6. 2, 3. 7, As soon as I knew what a ballerina was, I wanted to be one. I love ballet. Turn. 2, 3, up, good. Candice, left, 2, 3. Dancing helped me to fulfill my baptismal commitments in ways I had never considered. One day, as my mother was reading through a newspaper, she saw an advertisement for an audition for a six-week summer program held at the San Francisco Ballet School. And she showed it to me, and we both became really excited. And we wanted to see how I would do. I'll never forget that audition. We walked into the building, and there were all these girls stretching and taking it all so very seriously. And I walked in, and I was not really quite sure what to think of it. I saw them getting their numbers on and signing in and all these teachers and parents walking around nervously hoping that their students and daughters do well. In the class, the teachers walked around--these two very artistic women dressed all in black. And they were walking around, taking notes, and watching us very closely. And I was very nervous. [MUSIC PLAYING] There were two cuts. And they came in, they would have their little conference, and they told which girls had to leave. And I remember the look on their faces. They were so dejected. And at that point, we were not told if we would make it or not. We were told that we would hear from them within six weeks or so. The day the letter came, I was waiting for it.

My father and I, we've always had a really close relationship. As I was getting ready to leave, he came in and talked to me about missionary work, about standing as a witness. And I was a little bit nervous at first, I think. Because I had never done anything like that. Oh dad, what do you mean, you know? And he said, you know, you don't really have to be a missionary. He said, just live the commandments. Be good, and here's a Book of Mormon to take with you. And if you make any friends, don't be afraid to tell them what you believe in.

San Francisco was huge. The buildings were just tall, and my dad took a picture of me standing by a very tall building. And I just look so small out there. It was really funny. I prayed a lot during that time, because I was nervous. And I also wanted to be good. I think that the Spirit was with me. I needed it at that time, and the Spirit comforted me. I met this girl, and she was my age. And we hit it off immediately. We became really good friends, and she was a lot of fun. We had a lot of good times together. We ran around San Francisco together. It was great. [MUSIC PLAYING] There was one time in particular, I remember, when my friend came to me. And she was experiencing some family problems. And we just started to really talk. And we ended up talking about God. And she couldn't really understand all the things that I believed in. She said that she had read the Bible some, but it didn't help her very much, and she wanted to know some of the things that I knew. And so we started to talk a little bit more.

Well, I ended up sharing with her the Book of Mormon. I was afraid that she would think that, I don't know, that I was using our friendship. But she didn't think that. She thought that my giving the Book of Mormon to her meant that I really cared about her to share something so special to me with her. I don't know what exactly became of her, what she did with the Book of Mormon, but I know that the feelings that we felt that day-- I know that she'll remember them. Because it was incredible. We felt the Spirit.

As I got older, I continued in dance, and I had many opportunities to perform and dance professionally. And so I was given many opportunities to talk about my beliefs in Christ and my belief in the Church. I began to wonder if dancing was too big a part of my life. I wasn't really sure what was ahead of me, where I wanted to go. And I remember sitting with my mother. And she mentioned to me, Candice, have you ever thought about serving a mission? Actually, one reason I decided to serve a full-time mission was because one of my friends that I met through dancing joined the Church, and it was really exciting for me to be a part of that. And it did, it helped me to realize that I could do this full-time.

I loved my mission. I felt needed. I felt like I had a very definite purpose. Of course, I had purpose before. But on your mission, you really look closely at yourself and where you're going. I feel a responsibility to use my talents that my Heavenly Father has given me to help Him with His work. I feel that responsibility very deeply. My understanding of the covenants that I made at baptism is that we are to stand as a witness for Christ. And we are to follow His commandments. I was able to dance.

In my life, I've tried to take advantage of every opportunity given me to share the gospel. [MUSIC PLAYING]