they didn't put on the tree, they just put the men, you know, it's that time of day. And so they had the men in there, um, and it showed, but Mary was one of his children, and my my mom's mom's name was Mary as well. Mary Louise Coffinmore. And then this is where Nantucket is. Let's go get this covered. Nantucket, see right off of Cape Codis, that little red one. That's the island right there. So if you've ever been to the East Coast, it's really cool out there. But anyway, that's part of my family history. Just nothing really connected to um the church, really, but just you know, just being as one of the original settlers is kind of cool. Because you know, we all came from the east coast, they all came over this way for the most part when it comes to Americans, but I don't know. Not everybody, but you know, yeah, anyway.

SPEAKER_01 8:55

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

It's kind of cool to look it up.

SPEAKER_01 8:57

Wow, that's so cool.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

You found all that. And a lot of it's because they did their my my family's my mom's side of the family has done a lot of history on that side, so they're the ones who plugged in all this information in the system. So you've ever refine anything from your from your grandpa or whatever, you know, you can plug it in and it's part of like the information on you know what after when you get the name, and it shows you exactly when you hit my relationship, it shows you the tree and how you're related to them too. So it's kind of cool.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

Oh, that's so awesome. That really does show you the power of like family search and all those family history apps that we have. It's just like like you like who would have thought, like, who would have known?

SPEAKER_00 9:37

Right at your fingertips, it's crazy. So when you before you go take a name to the temple, see if there's any information there, and you can literally Google their name, and it has all the a lot of it's Wikipedia, but you know, but some of it there's more, there's more to it, and some maybe plugged in that's one of your other family members had plugged in for you to be able to see as well.

SPEAKER_01 9:55

Oh my gosh, that's so cool. I'm sure that just makes you feel so much more connected to like all your family and like I don't know, just like history in general. The like your family was a part of that in such a big way. That's so cool. Oh my gosh, wow. Okay, um, for our next question is what is a favorite scripture story of yours and why?

SPEAKER_00 10:20

I thought about that one too, and I really love the stripling warriors one, but I'm always drawn back to um Catchamoroni. Yeah, he's the the superhero of the Book of Mormon. You know, you know those little cards they came out with, Deserette Book, and it's like shows him then there standing. So one year I made smaller versions of this. There's like a little flag that we just hate in house. We made the smaller versions of this and handed out to our Sunday school class. It was just on some faux leather or whatever, faux faux whatever. But it was just cool, and then every year for um around 4th of July, I love to post not just the American flag, but this the you know, the title Liberty overlaid onto the flag, and then put that as your like your background for um your Facebook page or whatever. And so it really it sparks a lot of like uh conversation with people too. They're like, what's that? What do you have on top of the flag? You know, it's like let me tell you. It's kind of cool.

SPEAKER_01 11:17

Oh my gosh, that is so cool.

SPEAKER_00 11:19

Yeah, so it's Alma 46, and it's like, you know, it's first like 10 through 16, but I didn't know if you wanted to go through the whole thing or not. But it's basically Amalachiah. He was just, he was just, yeah, I'll read it if you want, but but he was just he was like leading everyone astray, you know. He was not a good man, he was destroying the foundation of liberty and everything, and Morane just wanted to step up, you know. He was the chief um commander at the time of the armies, and he just wanted to step up, and so he literally tore a piece of his cloak and wrote this on there and put it on a flag. And, you know, you know what it is. It's so it's what is it? I have the the title Liberty, where is it at here? In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom and our peace, our wives and our children, and he fasted to the end of the pole, which is really cool. And then it showed afterwards, he said, He bowed himself to the earth and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should be a band of Christians remaining to possess the land, which is really cool. So I like there's more there too, but Alma 46, 10 through 16 is the focus for for my favorite, my favorite story.

SPEAKER_01 12:35

I love that story too. It's literally like you said, it's kind of like the the American flag of the Book of Mormon. Like, yeah, exactly. It's just such a cool story, like it's oh my gosh, it's just it really shows like standing up for what you believe in and like being willing to literally give your life to the work. And like then, most of the time they did that in very literal ways, like many of them gave their lives into the work, and like that was it, like they genuinely gave their lives, but now it's like we can't give our lives in a much different, and it's a very impactful way. I love that story. This is awesome. Um, okay, next question is what was the time you struggled with something in your life and you felt Christ walking with you through that trial?

