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President Dallin H. Oaks: Religious freedom undergirds the very existence of America

'Pull together' as families, says Church President Dallin H. Oaks at biennial family reunion

AUGUST 2026 VOL. 4 / NO. 13

Utah welcomes thousands of rookie K-12 teachers First-year educators are commencing their careers with high hopes CONTINUES ON PG. 4

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We are pleased to introduce you to The Digest, a sampling of some of the best stories written every day by the dedicated journalists at the Deseret News, Deseret Magazine and Church News. Our hope is that you will make us your trusted news source each day at a time when there is confusion and contention in the nation. The Deseret News brand stands for unimpeachable journalism centered on the issues most core to the human heart. While the Deseret News since its beginning in 1850 has evolved to meet the demands of its audience — reimagining print offerings, launching an acclaimed magazine and increasing the visibility and reach of its award-winning website — the publication remains committed to certain timeless ideals. We stand for truth and light. We stand for faith and family. We stand for liberty and responsibility. We provide news and perspective, exploring society’s thorniest problems in search of solutions that will improve your life. That’s our commitment to our readers. We invite you to discover what we can offer you:

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DESERET NEWS

Utah welcomes thousands of rookie K-12 teachers First-year educators are commencing their careers with high hopes — and clear understandings of today’s classroom challenges By Jason Swensen

Deseret News

Remember the f irst day at a new school — and that hyper-mix of excitement, apprehension, wonder and maybe a bit of doubt? Those “Back to School” emotions aren’t the sole claim of new students. Scores of new Utah teachers across the state’s K-12 public schools are taking maiden steps into classrooms f illed with new faces, while also working alongside new colleagues. The Beehive State welcomes approximately 3,000 f irst-year teachers each school year. A little over half of that number are new college graduates beginning their professional careers, according to Utah State Board of Education spokesperson Marie Denson. And each of those new Utah teachers is stepping into the job at a disruptive moment in education as policymakers and administrators are scrambling to manage AI, cellphones, absenteeism, literacy challenges and classroom behavioral issues. To support the new cohort, many Utah school districts and charter schools implement programs to support new educators. “In addition, all new teachers in Utah are required to have a mentor as they begin their careers — and most (schools and districts) have structured mentoring and support programs in place to help f irst-year educators succeed,” wrote Denson. A cohort of new public school educators just days away from their f irst middle school classes are gathering this week at a “new teacher” orientation sponsored by their new employer, the Canyons School District. Several “rookie” middle school teachers participating in the weeklong orientation at Sandy’s Union Middle School spoke to the Deseret News about the motivations for pursuing K-12 education careers — along with their classroom hopes, aspirations and, yes, apprehensions.

Counting down the days until that f irst class

A Davis County native and recent BYU graduate, Bethany Crandall will be teaching

family consumer sciences and digital literacy at Sandy’s Eastmont Middle School. Crandall explored a couple of college majors before deciding that a job in the family/ consumer science classroom was the right f it. “It’s everything I love because we can cook and sew — and I can be with youth.” She grew up dreaming of becoming a teacher and realized that such professional goals were worth pursuing after student-teaching at a Salt Lake-area middle school and high school. “Both communities in those schools taught me to have a sense of humor with teaching … and I grew close with my mentor teachers.” Crandall’s fellow f irst-year teacher Kaitlynn Johnston recently moved to Utah, hailing from Iowa. She’s joining the science department at Butler Middle School in Cottonwood Heights. Johnston has long wanted to be a teacher — thanks largely to some “awesome, influential” teachers during her own middle school and high school years. “As a kid, you’re shaping who you are and f iguring out what you want to do. You’re f iguring out how to be in the world by yourself,” she said. “So I had really awesome teachers — and now I’m excited to be that person for someone else; for other kids.” Meanwhile, Brigham City native Heber Clawson will be spending his f irst year in the profession teaching Spanish at Union Middle School. While attending Southern Utah University, Clawson originally planned to pursue pre-med. Later he shifted to business. He didn’t enjoy the classes. But Clawson’s Spanish courses were always fun — and he discovered he enjoyed teaching the language of Cervantes. And like Johnston, Clawson was inspired by his own classroom mentors. “I had a ton of influential teachers, especially in high school, that really shaped me into who I am today and really helped me at such a delicate time,” he said. “When you’re a teenager, you’re just trying to f igure out life, f igure out who you are and f igure out your place. And I had so many teachers that helped me f igure that out.

