Walking Out- A Story From My Life

Growing up I had a lot of friends that helped me to keep the standards that I had set for myself. Rarely did I have any of my friends pressure me to do something wrong, often it was the opposite. One such incident occurred when I was 17. I was on a date with a good friend named Brian Judd. We had gone to see a movie and during a particular scene I felt extremely uncomfortable. I wanted to leave the movie but I was on a date. I didn't want to make him feel bad or look like I was too prudish. I fought with myself inside and finally decided I had to follow my feelings. I turned to him and told him how I felt. Surprisingly, he was feeling the same and he suggested we leave, so we walked out of that movie together. Him walking out of the movie with me made the task so much easier.

Well, little did I know that I would face that same test again later that year. This time I was attending some school plays. The first was written and directed by that same friend Brian and the second play of the evening was written by another student at our school. I really enjoyed the first play and had a great time watching kids I knew acting out the parts. However, once the second play began I immediately started feeling uncomfortable. I was so nervous. I knew I couldn't watch that play, but I had no one to walk out with me. To make it worse, I would have to walk past all of my classmates to get to the exit. I started rationalizing to myself that maybe it was okay to stay, but the spirit kept prompting me to leave. Finally, mortifying as it was, I just stood up and walked out.

When I opened the doors to go outside I saw the entire cast from the first play along with their director, my friend Brian standing outside the doors. Apparently they had all been making bets as to how long it would take me to walk out of the play!! Whoa, what if I hadn't left. What if I had given into peer pressures and compromised my standards? I felt so relieved that I had made the right choice and that again I had a friend there to validate my decision.

I have told this story numerous times to my children and to the youth I have served in the church. I want them to realize not only how important it is to surround ourselves with good friends, but how important it is to be a good friend. Even in adulthood I try to surround myself with good friends. They can strengthen our testimonies and help us to stay on the right path.