SPEAKER_00 13:28

Um, so I've been married three times, and I remember going back into the singles group going, oh my gosh, what happened? Why is she married like so many times? What's wrong with her? You know, until you walk the path yourself, yeah you just don't understand. So I always felt like I had a scarlet D on my chest, you know, it's like, oh, she's been married twice, don't date her, you know, and everything. But when you learn people's stories about what happened and everything, too, it just helps me relate to them more, and I think that's the reason why maybe I went through what I went through so I could be there for my single friends that were going through so and they're all so different. There's so many variables and stuff. But with mine, my first husband, we he wasn't a member. I met him during my wayward years and and uh we had two kids together, you know, and it was it was the last couple years. I I I started going, I didn't go to school till I was 40 when it went to college, you know, and so I didn't get my associates until 2015. And that last semester in 2015 is where everything happened. I had multiple callings at the time. I was like Cubmaster, I was like in the the um I was chorister, and I was also in the primary presidency. It was just crazy, you know what I mean? Yeah, that on top of that, I was doing full-time school, and I was volunteering at the school for the kids, you know, and so it was just crazy, you know, and so um when everything kind of hit the fan, um the Lord really helped me keep my mind straight. The ward was there for me, which was huge. So he sent me angels in the for in the form of my ward. And there's such such the most amazing, there was in the traw and's ward of the Denver North State to give them little props and stuff, but they're just like there's very down-to-earth, very just amazing people that came to people's rescue when everything went down. But we were had been in the ward since 2004 that split, split, split, you know, and everything. But but um, and so during that time there's a lot of confusion, and I was taking art classes, and so it helped me just go tune everything out and just go work with my hands. You know, I was doing hand-built clay at the time, children's literature, what was it? Inner I think it was interpersonal communication and a 3D design class, and so it was just nice to be able to have that, and I was gonna transfer to Metro or MSU, but I just I couldn't at the time. But so the Lord said, no, don't transfer, you're gonna need to take care of the kids and stuff. And then I didn't know where I was gonna live because we were gonna sell the house, and so I was able to find a place within the ward that was affordable, that the child support and everything was gonna pay exactly what I needed, so I just needed a little part-time job on the side to figure it out, and that's when I ended up at Chick-fil-A. So another blessing, you know. So I was at Chick-fil-A for 10 years, but that, and then there was like other little things, there's like miracles that happened on a regular basis during that time that just kind of calmed my mind, and just it it could have been a worse experience because I kept you know, cut kind of trying to control everything, and like I was taking pictures of everything and like you know, and co- you know, like the the the uh what do you call like the serial numbers and like on the guns and all this other stuff, and the Lord's just like just stop, and so I stopped and letting take control, and everything just kind of even though it was you know it's still hard, it's just it was like riding on top of a giant wave, and it just was just it was it was amazing. I mean, most people would have a nervous breakdown and I mm you know it was it was it was amazing. The Lord had complete control if you like blow the rings sometimes, it's just amazing what he can do.

SPEAKER_01 16:49

That is that is so cool, and I love what you said about you kinda you don't really know like why you're going through a trial until you find someone else who uh is going through that same trial, and you're like, oh my gosh. I I feel like I went through that so I can be here for you. And I feel like that's just like even like a sliver of how Christ feels with the atonement, it's like I felt that and now I can be here for you. And that's such a cool thing. And I also love what you said about just letting him take control, like you know that when everything's falling apart or everything is like you feel like everything just you can't control a single thing, and that's when it's in God's hands, and you know it's just it's out of your hands at that point, and you really just gotta let trust in God and trusting what he has in mind for you, and that's so cool. And I love how you just you have faith through that whole thing, and it is so easy to try to judge people, like and just like oh my gosh, like what's going on with them? Like you really just never know what they're going through, and it's just so important to be there for people and to be that angel for someone. I love that. Thank you. Um okay, all right, our next question is what do you love most about our ward, about the Highlands Ranch Ward?

SPEAKER_00 18:11

Well they're really welcoming, very friendly, and very transparent and very vulnerable in all their stories. They're not afraid to share their hardest of moments, because that's what I think we learn the most. You know, to be like, oh, you know, maybe I you know, they would maybe we could, you know, talk about this sometimes. You know, I don't know. You know, because when people go on stage or when they're on the pulpit and they're pouring out their heart and stuff, you know, it's just like we learn a lot through other people, especially if they share their all.

