Faith in God’s Promised Blessings

Rockefeller Center

In September of 2022, we started to have very strong impressions that it was time to move back to Utah after almost five years away. The desire to move back to Utah had been there for a while but the prompting became more urgent. However, the promptings didn't make much sense at the time: Devon had just begun his career at a firm in Manhattan and things were going well. But, we chose to follow the Lord’s direction despite our reservations. So, we made the necessary arrangements that would allow us to move, including receiving permission from Devon’s firm to work remotely, applying for the Utah bar, and looking for a new home to live in.

Once we finally moved back, we both felt an increased desire to go to the temple, read our scriptures daily, and talk with the Lord more frequently and sincerely through prayer. It honestly felt as though the Lord was preparing us for something. As time went on, things just didn’t seem to be going well for the firm Devon was working for, and in mid-January Devon was included in a large layoff. We were devastated and confused. Why would the Lord have paved the way and brought us back to Utah if the end result was a layoff? However, we knew that the Lord had brought us this far and that he doesn’t set us up to fail.

As we navigated the job search, many opportunities came, seemingly out of nowhere; opportunities that would have never materialized had we still been on the East Coast. Through one of these connections, Devon found a great job and, as of last week, he accepted an offer to work at their office in Salt Lake. Looking back, being laid off was the final piece of the puzzle that would allow us to be anchored in Utah where we can once again be surrounded by our family and our friends.

We know that Heavenly Father listens and is aware of each of us and our unique circumstances. The Lord has promised that as we keep His commandments we will be blessed. Thomas S. Monson once said:

Central Park

[The Lord] understands that when we keep the commandments, our lives will be happier, more fulfilling, and less complicated. Our challenges and problems will be easier to bear, and we will receive His promised blessings.

Being laid off may seem like a complication, but we know that it was, in fact, a blessing, although it was difficult to see it as such sometimes. We prayed for a really long time to somehow be able to move back to Utah but never understood exactly how that was going to happen. However, when we put our trust in the Lord and let him guide us, it became apparent that he had been leading us all along.

-Karissa & Devon Allgood