Highlands Ranch Ward Podcast
The Highlands Ranch Ward is a sharing of spiritual experiences, family history and inspiring Christian principles. The goal of the podcast is to help our members get to know each other better as well as inspire people to draw closer to Jesus Christ through prayer, scripture study, family history and living the principles Jesus taught.
Highlands Ranch Ward Podcast
Mark Wright
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Tyler Dougal interviews Mark Wright about this spiritual journey, family history, and advice for younger generations.
Hey everyone, welcome to the House of the Rights Warks podcast. Thank you for taking the time to tune in and listen today. This is Tyler. I'm going to be hosting today. And today I'm going to be interviewing Mark Wright. He's an amazing member of our ward. Thanks for joining us on the podcast today. Thank you. Appreciate it. So just to start, we kind of like to ask some questions for the people in the ward get to know. So just to start, we'll say now that it's warming up and summer summer break's coming and it's just warming up, the snow's melting away. What are your plans for the summer?
SPEAKER_01Well, it's interesting you'd ask that because uh now that uh the cold weather, like you say, and the good snow's gone, skiing's kind of uh shot, unless we go to the southern hemisphere, and I'm not gonna do that this year. So uh I guess you know now a lot of time is uh is gonna be spent hiking and and uh running around the outdoors when you can actually uh see plants and trees and those kind of things rather than just ice and snow.
SPEAKER_00So do you prefer summer over winter winter over summer then with the skiing?
SPEAKER_01Uh yeah, I'm I'm more of a winter person. Uh it's funny, my wife is a summer person, so if she had her way, it would be summer the entire year. And if I had my way, it would be uh winter nine months out of the year in fall, the other three.
SPEAKER_00If you could only go to one ski resort, which ski resort would you pick?
SPEAKER_01Oh um, you know, it would probably be uh here in Colorado, it would probably be Vail. That has probably the most um oh diversity and uh the most area for uh for skiing that uh that we've got around. So I really do enjoy that resort, but but each of the different resorts we go to has advantages and disadvantages and the that make them all pretty much all of them fun.
SPEAKER_00Where are some of the cooler places you've been skiing besides Colorado?
SPEAKER_01Oh I um have been uh to uh Portillo Chile down in uh South America. Uh we skied uh Portill for a week down there, about 10 years ago, something like that. And uh that was in August, and it was about the heart of their winter. I've also been to um uh the North Island of Japan, and we've skied uh in Hokkaido uh and skied there for a week or so. That's been uh a great little area to go to. Uh, I think uh uh one of the other fun places, one of the most interesting places that I've been to was up in uh Alaska, about uh an hour and a half outside of Anchorage. We uh went helicopter skiing up there five, six years ago, and uh that was really a fun trip. So those three areas probably stand out the most that uh I can think of, and most of the other uh skiing has just been in the western U.S. Wow, so it sounds like you're pretty good then. Well, uh I keep telling people I am, but they just laugh. They say I got a long ways to go.
SPEAKER_00How long have you been skiing for?
SPEAKER_01Well, I I started when I was uh nine, and uh my father took me up and and pushed me down the hill, and and he said that uh, yeah, he says, I hope you can learn to ski. I'm gonna have my friend teach you because I uh I don't have the patience. So his friend who was practicing to be an instructor actually helped me out, and between my dad and his friend, that's where I got started.
SPEAKER_00So super cool. It's awesome. If you were gonna write a book about your life, what do you think some of your greatest accomplishments would be that you would want to highlight?
SPEAKER_01Oh, you know, most of the things I think that um I would look at are uh nothing that would really stand out. Uh, you know, I haven't uh uh set any records in anything. I uh uh basically am not the smartest guy, I'm not the most athletic. If I was to uh go back and take a look at the things that I'm I'm happy about, uh I think that uh I would uh say that uh I've been blessed to be able to have uh friendships with people in uh all different uh walks of life. Uh I have been pretty successful in the insurance industry, which is what I was in. Uh so I I'm you know did a lot of management work there and and uh helped uh you know people uh settle claims and get things done. So I'm happy about that. Um sports-wise, I I like um that I had the opportunity to play some team sports, basketball was one of the fun things I did when I was younger. Uh skiing, of course, has been has been fun. Tennis, we uh have had tennis teams that have gone ahead and and played in um uh the state uh championships for uh the divisions that we were in. So as I look at those kind of things, you know, I'm I'm happy about those accomplishments, but most of those also involved other folks that that helped out and were part of that. So um, you know, overall, those are the things that I'm I'm pretty uh pretty happy about. So if I I think if I wrote a book, I don't think it would sell many copies.
SPEAKER_00No, I doubt that. Well, how does your conversion story to the gospel start?
