At about 15 years old, Morgan Jones Pearson was reading “I Am a Mother” by Jane Clayson Johnson when she came across an impactful quote by Mother Teresa.
“I am like a pencil in (God’s) hand. That is all. He does the thinking. He does the writing. The pencil has nothing to do with it. The pencil has only to be allowed to be used,” she read.
Pearson's parents, Franklin and Paula Jones, said she told them the quote inspired her and described exactly what she wanted to be, a pencil in God’s hand.
Little did Pearson know that one day she would be the means of spreading God’s word to millions of people.
Now, Pearson is a wife, mother, BYU graduate, former writer for the Deseret News and current host of LDS Living’s “All In” podcast.
“You can tell that quote resonated with Morgan from a pretty young age and ... that's what she wanted to be,” her dad Franklin Jones said. “Pretty remarkable when you think about what she's been able to do ... a lot of great work, in my opinion, for the Lord and for His church.”
The oldest of six children, Pearson grew up in North Carolina, where she said members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were scarce.
“In fact, if you could be demoted from a ward to a branch, we would have been, but that apparently isn't a thing,” she explained. “If you didn't show up to church, there would be, like, multiple things that didn't get done. And so, it felt, like, important that I come to church, and I liked that about it. I liked feeling like the Church needed me.”
Being one of few members in her area, Pearson said she relied on Church media to feel connected to her faith.
Pearson’s parents described her as being loyal, an old soul, mature for her age, competitive and, although serious, they said she has a good sense of humor.
Growing up, Pearson was an avid basketball player, and it was not uncommon to find her doing gymnastics at home with her dad. Pearson also found a passion for reading and writing early on.
“The writing came easily, it wasn't stressful for me,” Pearson said. “It was something that I enjoyed. It never really got old.”
Pearson started her college education at Southern Virginia University as a basketball player and English major.
However, after a year and a half studying in Virginia, Pearson said she felt like basketball was not going the way she had hoped, and she knew studying English was not going to lead her to her actual career goal of journalism.
Thus, Pearson transferred to BYU and said her experience was non-traditional. She worked in the athletic department and hardly had time to attend BYU events.
During her studies, Pearson heard that many journalism jobs would become obsolete. She said that many of her colleagues in the athletic department had jobs she was interested in, and she observed that many of them had studied public relations. Because of this, she decided to major in public relations instead of journalism.
Surrounding herself with good people was an important aspect of Pearson’s college experience. She said she felt like she finally got all the Church friends she had prayed for as a young girl in North Carolina. She became especially close with her roommate, Heidi Erickson.
“When Morgan and I were roommates, it was like coming home. Like it felt so, like, normal and natural,” Erickson said.
After graduating from BYU, Pearson served as a missionary in Kennewick, Washington. Upon returning home, she said Erickson notified her of a public relations job opening at a school that she was also going to be working at.
Pearson took the job but found that it was not quite what she was expecting, so when she saw a friend post about an intern position at the Deseret News for the faith and family section, she jumped on the opportunity.
When the internship finished, Pearson was hired to work for the Deseret News. However, she said she initially had to apply to two positions that were not ideal.
“Neither of them were really what I wanted to do,” she explained. “But my thought was if I can just stay in the building, then people won't forget that I exist, and when they do have a job open, I will be considered.”
Pearson was right — she saw her co-workers on a daily basis and was eventually assigned to the same position she had during her internship as a faith and family writer.
After four and a half years, Pearson said organizational changes in the Deseret News would have her move to the Church News. However, after consideration, Pearson felt it was time to move on.
“I was initially going to write for Church News,” she said. “But I just got the feeling that it probably wasn't going to be the right fit for me.”
Pearson said she always felt like her voice was one of her greatest strengths as a writer and did not feel she would be able to use this gift in the most effective way if she moved on to write for the Church News.
Thus, the Deseret News helped her transfer over to LDS Living instead, where she eventually became the host of the “All In” podcast. The podcast explores the question, “What does it mean to be 'all in' the gospel of Jesus Christ?” through interviews with notable Latter-day Saints.
Pearson said that growing up she always wanted to feel more connected to the Church since she did not have many friends that shared her beliefs. With the podcast, she was now able to help people in a similar position stay connected to their faith.
During this time, Pearson said she was single. She said that her time as a single woman was transformative and taught her to appreciate the life she lives now.
Addressing those that may currently be single, she said not to panic, and to use the time to become the type of person they would like to marry.
“Being single, like, stretches you and causes you to have to choose to serve other people. And so, I think, like, just recognize there is value in that time and so don't waste it or think that like something's wrong with you. Nothing's wrong,” she said.
As Pearson was working at LDS Living, a man named Benjamin Pearson was working in New York, also single. His sister-in-law suggested that he should listen to an episode of “All In” to see if Morgan Pearson would be someone he would be interested in taking on a date.
Initially, Benjamin Pearson was hesitant and said he did not think he needed his sister-in-law’s help finding a date. But eventually, he decided to listen to one of Morgan Pearson’s episodes. He was impressed by how she carried herself in the interview and felt that they would have similar interests.
“I think Morgan has a very clear sense of self. I think that became apparent to me, from before I even met her,” Benjamin Pearson said.
He messaged Morgan Pearson on Instagram, and her interest was mutual. Eventually, Morgan and Benjamin Pearson married.
Now, Morgan Pearson is the mother of two girls, an 18-month-old and a newborn.
Throughout her life experiences and as the host of “All In,” Morgan Pearson has learned that God is in the details of every person’s story. She said this includes letting Him write her story and taking her role as the pencil in His hand.
“I never would have imagined as a young girl in North Carolina that he would give me the chance to, like, sit in rooms that I've sat in or have conversations that I've had,” Morgan Pearson said. “But He knew that I just wanted to be used by Him. And so, when He knows that, it gives Him the ability to use us and work with our lives and mold and shape us in ways that we never would have been able to achieve without Him.”