Latter-day Hymn Stories
A podcast where we explore the stories behind our inspired sacred music to refresh, rekindle, and restore your faith.
Latter-day Hymn Stories
"Anytime, Anywhere" with Angie Killian: He Hears My Prayers (Ep 4)
We sat down with Angie Killian, songwriter of "Anytime, Anywhere," to hear the story of how her little song was unexpectedly selected for our new hymnal. Loveingly nicknamed "the nursery version of My Own Sacred Grove," she shares how her popular song about Joseph Smith's First Vision and earlier works paved the way for this bite-sized hymn, which adapts the message of praying and receiving answers to some of our youngest singers. An affiliation for the math side of music, a strong testimony of prayer, and a promise to share her music with the world, yielded in this sweet song that will surely be sung by many across the globe.
Watch the video version of this episode on our YouTube channel.
youtube.com/@latterdayhymnstories
SHOW NOTES
0:00 – Podcast Intro
00:32 – A Backsplash for a Piano
02:05 – Music, Math & Marriage
04:21 – Postpartum Depression
05:08 – Songwriting as Therapy
06:37 – A Promise with Heavenly Father
07:21 – I Ask in Faith
08:29 – Vacation Funds for a Music Video
09:22 – My Own Sacred Grove
11:40 – A Jonah Moment
13:08 – Inspiration vs Perseverance
15:23 – A Children’s Version
17:05 – The Lord’s Timing
18:01 – A Little Cake First
19:30 – Submitting to the Church
20:03 – So Surprised
22:02 – The Review Process
22:34 – Writing the Song
23:48 – Teaching Children to Receive Revelation
27:02 – Prayer for a Private Beach
30:02 – Super Special Experience
30:35 – Testimony in Music
32:25 – Anytime, Anywhere
33:15 – Podcast Outro
Other Music by Angie
See other songs written by Angie Killian on her website, angiekillian.com, or by visiting her YouTube channel at youtube.com/@angiekillianmusic.
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Disclaimer
Latter-day Hymn Stories is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The views, opinions, and thoughts of our host and guests are our own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Church.
[Podcast Intro]
Alaina Larsen: Welcome to Latter-day Hymn Stories, a podcast where we explore the stories behind our inspired sacred music to refresh, rekindle, and restore your faith. I'm your host, Alaina Larsen.
[A Backsplash for a Piano]
Alaina Larsen: In our studio today, we have Angie Killian, who is the songwriter of "Anytime Anywhere," a children's song in our new hymnal. She is also the songwriter of many Christian songs and really one of the most popular songs that people would recognize that you have written is "My Own Sacred Grove" . . .
Angie Killian: Yep.
Alaina Larsen:. . . which we'll get to discuss as well. So, thank you so much for being here.
Angie Killian: Oh, my pleasure.
Alaina Larsen: I've been really excited for this interview. I know Angie. And I feel like this will be a conversation just among friends.
Angie Killian: Oh yeah, definitely.
Alaina Larsen: With a lot of the other interviews, you know, we really start with, "Okay, here's the beginning, like, here's when you got into music." What would you say is the beginning?
Angie Killian: Piano lessons at six. My parents were really, really great, and my mom had a choice between like a backsplash in her kitchen or buying me a piano, and she bought a piano and that was . . .
Alaina Larsen: Oh my gosh.
Angie Killian: . . . that was the best gift that I've ever been given. And they still have the same piano. It's a Baldwin. It's in their front room. And I like to go in there and play it.
Alaina Larsen: What a wonderful mom. I've met your mom, and I feel like she still is one of your biggest supporters.
Angie Killian: She is. My mom is everything. I have no sisters. And so my mom and I, I think we have a very unique relationship, where as I've gotten older, it's less of like a mother-daughter, but more of just a friend-to-friend. My mom is so great. She does so much for me. She's amazing.
Alaina Larsen: That's so awesome. Well, and it really all began with her being willing to sacrifice for you to gain this skill.
[Music, Math & Marriage]
Angie Killian: Yeah. So, that's where it started. Piano lessons at six. I started playing for my ward choir at 13. Took AP Music in high school. And then went to college to study math.
