Podcast Summary: "How to Follow Your Heavenly GPS"

Speaker: Wendy W. Reese
Date: January 14, 2026
Podcast: BYU Speeches
Main Theme: Using faith, prayer, and covenants as a "Heavenly GPS" to navigate life’s important decisions

Episode Overview

In this uplifting devotional address, Wendy W. Reese draws on a personal story and doctrinal insights to teach BYU students how to recognize and trust divine guidance—what she calls the "Heavenly GPS." Speaking with warmth, humor, and candor, Reese addresses the anxieties of young adults in their "decade of decision" and offers concrete principles for moving forward with both confidence and faith, even amidst uncertainty.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Story: Getting Lost in New Mexico

• [00:34] Wendy opens with a lighthearted and relatable account of getting lost while trying to meet her husband, Shane, for a picnic at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
  • She recalls the limitations of pre-Google Maps era and the frustration of not being able to reach her husband by phone.
  • Mix-up: Looking for "Hemez Road," she failed to recognize the Spanish pronunciation of "Jemez Road," despite having taken Spanish at BYU herself.
  • Memorable moment: "Shane paused. 'Wendy,' he said. 'It's Spanish.' That was the street. I had been in the right place the whole time..." ([02:20])

2. Life as a Journey with a Divine Roadmap

• Reese uses the analogy of her story to emphasize that life isn’t a random accident but a journey we chose, guided by a divine plan.
• "We do that by following the Savior’s example, relying on Christ’s atonement, and making sacred covenants with God. That is a pretty clear roadmap..." ([03:20])
• She affirms that while students won't find specific answers (e.g., who to marry, career choices) in the scriptures, they are in a formative period with major life decisions ahead.

3. Three Principles for Following Your "Heavenly GPS"

I. Trust in God’s Plan

• [05:00] "When you are striving to follow the Savior and living your covenants, you are right where you're supposed to be."
• Cautions against decision paralysis and the temptation to doubt oneself or God’s plan, especially when answers or destinations aren’t immediately clear.
• Quote: "Acting President Dieter F. Uchtdorf counsels us, however, to first doubt our doubts before abandoning our faith in God's perfect plan."

II. Prayer as Communication and Calibration

• [06:00] Reese compares the inability to contact her husband to the danger of being "too absorbed in our own desires" to hear God's direction.
• President Gordon B. Hinckley quote: "The trouble with most of our prayers is that we give them as if we are picking up the telephone and ordering groceries—we place our order and hang up."
• Encourages making prayer a two-way conversation: "It should be a time of contemplation, reflection, and listening."
• Christ’s example: “Not my will, but Thine be done.” God knows our needs before we ask.

III. Trust in Covenants and God’s Trust in You

• [07:50] Even when we don’t feel clear direction, keeping covenants ensures God’s guidance.
• Elder David A. Bednar: As long as we keep covenants and repent daily, we are “influenced by the Holy Ghost all the time.”
  • Reese addresses doubts about whether impressions come from oneself or from the Spirit, saying: "The more time we spend worrying about that, the more we get in our own way."
• Sometimes when faced with two good choices, “the choice mattereth not.”
  • This, she notes, is not indifference but a sign of God’s trust in our agency and judgment.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "I was right where I believed I should be, but the road I was looking for just wasn't there...I had been in the right place the whole time."
  — Wendy W. Reese [02:10]

• "Dear students, you are part of God’s plan. You are His children, each of you. And He knows you."
  — Wendy W. Reese [05:20]

• "Prayer shouldn’t be a one-sided conversation. It should be a time of contemplation, reflection, and listening."
  — Wendy W. Reese quoting Gordon B. Hinckley [06:30]

• "When you are doing the right things and standing in the right places, when you’re keeping your sacred covenants, God is illuminating your path and guiding your footsteps."
  — Wendy W. Reese [08:30]

• "Have faith to take a step in the darkness and more illumination will come."
  — Wendy W. Reese [09:10]

• "The destination God has in store for you is far greater than anything you could imagine."
  — Wendy W. Reese [10:10]

Key Timestamps for Segments

• [00:34] – Personal story: Lost in New Mexico
• [03:20] – Applying the story to the journey of life and the role of covenants
• [04:35] – Facing decisions in young adulthood (“the decade of decision”)
• [05:00] – Principle 1: Trust in the Plan
• [06:00] – Principle 2: Prayer and learning the “language of heaven”
• [07:50] – Principle 3: Trust in Covenants and God’s trust in your judgment
• [09:10] – Acting with faith despite uncertainty
• [10:10] – Closing testimony and promise

Tone & Speaker’s Style

• Warm, personable, gently humorous (especially in the opening anecdote)
• Encouraging, reassuring, and faith-filled
• Uses stories and quotes from Church leaders to reinforce spiritual points

Final Takeaways

Wendy W. Reese lovingly reminds listeners that, although our life’s choices can seem daunting, God’s “Heavenly GPS” is always guiding us as we trust in His plan, connect through sincere prayer, and honor our covenants. Even when the way is unclear—or we doubt our direction—God understands, values our agency, and cheers us on. By moving forward in faith, our path will be illuminated step by step.

For full impact, listen to the full speech for stories, humor, and the spirit of encouragement that Wendy W. Reese brings to her message.