I have this really great friend named Mathew Smith who is 12 years old. Fortunately for him, he has many cousins who are around his same age.

I think Mathew is one of the luckiest boys in the world; he is part of something so much bigger than himself, or even his immediate family. He has aunts, uncles and cousins who love him and are great examples, parents who love the Lord, and a sweet and innocent desire to do what is right.  

When Mathew was 8 years old, he was baptized. His cousins, who were just a couple of years older than him, bore their testimonies at his baptism as to the blessings of having the gift of the Holy Ghost in their lives. 

One of the boys talked about a Book of Mormon challenge given by late church President Gordon B. Hinckley. The boy shared how he had read the whole book by the age of 9, and it was in Alma that the Spirit told him it was true. The boy's 10-year-old brother spoke of his experience snow skiing and how he was prompted to drop down; he realized he would have crashed in to a tree if he hadn’t. 

After his baptism, Mathew turned to his mom and told her  he would need to really start thinking hard about his own experiences with the Holy Ghost over the next year so that he would be ready to share them at his 7-year-old cousin Kathleen's baptism.

At this young age, Mathew was already getting a glimpse of the role he would be playing in his family -- he was beginning to see the bigger picture. As he had looked up to the example of his older cousins, he assumed the younger ones would be looking to his.  He already sensed his significance and the importance of his actions; he wanted to measure up. Hopefully throughout his life he will remember all the people who need him and his righteous example. 

I remember a time in my late 20s after I had graduated from BYU and was living in Southern California. I was completely submerged in single life. As singles, it can be easy to minimize your influence in the world because you don’t have children to be an example to; therefore it is tempting to be a little more casual about covenants and commitments. 

I remember going on a family vacation to Hawaii. Our family attended a luau one evening and they asked all the women to come up on stage to learn the hula. I was on the stage when I caught one of the young men who were teaching us to dance staring at me. I smiled and turned away. 

A minute later I glanced back and he had this shocked look on his face. He enthusiastically yelled, “Sister Thomas, it is Elder Soures, and I want you to know that I served a good mission, I really did." I had taught Elder Soures in the Missionary Training Center many years before. It was a wonderful reunion. I was so proud of him and so glad that he served a good mission -- and was able to confidently share that with me. 

I will never forget walking away that evening with only two things on my mind: First, I was relieved that I had not lost my way, even though I wasn’t on a path of marriage and family as I had hoped or planned to be. Elder Soures had heard my testimony many times in the MTC; he knew of my love for the gospel. I thought how disappointing that would have been for him, and shameful it would have been for me, if I had lost my love and commitment to the very things I had so passionately born testimony of. 

Secondly, I realized, maybe for the first time, that even though I do not have children of my own, there are others who are watching me, who are counting on me to hold true. 

Since that time, I have had this reconfirmed to me, time and time again. Just as Mathew was able to get a glimpse of his role in his family, I received a glimpse of my role and the fact that what I do and don’t do does matter to others. Sometimes with the passage of time, or the change of circumstance, it is easy to lose sight of what once was, or forget the influence that we do have. 

We all have known of those who once had a testimony, or once had love for significant others, but somewhere along the way they lost it.

Someone once said, “If you had a glimpse of who you really are, you would rise up and never be the same." This is one of the greatest blessings of having the companionship of the Holy Ghost. We are able to get this glimpse from time to time. When we see what an important role we are playing in the lives of others, we rise to the occasion, we hold steady and true, and we remain faithful. When we lose that glimpse, we become lost, despondent, disobedient, distracted and are quick to forget what we once knew or felt. 

Regardless our age or the path we travel, we all have influence in the lives of others.   There are those who look up to us, who count on us, who depend upon our testimonies to be an anchor in their lives. If Mathew could receive that glimpse at the age of 8, surely it is there for each of us.  

Through the Holy Ghost, and only through the Holy Ghost, we receive that glimpse of things as they really are. When we do, we realize there are many who are counting on us!