Tess Crowley, Deseret News New teachers Sydney Little, English teacher at Hillcrest High School, left, and Stephanie Yorgason, math teacher at Alta High School, right, participate in new teacher training at Union Middle School in Sandy on Aug. 4.

“So that’s where I fell in love with education — and I want to be that for the rising generation.” First-year math teacher Will Fluetsch knows he’s tasked with teaching many middle schoolers at Sandy’s Indian Hills Middle School who may not share his passion for numeracy. A Brighton High alumnus, Fluetsch will be teaching in the same Utah community where he once attended public schools. Initially, he had not given much thought to becoming a teacher. But after tutoring young Afghan refugees, Fluetsch discovered his career calling. “I realized that teaching was the kind of thing that I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” said Fluetsch. “It felt really impactful and meaningful. I wanted to be in a career where I could clearly see the positive impact.”

Hanging tight to classroom idealism, with eyes wide open

Crandall, Johnston, Clawson and Fluetsch are beginning their Utah teaching careers fueled by equal parts idealism and optimism. But their eyes are wide open. They know the challenges often encountered by teachers such as classroom behavior problems, chronic absenteeism, diff icult parents and disengaged kids. They are already strategizing methods to connect with their new students. “I really want to make science approachable for everyone,” said Johnston, adding she is eager to help her students spot science connections in their own lives. Crandall plans to make her f irst day a memorable one for her new students. “I’m trying to think of something that will surprise them

DESERET NEWS | AUGUST 2026 and just help them feel comfortable in my classroom and know that it’s a fun place to be,” she said. Clawson admits to feeling a bit daunted when he f irst walked into his new classroom. The walls were bare. The desks were scattered. And he didn’t know how to make the room his own. But Clawson said he has already enjoyed support from some of the teaching vets at Union Middle who have stepped in to help him with classroom management and other tactics. “It was daunting at f irst — but I know I’m not abandoned. That helps ease the nerves.” Fluetsch added his Day 1 priority is instilling in every student the conf idence that they can, well, get along with mathematics. “Math makes a lot of students really scared, and I understand why. It can be very hard at times,” he said. “So my hope would be that my students feel comfortable in my classroom and that they feel comfortable reasoning and being creative — because to me, that’s so much of what math is.”

The rookie educator’s key quality: A passion for teaching

A veteran educator and administrator, Kelly Tauteoli is the Canyons School District’s assistant human resources director over secondary schools, so she works closely recruiting and supporting f irst-year teachers.

A passion for teaching — while also caring for each student — are qualities that new teachers can’t be taught, said Tauteoli. They either have it, or they don’t. “So that’s the f irst thing I’m looking for in a new teacher: Do they want to get into the classroom, create relationships with the kids and develop them.” Tauteoli added that the education programs at Utah colleges are skilled at crafting future K-12 teachers with the tools needed to engage students and minimize classroom behavior problems. Rookie teachers often struggle with “just getting the hang of classroom management,” noted Tauteoli. And each student brings to class different personalities and struggles. “And during that f irst year, there’s just a giant mountain of planning,” she said. “You’re teaching your classes for the f irst time, and then have to do so much lesson planning — and manage that with your day-to-day teaching.” Collaboration with mentors and even fellow rookie teachers can offer f irst-year teachers the boost they need to be successful across their careers, Tauteoli added. Another essential skill for f irst-year Utah teachers: Building relationships with parents. “My best advice to parents,” said Tauteoli, “would be if you have a concern, just ask the teacher about it. “Just ask the teacher, ‘Help me understand this.’”

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DESERET MAGAZINE

Religious freedom undergirds the very existence of America Why religious liberty remains the foundation of American self-government By Dallin H. Oaks

For Deseret Magazine

The f irst provision in the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution is what many believe to be its most important guarantee. It reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” For almost a century, the First Amendment’s guarantee that the United States shall have “no law (prohibiting) the free exercise (of religion)” has been understood as a limitation on state as well as federal power. The guarantee of religious freedom is one of the supremely important founding principles in the United States Constitution, and it is reflected in the constitutions of all 50 of our states. As noted by many, the guarantee’s “preeminent place” as the f irst expression in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution identif ies freedom of religion as “a cornerstone of American democracy.” The American Colonies were originally settled by people who, for the most part, came to this continent for the freedom to practice their religious faith without persecution, and their successors deliberately placed religious freedom f irst in the nation’s Bill of Rights. So it is that our federal law formally declares: “The right to freedom of religion undergirds the very origin and existence of the United States.” So it is, I maintain, that in our nation’s founding and in our constitutional order, religious freedom and its associated First Amendment freedoms of speech and press are the motivating and dominating civil liberties and civil rights. Religious teachings and religious organizations are valuable and important to our free society and therefore deserving of special legal protection. Our nation’s inimitable private sector of charitable works originated and is still furthered most signif icantly by religious impulses and religious organizations. I refer to such charities as schools and higher education, hospitals and those that care for the poor, where religiously motivated persons contribute personal service and f inancial support of great value to our citizens. Our nation’s incredible

