Having Fun but Feeling Empty

Meet Dylan Burnside. When he was 25, he was a less-active young man wandering through life. Dylan was having the time of his life hanging out with friends, camping on the weekends, and living what he called “the good life.”

Ironically, his life really wasn’t that good. Dylan described this time of life as “nonstop fun but not happiness.” He admitted, “I would go to a scripture study group every so often and the occasional baby blessings and homecomings and institute, but I’d never really go to church.”

One evening Dylan was sitting in a class at the Salt Lake City University Campus Institute that happened to end early. Instead of letting students go, the teacher invited the students to choose hymns to sing as a class. Dylan raised his hand and suggested the class sing “A Child’s Prayer” from the Children’s Songbook (12–13).

Dylan had always loved the song while he was growing up and for some reason wanted to sing it that night. “As soon as the piano started playing, I was overcome with emotion,” he said. “I [was] touched in a way that I hadn’t been in a long time.” That night Dylan knew he needed to make a change in his life, but he still wasn’t sure how.

“No changes immediately happened,” he said. “I didn’t go to church the next Sunday, but I still look back on that day and it was the first time I realized what a void I had by not having that type of influence and feeling in my life.”

With help from friends and family, over the course of six years Dylan became active in his church attendance. He now describes his life as “happy, healthy, and full of family.”

Dylan has since received his temple endowment and is currently teaching the six- and seven-year-old primary students in his ward.

“Institute played a big role in turning my life around,” he explained. “I would’ve probably [preferred to watch] TV that night rather than go to institute, but I wouldn’t be able to recall the television program like I can recall my institute experience from that night.”

He encourages young adults to attend institute wherever they are. “The most you have to lose by going to institute is an hour and a half of your night,” he said. “What else would you be doing at that time that would be better than going to institute?”