Alaina Larsen: Whoa, okay wait. That was a total diversion!
Angie Killian: I know, right?
Alaina Larsen: So, what happened there?
Angie Killian: I just, I've always loved math. And I thought that's what I wanted to do. I thought I wanted to be a math teacher. I was a Math Sterling Scholar. I just loved math. And I think I loved the puzzle part of it, that there was always a correct answer. And in my mind, it's like a puzzle I'm trying to solve. Which is honestly kind of why I love music so much, is because I get to balance my creative side of my brain with this puzzle part, and it works really well together.
Alaina Larsen: I will definitely say you are an amazing lyricist.
Angie Killian: Thank you.
Alaina Larsen: So, maybe there is a connection with math and being able to write lyrics and kind of fill out that syllable puzzle.
Angie Killian: Yeah, for sure. I mean, music is very math-based when you break it down.
Alaina Larsen: Okay, so you went to college. You started in math. Now, did you finish a degree in math? Or did you go elsewhere?
Angie Killian: No, this is a funny story. I have no degrees. I left BYU after we started doing our observations in classrooms. We would go around to different classes, and we would watch math teachers teach math to children who hated math. I loved the math courses, but when I got to the teaching stuff, I was like, "Uh-uh, I don't wanna" . . .
Alaina Larsen: This isn't for me.
Angie Killian: . . . "I don't wanna be everyone's least favorite teacher 'cause they hate math so much." So, I don't know, and at the same time, it was just a point in time where we could have chosen to just finish the degree, but my husband at the same time . . . He's a nurse. He's an RN. He needed to finish his nursing degree, and we couldn't really do that while I was in school full-time.
Alaina Larsen: So, when did you guys get married? Was that pretty much at the start of your education?
Angie Killian: We got married young. Yeah, I was 19.
Alaina Larsen: Oh, wow. Did you know him beforehand?
Angie Killian: Yeah.
Alaina Larsen: Okay.
Angie Killian: Yeah, we had known each other for several years before then. And then we got married in May after my Freshman year.
Alaina Larsen: Oh, wow. Yeah, that's quick.
Angie Killian: Little, little baby! Yeah.
Then he finished, and then we started having babies. And I actually worked the first year of my oldest's life, very part-time. But I got to go out of the house and I got to see my coworkers who were, I mean, really good friends of mine.
[Postpartum Depression]
And then got pregnant with my second. And zero to one was obviously a transition, but it was one to two that really rocked me.
Alaina Larsen: Was it partly because you had that part-time job as sort of a transition?
Angie Killian: I think so.
Alaina Larsen: Like, I have both these worlds in my life. Yeah.
Angie Killian: Growing up, we didn't talk about Postpartum Depression. And if we did, it was in like a hushed voice like, "So-and-so has Postpartum Depression." And so I grew up thinking it was this terrible, scary thing. And so, when I found myself in the middle of Postpartum Depression, I was terrified.
I was afraid to put a name to it. I was afraid to talk about it. I was afraid to tell anyone. My mom didn't even know, and my mom is my closest friend. My husband, I think, knew I was struggling, but at the same time, I don't think he knew the extent.
[Songwriting as Therapy]
And that is when I started songwriting was in that time. You know, songwriting became my therapy. She was about nine months old when I accidentally wrote a song for her. And I was rocking her back to sleep, she didn't sleep well, she woke up every two hours to eat, and that was around the clock. And so, I was rocking her back to sleep in the middle of the night, for probably not the first time, when I heard a melody in my mind that I didn't recognize. And so I made up some little words, and I sang her this little song. And the song itself wasn't important at all. What was important was how it made me feel inside.
Have you heard that statistic, that the light of a single candle in absolute darkness can be seen from 30 miles away?
Alaina Larsen: Wow.
Angie Killian: The physics people will tell you it depends on the Earth's curve, and it depends on other things like this, but 30 miles away. And that's what songwriting was for me. It was like this little candle in this absolute darkness that I just wanted to hold and to have with me all the time.