Jon Krause, for Deseret Magazine

generosity in many forms of aid to other nations and their peoples are manifestations of our common religious faith that all peoples are children of God. Religious beliefs instill patterns of altruistic behavior. Many of the great moral advances in Western society have been motivated by religious principles and moved through the public square by pulpit-preaching. The abolition of the slave trade in England and the Emancipation

Proclamation in the United States are notable illustrations. These revolutionary steps were not motivated and moved by secular ethics or coalitions of persons who believed in moral relativism. They were driven primarily by individuals who had a clear vision of what was morally right and what was morally wrong. In our time, the Civil Rights Movement was, of course, inspired and furthered by religious leaders.

Religion also strengthens our nation in the matter of honesty and integrity. Modern science and technology have given us remarkable devices, but we are frequently reminded that their operation in our economic system and the resulting prosperity of our nation rest on the honesty of the men and women who use them. CONTINUES ON PG. 8

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DESERET NEWS | AUGUST 2026

Americans’ honesty is also reflected in our public servants’ remarkable resistance to off icial corruption. These standards and practices of honesty and integrity rest, ultimately, on our ideas of right and wrong, which, for most of us, are grounded in principles of religion and the teachings of religious leaders. Our society is not held together just by law and its enforcement, but most importantly by voluntary obedience to the unenforceable and by widespread adherence to unwritten norms of right or righteous behavior. Religious belief in right and wrong is a vital influence to advocate and persuade such voluntary compliance by a large proportion of our citizens. Others, of course, have a moral compass not expressly grounded in religion. John Adams relied on all of these when he wisely observed that “we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Even the agnostic Oxford-educated British journalist Melanie Phillips admitted that “one does not have to be a religious believer to grasp that the core values of Western civilization are grounded in religion, and to be concerned that the erosion of religious observance therefore undermines those values and the ‘secular ideas’ they reflect.” My f inal example of the importance of religion in our country concerns the origin of the Constitution. Its formation over 200 years ago was made possible by religious principles of human worth and dignity, and only those principles in the hearts of a majority of our diverse population can sustain that Constitution today. I submit that religious values and political realities are so interlinked in the origin and perpetuation of this nation that we cannot lose the inf luence of religion in our public life without seriously jeopardizing our freedoms. The founders who established this nation believed in God and in the existence of moral absolutes — right and wrong — established by this Ultimate Lawgiver. The Constitution they established assumed and relied on morality in the actions of its citizens. Where did that morality come from and how was it to be retained? Belief in God and the consequent reality of right and wrong was taught by religious leaders in churches and synagogues, and the founders gave us the First Amendment to preserve that foundation for the Constitution. The preservation of religious freedom in our nation depends on the value we attach to the teachings of right and wrong in our churches, synagogues and mosques. It is faith in God that translates these religious teachings into the moral behavior that benef its the nation. This essay is adapted from an earlier address at Chapman University School of Law and appears in the July/August 2026 issue of Deseret Magazine. Learn more about how to subscribe.

Jon Krause, for Deseret Magazine

DESERET NEWS | AUGUST 2026

10 DESERET NEWS | AUGUST 2026

CHURCH NEWS

‘Pull together’ as families, says Church President Dallin H. Oaks For 85 years and with only a few exceptions, President Oaks has attended biennial family reunion By Ryan Jensen

Church News

JOE’S VALLEY, Utah — In the October 2025 general conference, as the Church marked the 30th anniversary of “The Family Proclamation,” President Dallin H. Oaks taught about the eternal importance of the family. “The doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints centers on the family,” he said. Later in the same message, he continued: “The Church of Jesus Christ is sometimes known as a family-centered church. It is!” On Saturday, July 4, President Oaks and his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, visited with many members of their family in a remote part of Central Utah known as Joe’s Valley. For 85 years and with only a few exceptions, President Oaks has attended the biennial Abinadi and Hannah Seely Olsen family reunion. This was the f irst time he did so as Prophet and President of the Church. While there, he reiterated his teachings about the family from last October’s general conference. “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a familyoriented church, and that doesn’t just mean that we pull together as a family in our life on earth, but we began as a family — spirit children of heavenly parents,” he said. “And the world was created for the benef it of the children of heavenly parents, and that’s everyone who’s born on this earth.” Part of that “benef it” the world was created for involves the ability to choose right from wrong and to become more like Heavenly Father, President Oaks said. Growing as a family and spending time together with extended family helps fulf ill that purpose, he said. “We are here to further our growth toward eternal beings as children of eternal heavenly parents. And so, our Church doctrine is rooted in the concept of family. What we do in a family reunion is to further our belief in God and His eternal plan of salvation,” said President Oaks.

