When [Kristen McMain's] elderly aunts learned she was soon to be unemployed, they arranged an appointment for her to see their nephew, Elder M. Russell Ballard, because he had connections with Deseret Book and other publishing interests. They thought he might be able to help their niece find employment closer to home in Utah. For Kristen, meeting with a general authority about her personal needs seemed rather awkward. "My exposure to general authorities had been minimal," she wrote, "and I liked it that way. I had the utmost respect for them - I revered them - but I also understood the line of priesthood jurisdiction and felt confident that my home teachers and my bishop were sufficient to bless my life."

Yet, she went forward in meeting Elder Ballard anyway. That was just before Elder Oaks called his fellow apostle to seek guidance in finding a new wife. "Elder Ballard arranged for me to meet her on her walk Friday in Liberty Park," Elder Oaks noted. He wanted to be properly dressed for the July 7 occasion, and his daughter, "Sharmon, who happened to be in town, and her husband Jack, immediately took me shopping for clothes," he wrote in his journal.

Elder Oaks also followed up on Elder Ballard's arrangement with his own personal phone call to Kristen, a call that left her facing a few daunting circumstances, she later said. "He wanted to bring Sharmon to meet me before she left town the next day. I did not tell him I had just had a perm and needed to cover my head. We decided on a walk in Liberty Park, a popular walking location in southeast Salt Lake. When I met my future husband and his daughter, I was wearing Levi's and a baseball cap to hide my curls for our walk." Not exactly what she would have chosen for a first meeting with a member of the Twelve. When Kristen saw Elder Oaks with Sharmon, her first words to him were, "do you always double date like this?"

"Looking back," Kristen reminisced, I would never have planned to meet an apostle of the Lord and his daughter dressed so casually. But that baseball cap allowed me to just be myself." Feeling surprisingly relaxed, she was able to enjoy their time together. "Our initial meeting and the conversation that ensued," she wrote of her visit with them, "seemed like that of three longtime friends. Elder Oaks told me that he had often taken walks with his wife June, who had died two years earlier. I asked him to tell me about her. From the beginning, we felt calm and relaxed with each other. Sharmon shared much about their family and her mother. We laughed and talked and our courtship began."

Elder Oaks recorded in his journal the positive reaction to her he felt on this first meeting. "Sharmon and I met and walked with Kristen McMain, who proved to be attractive, intelligent, faithful, and fun," he wrote. "I was intrigued, and Sharmon was impressed." The next day, Elder Oaks "spent four hours hiking and having a deep visit with Kristen M. on the foothills above This Is the Place Park," he recorded in his journal. "I asked her many penetrating questions, and from her answers and questions to me, I continue intrigued."

Though men's hearts are failing them, you should take heart. There have always been challenging times. We, the generations of your predecessors, have survived daunting challenges, and so will you. The answer to all of these challenges is the same as it has always been. We have a Savior, and He has taught us what we should do. …

What overcomes the world is the power of God, manifested through His Son Jesus Christ and given to us through the principles and doctrine of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ….

In the stressful circumstances that surround us, we must trust in God and His promises and hold fast to the vital gospel teaching of hope. As the Apostle Paul told the Corinthians, "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed."

When we trust in the Lord that all will work out, this hope keeps us moving. Hope is a characteristic Christian virtue. I know it will counter all current despairs. When you feel down, put faith and hope to work in your lives. While others may abandon progress, you of faith should hope on and press on with your education, your lives, and your families. As the Lord said to our early Church members, "Fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if you are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail."

There are three things all members can do to help share the gospel, regardless of the circumstances in which they live and work. All of us should do all of these. First, we can all pray for desire to help with this vital part of the work of salvation. … Second, we can keep the commandments ourselves. … Third, we can pray for inspiration on what we can do in our individual circumstances to share the gospel with others.