Alaina Larsen: Well, and it's also beautiful because when I think of a lullaby, I think of a mom doing that for the baby, right? You know, like to help soothe her, she'll go to sleep, and this other side of that, that like we have this creativity, and we sing these songs, it's not just for our children, it's for us, too. It's to soothe our souls when we're having these difficult times with our kids, you know. They're not the only ones that are struggling, right?
Angie Killian: Yeah, for sure.
[A Promise with Heavenly Father]
Alaina Larsen: Okay, so you wrote this first song. Did you continue to songwrite in that form? Is that what kind of kept it going?
Angie Killian: I kind of made a decision. I was going to write songs for my children. Not for anyone else, but for my children, to teach them about Jesus Christ, his gospel, and his light and love. And pretty soon, I wanted more.
So, I made this promise with Heavenly Father, which is kind of wild, and I don't even know what I was thinking at the time. But I remember praying one day. It was like this really simple prayer. All I said was, "Heavenly Father, if you will send me music, I will write it down, and I will share it with the world." I don't know where it came from. I have no idea why I said that. I didn't know anything about sharing music with the world. I had no idea.
Alaina Larsen: Yeah, right.
[I Ask in Faith]
Angie Killian: But it was really interesting because a few days later, I sat down at the piano and I just rested my hand on there and I played G C G D G E D C A. And I was like, "Oh, this is beautiful." And it just kept going da-duh, da-duh, da-da-da-da-dum. And it was like this Celtic-sounding melody. And that was the first one "I Ask in Faith". Which is so interesting, because really that's what it started with, was asking in faith.
Alaina Larsen: And just being willing to move forward, and not really know, like what is in the future.
Angie Killian: No, and then I panicked because I was like, "Oh no. How do you actually share this with the world? How do you do this?"
I had no idea what I was gonna do, and I tried to find people to ask questions. And I remember one of my dear friends, Sara Baril, she lives up in Canada. I had reached out to her and asked her, "You know, walk me through this." And she was just like, "Girl, it's so expensive. You're never gonna make your money back. And it's just frustrating." And maybe that's not what she said, but that's how I walked away from it.
Alaina Larsen: That's what you heard.
Angie Killian: And I was like, "Oh my gosh, what am I thinking?"
[Vacation Funds for a Music Video]
So, we used our family vacation fund to fund that first project.
Alaina Larsen: Oh, wow.
Angie Killian: And so, we ended up recording it and brought in the cute Layla Mackey, The Piano Gal, and some cute little string players, and we filmed this music video. And watched it kind of go out into the world. And it's not like the song has, you know, millions of views or anything, but I mean, you have to start somewhere.
Alaina Larsen: How did your husband feel about that? Like, how did he feel about using that vacation money instead of going on a little tropical vacation?
Angie Killian: He was a hundred percent on board.
Alaina Larsen: That's amazing.
Angie Killian: Yeah, he's amazing.
Alaina Larsen: That is awesome.
Angie Killian: He's just trusted in me from the beginning.
Alaina Larsen: And he still helps you even now, I would say, probably?
Angie Killian: Yeah, not financially anymore, thank goodness. But every time you see a piano in a field, he's the one who carried it out there.
Alaina Larsen: Yeah, that's so awesome. That's so sweet. That's so wonderful.
Angie Killian: No, he's the best. He really is. He's wonderful.
[My Own Sacred Grove]
Alaina Larsen: Okay, so "I Ask in Faith" was really the first one that you then put out there.
Angie Killian: Yeah.
Alaina Larsen: "My Own Sacred Grove," I feel like was maybe one or two after that.
Angie Killian: Yes, I had this really direct inspiration. Oh, and I was pregnant again at this time. And had this really direct, like boom, "You need to write a song called 'My Own Sacred Grove.'" And I was like, "Whoa, can we wait?" I had just released the first one, and I was like, "Oh, that was exhausting, and I don't know how often I can do this." And we took all the money in our little savings account for vacations and all the things. And I was like, "I don't think this is a good idea." I was really tired. I was spending a lot of time horizontal on the couch. Daniel Tiger was teaching my children how to share. We were eating on paper plates 'cause I didn't wanna do the dishes at the time. I mean, it was like . . .
Alaina Larsen: I so relate.
