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
John Walton
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Grant Stucki interviews John Walton about his conversion to the gospel, family history and favorite scripture story. John shares his advice for younger generations.
Hey Bishop, how are you?
SPEAKER_00Good. How are you doing?
SPEAKER_01I'm good, thank you.
SPEAKER_00Sorry for uh being late here.
SPEAKER_01No worries.
SPEAKER_00This is my day off. I took my kids to the water world. Have you ever been there?
SPEAKER_01Uh not in a long time.
SPEAKER_00Yes. You're not missing much. It's kind of just a lot of people walking around. But they had a fun time. Well, that's good. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Have you ever been to Lagoon?
SPEAKER_00Yes, love Lagoon.
SPEAKER_01So we're going to Lagoon next week. I'm taking the family and trying trying that out. I haven't been there since I was a teenager, so it's another one that was 40 years ago.
SPEAKER_00Wow, that's awesome. Love it. Well, thanks for doing this. Um, I'll just do a little intro and then we can jump into those questions if you're good with that.
SPEAKER_01Sounds great.
SPEAKER_00And then um we'll pub probably this will just go up um online for just the audio goes up online in about I think Monday. If there's anything you know after the fact you want to edit, just let me know. That's not a problem.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_00Um, like if you get real mad and you say a swear word or something, then we'll edit it out. No, just kidding. No worries.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00All right. Well, welcome everyone back to the Hadens Ranch Award podcast. Thanks for tuning in. Um, appreciate all those who listen, and um, it's always good to hear feedback. Today I am with Brother John Walton. Thank you for joining us on the podcast, Brother Walton. Thanks for having me. Yeah, this is great. I think um I've heard from some people, you know. I think um there's maybe 15 to 20 people who kind of consistently listen, and I think it's been a spiritual um uplift for people to hear testimonies expressed through some of these questions. So hopefully it's a good thing for our ward.
SPEAKER_01Everything that we do is is is counted for our good, so it's it's all good.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I agree. Well, good. Um, first question for you is how would you answer the question of um if someone asked you, how did you convert to the gospel, what would you say to that?
SPEAKER_01You know, that was an interesting question that I that I thought about. And I was born into the church, and so I grew up knowing that that was my life. That just was the way things were, and I didn't know a lot of options. And I was pretty obedient growing up and worked hard and did what I was supposed to do, and um you know, kind of grew up as a as a member from the get-go, but I would say that I was converted on my mission as I got away from home and got into situations where I had to defend my beliefs, got into situations where I had to evaluate what I was doing it, you know, what I what I was doing and why I was doing it, and um, and got some pretty clear answers. Um, one of the other questions talks about uh a spiritual experience that that'll talk about, but I I definitely got um converted on my mission as I served and had to stand on my own, away from my parents, away from my family, away from my traditions, and uh had to had to define who I wanted to be going forward.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I like that a lot. I mean, because I think um for all of us, even you know, those who grow up in the church, at some point in your life, there comes a time where you do have to um have some type of conversion, right, that really kind of binds you to the Lord and his gospel. Um life's just too hard to to keep going, and that you know, um, and there's too many trials, I feel like, if you don't have a lasting testimony and and faith that this is his gospel and that things uh or that you're going in the right path. I don't know. It's just that's my experience.
SPEAKER_01Well, I think life gets too hard, and you get hit with too many situations that if you don't have a conversion, if you don't have a true core fundamental belief that that Jesus Christ is our savior and that God is our Father and that we are here for a reason, then it's so easy to succumb to those challenges or those um trials or those other thought processes. And and so, yeah, I I agree with you. I think no matter how you came to the church, whether it was through birth or through conversion or through the missionaries or through a a spouse or some other thing, you have to have a conversion. You can't just this isn't a social club, this is this is a core belief structure.
SPEAKER_00Oh, totally. And I do think there's times in our lives where you know certain trials hit, certain things happen where we we question our faith, and sometimes all we've kind of got left is hope. And I think and sometimes we keep going right to church, we keep doing the gospel um with that hope, and it and usually we kind of go through peaks and valleys. Like this past Sunday, I don't know if you were there at church, but like Christina Atkins shared a great testimony about just trials and kind of at this last moment, or at least the last few months, like it's kind of all she has is hope, but that's enough for her to keep on following the Lord and trying her best, you know, and there's the hope that that will mature into a more firm faith and things like that. So I think we're all in different stages of growth. And I think, you know, even maybe if you can't get up in sacrament meeting and a testimony meeting and say, I know this with every fiber of my being, I think it's still okay to go to church and to try your best and the to look for um faith and things like that. What are your thoughts on that one?