Earthly relationships develop into heavenly relationships

As families gather together for a meal, a birthday party or a family reunion, they are developing relationships that can carry on after this mortal life, President Oaks said. And that doesn’t mean that each member of the family has to be in the same place on the covenant path when they join together. Explained Sister Oaks: “There’s a wide variety of people with different places on the path. Because it is rooted in a belief of Jesus Christ, people don’t even realize why they’re drawn here. ... They know they feel love. They know they feel accepted.” Tiffany Bratt, a granddaughter of President Oaks, said gathering together doesn’t require formal activities to build family relationships. By simply being together, they f ind activities to

Scott G Winterton, Deseret News President Dallin H. Oaks smiles during a family devotional on July 4 in Joe's Valley, Utah.

do together. “Coming up here, we get to spend a lot of time with family,” she said. “Building a dam to make a swimming hole, walking through the river with cousins, f ishing, f ishing with Grandpa, sitting around the campf ire and telling stories.” Elder Ryan K. Olsen, a General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the Church’s Central America Area presidency, is also a descendant of Hannah and Abinadi Olsen and attended this year’s reunion. He said he loves attending his family’s

gathering every other year, and he said others can start their own similar traditions if they don’t already have them. “I would say this to the Saints in Central America or throughout the world: F ind any place to gather. It could be at a park. It could be at one of your family members’ homes. It could even be at a church,” he said. “But if you f ind someplace that you consistently go to every year or every other year, that will become a tradition. And it’s really not about the place, … but it’s the people as they gather.”

DESERET NEWS | AUGUST 2026

Scott G Winterton, Deseret News More than 600 members of the Abinadi and Hannah Seely Olsen family gathered at Joe's Valley for their biennial family reunion on July 4.

Traditions old and new

The Olsen family reunion has taken place every other year for more than 100 years. It happens on the same weekend. It happens in the same place, at the Olsen Ranch that Abinadi Olsen homesteaded many years ago. The biggest difference from one year’s reunion to the next might be the size. Abinadi and Hannah Seely Olsen married on Feb. 21, 1887. Eight years later, Abinadi Olsen was called to serve a mission in Samoa. He and his wife had started their family and had three children when he accepted that call. Their shared commitment to the Lord made the decision easy to make, even though it posed challenges to the young family. Knowing nothing about the Pacific island nation, his mother gave her son multiple pairs of wool socks to take with him on the mission. He served for three and a half years before returning home to his family. In all, the Olsens welcomed f ive girls and six boys into their family. One daughter, Jenny, lived only 11 days after being born prematurely with her twin brother, DeLon. The remaining 10 children of Abinadi and Hannah Olsen each had their own families. More than 600 of their descendants — spanning seven generations — gathered for this year’s Olsen family reunion. “As I approach my 94th birthday, I suppose I

am the oldest of the living descendants of Abinadi Olsen,” President Oaks said. “My grandmother, Chasty Olsen, was the oldest of Abinadi’s children, and my mother was the oldest of Chasty’s. I am the oldest of my mother’s, and we have the oldest of the oldest of the oldest for seven generations.” Today, the family’s reunion includes a family auction, a dance party, family history activities and painting activities. Different families are responsible for organizing the reunion each time it is held. As part of this year’s Olsen family reunion, attendees could choose to participate in a scavenger hunt around the ranch. At each stop, they learned something about the family and its history. At one stop, Abinadi Olsen’s final letter to his family was posted. In it, he gave his final counsel to future generations. “Do not be easily offended at one another. Remember that each of you has a cross to carry, that one is not in a position to judge the other. ... Finally, farewell, not goodbye. We shall soon meet again,” he wrote.

