The Proposal

“Kristen, do you want to go bowling this Saturday?” It was Tuesday evening, January 1^st. Kristen, tired of the ever-present cold and snow in the dead of winter, was eager to do something outside ofher or my apartment.

I was trying hard to invite Kristen to something that wouldn’t tip her off to my proposal. She knew that I would be proposing soon, but she didn’t know when or where. She strongly suspected the coming Saturday: it was the last weekend before classes started, and she’d seen a link on my computer for the jewelry company where I purchased her ring. Still, she readily accepted the invitation.

I had tried everything I could to confuse Kristen about when I would propose. I casually downplayed Saturday’s significance and told her that the jeweler had delayed shipment of her ring due to the Christmas holiday. Kristen’s friend Kayla even chimed in, independently telling Kristen that the ring would not arrive for another few weeks.

Kristen was right to be suspicious: I was going to propose to her that Saturday. I had to make sure she had a ring before she started class again with all those other college guys! My plan was to propose at the Y Trailhead (the trail to Brigham Young University’s mountainside collegiate letter) – the same place I stammered while asking her to be my girlfriend several months before.

I started laying the groundwork a week in advance: Step one – seven days in advance – I nonchalantly told her that my brother was hiking the Y Trail with some friends the coming weekend. Step two – five days in advance – I invited Kristen to go bowling that Saturday. You see, I needed to get Kristen out of her apartment without arousing her suspicions. I needed a feint, a ruse, to get her in the car so that I could then “unexpectedly” take a detour to the Y trailhead.

So that was my plan: “Hey, let’s go bowling! By the way, my brother went to hike the Y trail during this bitterly cold weather and he forgot a warm coat! We’ll need to swing by and drop a coat off for him.”

On the day of the proposal (January 5^th), I got an early start to prepare the Y trailhead for my proposal: I bought a bouquet of roses on my way to pick up my brother. My brother and I then scoped out where I would propose to Kristen (a bench with 12” of snow that we had to remove, the same bench where I had asked Kristen to be my girlfriend). My brother then hid himself in the snow so that he could record the proposal without Kristen seeing him.

I  picked up Kristen from her apartment. As I entered her apartment, Kristen asked me a question about an electronic device she had seen online. I tried to answer in a normal tone but Kristen noticed that I seemed unusually fidgety. She didn’t comment on my unusual behavior, though, and we got in the car.

As we pulled away from her apartment, I casually reminded her that my brother and his friends had gone to hike the Y trail. I then informed her that I just received a text from David asking me to bring him a coat and gloves and asked Kristen’s permission to detour to take the gear up to David. Kristen was suspicious of the detour and told me later that she had thought to herself:  “What sort of idiot would hike in 10⁰F weather without a proper jacket? Well, James would do that. Maybe his brother would do that too.”

When we got to the Y trailhead, I invited her to exit the car with me. She did, not questioning why she had to leave the warmth of the car just to give my brother a coat. I guided her to the special bench where we sat. She started reminiscing of that special summer evening when I had shyly said, “I would like to date you.”

Our reminiscing was soon cut short when Kristen started shivering. Joking, she exclaimed, “If David doesn’t get here in five minutes, we’re leaving without giving him his coat!”

Realizing that my moment was passing, I said slowly, “Well, I actually owe him an apology.” Kristen looked at my quizzically. “Well, it’s not his fault we’re out here.” A confused look crossed Kristen’s face as she processed my statement.

Her confusion turned to surprised delight when I knelt down on one knee and pulled a ring box from a fold in my jacket. “Kristen, will you marry me?”

She covered her mouth, then grasped the back of her head as she burst out laughing. “Yes!” Then laughing, she exclaimed, “You brilliant man!”. I slid the ring on her finger. “It’s so pretty!” she said.

When Kristen and I finished sharing our celebration, I said, “Well, I suppose I should really go get David now. Come on out, David!” Kristen burst out laughing as she saw my brother spring out of the snow with a bouquet of roses in his hands. She threw her arms around him when she realized the role he played in the proposal.

Kristen and I spent the next few hours informing family and friends of our special event. But Kristen had one last request at the end of our special day: “You know, James, you told me we were going bowling.” And so, to celebrate our new engagement, Kristen and I went bowling.

How James and Kristen Met

**We hyper-linked certain words in our story to explain religious terms that may be unfamiliar to those not of our faith. We are not trying to preach or get anyone to join our religion, only to enable understanding of the terms that we use (e.g. ward, Relief Society, and sacrament meeting). We cannot avoid using these terms because the events surrounding our meeting and dating one another were religious, and therefore a major part of our story. We hope you enjoy reading it!**
 
James and Kristen met after a series of a few significant events.