SPEAKER_01You know, um I can't really think of a major moment, an aha time, if you will, where uh I knew that the gospel was true. I was raised in the church by uh a mother and father who had strong testimonies and were trying to get their kids to uh go ahead and and follow the uh the teachings of the the prophets and and to uh go through the scriptures and and try to learn them. So, you know, I I think I have basically developed a testimony over a lot of years by uh trial and error, by going through different things in life and and having uh some really simple things uh become known to me and uh really influenced uh my belief in Christ and uh my testimony that this is his church on the earth. A lot of it had to do with reading and studying. Uh some of it's had to do with the outdoors, just seeing how magnificent the earth is. You look at space, you look at all of the creations of God, and uh then interactions that I've had with a number of people, uh, those have helped me a great deal because I've been able to interact with folks that uh were uh against religion, as well as with uh folks that are very religious, and and all of them have helped me to uh develop uh the testimony that I have. And uh studying uh the scriptures and and also talking to others of different faiths has helped me to uh obtain a stronger testimony than I think where I would have been had I not had these experiences and and studied.
SPEAKER_00That's very good. I like that. Do you have a family, a favorite family history story, or just a story from your childhood or maybe your parents?
SPEAKER_01Uh, you know, my favorite uh one of my favorite stories dates back a lot further than my parents. Uh it's uh back about uh uh in the 1850s, and I had a great-great-great-grandfather by the name of uh Porter Rockwell. And Porter Rockwell was an interesting character in the church. He was one of the first members, uh, first people to join the church. He was a neighbor to Joseph Smith and was oh, six, seven years younger than Joseph Smith, but he was very interested in the things that that the prophet was teaching. And uh so he joined the church as a young man in New York when the church was first formed, and basically ended up uh following the church his entire life. Uh so he he came through Kirtland, he uh went ahead obviously through Missouri, through Nauvoo, and ended up in in Salt Lake. And and that's where the story is that uh uh we I kind of get a kick out of. Uh he was the first territorial marshal and sheriff in the Utah Territory, and Brigham Young appointed him as that. And Brigham Young gave him a lot of different duties to do uh other than just keeping the peace. And one of the duties he he asked Porter to do, he said, you know, we've been in the valley 10 years, whatever it is, 10, 12 years, and very few people have built fences, and we have uh we've got livestock scattered all over the valley that we need to get them rounded up. And uh, you know, you're good with uh with horses and and livestock, so I'd like you to go ahead and do that. So uh Porter uh begrudgingly agreed and said, Yeah, I'll go ahead and do that. Well, he put it off and he put it off and kept waiting. And finally, Brigham Young came to him again a year or two after he initially asked him, and he said, You and Lott Smith were supposed to gather those animals a year ago, and my patience is getting really thin. So I, you know, I'm telling you again, you've got to get that done. So uh Lott Smith, who was another frontiersman in the church, he and Porter got together and they said, Okay, we're gonna get um uh Brigham Young his animals and we're gonna get them rounded up. So, what they did is they they took off with a few of their friends late one night. They went all around the uh Salt Lake Valley and they gathered up every uh stray cow, sheep, everything they could find, horses, and they ended up going ahead and and herding them onto Brigham Young's front lawn. And he went ahead and and uh they they knocked on Brigham's door uh real early in the morning, six, seven o'clock. Brigham comes out and and Porter says, President Young, here's your animals. Have fun with them. Jumps on his horse and rides away. He and Lott Smith ride away. So I thought that that was really a kind of a fun family story and uh something that uh you often don't hear in church history.
SPEAKER_00That's hilarious. That's such a good one. Do you have a favorite scripture story?
SPEAKER_01Uh, you know, there's so many in the scriptures. I uh I like uh Jonah because he's really human to me, in that when he's given a calling, he runs the opposite direction. I think that's pretty uh pretty interesting because I think that's what a lot of us like to do until we finally figure out this is what we have to do. But I guess my favorite uh uh scriptural story is is uh Elijah uh and his um uh encounter with the uh prophets of of Baal uh that uh uh King Ahab and uh Jezebel had gone ahead and and uh were uh having run all over Israel and perform the religious rites in Israel, which of course the Lord was more than displeased with. So I I really like that story where Elijah goes ahead and and calls fire down from heaven after the prophets of Baal could not go ahead and and put fire in the pit to uh uh burn the sacrifices, and Elijah calls it out of heaven and basically destroys all the prophets of Baal. And uh the faith that he had and the things that he did, that was just one instance, but you look at his life and how much uh he relied on the Lord and what he did, uh, you know, makes him one of my favorite prophets. But uh that story is is one that uh you'll always seem to remember.
SPEAKER_00Is there a calling that you've had in the church that has has stuck out to you?
SPEAKER_01Oh uh I think I've had almost every calling you can have in a ward, Tyler. I I don't think there I haven't been Relief Society president, so that's probably pretty good. Uh, but uh the callings that I've enjoyed the most have been with the young men, and that's been uh uh as advisor in the uh uh young men's program from the 14 uh year old, well, actually the 11-year-olds, your group years ago, up to uh 18, 19-year-olds. And so that's been the callings that I've enjoyed the most. Those have been fun, and uh, you know, you get a chance to work with the youth who've got a lot more energy than the old people do. So uh that's always been uh been fun for me.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, those were always the most fun activities. That was great. What's something you love most about our ward?