SPEAKER_01 18:48

I think uh something that's so cool around about a word and effort from many people is just like how like easy it is for us to be vulnerable, and um I think for some people it's like, oh that's kind of disrespectful to like say that kind of stuff, like at the pulpit, and like you should save that for when it's like in the classroom, maybe. But like, no, like that's what a ward is about, is just being there for each other, and it's just so easy to look around and be like, oh gosh, I bet everyone has it so easy, I bet they're doing everything right. You hear someone get up and just like bear their soul and wear things that are really hard for them, like that, like you said, is like that's when you learn the most, and that's when I think you just grow more connected to the people around you because I think it's easy for us to like try and hide that support side of us, hide the hard things, but people just don't realize that that's when connection, real learning, and growth happens, is when are brave enough to be vulnerable, especially in front of a ton of people, and kind of just let everyone just catch you and just be there for you. And I'll let you about our work. Thank you. Um, what is a recent time that you have felt the spirit? Just Sunday.

SPEAKER_00 20:07

So um, I love to listen to the music and the spoken word, you know, with everything that's in there. So I try to listen to that every Sunday, just part of my Sunday regimen, so whatever I'm doing. Like I had other stuff going on on Sunday, but I just like in the commute to do those things, you know, and everything. I always listen to that. And then um I I was listening in my commute too, I was listening to like just gospel music, and I go to some of like I don't know, I like to go to the gospel living app, you know, it's predominantly for youth, but it's for everybody, you know. There's music in there, there's there's scripture moments in there, there's little stories, and I think they relate to everybody, and I think we need to go back to the basics sometimes and hear it. But also on YouTube, you can go to the youth album of this year, like you just key in 2026 youth album, and it has a whole stream, you can play all of them, all of the songs, and they have a theme song for the year and everything. And there is peace in Christ was one from a couple years ago, but but just to playing those, you know, it's just it's just amazing because uh when you're playing those, they just kind of they touch your heart, they feed your soul, and then when you do the hymns along with all those as well, you know, they they have a tendency to ground you and and calm your mind because there's so many distractions in the world, you know, and there's so much chaos, you know, you're like you're trying to like scroll through social media and instead of getting your friend's update on their kids' mission or whatever, you're getting a newsreel and you're like, oh, I didn't want to know that. You know what I mean? So sometimes putting that down and just blocking it out and listening to music, you know, rather than mainstream, like I like to rock, but you know what I mean, when it comes to you you need to take a break sometimes and you need to because that that fills you. I mean, rock and roll's great, you know, it's a different level of frequency, and then there's the church, you know, there's all the gospel hymns and everything that Things celestial, you know what I mean? The earthly and the heavenly, you know. So the correlation. Yes. Oh. It's true music always. Yeah. And Lamb of God. Yeah. That was, yeah. Did you get to go to that?

SPEAKER_01 22:15

Yeah. I mean, I performed in the youth.

SPEAKER_00 22:18

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I was there for that one. Which they never had before, which was amazing. I'm like, well, let's go. Like, and this is Greg's very first time going to it. He's like, well, if it was this good with youth, I'll go next year. Like, yay. Because he's not into the symptom stuff and everything. Yeah, yeah. Well, I hope he's not watching this. You can edit that out if you want. It'll be good. Yay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:44

I do love Lamb of God music. I like what you said about like frequencies and like how there are many different like in the world, there's many different frequencies, and just knowing like which ones to tap into for what kind of mood you're in. Like, oh, I'm really just like want to jam out. Like that's what I'm feeling. So I'll tap into this frequency. And but um there's just like spiritual music just has a very, very special frequency, and a frequency that just kind of penetrates your heart more than like anything else, I think. And it's just so cool. Um that it can do that, because I feel like uh like like if you really love like certain kinds of music, like it really will like touch your heart in that kind of way, but I feel like nothing does like like spiritual music does, and it really just connects you to Christ so much more.

SPEAKER_00 23:33

So yeah, so if you're preparing to go to on your mission, my suggestion would be to you know put this stuff, other stuff away for a while, and just focus on you know that because it'll it'll build your testimony more, and then every time you listen to the other stuff, which is great, don't get me wrong, but the Holy Ghost can't be there with the rock and roll, you know what I mean? So I know there's Christmas rock out there and stuff too, but you know, the Holy Ghost can be there during certain frequencies. But once you get yeah, yeah, yeah, it's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 24:04

I've been feeling that too, like yeah, ever since I've been kind of like this past semester, just kind of preparing for my mission, and especially like Lamb of God and stuff. I don't know, a lot of other music just kind of like bothers me. Like I feel like all I can really listen to now is just like Lamb of God, spiritual music, motab. And then like when I found out he was going to Paraguay now, it's like some Spanish music, yeah. But like other than that, I feel like it's just like a very special spiritual frequency that it just like you can't like that's like really the only place the Holy Ghost can be. Like, it's just so cool. Um okay, for our last question here um is if you could go a hundred years in the future and talk to your posterity, what advice would you give them?