Angie Killian: . . . all of that like first trimester, just lousy exhaustion. And so I was like, "Whoa, can we wait?" Can we wait until the baby is born? That's a good idea. Great idea. Can we wait until the baby is sleeping through the night? Or taking a bottle? My first two didn't, you know, it was still up in the air whether this one would take a bottle. Can we wait until he is potty-trained? Or can we wait until he is in preschool? Can we wait until the baby's in preschool?
Alaina Larsen: Yeah, right.
Angie Killian: But that's what I said. I'm like, "Can we just wait? I am so sorry, but I cannot do this."
And the next day I'm driving in my car and I start hearing the chorus to "My Own Sacred Grove." . . . I will find my own sacred grove . . . And then the next line would come, and then the following line, and just like little by little, that chorus just kind of flew out and stayed there. And I still said, "Can we wait until the baby's born? Until he's sleeping through the night? Until he is potty-trained? Until he's in preschool. Can we wait until the baby's in preschool? I cannot do this."
But then the next day I'm driving in the car, and I start hearing these minor chords, this brighter chord, you know, and underneath this melody. And I still said, "Can we wait until the baby's born?" I'm kind of panicking at this point. "Can we wait until the baby's born? Can we wait until he's sleeping through the night, potty-trained, and in preschool? I cannot do this."
[A Jonah Moment]
And it was that next day, the following day, when I kind of had my Jonah moment. You know, where I jumped outta the ship and just said, "Whatever. Whatever you need." But I was driving in the car again, because life goes on and kids still have preschool and all of the things, when I started hearing a twinkling motif that you actually hear at the beginning of "My Own Sacred Grove."
Alaina Larsen: So, beautiful.
Angie Killian: I heard it in my head with those chords and then with the words. And then I repented and went home and plopped my little laptop up on the piano and turned on Daniel Tiger and muted my kids out. I have this ability to hyperfocus and literally cannot hear anything that happens around me. I don't know, curse, blessing, I don't know what it is. But anyway, blocked them all out, found those minor chords and the brighter chords and all the chords, found the twinkling, and finished the song four days later.
Alaina Larsen: Wow. That's amazing.
Angie Killian: And I still, to this day, believe that I could not do it. I could not have done that. But I know that he can. And that was a special thing.
Alaina Larsen: That's so beautiful that the spirit really was leading you and saying, "Hey." You know, as you're saying, "Hey, I can't do it." You know, the very next day to get, well, now you've got the words, you've got the melody, now you've got the arrangement, you've even got the right-hand of the arrangement now! Like, how quickly . . .
Angie Killian: I did have to write the verses and the bridge. It's not like I got all of it. But no, I was given that chorus pretty much. And it stayed the same, I didn't change a word, I didn't change a note.
[Inspiration vs Perseverance]
He's not that nice to me anymore, I will say.
Alaina Larsen: He doesn't just give it to you?
Angie Killian: No, not anymore. No. I feel like we have to work way harder now. But a lot of the songs are, sometimes they're just a wrestle, and they take a long time. Some of them come quickly, but some of them take a year or longer to write.
Alaina Larsen: So, how do you feel about making those changes? I mean, I know a lot of people feel like, "Hey, I was really inspired with this song." How do you feel about then going in there and ripping it all up and changing it and editing it? And I mean, how do you feel about that?
Angie Killian: I feel like that's the most important part of the songwriting process.
Alaina Larsen: Really? Yeah.
Angie Killian: Yeah, the best songs aren't written, they're rewritten and rewritten, right? I feel like inspiration is important, obviously, and sometimes if you really need a specific thing, you can be inspired in what to place there. But I don't feel like that means that we don't have to do any of the work ourselves.
Alaina Larsen: Yeah.
Angie Killian: I feel like we have a responsibility to work really hard, to learn all we can, to collect feedback from people who are not our moms, and aren't going to . . .
Alaina Larsen: Not our cheerleaders, necessarily.
Angie Killian: Not our cheerleaders, yeah. My mom loves everything I write. So, she's not a great critic of my work. But yeah, collect feedback from people who don't care about your feelings. That sounds terrible. But grow some tough skin, and really work on becoming a better songwriter, and not just a songwriter who relies purely on inspiration.
