A few months ago, I took the Young Men in our priests and teachers quorums to the Peppermint Place in Alpine, Utah (see Picture 1). The owner of the store is a good friend and colleague of mine, Taz Murray. Taz invited us to bring the young men to his store so he could help them in their quest for information about careers and possible jobs. Taz spent time talking with the young men about careers, potential jobs at the candy store, and other topics, including marketing, financing, production, and human resources (see Picture 2).

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Picture 2

Taz gave the young men instructions to put on their hairnets and shoe mitts to protect the production floor and products. Then he took the young men around to the various parts of the factory: the candy heaters (see Picture 3), the cutting machines, the drying rack (see Picture 4), and the packing tables (see Picture 5).

Picture 3

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Picture 5

The highlight of the trip came when Taz showed the young men the retail side of the candy store (see Picture 6). Here he gave them instructions about what they should and should not do. He said that the young men could eat any candy that he made in his factory. Any candy or related products that he did not make in his factory were off-limits because he had to purchase them. Then he gave each of the young men a bag and said, “fill them up.” He warned the youth that if they put things in their bags that were off-limits, they would be escorted outside until the other youth were done.

The youth had a great time. They were so excited. The youth filled their bags with gumdrops, chocolate-covered nuts and raisins, gumballs, gummy candies, suckers—you name it. I must admit that this was one of the young men’s favorite activities for the year (see Pictures 7 and 8).

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Picture 8

As I have thought about the subject of giving, I have decided that life is like Taz Murray’s candy store. We each fill our own bags—our lives—with the experiences we have while here on earth. We have been given instructions as to what is good and what is bad. If we choose wisely, we will be able to enjoy the good things in life. If we fail to choose wisely, we must reap the consequences of our actions. And, interestingly enough, the more we share with others, the greater our joy will be later on.