The Peaden Life: Serving in Stake Primary 2020-2024

Sunday, November 17, 2024

Serving in Stake Primary 2020-2024

I was called as the Stake Primary President of the Lehi Thanksgiving Stake in March 2020. If you remember your world history, that is the month that everything shut down for the Covid-19 Pandemic. I was the very last in-person meeting that President Cody Tower had before everything moved to virtual meetings. (I don't think I wore a mask, I don't think those were things yet.) I was released on November 17, 2024.

This calling has been such a beautiful experience for me and I am beyond grateful for the opportunity that I have had to learn, to serve, to teach, and to stand as a witness of the Savior Jesus Christ in such a tangible way. I am grateful for the people I have served with, the people I have met, the people I have learned from. I simultaneously felt like this was the perfect calling to use my specific talents and skills (administration, inspiration, public speaking, connection, leadership) and also felt like I was constantly stretching beyond my capacity.

(Pictured from left to right: Samantha Shulca, Shantel Peaden, Lisa Freeman, Carolyn Morris.)

When President Tower called me and told me I needed to call a presidency, I asked him if he had a list of people to consider for counselors. He responded "The stake directory." I think that response shocked me more than the call to serve in the Stake Primary did. I prayed and prayed to find the people that the Lord knew would be able to fill in for my weak areas and that would support me with kindness and friendship. Over the past (almost) five years I had four 1st counselors: Melissa Arnell, Ana Septon, Gabriela Palacios, and Samantha Shulca. I had three secretaries: Carrie Clark, Michelle Bradshaw, and Lisa Freeman.

But I only had one 2nd Counselor: Carolyn Morris.

Each of these sisters brought goodness, perspective and love and each were a direct answer to my prayers for what the stake primary needed at that time. I could share stories about each sister and each situation and bear testimony for how I felt the hand of the Lord in bringing us together. From Melissa Arnell as the very first counselor I knew I should call and whose organizational skills were invaluable in setting our presidency up for success from the very beginning, to Samantha Shulca whose name I submitted after receiving a prompting that even though in the past I felt strongly about having a Spanish speaking sister to help communicate with the Lehi 51st Spanish ward, I should call this sister from France only to find out in the setting apart meeting that she is tri-lingual and also speaks Spanish fluently, I KNOW that the Lord led and guided me to find those I needed to be serving in this presidency with me. Of all of the amazing women that I served with, however, I can not think of Carolyn Morris without being filled with so much gratitude that tears come to my eyes. We were in it together since the beginning and every step of the way she was my support, my comedic relief, my voice of reason, and my dear friend. I could never have known, when I submitted her name as my counselor, just how much I would come to depend on her and to love her. Nothing happened in Stake Primary that didn't have her magic touch turning it to gold. Ugh, I am just so grateful for her, I don't even have words.

Stake Primary has been filled with monthly president councils, monthly stake baptisms, primary training, leadership training dinners, ward conference Sundays, new presidency meetings and stake primary day camps. Additionally, as President I had the opportunity to attend Stake Council (2xmonth), speak as female leadership in each ward in the stake alongside a High Councilor (1xmonth), and a myriad of other neat opportunities like leadership trainings, working with the other women auxiliaries at the stake level, and meeting people from all over the stake.

Our Day Camps were our biggest events of the year:

2022: Step Right Up

2023: Saratoga Springs Temple Celebration

2024: Power of the Book of Mormon

Even though Stake Primary Day Camps were the biggest events, Stake Baptisms were easily where most of our efforts went. We hosted stake baptisms every second Saturday throughout our entire calling. It was amazing to see how things changed from the rigid guidelines of the 2020/2021 pandemic (Only a certain number of people could attend, then only immediate family) to gradually reduced restrictions to back to "the new normal". Some incredible benefits of these changes: families can now video chat their baptisms to family members who live far away, we were able to change the way the Stake does baptisms to be a much more intimate and child/ordinance-focused meeting. We were able to serve with two different sets of Baptism Specialists, Dwight and Karen Miller and Robert and Katreena Merrill.

Each ward was assigned a slot and we did our best to make sure that they felt that they were the only ones getting baptized that day. That they felt loved by Heavenly Parents and that they felt connected to the Savior as they made this very special covenant. Sometimes we had 12 children being baptized in a day. Other times we had only 1. Each day was special and important and such a blessing for us to be able to facilitate that. Sometimes I would leave our orientation area and just go sit through a baptism to feel the spirit testify of the good things that were happening through these ordinances. This took the most time away from our families, and I would be remiss if I didn't express gratitude for David who without complaint took 100% of the home responsibilities each of those Saturdays (many of which were our cousin weekends and had 4-6 extra kids at home). This was also one of the most tender parts of this calling.

I loved it all. I loved teaching in primary for Ward Conferences, I loved leading training meetings, I loved attending Stake Council, I loved being able to share my testimony as female leadership in the church. I loved serving the Lord and helping bring people closer to Jesus Christ.

I had a really interesting and faith-building experience before I was called as the Stake Primary President and I feel prompted to record it here. (I haven't shared this with many people because I think it can be taken poorly, or out of context - this isn't a lesson for everyone, but it was a very personal very tender lesson for me.)