Alaina Larsen: Yeah, like it's a good starting point, but then really add what you can add.
Angie Killian: Put in the work, yeah. Learn, take some music theory classes, learn to play instruments, keep a list of hooks with you, co-write with people. I feel like I've learned so much through co-writing and have honestly created some of my most precious friendships. They've been forged in co-writes.
And it's great, honestly, we just sit there and talk about how cool Jesus is for a few hours and write a song together. And it is my favorite way to hang out with my friends, and probably the only way I get to hang out with my friends, is if we're writing a song together. So, that's super fun for me. But yeah, it's definitely inspiration balanced with perseverance and hard work, and dedication.
[A Children’s Version]
Alaina Larsen: Okay. So, going back to "My Own Sacred Grove," when was this? And did you release the music video shortly after?
Angie Killian: That was in 2017. And the craziest thing about that song is that we recorded this, we did like, I don't know if you'd call it like a soft launch, we just released a lyric video on the internet. And then just kind of left it. Like, we did our duty. We did it. It's done. And the funniest thing is, two years later, I had this direct impression again, "You need to take that down, and you need to rerecord this with children." Initially, I had thought it was a youth song.
Alaina Larsen: Right, yeah.
Angie Killian: So, I changed the words to make them a little bit more simple, in the verses, more childlike. Took the other one off the internet. And summer of 2019, we drug a piano into the middle of a grove of trees.
Alaina Larsen: Oh, such a beautiful location.
Angie Killian: Oh, beautiful location. And filmed this video. And then the impression was to wait until 2020, "Release it in 2020." I was like, "Okay." So, it was the craziest thing when President Nelson got up in Conference in the fall of 2019, and he announced that 2020 would be a Bicentennial Celebration of The First Vision. Yeah. And I was like, "Oh, this is why." Yeah. I had no idea. I had no idea.
So, we released that January of 2020. And then we didn't realize that the world was gonna fall apart three months later. But that became kind of like everyone's theme song that year.
Alaina Larsen: Absolutely.
Angie Killian: People would meet me in the streets and find out who I was, and they would cry in my arms. Like, it was just such a special experience being the steward of that song.
[The Lord’s Timing]
Alaina Larsen: Well, and I love that story because I think, you know, people say like the Lord has his own timing. He's never too early. He's never too late. And I think stories like these are so encouraging because you can just see how he was leading you all in preparation of this date.
Angie Killian: It was the perfect time for that song.
Alaina Larsen: It was the perfect time. And I just didn't realize that song had had such a journey. You know, with your first iteration, and then to feel inspired to change it for children. I've just seen a pattern as I've been interviewing our songwriters. The theme I've heard is just so many people saying, I felt inspired to write music for children. And I know some people have been confused, like "Why are we putting children's songs in the hymnal?"
Angie Killian: Oh, it's been the best.
Alaina Larsen: And so many of them are gonna be children's songs. And it's like, I just keep hearing this theme, at least from songwriters, that there's this inspiration of "We need more music for children."
Angie Killian: Yep.
[A Little Cake First]
Alaina Larsen: Okay, so tell me about how that launched. Like, just the day you put it up, did it start having views like right away?
Angie Killian: Crazy.
Alaina Larsen: Like, what did that look like?
Angie Killian: We put the video on Facebook first, and I think it had a hundred thousand views within like three days.
Alaina Larsen: Oh, my goodness. That was a ton.
Angie Killian: It was crazy. It just went completely viral. The YouTube video was funny because it started out pretty slow. Like the first week, I think we had like 5,000 views. And then all of a sudden it just went, boom. And yeah, it didn't stop for two years.
Alaina Larsen: How did that song launching affect you, like in your commitment to writing songs?
Angie Killian: What's interesting is that song provided enough revenue to record all the other songs that we did for like two years.
Alaina Larsen: That's amazing.
Angie Killian: It was amazing. Yeah.
Alaina Larsen: It kind of reminds me of that story of the mom making that little cake first, you know? And then the promise of the prophet saying, "If you do this, I promise it won't run dry." Like, you know, putting your little life savings or your vacation funds in first, then you're able to be supported back. That's so wonderful.