SPEAKER_00 24:51

All right, I wrote this one out, so I'm gonna read this one because uh there's a there's a lot, but I love quotes and everything too, so I'm not there the quotes are in there somewhere, but I would tell them not to sweat the small stuff, you know. I think we get so caught up in the details of how we are so different than other people rather than the things just to focus on the things that we have in common with them, you know. I think that it's what is causing such a division in our society. Um if we're if we're all alike, what a boring world it would be, right? Um so it's important to get to know those around you. It doesn't matter if they don't like the same music or you know, but don't go to the same movies or believe or if they believe in another faith, you know, or think differently than you do, but we're here to learn from each other and build relationships. And a friend is a stranger you haven't met yet, or haven't talked to yet. So I love that one too. And then I would tell them to enjoy the journey, not the destination. I learned this when I was doing my last semester of school with interp interpersonal communication. I had to I had to record um uh the conversations and I was doing with my mom, and I wanted to get to this one spot right above Fairpoint when you when it all opens up, and you have Jefferson right there. But along the way, we're having the conversation, and then I had the aha moment. This is back in 2014, but like, you know what, it's not it's not the destination, it's beautiful, but it's that journey along to get to the destination where you're gonna make those memories and and everything too. So and to stop and smell the roses on the way. We're in such a hurry to go. We're like, oh, there's an elk, oh there's a deer, oh, but we're gonna get over here, you know. Um, so to take the time to enjoy the quiet moments, which can be fleeting in a world where everyone's so busy all the time chasing their own version of the golden calf. So stop and breathe a little bit here and there. To be wiser to finances and invest wisely, um, I would suggest that they invest in moments and memories rather than stuff. You can bring your memories with you, but you can't bring your stuff to heaven. So that's another thing. And then I would tell them to think celestially, um, to think celestial that that everything that that everything they s uh they do when they're their lives here affect like everything they do in their life affects their future. So when they go to make a decision to do something, they can be like, okay, does this get me on, you know, which path do I want to go on in my life, you know? Because it because you can't you don't you can have control of your actions, but you don't have control of the consequences that go along with those actions. So to really think before they act, and then not to be too hard on themselves because no one's perfect. The Lord has placed us here to learn from not only those around us, but from our own mistakes. Uh that we need to learn from our own individual experiences so we we can become better versions of ourselves tomorrow than we are today.

SPEAKER_01 27:32

Wow, that was amazing. That was so great. I there were so many great one-liners in there. I sorry, I know.

SPEAKER_00 27:40

It's just I love the quotes because the quotes are what motivate me. I like to paint them and put them in, you know, I'll put a pretty picture in the background and do a quote in the middle of it and everything. Just yeah, just reminders to slow down. I had them all over.

SPEAKER_01 27:52

But I love I love what you said about don't sweat at the about the small things and just breathe. Slow down. Like I feel like I don't know, like I kind of thought of like driving and like like Road Rangers, and like people who just get so angry about the smallest things, and like you're gonna forget about it in 10 minutes. Like, why are we worrying so much about things that like in the big picture and the big perspective really don't matter? And and then like um I saw like a video the other day that was um just this lady and was like, we need to stop thinking of everything as an emergency, like if she was just kind of going through her day and doing like the tasks and just kind of like eating really fast, and then just like wait, I was like, wait, it's okay, like I'm okay, like I'm just like taking time, washing the dishes super fast, getting out of this done. Wait, I it's okay. Like, I can just take my time doing this, like it's okay, and just really like having that moment of you know what? I'm just gonna enjoy where I am and look around where I am right now, and enjoy the people I am right now, put my phone down. I don't like that's a waste of time, like and just look around and enjoy this beautiful earth, this all the beautiful opportunities that God has given us that we're over. So that's amazing. I your your posterity is gonna love that. Um, all right, well, that's it. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us today. Have a great rest of your day. Thank you. Thank you. It's my pleasure. Take care. Bye bye.