I had just been released after serving in the ward primary presidency for 5 years and I was feeling a little adrift. I was having some personal wrestles with my faith and testimony and wasn't in the strongest spiritual condition. (Not a faith crisis, but navigating some questions and feeling a little conflicted.) I knew that the then-current stake primary president was being released and I received a prompting SO strongly that I was going to be called as the next primary president. I remember very clearly the words impressed upon me "You are going to be the next Stake Primary president." After I felt this, I remember thinking "They are only going to pick me because I was just released as a ward primary president." I didn't have a lot of faith in the revelatory process that would lead to that calling at that time and I was feeling upset about receiving the call considering all that was going on in my personal life. I felt that it would be a convenient, but not inspired, call. But I knew. I knew, knew, knew that I was going to be the next Stake Primary President and was trying to gear myself up for it.

And then I did NOT get called as the Stake Primary President. It was someone else that was called, not me. I was so surprised when this other sister was called over the pulpit, and later that day when I was thinking about it these words came to me (and sometimes I say this, and it sounds weird, but it's really the only way I have to describe it, it's not necessarily audible words, but I felt the words impressed upon my heart so strongly that it was as if I was hearing them spoken) "I have a work for you to do, but you are not ready yet." The impression was "you are not good enough yet, you are not at the right place that I need you to be to do the work that I have for you to do. I need you to get to place." It was very, very humbling because I had just been the ward primary president, and even with my questions and other wrestles I still felt that I was obedient, and righteous, and had faith, and loved the Lord - like LOVED the Lord. I loved the Lord then and I love the Lord now, but it was very humbling for me and I felt like I had a lot of work that I needed to do and I did it. I dug in and came out on the other side of the things that were unsettling me. I consecrated myself and my time and my efforts and I found myself with a stronger faith and also a testimony that no one is above falling away and that you have to put in the work through scripture study, prayer, faith, and action to keep the fire of your flame burning bright.

That Stake Primary President moved about 4 months later and I was called immediately after as the Stake Primary President. I learned so much through that experience and it's really tender for me. It testified to me that the Lord had a work for me to do and responsibilities that he needed me to fill and that has been such a blessing in my life to then be called and serve as the Stake Primary President.

(I think this is where that story can get a little tricky because this is a lesson just for me. The lesson is not "you have to be more righteous than you are to be used by the Lord", because I don't think that is true. The lesson is not "If you hold a stake calling you are more righteous than other people that don't hold stake callings" because that also is not true. I am not more righteous and was not more righteous than other people, but it was a lesson that I needed to learn. It was a lesson that the Lord needed me to learn, that He had a responsibility for me to fill and that He needed me to put in more personal effort in order to do the things that He wanted me to do. That is my lesson that I needed to learn.)

This experience has come to my mind several times over the last few weeks and it ties really beautifully with another experience that I had right before I was released. We had our last Primary Leadership Training in September, where we invited all of the Ward Primary Presidencies to a leadership dinner for encouragement, training, and connection. As I was planning my opening remarks I felt inspired to share how amazing it has been to watch each of them accept the call to serve as the Primary President and step into that calling with faith, grace, and humility. I had been the stake primary president long enough to see new presidencies in every ward, and in many wards multiple presidencies. I felt vulnerable as I shared that when serving in a calling that you put your heart and energy into, it can start to feel like it defines you. "I am Shantel - I am a Stake Primary President". I don't think that I shared this with them, but I have sometimes found myself feeling so connected to the calling that I felt a not-insignificant worry that once I was released I wouldn't even know who I was anymore. But in this moment, I was able to testify that is was not the calling "Stake Primary President" that defined me, rather the thing that defined me is that "I am a disciple who will serve the Lord wherever he needs me". Immediately after my message, the entire group sang "I will Choose to Serve the Lord."

It was tender for me, because it came as an answer to my worries about being released and feeling lost. I was so grateful for each of those women who choose to serve the Lord in their callings and also confident in my own determination to continue to serve the Lord wherever I was needed. Less that 2 weeks later I was meeting with President Gardner and he was informing me that the time had come and I would be released soon.

These pictures are from my last week as Stake Primary President. I felt so inspired to celebrate the 200 temple milestone with the primaries in our stake. It felt like such a gift from heaven that even though I knew I was going to be released in September, the process took long enough to allow me to organize this celebration and go to all 9 wards on November 10th and 17th to teach them about the "majesty of this moment". It was the perfect way to end the last five years of Stake Primary.

David and I have received a new calling to serve together as Stake Temple and Family History leaders, and we are so thrilled. We aren't exactly sure what it all entails, but we will get to serve together and we will be serving in the stake and continuing a lot of the things I loved so much about that. David was ordained as High Priest and is now the High Councilor over Temple and Family History Work. I am so excited to be able to serve alongside him, sharing the things that we love about temples and learning more about family history work.

I wanted to share the lyrics to the primary song "Choose to Serve the Lord" by Angie Killian and Blake Gillette as I go forward choosing to serve the Lord with every step I take.

Queen Esther's story shows me that I can stand for right

Elisha taught that angels protect me by my side

Like David, I can slay Goliaths in my way

Like Deborah, I can lead my friends to Christ