Angie Killian: Yes. But yeah, the Widow of Zarepheth, that's like one of my favorite scriptures in the Old Testament. Yeah. This year it's picked back up a lot.
Alaina Larsen: Right, because of this year being for Doctrine and Covenants. It's gonna be the perfect song again.
Angie Killian: I know. It makes me so happy to hear that this next generation, you know, four years younger children, are getting to learn this song.
[Submitting to the Church]
Alaina Larsen: Had you submitted "My Own Sacred Grove" to the Church?
Angie Killian: Yeah, I've actually sent it to them twice. I submitted it as a submission back in the day when I used to do that. I haven't done that for years.
Alaina Larsen: And you never heard back . . .
Angie Killian: No.
Alaina Larsen: . . . at that time. But then recently they have come to you and say, "Hey, we wanna put it in the Friend."
Angie Killian: Yes. So, it is in the Friend now. It was published in January. And then I submitted it actually for the hymnbook, in 2019 . . .
Alaina Larsen: But you haven't heard whether it's gonna be in the hymnal?
[So Surprised]
Angie Killian: No. And funny story actually, when I got an email from the Church in 2023, this is how long ago it was that they contacted me about "Anytime, Anywhere." But I opened up the email, I don't even think I read the heading, I just saw who it was from, and just read. And I was like, "Oh, they're gonna take 'My Own Sacred Grove.'" And I was so excited. And then I went back to the top, and it said, "Anytime, Anywhere." And I was so shocked. I was so surprised. Yes. I was so surprised.
That wasn't a song that I had recorded. That wasn't a song that I had filmed a music video for. Out of all the songs that I've written, these big, long songs, with verses and choruses and bridges and all these things. And it was this little, tiny song that was chosen. And I didn't honestly quite remember how the song went. I mean, this is like four years later, and so I had to go through and climb up in my closet and pull out, not the time-before laptop, but the time-before laptop.
Alaina Larsen: So, you'd already upgraded your laptop two times since then.
Angie Killian: Two times since then. Yeah.
And I found a plug. Luckily, I found a power cord that I could plug in this laptop and boot it up. And 20 minutes later, I was able to pull up this little song, and my initial reaction was, "Oh no, this is perfect. Oh, this is perfect." And I was just so happy. But yeah, I definitely did not expect that little song to be the one that was chosen.
Alaina Larsen: I just love how your story is like a testimony to, we make a big difference in the world, not just from our big things that we create. I mean, I feel like I would put "My Own Sacred Grove" as a big creation of yours. Like, we don't know what little effort we do that makes the big difference out in the world.
Angie Killian: What's really funny about that is, when I wrote that song, I called it the Nursery version of "My Own Sacred Grove."
Alaina Larsen: Oh, that's so cute.
Angie Killian: That's what I called it. And my kids were one, three, and five at the time, and just so small. And it was the little ones in front of me that inspired me to write "Anytime, Anywhere."
Alaina Larsen: Oh, that's so great.
[The Review Process]
So, tell us a little bit about the process of "Anytime, Anywhere." Did you go through a review process?
Angie Killian: They had emailed about the song, I mentioned that. That was about a year and four months or so before it was actually published. And at that time ,I did hop on a call with two people from the Church. One was a lyricist and one was a composer. We changed, I think, two words in the song, and then we changed a couple of notes. Yeah, it was just very small changes. It's a very short song.
Alaina Larsen: Yeah, right.
[Writing the Song]
Angie Killian: I mean it's an eight-bar, two-verse song. It is so, so short.
Alaina Larsen: It does not take up a lot of space in the hymnal.
Angie Killian: No, it does not. I think it's tied for the shortest song in there.
Alaina Larsen: Was this written really quickly? Did it take you a long time?
Angie Killian: Oh, it probably took an hour.
Alaina Larsen: So, very fast.
Angie Killian: Very fast, yeah.
There was actually a line in the "Faith in God" book that said, "I can pray to my Heavenly Father anytime, anywhere." And I remember reading that and just thinking, "Oh, that would be a beautiful song." And so I just started singing that line, and then finished it off. And then I thought, "Oh, but wait. It's not just praying anytime, anywhere. It's also listening for that revelation anytime, anywhere." And so I crafted that second verse to go along the lines of revelation. "I can listen for heavenly guidance anytime, anywhere."
