Let me jump back a bit, to January 9th, 2016. Elder D. Todd Christofferson was visiting the Dallas area for a "working weekend," where he created his own schedule, and part of what he did was visit with focus groups from two areas, comprised of a member of the Stake Presidency and the Stake Relief Society, Young Mens, Young Womens, Primary, and Sunday School Presidents, with three stakes represented at each meeting. I was invited to be part of the second group that afternoon.
When he arrived at the meeting, he said that he was not there to preach, but to listen, and what he wanted specifically to know about was our thoughts regarding the Sabbath Day, and what changes we might have made since the church has put an emphasis on Sabbath Day observance since April the previous year.
I am going to just write the notes that I jotted down during that meeting. Most of these thoughts were from other participants of the meeting, with some of Elder Christofferson's included:
*When telling people that you keep the Sabbath Day, don't say that it's a "family day," or a "church day," but say it's the Lord's Day.
*What is your focus on the Sabbath--what is right for the Lord.
*Preparation--six days of labor for one day of rest. The ox may be in the mire, but don't push him in on Saturday night.
*What is the goal for Sabbath Day worship? To bring you closer to the Savior.
*This is not temporary. We need a conversion to an understanding of the Sabbath.
*The whole day is an opportunity to be out of the great and spacious building. The youth are in there every day, all day. This is when they can get away.
*As a leader, bear testimony of how you've found joy in the Sabbath.
*You need to convert to that, even if you're the only one.
*Self evaluation--where am I? Study the doctrine of the Sabbath, sacrament, covenants, etc.
*Understanding comes by practicing and applying D&C 59:9--be MORE FULLY unspotted from the world.
(I really wish I took more notes, but I was kind of in an absorbing the atmosphere mode instead of a note taking mode.)
After this discussion, we had some time that he opened up for any questions. He was asked by someone how his life had changed since being called as an apostle. He said (pardon my paraphrasing) it was interesting, because he had been out serving around the world for a long time before, and had given lots of talks and things, but since he had been called, people put so much more emphasis on everything he says. He seemed to feel much more weight from the expectations of the people. Then he (basically) said that he decided that his message is the same, and he just needs to go forward serving and teaching as he always has, and not worry about the weight being given to him from others.
It was pretty amazing to be there. He's a man, with the mantle of authority from God, and he's doing great work.
He shook our hands as we left. I was one of the first, and didn't know if it was appropriate to let him know that when he stayed at my parent's home on a visit to their stake (as an Area Authority??), he slept in my bedroom, since I was on my mission...so I just said thanks for sharing his time and the Spirit. He said thanks for my countenance.
It was, as I say on my other blog, a delight!
Monday, April 4, 2016
Like magic
What do you get when you tell some friends you are entering the market for a new family car, and they happen to know someone who has one available, for a really, really good deal--if you come buy it in two days?
You go from this...
to this...
so quickly that you hardly know how you did it. But we did. Good bye, good, quirky Old Red, and hello, um, Not-quite-as-old-or-quite-as-quirky Bright Red!
(And it's not an absolute good bye, because we sold our old one to a guy in our ward, so we see it all the time...and sometimes forget which car to head to after church!)
We had been looking at some other kinds of cars, but I know that Expeditions 1) fit our family and 2) fit in our garage, so they win. Hooray!
Ouch!
Benson came home from preschool with this shiner. His teacher said he and another boy ran into each other, and then Benson fell and hit the edge of a table--with his face. What goes on at that preschool, anyway?? (Just kidding. I know EXACTLY what goes on at that preschool.)
What's behind YOUR fridge??
A Nesquik powder spill and fear of ants prompted the event, which is the first time (I am terribly embarrassed to admit) since we moved in almost seven years ago.
Honestly, I was expecting a whole lot more toys.
Dance!
What could be more fun celebrating Valentine's Day Eve than chaperoning a Stake dance? Especially in the company of such fun friends?
(Scott with friends Alex, Ericka, Kaitlynn, Spencer, Cody, and Andrew)
Actually, these pictures are a little deceiving, because though I was there as a chaperone, I was stationed in the hall with Ben for the whole evening, and we sat on the couch watching movies on his phone, occasionally interrupted by unsuspecting teens. My friends came to get me for the photo booth shoot, which these are pictures of from the big screen they were being displayed on.
Spending the evening sitting on a couch watching movies with my Valentine? Sounds perfect to me.
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