SPEAKER_01You know, it Alma talked about that seed. And if you have nothing more than a desire to believe, um you know, the church can start as a social club, it can start as a place to belong, it can start as a as a place where people accept you for who you are. And and it can start there, but if if it stops there, then you've kind of missed the whole point of what uh what we're trying to accomplish, what we're trying to do. And um, and I think if you if you continue to progress along that line, no matter what what stage of life you're in, whether you're just that that first new infant member of the church or that that beginning of a seed, or whether you're a mature tree and and have have weathered many, many storms, um, it doesn't matter where you are on that path, as long as you're continuing to move forward, continuing to believe, um, and let that seed grow rather than throw it on you know that dry or that or that uh thorny ground and and and let it die. Uh we have to we don't have to have a mature testimony, we don't have to have a mature belief, we don't have to have a um a fully grown understanding, but we have to be taking care of the belief we do have.
SPEAKER_00For sure. Yeah, like I love what you're saying there, and I love that analogy of the seed and the plant because it is something that takes active work, right? To get a plant to grow into a tree is the constant watering and the sunlight, all the things that go into it. Especially in Colorado. Oh, yes, we know it well. It's not like uh back east where things just grow uh without uh much effort.
SPEAKER_01Which is which is kind of a funny you ask if I was here last Sunday. I was in Cincinnati.
SPEAKER_00Oh, really? Okay.
SPEAKER_01Uh you know, Parker and Ashley just moved out there, so we went to see them, and and everything grows naturally out there. Um, they don't have sprinklers, and yet the yard is just growing like crazy. And so some places, and and it's the same with our lives, in some time in some portions of our lives and some times of our lives, that seed will just inherently grow because of where we are and what we're doing and how we're how we're moving forward. And at other times, that seed is going to be as if we're planted down at bullfrog and and there is no water, there is no ground, there is nothing, and we have to work really, really hard to let that seed or let our testimony, let our faith continue to grow.
SPEAKER_00Oh, such a great application of that analogy. Last or the next question is do you have a family history story that inspires you, or is kind of something that you've gone back to for strength?
SPEAKER_01As I mentioned, I was uh I was born into the church and we have quite a family history. Um, the majority of my family, uh, the majority of my my parents, my dad's side, and my mom's side, and and Jen's side all came from the early foundations of the church. Um one of my one of my ancestors, uh a man by the name of Pretty Meeks, he was on my mother's side, and he was a physician or a doctor back in the early early days. And he joined the church early on and came across the plains with the saints, and pretty Meeks was Bergham Young's personal physician as he came across the plains in his covered wagon. Um, I remember how he could, when he got to the Salt Lake Valley, he could barely get up on his elbows in the back of the wagon and declare this was the place. That's right. The person trying to get him that far was pretty Meeks, my my great great, I think it's three greats uh grandfather.
SPEAKER_00Wow, that's cool. Yeah. Sometimes you don't realize that, you know, the extent of it. You everyone knows Brigham Young, but you don't know the the team that he had behind him to get him where he was and to support him each day. It's probably the same with our modern prophet today. Is we just there's so many people helping him and furthering the work that we don't see.
SPEAKER_01It's amazing what they accomplish at the age they are. I've got uh I've got parents from my parents, both of them, and Jen's parents, both of them, are all alive. So all four of them are alive, and they're all 85 or older. And they're all struggling with health. So it was amazing to look at President Nelson and President Oaks and and look at these 90 and 100-year-olds and realize how strong and how alert and how supported, both physically and spiritually, they really are.
SPEAKER_00Wow, completely. It's incredible. Next question is what is a favorite scripture story of yours and why?
SPEAKER_01One of my favorite stories, there's there's lots of stories in each each phase of life that I'm in, and as I reread the various different uh books of scripture, particularly the Book of Mormon, each of those stories strikes me different. But the one that's held strong for most of my life that I've really enjoyed is is uh uh the sons of Edelman. Uh their parents were were Lamanites, they were converted, they they promised that they would never take up arms to hurt anybody again, and yet they were being attacked and they were about ready to be out, uh to to be taken out, completely eliminated. And their sons, who had not made the promise, uh, decided to stand up and say, hey, we'll we'll defend our people, we'll defend our families. And um the one line that I love that they made is um they did not fear, they did not doubt, because they knew that their mothers knew it. So awesome. And I too, I too had a good mother.
SPEAKER_00The power of uh incredible mother just can't be overstated. It's so incredible. And it's w one of those things that you got um most people don't see, you know, except the individual being raised by that mother.
SPEAKER_01They are behind the scenes for sure. Yep. And it's it's even true in that story. We don't have any idea who any one of those mothers were.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Very true. What is something a trial you've had, a struggle you've had in your life that um you know you you that kind of brought you closer to the Lord instead of further away? Something maybe where you kind of look back and feel like Jesus was walking with you in that difficult time.
