And it came to pass.....

Last evening I met with President John of the Wilmington Delawre Stake for my PPI (Personal Preisthood Interview).  I reported to him the work that we are doing in the Rising Sun Branch in the way of improved attendance at church and in Priesthood meetings.  I also shared our home teaching results which are always improving.  I shared with him our great desire to become a Ward and all the efforts we are making to become one.  President John then said to me, "You won't have to wait long".  To my great delight we will be becoming the Bayview Ward on April 25th.  He asked me not to share this information with anyone prior to the change.  He did say that I could share it with Liz on the way home from Stake Conference next Sunday.  I am typing this entry and it will be dated today but it will not be published until April 25th after it is official.

My Cup Runneth Over

As I listen to a beautiful arrangement of "For the Beauty of the Earth" I am overcome by feelings of gratitude for the beautiful earth that our Heavenly Father has created for us.  The spring time here in Maryland is beyond description.  All of the blossoms bursting in their various colors (popcorn popping according to Madelyn)  The lush green, and all the blissful sounds of so many different kinds of birds I never knew existed.

I am also grateful for the spiritual recharging I got from Conference.  I still feel the uplifting messages in my heart even days after they were delivered and they give me hope for the future.  In spite of all the chaos and calamity in the world I feel so blessed to have a family that I love and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I have been blessed with a beautiful wife and equally beautiful children.  Is it any wonder that the family is central to the plan of happiness.

General Conference April 2010

General Conference this year was by far one of the best ever for me.  I got to watch every single session including Priesthood.  The kids were relatively cooperative so I only missed a moment here and there and with DVR I could rewind.  I can't wait for next month's Ensign to come out so I can reread all of the talks.  Every talk was very good.  Elder Neil L Anderson (who will be speaking at our Stake Conference in two weeks) told us that there are no assigned topics so each speaker chooses their own topic.  As such it's not surprising that many of the same topics were covered by multiple people but they were all great AND clearly those topics were important since many were inspired to speak on the topics.

I plan to read or listen to at least one talk each day until I've gone through all of the talks again and some will be worth doing this two or three times.

I was so excited to get home from Priesthood and share the talks with Liz on Saturday night.  I knew that she would be anxious to hear what we heard and that just added to my own excitement to share the wonderful messages I got to here first hand.

When Carter turns 12 I am going to take him to Salt Lake for the Priesthood session.  By my calculations that will be April 2013.  I hope that both Grandpa's will be able to attend with us but I will certainly make it happen for Carter and I.  Living where we do it's much easier to get tickets to Conference so that part won't be a problem, we'll just have to save up for the plane tickets.

Even writing about it now I am overcome with the wonderful spirit I felt at this April Conference.  I am so grateful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the blessings of the restored gospel.

Vai Sikahema

It's not everyday that you get to meet one of your heroes but I did at the Gladys Knight concert up in Cherry Hill New Jersey.  We were waiting in the lobby to go into the chapel and when I saw him I knew it was "Brother" Sikahema.  He's actually the Stake President there if my sources are accurate.  I knew that he did sports for the NBC affiliate in Philadelphia because I spotted him on there not long after we moved out here.

He was so friendly and kind.  He talked to me like we were old college buddies.  I remember him as a part of the 1984 National Championship Team for BYU (Uncle Mel Olson was an offensive line coach for that team) and later returning kick offs and punts for the St Louis/Arizona Cardinals.  I lost track of him when he went to Green Bay and later Philadelphia but I've always admired him for keeping the standards of the church.

I'll never forget one of his kick off/punt returns either.  As I recall it the announcer said he wasn't much to watch because he played college ball for BYU.  Vai then proceeded to run it all the way back for a touchdown :o)  A true hero for young people like myself to look up to and hope to emulate.

Gladys Knight

I had a rare opportunity to go and see Gladys Knight and her Saint Unified Voices Choir.  As a member of the church she has used her popularity and fame for the good of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  She is a convert and is not afraid to share her testimony of the restored gospel.

I was able to take Bonnie and Lloyd Harmon with me and they both enjoyed it immensely.  Bonnie is an inactive member of 15 years and I was the first contact from the church that she'd had in 5 years.  She is faithfully attending another denomination now and actively involved in their choir.  Lloyd is not a member but has been  receptive to visits from myself and the missionaries.  Neither really show tremendous interest in pursuing activity in the restored Gospel but it's no reason not to keep inviting them and letting them know they are loved.

I'm certain that they felt the spirit that was present at the concert but translating that into a need to embrace the gospel, as restored in it's fullness within our church, is not as obvious.  Still it was a great spiritual experience and one that will like touch many of the lives of those who attended.