Finding God Through Loss, Letters And A Life of Service

James Perry grew up in a lively family in Seattle, right in the middle of ten siblings—five older and five younger. His parents were Catholic, and his father, a convert, carried a deep love for Jesus Christ that shaped their home and influenced James in ways he would only fully understand later. When James was young, his father left on a business trip and suddenly passed away from an aneurysm at just 43 years old. The loss left the family reeling. At the time they were living in Phoenix, but after his father’s death the family moved back to Seattle, where James began working as a paper route boy and quietly began his own search for God. Years later, James discovered letters his father had written to his mother while serving in the war—letters filled with faith, devotion to the Savior, and glimpses of the remarkable man his father was. Reading those words allowed James to know his father in a deeper way and sparked a growing desire to understand God for himself. That search eventually led him into the scriptures, a deeper relationship with his Heavenly Father, and ultimately to his conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. James’s life would continue to be shaped by both joy and hardship. Along the way he experienced the loss of his oldest brother, walked through a divorce and remarriage, and served in many leadership callings within the Church. One calling in particular, serving as a stake president during a time when many individuals were suffering from AIDS, deeply changed the way he understood compassion, service, and what it truly means to follow Christ. James’s story is one of a full life, marked by loss, faith, searching, and a lifelong desire to know God more deeply.     Host: Sierra Isaac Editor: Adrienne Quintana