Shared principles of the gospel and patriotism

On Saturday, July 4, the United States of America celebrated its 250th anniversary as a country. Throughout the reunion, members of the family displayed flags, sang hymns and

patriotic songs, and otherwise celebrated the country’s Independence Day. Members of the Olsen family have a legacy of serving in branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. President Oaks said that the commitment of serving one’s country runs parallel in many ways to the commitment of serving as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “And the spirit of all of those relationships is that we help each other, and we’re not just in it for what we get out of it. We’re in for what we contribute to it,” President Oaks said.

Testimony of a Prophet

President Oaks told his family at a devotional during the reunion that he is close to turning 94 years old. As such, he said his emotions are closer to the surface than ever before. He expressed his gratitude for his ancestors setting powerful examples for him and his “Joe’s Valley cousins” to follow. “It’s important that we pay tribute,” he said. Specif ically, he thanked the descendants of a son of Abinadi and Hannah Olsen, DeLon. When DeLon was a young adult, an economic depression hit the area. Many other properties went into foreclosure or were lost by their original homesteaders.

“[DeLon] devoted his salary to paying the taxes so that this ranch would not be lost,” President Oaks noted with gratitude. As part of his devotional with the family, President Oaks shared three points about the restored Church as “the only true Church on the face of the earth.” “First, we have the fullness of the doctrine of Jesus Christ, including the purpose of life on earth,” he said. Second, the Church has priesthood authority. “Priesthood authority is essential to the work of Jesus Christ,” President Oaks said. Third among President Oaks’ points is the restored knowledge of the true natures of Heavenly Father and the Savior. “The Atonement of Jesus Christ assures us that we will have the opportunity to qualify for eternal life, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God.” Before leaving the reunion after the devotional’s conclusion, President Oaks shared part of his testimony with Church News. “When I say that I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true, I’m talking about something I know as well as I know that I live, breathe and think and enjoy the blessings of God and the knowledge of His plan for His children. And making all that possible is our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer,” President Oaks said.

DESERET NEWS | AUGUST 2026

CHURCH NEWS

Family of 4-year-old who nearly died in Uruguay shares how God’s power helped save her life ‘We know that God answers prayers. We acknowledge Him in all things,’ said Michael Santiago, father of Estelle Santiago By Kaitlyn Bancroft

Church News

Michael and Ellie Santiago knew something was wrong when their daughter Estelle, then 3 years old, woke them in the middle of the night. It was early January, and the Santiagos were in Uruguay visiting Michael Santiago’s parents, who lead the Uruguay Montevideo West Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. About a week earlier, Estelle had been sick with what seemed to be a normal childhood stomach bug. She recovered for several days, then became sick again; the Santiagos consulted local doctors and continued caring for Estelle at home. But at 4 a.m. on Jan. 5, Estelle woke her parents, begging for water. Soon she was vomiting, and the Santiagos noticed her eyes were crossed. Shortly after they reached the hospital emergency room around 4:30 a.m., Estelle had a seizure. By 11 a.m., she was in a coma. Estelle was ultimately diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition most often caused by an E. coli infection and which can cause kidney failure, heart issues and high blood pressure, among other symptoms. Thousands of miles from their home in Midway, Utah, and with their daughter’s life hanging by a thread, the Santiagos clung to their faith like never before. “I think that the only thing you can do is turn to the Lord, because that’s all you have left,” Ellie Santiago told Church News. Estelle eventually made it home via a long-range medical jet from Intermountain Health. She spent several weeks at Primary Children’s Hospital, first in the pediatric intensive care unit and then in rehabilitation. Against all odds, she not only survived her life-threatening illness, she almost entirely overcame it. The Santiagos celebrated Estelle’s recovery — and her 4th birthday — on Wednesday, July 29, at a news conference held in the Intermountain Health flight and ambulance hangar in Salt Lake City. Special guests included the Intermountain Health doctors, nurses, flight crew and administration members who all played a role in Estelle’s journey. Friends and family members, including Estelle’s little sister, Bianca, also attended. The Santiagos can’t say enough about the skill, dedication and compassion of the medical team that saved Estelle’s life. They’re also acutely aware of and extraordinarily grateful for how Heavenly Father carried them through this trial — for the abundance of tender mercies and personalized blessings that made Estelle’s recovery possible. “After the best medical treatment, the best doctors, it was Heavenly Father that spared her life,” Michael Santiago told Church News. Uruguay Montevideo West Mission President Todd Santiago, Michael Santiago’s father, said that despite the fear and uncertainty of Estelle’s sickness, he also felt great peace.

Laura Seitz, Deseret News Ellie Santiago holds her daughter Estelle as her husband, Michael Santiago, tells the story of Estelle's near-death experience. The family spoke at a news conference at the Intermountain Health flight and ambulance hangar in Salt Lake City on July 29.

