Stake Conference

Before I get too into the day, I thought I'd jot down some of the impressions I had during stake conference today. I admit I was a bit distracted by Teagen, so my impressions are limited. I hope to have time later to chat with Zan (my Teagen tag team partner) and fill in each of our blanks from the meeting.

We had two kids on the stand. That was especially neat. They were so pretty up there. I was going to take photos of all of the kids in their new clothes today, so I could post them here, but I couldn't find the camera when the time came.

Dierden sang in the Primary choir. It was beautiful. They sang, "If the Savior Stood Beside Me." I was glad she felt well enough this morning. She had no problems during the night and felt back to her old self when she woke up. So glad there was no need for anyone to stay home. It seems that Brevin just had a bad headache last night, but he did remain on our bathroom floor for the entire night and climbed into bed with Zan and me at about 6:30 this morning. I was so glad for a warm tile floor in the bathroom when I got up and offered that sleeping place for him in the future if he would just warm the floor every morning. He didn't take me up on that. I can't imagine why.

After the first song, stake business was done, President Bell spoke briefly and two of the Primary children were asked to share what they were thankful for. Dierden told me last night that she wished she would get called on. I asked her what she would say she was thankful for, and she said her family and the priesthood. She's called on it a few times this past week to help her get through some tough things. I'm glad my children know they can go to their dad when they have problems. What a blessing that is. The choir sang "We'll Bring the World His Truth" and then came to sit with their families.

Quinlan spoke after a few more comments from President Bell. She opened by sharing a story from President Hinckley's book, "Way to Be." She then spoke about the top four things she's grateful for--the gospel, her family, friends, and education. She said that we need to say "thank you" more often and that we show our gratitude when we serve others. She shared the experience of feeding families in the hospital last Christmas and how she felt that that's what Jesus Christ would have wanted her to do with the day we celebrate His birth. She's a good kid. I feel blessed to be her mom. One of the things she mentioned when she spoke about her gratitude in having the gospel in her life was that it helps her keep her "unwavering" standards, and seeing what some of her friends choose to do, it makes her glad to have direction in her life. I, as her mom, was pleased with what she said and glad to know she's on the right track.

President Dalton's son, Tony, spoke next. He leaves for a mission to the Dominican Republic on May 7th. I believe Brad Ackerson will be serving in the same mission soon. He shared a lot of fun things about his family and talked about serving righteously--that we should lead with righteous dominion. He talked a little bit about his brother Danny, which I thought was very funny, that when his parents would leave, Danny would play "slave" with Tony and order him around. Isn't that just like a big brother.

It was near the beginning of Tony's talk that I went out in the hallway with Teagen.

Sepa Lipscombe spoke next. She is a Tongan woman. She spoke a lot about the hardships she's had in her life and how her faith and reliance on the Lord helped through them.

We sang a congregational hymn, so I took Teagen back into the chapel. After that, Zan took him back out. I got to enjoy the next talk by Jennifer Hough and part of Jonny Gardiner's before I was out with Teagen again. Jennifer was very animated. I enjoyed listening to her. She said pride cannot exist where gratitude is. This reminds me of something that was said last night by Sister Templeton. She said that faith and obedience are coexistant. One cannot exist without the other and that to make one grow, the other must grow also. Just a little tangent there. I loved the idea that if I am completely grateful, then I will always be humble. I don't know if this is true, but I like the idea. Sister Hough also said that President Dalton once said his church was a church of gratitude. At least I think that's what was said. I just know I need to be more grateful and not always wanting more.

Jonny Gardiner is just an amazing person, so is his brother Scott. He talked about how he was raised in a family of eight kids, a mom, and a disabled dad, and how because of that, he learned at a young age how to work and how to do many things that have become great blessings in his life. He spoke of how this has built in him a love for and a desire to work and work hard. I would love to instill this into my children.

I missed most of President Dalton's final talk. One thing I did hear as I was standing in the hallway swaying with Teagen was that if you want to encourage others to change, say thank you. It was from a talk from Marvin J. Ashton. Gratitude works miracles.

During the time that it's taken to complete this post, I found the camera. Seems that the child that was assigned the cleaning of the living room decided to stuff everything under the couches instead of put them away. I have wondered, when my other children have gone through this stage, if it doesn't take the same amount or more time to stuff. Well, this defeintely takes longer because not only did they take the time to stuff it, now they get to put all the things away anyway. Sigh. I will get the kids back into their church clothes either later today and repost, or I'll get the picture next Sunday.

As I listened to Jonny's talk, it just seemed to be the next step in a series of lessons I'm learning right now. The whole idea of God making us more capable beings to fulfill the work He sent us here to do has been recurring in my life. Recently, here are two things that have also added to this lesson:

I just got to thinking about how we are so frequently placed in situations that form us in so many ways. This has also been a theme in the Book of Mormon as I've been reading. The idea that Nephi held so many roles in his life. Roles that he was led to fill. Here are two things that I have come across recently that support these ideas:

I just got done reading in the seminary manual for the Book of Mormon that besides being one of the writers of the Book of Mormon, "Nephi was also a scholar, a great hunter, a blacksmith, a shipbuilder, a navigator, a goldsmith, a record keeper, a refugee, a temple builder, a king, a warrior, a prophet, and a seer. " (LDS Book of Mormon Seminary Manual, p. 13).

My mind frequently reflects on the song "Firm in the Faith from the seminary video soundtrack when I think of what the Lord makes us capable of doing and becoming through our willingness to serve Him and be molded by Him. I really love this song!

I love stake conference and how encouraged it makes me feel. We have a wonderful stake presidency!