Elder Jeffrey R. Holland gave one of the most powerful and stirring testimonies of the Divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon and of the Prophet Joseph Smith that I believe I have ever heard. My sincere gratitude and appreciation goes to Seth Adam Smith for his hard work and diligence in putting this video together for everyone to see.
You can read Elder Holland's Conference address titled "Safety for the Soul" given during the Sunday afternoon session of the October 2009, 179th Semiannual General Conference by going here or you can view his Conference address by going here.
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This is another true life story of hope and encouragement. This is the story of one person who was determined to keep their dream alive! Jason McElwain, nicknamed "J-Mac", is a young man with autism who made national news in 2006 when he played for four minutes during a high school basketball game and scored twenty points.
Born on October 1, 1988, to David and Debbie McElwain, Jason and his family lived in Greece, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York. Jason was diagnosed with autism at a young age and had trouble interacting with other kids, but during his teenage years he began to develop social skills and make friends. Although he was placed in special education classes, Jason enjoyed basketball, which he was introduced to by his older brother Josh, and was appointed manager of Greece Athena High School's varsity basketball team by basketball coach Jim Johnson. For the Greece Athena's 2005-2006 basketball season, the 17-year-old McElwain was a senior and slated to graduate in the spring, but was unable to graduate.
Greece Athena High School basketball coach Jim Johnson decided to add McElwain to the roster for the team's February 15, 2006, game against Spencerport High School, so McElwain could be given a jersey and sit on the bench for the team's last home game of the season. Although the game between Greece Athena and Spencerport was for a senior night at Greece Athena High School, Johnson planned to allow McElwain to play a few minutes if Greece Athena got a comfortable lead. Greece Athena had a double-digit lead, so Johnson decided to let Jason play in the last four minutes. When teammates first passed the ball to McElwain he attempted a three-point shot and missed. McElwain got a second chance to score with a lay-up which he also missed. McElwain then got "hotter than a pistol", shooting six three-pointers and one two-point shot, before the game ended. The final score was Greece Athena 79, Spencerport 43. As soon as the final buzzer rang, fans from the stands stormed the court in celebration.
You can order a copy of Jason McElwain's story titled "The Game of My Life: A True Story of Challenge, Triumph, and Growing Up Autistic" from Amazon.Com by going here.