His family tried to exercise “faith in either outcome” — whether Estelle lived or died, President Santiago said in an interview with Church News. “It wasn’t going to change our faith.” Throughout this experience, he continued, he’s learned that the Lord is involved in the details of individual lives and that His Atonement covers not just sin but also sorrow, fear, insecurities and more. “He is there with us through thick and thin, and understands uniquely what it feels like to go through these types of things,” President Santiago said.

His wife, Sister Stephanie Santiago, said it was remarkable to see so many people from all over the world come together in faith for Estelle, including those of other religious traditions. Their own missionaries, especially, have ministered to them, she said. “When it came down to it, everybody was doing [everything] they possibly could, but our faith was really what got us through,” Sister Santiago said. “And we just had to trust in that process.” CONTINUES ON PG. 14

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‘Instruments in God’s hands’

During the July 29 news conference, Michael Santiago recounted his family’s story, detailing how Estelle’s condition rapidly deteriorated after she became comatose. On the second day of her hospitalization, she experienced uncontrollable muscle contortions; on Day 3, her kidneys began shutting down, and an MRI revealed hemorrhaging and lesions on her brain; and on Day 4, her heart started to fail, operating at around 50% capacity. As Estelle worsened, it became increasingly clear that she needed more care than she could receive in Uruguay. The Santiagos called their insurance provider and Intermountain Health, hoping for a medical flight to take their daughter home. Intermountain Health heard about Estelle on Jan. 7 and immediately began the process to get a landing permit for Uruguay — a step that usually takes seven to 10 days, and which Estelle didn’t have time to wait for. So Intermountain Health personnel got to work. Brooke Hicks, supervisor for the Intermountain Health air ambulance team, relayed during the news conference how various team members made phone calls, used their connections and otherwise did all they could to expedite the process. Within 36 hours, Intermountain Health had the Uruguay landing permit, which Hicks called “an unheard of miraculous win.” The medical flight took off on Jan. 9, overnighted in Peru and then reached Uruguay — despite a “torrential storm” that jeopardized their ability to land, Michael Santiago said during the news conference. He remembered the distinctive sense of peace and gratitude that came over him when he met the flight crew. “We knew at that point we were in good hands.” Ellie Santiago said when the medical flight landed, it felt like the cavalry had arrived to save them. She called the crew “our angels and instruments in God’s hands.” Still, the flight home came with significant challenges. Doctors in Uruguay weren’t sure Estelle could survive the 18-hour trip, especially because her continuous dialysis would have to stop during the flight. When Estelle arrived at the plane, the crew intubated her and used six to seven IV medications to manage her blood pressure, cardiac output and sedation. With Michael, Ellie and Bianca Santiago all on board, the flight took off on Jan. 11, made stops in Peru for fuel and a pilot swap and in Texas for customs before finally reaching Salt Lake City. In an interview, Ellie Santiago said keeping Estelle’s blood pressure stable was especially difficult during the flight. Nurses tried one medication, then another, then started mixing vials. The new concoction brought Estelle’s blood pressure up, one of countless ways that Ellie Santiago said she saw the Lord’s hand throughout those difficult days. Upon arrival in Salt Lake, Estelle was immediately transported to Primary Children’s Hospital, where she recovered for several weeks before returning home. Estelle has several lingering problems, Ellie Santiago said during the news conference, but nothing that will hold her back. “She has led her own recovery with a positive attitude,” Ellie Santiago said. “Six months ago, if

Laura Seitz, Deseret News Rose Linsler, an Intermountain Health air ambulance flight nurse, left, hugs Estelle Santiago at the Intermountain Health flight and ambulance hangar on July 29.

“

She called the crew ‘our angels and instruments in God’s hands.’”

we could have seen her today, we would not have believed it.” Michael Santiago added: “We know that God answers prayers. We acknowledge Him in all things.” Darren Smith, Ellie Santiago’s father, wept as he spoke with Church News about the ways his family saw God’s power during Estelle’s illness. Doctors said she might never walk or talk again, Smith recalled, but now she’s home and healthy. Between friends, family members and missionaries in Uruguay, hundreds of people fasted and prayed for Estelle, Smith said. “And it opened the heavens. A loving Father in Heaven just reached out and healed this little girl.” His family relies more fully on the Savior because of this experience, Smith continued, and has a deeper desire to draw closer to Him. “We are completely reliant upon Him, and we’ve been reminded of that through this whole process.”

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