SPEAKER_01I mentioned when I talked about my conversion, um, that it happened on my mission. Um, I went to Wisconsin and Wisconsin had a lot of uh German Lutherans. They were very strong in their beliefs, even though they didn't live them. They were strong in their belief of them, they were strong in their family traditions, and they did not like uh Mormon missionaries. And during that time period, um our way of contacting was in small towns in Wisconsin was to knock on doors. And so we knocked on a lot of doors and a lot of people uh that did not like us. And months in and months out, um, I was I was doing this. We did not have a tremendous amount of success. And there was a time on my mission where I looked at the situation and I looked at what was going on, and I thought to myself, what in the world am I doing here? I could be accomplishing so much more back at school, getting my degree, raising my family, you know, getting married and moving forward. Why in the world am I out here in Wisconsin and what in the world am I doing? Um doing this. And uh, as missionaries, you don't get very many chances to be alone. So I was I was in the bathroom and I knelt down, I offered a prayer, and it was basically a prayer of desperation, trying to figure out why I'm on my mission, what am I doing here, and is it am I accomplishing anything? And um the the response uh I got was it it sounded like someone was talking to me, and yet it was just it was just uh the Lord touching my my my spirit for lack of a better explanation. Um, and I knew for a fact, and I knew without a doubt, that I was there for a reason, still don't know what the reason was, and I was there for a reason. He wanted me to be there and he was looking out for me. And most importantly, is I knew he loved me. So that was uh an answer to two questions. One is it it propelled me forward to to continue the rest of my life uh with challenging things, knowing that that uh that he was there with me and loved me. And it also was the conversion part of my uh of my personal testimony. Um, I knew without a doubt that that this gospel, the thing we're we were working on, the thing I was working on as a missionary, was true, and it was uh what I needed to be doing.
SPEAKER_00I love that. Yeah, I love that you bring up the you had that impression that there was a reason, but um that reason wasn't like maybe still hasn't been explained to you. I feel like that's very common in my prayers where I'm asking for very specific answers, and sometimes it's just like a very subtle, just like a piece, like and and that piece is just telling me to continue on, or yeah, or or something completely unrelated, you know, to the answer I'm asking for. And it's almost like I have to let go of what I'm the specifics that I need and want, and I have to say, okay, I'll I will go forward with just this, what I'm getting now, you know, it's it can you have to be very sensitive and willing to um accept what the Lord's given you sometimes.
SPEAKER_01And it you you know, like this, like the story of Esther um that we're reading in the New Testament this this particular week. Um, you know, she she she puts everything into the Lord's hands, not understanding why she was in the situation she was, not understanding, you know, if she was. There was there was a couple of things. She, you know, she basically said, I'm gonna go and and do what I've been told to do. And she also said, if I perish, I perish. And I think we have to give up our control of our lives, thinking that we know best, in order to allow the Lord to work in our lives. Um, and and sometimes that's hard. I'm I'm a you know, I'm an accountant, so I'm a bit of a control freak. I like to know exactly what things are and where they are and categorize them properly and make sure that everything's accounted for and tracked. I like to know, I like to have my life in order. And so turning it over to the Lord, not knowing, and like I said, I still I still don't understand. Um there's so many benefits I receive from my mission, but I still don't understand why I was in Wisconsin. Um, you know, theoretically, I could have been so much more productive somewhere else. Um and and there's there's times in my life and there's parts of my life that I that I look at, and I have to remind myself that I need to turn it all over to the Lord. I can't be a control freak in my own life because he has something better planned for me than I do myself, but at times it's hard to figure that out, and it's hard to turn that turn that control over to him. And uh and that's something I I constantly work on trying to do is have the faith and the trust to turn over the control to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00Yes. I give you know them weakness that they may basically come unto me and then have faith and kind of grow from there. But um, I think it's that that that's that whole concept of coming unto the Lord and kind of letting go of pride and your own expectations and um working with him to move forward. Very cool. Next question is um, what is something you love about our ward?
SPEAKER_01You know, I've I've been in this ward for not quite half my life, but getting close. Um, I've been in the ward for a little over, or a version of our ward for a little over 22 years. And um I love how faithful and kind and loving um the ward members are. Um we're kind of in this, we're kind of in this ward where where we we have a fun mix of people that uh you know we're not the we're we're not the struggling of the struggling, we're not the rich of the rich, we're just regular families moving through each day, trying to do the best we can. And I love our ward members for just enduring and and keep moving forward, and in in doing so, they're always kind, they're always faithful, and they're always pleasant and nice people.