SPEAKER_01Okay. Um, you know, I really admire the people um that we have in the ward. We have a lot of professional people that are really uh accomplished in many things. And uh the thing that uh really strikes me that as I look at at members of the ward is that even though they're they're quite successful and and do very well, uh they have a lot of humility and they're very willing to go out of their way to help others, whether they're in the ward, whether they're members or not. And so that has impressed me the most about uh the folks in our ward. They've always been able to uh show up and and to help uh those in need, and uh so you know that's been the thing that I think uh to me exemplifies the folks in our ward.
SPEAKER_00That's great. Has there been a time where you're struggling with something and you felt Jesus Christ walking with you through that trial? Boy, you know, I've struggled with a lot of things.
SPEAKER_01But uh I think uh there have been uh a couple times that I can think of where where the Savior basically uh was there helping out. And it's been interesting because uh, you know, he's helped a great deal, but I don't think he's taken over completely because I think he's wanted me to learn various things. Um one instance I can think of is when my daughter passed away about two and a half years ago. Um that was a very uh trying time on our family. And uh, you know, speaking of the ward members, we got a lot of support, a lot of help from them. Um they were were very good in in uh uh you know helping us uh pull ourselves back up. Um but the Lord you could feel was there, and uh even though she did pass away and and our desire was to have her live through the illness and the issues that she had, uh we could tell that it was it was not going to be the best thing for her. And uh the Lord basically um we at least we felt that uh the Lord went ahead and took her and that uh it was in her best interest that she um pass on when she did. And uh at those at that particular time, um, you know, uh you're not quite sure which direction you need to go. You're not you don't really know exactly what the Lord wants, but we had some good confirmation that uh it was better for her to uh you know leave the earth at that time than to stay around. And uh so that I think is one of the um uh probably the most glaring instance for me that uh uh helped me understand that Christ really is involved with everyone and that uh uh his way is better than ours. We just have to try and figure out what way he is going.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's amazing. Thank you for sharing that. Is there a recent time where you've felt the spirit?
SPEAKER_01Oh man, um I felt good and bad spirits, Tyler. And I I think uh, you know, um I've been fortunate enough to feel uh the spirit. Oh, I usually uh two, three times a week, uh, depending on if I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, and if we're trying to help folks or uh uh do what the Lord would have us do, then uh oftentimes, you know, you'll get uh a touch of the spirit. Uh it's funny. I probably don't get it in the places where a lot of folks do. A lot of people go to the temple and they'll feel it uh pretty pretty strong. Uh I don't necessarily get it there. I'll get it in the mountains, I'll get it on a work project, uh helping somebody. Uh a lot of times get it in ward meetings and uh meeting with just different folks. So yeah, it's uh it's one of those where I think if I was more in tune, I would probably feel it more frequently. But uh fortunately I've been able to get it a few times and uh it helps sustain me.
SPEAKER_00That's great. Well, I'll just ask you one more question before you finish up. If you could go a hundred years in the future and talk to your posterity, what's one piece of advice or something you would want to let them know?
SPEAKER_01Oh man, that that is a good question. Um, I guess the the thing that I would obviously want them to know is that make sure your priorities are in the proper place. And what I mean by that is it's real easy, and I'll bet a hundred years from now it's even going to be easier to get drawn away from what should ground us. And that basically is the belief in Christ, and that uh He is the one that we need to rely on. He's, as they say, our rock. And I think often what happens uh to us today, and I think it's going to get worse, is that we start relying on uh the arm of flesh, as the scriptures say. We we see uh uh something that's been developed by mankind, and we rely on that and say, yeah, that'll solve my problems. And you know, I what I would tell or like to tell the future people is use those things as tools because the Lord has made them available, computers, uh the AI today, you know, those kind of things are there for us to benefit, but they are not the answer to our eternal issues. It's the understanding of the Savior, where he sits, what he does for us, and to you know, get our belief uh properly situated in him. And then as we do that, uh I think we gain the correct perspective, and that can help guide our lives in uh you know a direction that uh will benefit us the most. We're still gonna struggle in times, we're still gonna have our issues, but that's you know that's one of the main reasons we're on this earth, is so that we can develop ourselves, get better than where we were a year ago. And but it really helps us to get better if we're grounded in the savior and in doing the best things we can rather than the uh the most uh recent gadget.
SPEAKER_00That's amazing. Well, I really appreciate you taking the time to do the podcast today, and you have some really great wisdom. I think it's gonna inspire everyone who listens. Well, we'll see if we can keep them awake, Tyler. I appreciate your time. Awesome. Well, I hope you have a great day, and I hope you know how much the more it appreciates you. Well, thank you, and uh, we will go ahead and continue to give them grief. All right, thanks for the right.
SPEAKER_01Thanks, Tyler. See ya. Bye.