The first was when April, James's sister, came by to meet girls in the complex, presumably to make friends and be a friendly neighbor, but secretly looking for counselors to add to the Relief Society Presidency. She had just been called as the Relief Society President of the ward. She met Kristen and her roommate Kayla as they were moving their bunk-bed around the room for the optimal location. Kristen apparently spoke her mind about the different locations quite a bit, because after about ten minutes, April went straight home to where she lived with her siblings Rachel and James. James was home, sitting on the couch using his laptop for a project, when April came in and stood in the entry way for a few seconds looking contemplative. Then, slowly, she said, "James, there's this new girl in P4. She is brutally honest. I like her." Yes, the first thing James ever heard about his future wife was that she is brutally honest. James replied, "And that's a good thing?" April said, "Yes, I want her to be a counselor in my presidency."

Kristen was asked to be a counselor in the R.S. Presidency and she accepted. Each Sunday, April held presidency meetings at her place. James would frequently answer the door for Kristen. He thought she was cute. He made it a point to always say hi to her and address her by name. Their interaction was generally as follows: "Hi, Kristen." "Hi, James." And then Kristen would quickly walk past him into the living room where the presidency meetings were held. James did not pursue Kristen then because he thought she was taken.

Kristen still remembers the first time she saw James. It was not a significantly profound moment, yet one she remembers all the same. He was standing at the back of the large room in the testing center (where their ward has the privilege of meeting for sacrament meeting. She could not read his expression. He wasn’t really looking at anything in particular either. She noticed that he was standing next to his two sisters, April and Rachel, who were talking to people. Most likely, he was waiting for them to finish talking so that he could walk to Sunday School with them. Again, she doesn’t remember thinking anything profound about him. Rather, all she remembers thinking is, “Ah, that must be James, April’s brother.”

Kristen also remembers a time when James spoke from the pulpit (in Mormon lingo he "gave a talk") in church, about October 2012. It was the most she had ever heard him speak up to that point, and she was intrigued by what April and Rachel's quiet brother had to say. She learned that he was an extremely eloquent speaker with a rich vocabulary. He also had a strong understanding of the gospel. She was extremely impressed. However, all she did about it was write him a "nice note" (a tradition their ward did each Sunday) telling him that she really enjoyed his talk. For some reason, James still thought she was taken.

A month later, James bore his testimony in church. Again, she noticed his eloquence and nice vocabulary, but more than that she felt the Spirit extremely strong. It was so powerful. She was certain that everyone in the room must be feeling the same way. Maybe they were. All she knew for sure was that that was the kind of testimony she wanted her future husband to have! James set the bar for her future husband then and there.

Kristen's friend Janet Rex had a bookcase, TV, and TV stand that she wanted to get rid of. She offered them to Kristen, and Kristen immediately took her up on them. However, Kristen had no way of getting any of the items. She was walking outside and was about to call a guy in her ward that had a truck, when she noticed the Rebers pulling up in a Dodge diesel pick-up truck with an 8' bed. She thought to herself, "That can haul a bookcase."

She was going to ask Rachel to drive her down to Springville and help her load up the items, but then she had the thought, seemingly out of nowhere, to ask James instead. Kristen thought this was very strange. She and James had hardly said anything to each other. Yet, the more she thought about it, the more it made sense: James is a boy who is very strong. He would be very capable of helping her transport a bookcase, TV, and TV stand.

She asked James if he could drive down to Springville and load up the items and then drive them  back--specifically in that huge truck. James said he could. On the day of the needed transportation, James forgot. Kristen, already in Springville thanks to Janet picking her up earlier, texted him to remind him, and he apologized and headed to Springville immediately with his brother Sean. They got lost. However, they eventually found Janet's place and James and Sean quickly loaded the items into the bed of the truck. Kristen noticed that James was particularly nice to her elderly friend and took the time to talk to her and get to know her a little, including going around back to look at the roses Janet had so carefully tended and offered her his compliments. Also, he was extremely strong and lifted the items with no problem. It was attractive.

In the car, James and Kristen talked and found out that they had a mutual interest in classic rock. They also discovered that each was easy to talk to. The intrigue began.

Eventually, James moved out of the apartment he had been living in with his sisters to a complex across the street with some guy friends. Kristen and James's apartments were assigned to be in the same Family Home Evening group. This was when Kristen really began to notice James. For whatever reason, James was suddenly talkative and outgoing. He had a personality!!! He was funny, kind, and cool. She was intrigued by this guy.

James and Kristen kept having opportunities to talk to and get to know one another. Eventually, James got some courage and asked Kristen, "Do you have a boyfriend?" He had thought so for so long, but he really wanted to ask her on a date so he had to know! Can you imagine his joy and also his chagrin when she said, "No." He then promptly asked her on a date.

The rest is history! After a seven-month courtship (okay, there were a couple break-ups but they were always on each others' minds!), he asked her to marry him. James and Kristen will be sealed in the Manti, Utah Temple for time and all eternity on May 4, 2013!