Chauncy West was nineteen years old in 1895 and kept a diary. He lived in the small town of Brigham City . His maternal grandfather was Lorenzo Snow, an apostle who would become president of the Church three years later. Thanks to Chauncy's diary, we gain some insights into what it was like to be a teenager in the mid-1890s.

Chauncy seems to be a "normal" boy, by which I mean that he liked to hang out with his friends, engaged in a certain amount of silliness and horseplay, and noticed girls. His closest friend was Wallace Boden. One spring day the two of them, accompanied by another friend, went fishing and caught sixty fish. On the way back, in a wagon pulled by two ponies, the boys shouted and sang.

Three days later, at night, lying outside, Chauncy and Wallace looked up at the starry sky (think Van Gogh if you wish), and talked about life.

There were no movies, no television, no computers, no Gameboys. What on earth, modern teenagers might ask, could they ever find to do for fun? Somehow Chauncy and his friends managed. Ice skating, bicycle riding, surprise parties, gathering in private homes for popcorn and singing and games — they seemed to enjoy it all.

Dances were common. How much do you need to hold a dance? I recall a situation in early Cache Valley where no one was available to play any kind of musical instrument. But one young man volunteered to whistle and whistled away while the others bowed to their partners and dos-a-dosed their corners.

The youth of Brigham City always had instrumental accompaniment at their dances. In fact, Chauncy participated in a guitar and mandolin group that enjoyed going from place to place and showing what they could do, often serenading young ladies.

For several weeks, Chauncy usually escorted Irene Hawes but then shifted his attention to Lucy Wright. When someone told him to bring his "best girl" to a party, he said he had none and so followed the suggestion that he bring Ester Bywater. He was playing the field.

He had a job. Working at a mercantile store, he stocked shelves, sent out advertising circulars, and sorted peaches. He made $25.50 a month.

Chauncy was an active churchgoer. In addition to worshiping and partaking of the sacrament, he participated in many ward events. The Young Men and Young Women Mutual Improvement Association had meetings during the week, and in them he developed talents and enjoyed a good deal of social interaction.

Attending his young people's meetings, he studied history and government, participated in debates, gave talks, read and discussed biographies. But on his own he set additional goals. A demon for self-improvement, he was not satisfied with just following someone else's program. He resolved to do not less but more.

He studied German, rehearsing certain sentences in his mind throughout the day while working at other routine tasks. He purchased and read a set of Blackstone's Commentaries . Determined to read the entire Book of Mormon, he moved through it chapter by chapter, noting the date when he finished.

We know all this because of the diary Chauncy kept. Not one to toot his own horn, he may have appeared pretty ordinary to others. But if alert to clues, they might have been aware that this was a young man with a future.

Human beings, those wonderful, perverse creatures, children of divine parents but often forgetful, often captives of their own choices and the steel bands of habits, react to life in different ways. It is helpful to have success stories. Even young people living where Latter-day Saints are few, where there is little encouragement by family or society, can set goals and, like young Chauncy West, turn themselves into informed, competent, disciplined adults and faithful disciples.

But I must tell you about Chauncy's visit to Salt Lake City . Having made prior arrangements, he spent several days there, much of it with his pal LeRoi. LeRoi Snow was actually Chauncy's uncle but was about the same age.

It was late spring. The air was fresh. Utah 's statehood was on the horizon. The constitutional convention was being held, and, having debated in his young people's group, Chauncy was quite aware of such issues as woman suffrage, which he favored. A new city-county building was just reaching completion. Chauncy and LeRoi toured the shiny new structure, climbed to its highest point, and from there looked down on much of the downtown area. (Since this building was strengthened and restored in recent years, it is possible to repeat Chauncy's experience today).

The latest rage was bicycles. Not a brand new invention, the bicycle had been improved when it became chain-driven and more recently by using the pneumatic tire. By 1895, cycling clubs had sprung up throughout the country. Not lagging behind, Utah merchants imported the most recent models. Young people zoomed around on their new vehicles, sometimes frightening horses and staid adults who while shopping did not expect a two-wheeled terror to come careening around the corner.

Here is Chauncy's diary description of a day spent on bicycle.

The girls looked very neat in the tight fitting waists and bloomers. I rode along the side of Miss Abbie Wardrobe and enjoyed the trip very much. We returned after about one and a half hours ride with our partners. Then leaving them at home we started for Becks Hot Springs and had a fine trip. We went around the sloping bicycle track and then returned. We then started for the Fort, namely Fort Douglas . We had a hard ride going up, but coming down I just sailed.

Incidentally, those "bloomers" made a lot of sense as cycling togs for a young woman. Long dresses and petticoats would be hard to manage.

Salt Lake City had enough interesting sites to keep a visitor busy for several days. Chauncy visited a gymnasium, the public library, the Deseret Museum , the beach at Saltair. He also went to Temple Square .

The Tabernacle was not exactly new but, except for a different surface on the roof, looked about the same as today. The Assembly Hall was just fifteen years old. Newest of all, the real center of excitement was the Salt Lake Temple , which had been completed and dedicated just two years earlier.

Chauncy had an advantage here, for his grandfather, Lorenzo Snow, was president of the temple. Ordained an elder, Chauncy received his endowment and also participated in baptisms for the dead. His grandfather then accompanied him on a personal tour. They even went up in the six spires as far as they could. "I never care to be in a nicer place than the Temple ," Chauncy wrote.

One night the young man had a conversation with "dear old Grandpa," whom he described as "over 87 years old and spry as can be." "Grandpa told me how he came to join the Church," Chauncy wrote in his diary, "and said he had eaten and drunk at the table of Joseph Smith, the seer, translator, interpreter, and prophet. And Grandpa said he knew this church was a true church, and had it direct."

Such a forthright statement from someone he loved and trusted, someone who did not live on borrowed light, someone who was in a position to know directly was a precious blessing in Chauncy's life.