From Failure to Success - My Brother's Miracle During Law School

This is an experience my brother Taylor Hartley went through over 10 years ago while at California Western School of Law in San Diego, California. The image to the left is Taylor's diploma. This diploma is particularly notable because what originally started as a failure later became a success by means of a miracle. When I see Taylor's diploma, it is more of a reminder to me that trusting in and relying on God -- even if it contradicts man's wisdom -- leads to more favorable outcomes than otherwise.

Here are Taylor's own words of the experience:

"When in law school, I failed my first semester miserably. My grades were so poor that the school invited me to withdraw. I was shattered. When I discussed the idea of not withdrawing with a school administrator, she told me that because of decades of experiences with students in my position, every one of them has never been able to bring their grades up high enough to stay in law school. She told me that I should withdraw now and come back in a few years. Otherwise, if I stay in, I'll end up failing and never be allowed to come back.

Instead of following her advice, I asked a friend for a priesthood blessing. In that blessing, the Lord promised me I would be able to “fix” my grades. I understood that to mean that I would not only temporarily improve my grades, but that I'd never be in fear of being kicked out. I decided to stay and give it my best effort.

After struggling my hardest and by reviewing what I had learned each day during my nightly prayers, I took my final exams. I experienced something I believe is a miracle, based on what the school administrator had predicted. I ended up scoring the highest out of over 70 students in the class I had failed the worst. I scored high in one class and very high in another that I had both failed. Even though my grades improved more than the school had ever seen, I was placed in a remedial class for extra tutoring. There, I showed the tutoring professor my grades. He was shocked. He had never seen a student recover like I did and told me I didn't belong in his class.

As a result of performing the best in the class I originally did worst in, I was selected the following year to be a "large group tutor" for all the new, incoming 70+ students in that class. I also tutored other students individually. Later, I was repeatedly asked to be a notetaker in a number of classes for the foreign and disabled students attending, so that they had written material from the lectures to study from.

In the remaining two years of law school, I also scored the highest out of all the students in a class each year. I saw these series of events at law school as another fulfillment of the promise in my patriarchal blessing. The Lord promised, 'I bless you that your mind and intellect will be quickened so that you will comprehend and understand those things that you read and study. That your testimony and knowledge of the Gospel will be greatly strengthened.'

Truly, my intellect was made alive so that I understood those things that I studied. This miracle mirrored in some ways the first miracle I had as a teenager. I was able to read only the Book of Mormon during a time when I lost the ability to read due to a traumatic brain injury. In essence, my mind during that time was quickened so that I comprehended what I was reading in that sacred scripture (but still couldn't read any other books at that time). Both experiences greatly strengthened my testimony of Christ's Gospel and priesthood power."

<< End of Taylor's Words >>

I can confirm that what Taylor wrote above is true. I saw his college transcripts and can verify the drastic improvement in his grades, which allowed him to graduate from law school.

More details about Taylor's head injury as a teenager and the miraculous event involving the Book of Mormon can be found here:

http://thesmallplatesoftom.blogspot.com/2018/07/my-brother-taylor-pass-asteroids-please.html