Alaina Larsen: And that is so great because actually, I don't know if we talk about that with kids as much.
Angie Killian: No, we don't. And that's why they took the song. I think it's because of the second verse, not even the first. I think it was the second verse.
Alaina Larsen: Right. Yeah. I mean, I'm even thinking of myself as a parent, and I don't know if I've dedicated as much time to teaching them how to hear the revelation, as I have to have them pray.
Angie Killian: Yeah.
[Teaching Children to Receive Revelation]
Alaina Larsen: I did have this one experience with my oldest son when he was younger. He was probably eight or nine at the time. And he had to make a choice between going to a baseball party or his final basketball game. And at the time, he loved baseball a lot more than basketball. And it was his very final game. And he didn't really wanna go, you know, just, "Let's leave basketball behind and let's start baseball. And let's go to this big team gathering." And it was gonna be really fun. And they were gonna be on the exact same time. So, he could either do the last game with his basketball team or he could go to this gathering.
And it was one of those moments where I think I knew what was the right decision, and maybe what was the more honorable decision. But at the same time, it's kind of between good and good, right?
Angie Killian: Yeah.
Alaina Larsen: But what was so great about the fact that I knew they were both good is that it was kind of like, "Well, it doesn't really matter." So, instead of feeding it to him, the answer, it was like, "Well, why don't you ask?" So, it was like one of the first times where I said to him, "Well, I think you should go say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father what he thinks. And then from that, make your best decision."
And so he ran off to his room. And he comes out, I mean, seconds later. This is obviously a short prayer. He runs out and he's at the top of the stairs and I'm at the bottom of the stairs, and he's like, "I know my answer, Mom." And I'm like, "What's that?" And he's like, "I'm going to the baseball party." And then as soon as he said it, he just got really quiet. 'Cause it was like, not even just the prayer, but saying it out loud to me, he kind of knew in that moment it wasn't the right one.
And so, he was so excited at the top of the stairs declaring," I'm gonna go to the baseball party." And then he just stopped, and he was so quiet, and then he said, "I think I should go to the basketball game." And I was like, "Yeah, that feels like a good choice. You're gonna show up for your team when they really need you. And you'll get to know the kids on your next team." And he's like, "Yeah."
And I learned from that experience that. It's just so easy as a parent to wanna give all our kids the answers. But it's that process that's so important. And so, that experience taught me that just one way we can help our kids recognize the spirit and receive their own revelation is to find opportunities where they could say a prayer between two good things.
Angie Killian: Well, and have conversations about it. You know, tell your children when your prayers were answered. Tell your children when you're praying and you're still waiting for an answer. Have those conversations with them.
I think we hear a lot about those stories of prayer that, this miraculous thing happened, and I prayed, and I was on my knees, and my cell phone vibrated, and I opened it up, and there was my answer. No, literally. 'Cause I've had that happen. But there's also been prayers that you feel like you can only see one step at a time. And then you take the step, and then you see the next step. Then the answers come that way.
And for me, I write a lot of songs in the shower. That is definitely one of the places that I receive a lot of inspiration, driving in my car, sitting at my piano, and taking a hot shower. It is taking time to be quiet and to cut out that noise that's around us, just finding ways to be still and to listen.
[Prayer for a Private Beach]
Alaina Larsen: Is there anything you could share about when you had a prayer answered even just in any of your songwriting projects? Has that happened often?
Angie Killian: Yeah. No. Yeah, that happens all the time. And there was a time when we were looking for a location to film a video on the California coast. And I looked everywhere. I called all the state and national parks. I called cities with public beaches. I was searching high and low for somewhere that was isolated enough that we could film a video where we didn't have bodysurfers in the background.
Alaina Larsen: Yeah, right.
Angie Killian: And I couldn't find one. I really couldn't. And I was told by a contact that I had made in California, "Pretty much, you're gonna have to find a private beach." And I was like, how do you find private beaches? I don't know, hardly anyone in California, let alone anyone who lives somewhere with access to a private beach.
