Called to Lead Even With My Doubts: How I Became Young Women's President

I'm going to share the story of how I was called to be Young Women's President in my ward, even with my doubts, my evolving beliefs, and a bishop who knew all of it and called me anyway. I am two years into this calling now and it has been one of the most unexpected and beautiful experiences of my life. You might be thinking, Brynne, he probably just called you to keep you in the church. And maybe that is part of it. But I choose to believe that God needed me there exactly as I was.

✨Listen to the full episode or read for the breakdown.

The Nudge to Go Talk to My Bishop

When my family moved back to Utah from Arizona in 2021, we ended up in my home ward, the one I grew up in, which felt a little daunting at first. I did not know our bishop at all. But I kept having this nagging thought that I needed to go meet with him. I kept pushing it away. What would I even say? I do not know this man.

But eventually I gave in just to quiet the thought, and I went. I told him where I was at with my faith. That I had questions and concerns. That I was not sure where I stood but did not feel the need to step away. I told him about my family situation and asked that if anyone in our ward ever came to him feeling the way I did, he would let them know they were not alone and could reach out to me. He smiled and asked me to do the same for him. We left as a little team on a quiet shared mission. I checked the box, met the bishop, and moved on.

The Thought I Tried to Ignore

Later that summer I was in the bathroom getting ready for the day when a thought came completely out of nowhere. You are going to be the next Young Women's President. I dismissed it immediately. With my new beliefs, with my questions, with my genuine conviction that it is completely okay to be gay, there was no way I could lead a group of teenage girls in a church setting. So I pushed it out and forgot about it.

Until I got a text from someone in the bishopric asking me to come meet with the bishop.

I knew.

I told my husband before I even walked in the door. And I did not want it to be true.

"I felt completely unqualified, not just in the usual way people feel unqualified for a calling, but unqualified in what I believed.

Or did not believe."

The Interview That Changed Everything

"He asked me one simple question. Brynne, what do you think the youth need to know? And I broke down. The youth need to know they are unconditionally loved. No matter what they do, what they say, or what they choose."

I showed up to that meeting scared and resistant. When the bishop asked how I was doing I told him I really did not want to be there. He asked me to tell him more. So I did. I told him I felt completely unqualified, not just in the usual way people feel unqualified for a calling, but unqualified in what I believed. Or did not believe. It felt like too much to take on.

And then he asked me one simple question.

Brynne, what do you think the youth need to know?

I broke down. Through tears I told him that the youth need to know they are unconditionally loved. No matter what they do, what they say, or what they choose. He looked at me and said he agreed completely. And then he extended the calling.

He also told me that my name had come to him at three in the morning. That he was not someone who typically received things that way, but that he could not deny it. I could not deny my bathroom moment either. And just like that, I said yes.

What This Calling Has Taught Me

I was intimidated by these girls from day one. I had only ever worked with elementary age kids. I have brothers and sons. Teenagers were not my world. But I have taken it slowly, leaned on the incredible women serving alongside me, and gotten to know these girls in a way that has genuinely changed me.

My message to them is simple and it is the same every time. They are loved unconditionally. No matter where life takes them or what choices they make, their Heavenly Parents and their Savior are there for them. My own more complicated beliefs stay in my back pocket. And honestly, their sweet foundational faith has been a gift to me in this season of my own journey.

"I choose to believe that God needed me there exactly as I was. With my doubts and my new beliefs. And my bishop was willing to see that too."

Look for the Evidence

I believe in miracles. I do not fully understand the logistics of them or why some people seem to receive them and others do not. But this experience was one of mine. A moment of being seen, of being given something specific and personal from my Heavenly Father. If you are looking for evidence of divine help in your own life, I hope you find it. And I hope when you do, you recognize it for what it is.

You got this,

💗 Brynne

Thanks for Being Here

Hi, I’m Brynne. I share my journey of becoming through stories and reflection - guided by a higher power as I explore identity, faith, and everyday life, inviting you to grow alongside me.

My Story