SPEAKER_00For sure. Love it. What's a recent time that you felt the spirit? Is there anything that stands out to you?
SPEAKER_01You know, I teach Sunday school, and so those that come in the lessons know I cry all the time. Um and when I feel a spirit, I I tend to cry. You've heard a couple of times on this podcast where I've where I've started a little bit. But uh a time that I that I really loved was um about a month ago, uh two months ago now, May, in May, uh I think it was May 8th or 7th or whatever the day was. Libby got my youngest got married. And we had the whole family there, and we were in the temple. We had our parents there, we had Jen's parents there, and it was just a neat experience, a neat place to be, kind of a uh for lack of a better term, kind of a bow on a portion of my life. You know, we we wrapped It all up and put a bow on it. My kids are now all married and all on their own. And it's just back to Jen and I. And, you know, we'll have grandkids and stuff, but I'm not responsible for the grandkids. I'm no longer responsible for my children. They're responsible for themselves and their spouses and their own families. And so it was a neat experience to be in the temple with them and see them and to be part of that uh uh that experience and kind of a culmination of a phase of my life.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's awesome. How special. Um this last question, kind of a funny one. The question is if you could go 100 years in the future and and talk to your you know great-grandchildren type of thing, what advice would you give them? I mean, I guess the the question is probably more like once your life is said and done, what is the message you would hope would remain that that could be delivered to your posterity?
SPEAKER_01To sum it up succinctly, um, I would say to endure or prosper to the end. And I'd follow it up by telling them that throughout times of my life, I've had callings, experiences, opportunities to be incredibly faithful. Um, as a missionary, as a new husband, as a new father, as a new elderscoran president, as a bishop. And during each of those times, I worked really hard to do the best I could do to be the best person I could be for those that were counting on me. And as I look back, um I've I've often said, I wish I could be my best self all the time. Um because as I changed out of or moved from, as I came home and was no longer a missionary, I I kind of relaxed a little in the gospel for lack of a better word. And after I got, you know, after I was trying to set up a family as a new husband or as a as a new father, um, there would there'd be times in my life where I relaxed a little. And I guess my suggestion would be don't relax. Um, there's no time to relax in the gospel. Always be working hard to move forward and to, like I said, to endure or endure sounds like such a negative, drawn-out word. We've been so blessed. So um my my my suggestion is not endure but prosper to the end. Don't relax, don't sit back, don't think you need a break, but just keep moving forward, keep working hard, and the Lord will take care of you. And because it's in those times of break, it's in those times of relaxation that you kind of let your your guard down a little, or your scripture study wane, or your personal scripture reading wane, or you know, it's just always try to be the best version of yourself you can be. And I know that's hard to do, but that would be my advice.
SPEAKER_00I love that. Yeah. Um, and I that for some reason that makes me think of uh callings and how I feel like callings are a blessing because they provide so many opportunities to serve others, to kind of keep progressing in the gospel, you know. Um, I mean, I loved being a seminary teacher because it it really uh boosted my scripture study every day, you know. I'm I'm hustling to to for my students because I want to have all the answers and thought-provoking things, and and I love being a bishop because it just provides so many opportunities to serve. I mean, I would think probably some of the harder times to keep enduring could potentially be when maybe you don't have a really um demanding calling or something that provides a bunch of service. Maybe you don't have a calling and you're kind of more self-motivated to to do things. Um, I think those maybe potentially for some people could be where it could be harder to keep on going, but usually the Lord provides, there's always something coming around.
SPEAKER_01There's there's always something, but it's in between those times that, like you said, there's always something. You know, Jen and I are are working towards being able to serve a mission and and and you know and the various different callings, but but there's always this inherent, you know, when you got released as a seminary teacher, I don't know if you had a had a gap between seminary teacher and being the bishop, but um, you know, I got released as being the bishop and I'm now teaching Sunday school, but I only teach once a month, and I I study the scriptures, and I but it's it's a different intensity than I had when I was bishop. And that that intensity or that endurance or that prospering is hard to maintain, but that would be the that would be the suggestion I would give to everybody. Always strive to be the best version of yourself, not just at certain times and seasons.
SPEAKER_00So good. That's a powerful message. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview and share some of your um your spiritual journey, you know, your experience with life, and just the ways you've been able to draw closer to the savior and and live the gospel and find joy. It's it's very inspiring to me. So thanks for doing that.
SPEAKER_01Thanks for taking the time and I appreciate visiting.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Well, we love you and your family, and um just everything you bring to our world is so special. So thanks so much. I hope you have a good rest of your day.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, you too. Appreciate the time. Thanks.
SPEAKER_00Goodbye.
SPEAKER_01Take care.