And so, as I was researching and Googling and all these things, I just had this really distinct impression, "Pause and pray." And I was like, "No, I can't pray right now. I can't pray right now, 'cause I've gotta work on this. I've gotta figure this out." And it was really insistent, like, "Angie, just trust me. Pause and pray." And I was like, "Okay."
So, I knelt down, I said a really quick prayer and told Heavenly Father about my very interesting predicament, and got back up. And the thought that came to my mind was email the parents. I was like, "Okay. Alright, great." So, I got my little spreadsheet with all my people, and pretty much just asked them like, "Here's the deal. If we can't find a place to film, either I have to film this in a different state, which would be heartbreaking. Or we film it not on a beach or not on water," which wouldn't make sense for this particular song.
Alaina Larsen: And what song was that?
Angie Killian: The Liahona.
Alaina Larsen: Oh, yeah.
Angie Killian: Yeah. "Or I don't know, maybe we film the soloist only at the beach, and then we film the rest somewhere else. And I really don't want any of those options. So, if anyone has a friend, a family member, knows someone with access to a private beach, will you let me know?" And I pushed send. And I thought I was crazy. And I thought, "There is no way any of these people have what I need."
Alaina Larsen: Yeah, who asks for a private beach?
Angie Killian: Yeah, who has access to this? And I think I'd put my phone number at the bottom of the email. And about 15 minutes later, I got a phone call from one of the dads, "I have a friend who lives in a gated community with a private beach. And he's a member. And I think that we'll be able to film there."
Alaina Larsen: Oh, that's amazing.
Angie Killian: It was just a crazy, crazy experience. It was such a miracle. Just such an answer to prayer.
The most important part of my testimony, probably the only reason I have a testimony, is because of prayer. Because I have had prayers answered. And I just wanted to teach my children those special things, "I can pray anytime, anywhere. And I can receive guidance anytime, anywhere, too."
[Super Special Experience]
Alaina Larsen: And what was that like then, when you actually saw the song, like here it is actually online in the app? What was that experience like?
Angie Killian: Super special. I didn't realize how it would feel until I opened up my app on September 12th and saw this little song included. And I just started crying with joy and gratitude. And it just felt like such an honor and so special. Out of all of the things that I've done, that is a moment that I will treasure forever.
Alaina Larsen: Oh, that's so wonderful.
[Testimony in Music]
Well, Angie, this has just been a really fun conversation among friends. I just love you to death. I love your music. I just think it's so deserving that this song was chosen and put in the hymnal. And I just wanted to end with a two-part question. And that is, where would you say your testimony fits into your music? And then what do you hope others will get out of the song after hearing it?
Angie Killian: I will tell you that my testimony is simple. I have a very simple testimony. There's a lot of things I don't really know are true. There's a lot of things I hope are true. There's a lot of things that I believe are true. And there's also things that I know are true.
And the center of that knowing is that I am a daughter of God who loves me. I can pray anytime, anywhere. And I know that my prayers are heard and I know that they are answered. And I know that my Savior loves me. I mean, that is the center, that is the very core of my belief. And I hope that those things come across in every song that I write.
Alaina Larsen: Oh, that's so great. And what do you hope others will be left with?
Angie Killian: I hope that parents will realize that even young children are not too young to be taught about personal revelation. I hope that it will be a reminder to children as they grow and when they're 30 years old and they have a big question, I hope that this little song is the one that pops in their heart and helps them through.
Alaina Larsen: And that's such a perfect testimony for our youngest in our congregation, of the important things that they need to know. So, thank you so much for sharing that. And thank you so much, Angie, for coming in. This has just been such a fun conversation. We really appreciate it.
Angie Killian: Oh, this has been a blast. I love you so much.
Alaina Larsen: Yay. Thank you.
[Anytime, Anywhere]
Anytime, Anywhere: I can pray to my Heavenly Father anytime, anywhere. For he always cares and he hears my prayers anytime, anywhere. I can listen for heavenly guidance anytime, anywhere. The spirit with guide as I seek his light anytime, anywhere.
[Podcast Outro]
