Seeking a Life of Significance: 3 Life-Changing Lessons From Scott and Marilyn Petersen’s Visit

We had the special opportunity to welcome Scott Petersen and his wife Marilyn to visit our beautiful campus.?

Scott Petersen worked a fulfilling career in sales leadership and management before his first company start-up at the age of 29 in the medical and safety products industry. Scott later founded, developed, and sold multiple other successful companies in the automotive technology, vinyl fencing, and insurance industries.?

He took a 3-year hiatus from his career to study for and to write and publish his two books, “Where Have All the Prophets Gone?” and “Do the Mormons Have A Leg to Stand On.”

He then went on to found other companies before becoming a director of the BYU Center of Entrepreneurship and Technology which he helped grow to become the number one program in the US in terms of output.?

His wife Marilyn is his biggest anchor during his career and family life.?

Both Scott and Marilyn are currently serving a mission as Young Single Adult Specialists in the Central Europe Area. Through this calling, they travel all over Europe providing functional help to the senior couple missionaries assigned to minister to the Young Single Adult members of the church.

For two days, the Petersens were able to visit Cumorah Academy and give some insightful life-changing workshops. Here are 3 impactful insights the Petersens shared during their experience:?

On the Purpose of Cumorah

Scott serves on the board of Cumorah where he looks to make annual contributions to its important cause. Both he and Marilyn were excited to come here for the first time.?

Already dedicated to their mission to serve young adults, the Petersens have seen the light that’s here on campus.?

“You can see it in the eyes of the young people here, they are hungry for knowledge, they are hungry for fulfilling their personal lives, for becoming leaders, and making a difference in the world.”

That light prevailing on campus is the opportunity that’s here. It’s the glow in the eyes of the students who are beholding their life vision for the first time. It’s when they’re no longer derailed by the unfortunate circumstances happening in some of the countries our students are coming from. In this way, Cumorah has become a safe space that’s putting the power back into their hands.?

It’s the power to create a life for themselves, a life that they want. This is the light the Petersens recognize in each of the students.?

Scott also noted how Cumorah is giving its students the tools they need to succeed when they go back to their communities in order to be ahead of the competition.?

He says, “In the US, they would be just a small fish in a big pond, but with Cumorah, they don’t need to go to the US, they can create a life anywhere.”?

On Finding Balance Between God’s Will and Our Dreams

Much confusion exists between what comes from us and from God. It is one of the biggest wrestling matches many young adults who come to Cumorah are currently involved in. Many of them want to know the whole picture but don’t realize how much trusting in God plays a role in navigating through the landscapes of potential opportunities.

“It’s part of our nurture and nature being the children of God to think positive thoughts,” Scott says, in other words, it’s part of our nature as spiritual beings to follow our inclinations towards the good we feel inspired to put into the world.?

We need God’s guidance in the world, but we also need to find fulfillment by doing good through our own free will and choice.

That’s part of our nature, that’s the nurture of God – our dreams are a course of action He’s slowly guiding us to – piece by piece. We have to learn how to respond.?

We can also do our part of understanding an important principle while designing our lives – focus on everything as a sequence –?

“It all starts with someone asking the question of why am I here? What is the purpose of all of this?”

This is the question everyone who comes to Cumorah has at some point considered for themselves. Many students then leave the academy 3 months later having arrived at the knowledge that,?

“God has a plan, then what is my plan and how do I self-discover that plan through prayer, introspection, and the Spirit that we’ve been given? That allows us once we know that it’s about God, and to consider maybe there’s more to this life than I thought, maybe what I do actually matters.”

Once we arrive at a discovery of God’s plan, we can work our way through life as a sequence of priorities. Focusing on priorities enables us to live the lives we want while also being aligned with God’s will.?

Think first, is my relationship with God on point? If so, what’s my family life like next? The reason why these questions are relevant is because they pinpoint the most important relationships we have in our lives. After we have our base in God and in our families then God will guide us from there in the path we want to follow as long as it is a righteous and noble path.?

Then we can start asking the question, “ok what path do I want to follow which will lead to a more productive, meaningful, and fulfilling life?”

On Knowing What You Can Become

In one of his devotional lessons, Scott taught about the importance of recognizing that students are not limited by anything but their own thoughts.??

“If they will think the right thoughts then act appropriately according to those thoughts they will be able to have all the joy and all the happiness and be able to fulfill God’s plan for them.”

This means their futures are up to them on whether or not they achieve what they want to achieve. It just starts with thinking the right thoughts which in turn will lead them to the right actions.?

To expound upon this idea, in his leadership class, Scott shared some principles that contribute to success which follow processes of. . .?

Monitoring thoughts that limit our actions, “A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.” This also includes the rewiring of our brains through thinking positive uplifting thoughts to disarm the negative ones.

Then, there’s the Duhigg Principle, which emphasizes maintaining consistent habits until they become automatic actions we perform daily without thinking.

And finally, it’s about being willing to work like no one else will for 5-7 years so you can live the rest of your life like no one else will. It’s not to obtain wealth, but it’s done for the purpose of knowing who we serve because we glorify Him through the work that we do. We just have to decide what that work will be.?

The Petersens shared their experience in the clip below:

Written by Weylin Hollister

Photos by Natalia Lopez

Supervision by Kamila Uberto Fullmer