2026-07-22_email_guess-what
From: jason.heywood@gmail.com To: kaitlynn.heywood@missionary.org (cc kaitlynn.heywood@gmail.com) Date: 2026-07-22 (sent Wednesday morning MDT; Gmail's UTC timestamp reads 2026-07-22 14:02Z) Subject: Guess what
Chicken butt.
Hermana Heywood!
There is nothing you can do or say that would separate you from God's love. When you begin to doubt yourself or your worth, remember this:
Romans 8:38-39
38 ... neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, [nor being seen or unseen by those we serve, nor being appreciated or unappreciate by the same] shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
--
"Before I had the gospel in my life, I was always trying to prove to others that I was someone special. But when I learned the truth, that I am a daughter of God, I didn't have to prove anything to anyone. I knew that I was special. ... Don't ever think that you are nothing."
Whether you are recognized, or appreciated, while nice, it does not change your worth and your divine identity. You have nothing to prove to anyone around you. You do, perhaps, need to let sink in who YOU are. So when you begin having the nagging doubts and pin pricks of self criticism, that you can deny those feelings with truth. You are a daughter of God, and your worth does not come by anything you do or don't do while on your mission or in life. Keep you chin up. Remind yourself every day, or even every minute if you need to, that your worth is not dependant on a good idea, an angry word that slips out, or being able to drive a mission car.
God sees you, he sees your heart and he sees how hard you are trying. Dont give up.
3 Nep 13: 3, 4:
3 But when thou doest alms let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth;
4 That thine alms may be in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly.
The alms you give may be quiet service, taking correction, choosing to be genuinely happy and positive when you have more reasons to not be. God SEES you. However, regardless, I don't want you to misunderstand, what you DO does not affect your worth. You ARE seen, and you ARE appreciated. Perhaps the challenge here is to learn how to navigate your feeling of worth, inner peace and happiness when you don't receive those things. Because in the end, it is more important that you do what you know is right, than it is to receive praise or appreciation for doing it. Sometimes we have to choose to be happy because we know that what we did was the right thing to do, regardless if anyone around us sees it.
I love you Hermana Heywood! You ARE going to have a good day today! Decide now! You ARE going to separate your worth from your actions, words, feelings and everything above, below, and in between. There is NOTHING you can DO that will increase your worth to God, who has already proved your worth to him by sending his son. You can do it, because you choose to! Dig into your soul and show the grit that you have been born with! Grit your teeth and love and be happy, just out of spite of your own feelings otherwise. I know you have this because you are my daughter, and you are tougher than you realize. I know you can do this because you are His daughter and there is nothing you cannot do with Him by your side.
Filing notes
Jason's midweek note to Kaitlynn, sent two days after her July 20 weekly group email on "you are enough" (3 Nephi 17) and her July 20 calls. The whole letter is one sustained argument that worth is fixed and independent of performance or recognition: Romans 8:38-39 with Jason's own bracketed insertion ("nor being seen or unseen by those we serve, nor being appreciated or unappreciate by the same"), then 3 Nephi 13:3-4 on alms given in secret, then the distinction he draws explicitly, that God seeing quiet service is real but what she does still does not affect her worth. Closes on grit: decide to be happy "just out of spite of your own feelings otherwise."
The block quote beginning "Before I had the gospel in my life" is unattributed in Jason's original. Source not identified; left unattributed rather than guessed.
Typos preserved as written: "unappreciate", "Keep you chin up", "dependant", "Dont".