Stake Conference

We've enjoyed another fantastic stake conference this weekend.  Our stake presidency has been released after eight and a half years of great service.

We were visited by Elder LeGrand R. Curtis, Jr., area-authority seventy, and Elder Marlin K. Jensen, general authority seventy.  They were both marvelous teachers and leaders.

Here are some highlights that I enjoyed.

At the Priesthood Leadership session, Elder Curtis taught about revelation.  Then Elder Jensen followed up teaching about the order of the priesthood.  He highlighted the wording about the order of the priesthood in D&C 107:1-4.  Then he emphasized our roles in that order as explained in D&C 64: 29.  Elder Jensen used terms from the legal profession (his former occupation) to highlight those concepts.  He taught us that we, as priesthood bearers, are the agents mentioned in the Doctrine and Covenants.  The principal who engages the agents to act on His behalf is the Lord.  He compared our charge as priesthood holders to the practice of granting "power of attorney" in the modern legal sense.  The "scope of authority" of His agents is established "according to the will of the Lord."  Elder Jensen referred us to Elder Curtis' teachings on revelation to help us know the extent of our scope of authority to act as agents to the Lord.  I also like the additional depth of meaning provided by the Latin root of the word agent, agere, meaning to drive, lead, act, do.

In the Saturday evening adult session of the conference, Elder Jensen taught from the scripture Mosiah 4:9-10.  Elder Jensen used those verses to indicate how we can know that God forgives us of our sins.  But what struck me about them was how they so emphatically assert the existence and divinity of God.  I was touched by that and thought that anyone struggling with doubts about God's existence might benefit from reading those two verses.  He does live.  He does love us.  He does forgive us.

Our ward choir sang at that adult session.  We sang "Where Can I Turn For Peace," a number we had sung at our ward conference earlier in the year.  The stake presidency had heard it then and invited us to share it for the whole stake.  I'm glad they did.  Our performance at ward conference was OK.  But our performance at stake conference was truly backed by the hosts of heaven.  It felt so much stronger and meaningful.  I was glad to be a small part of it and feel strengthened by the experience.

Sadly, I wasn't able to attend the final, general session of stake conference.  I was on a plane to Baltimore while it happened.  I can't wait to discover who is in our new stake presidency...

Ice Storm

I had heard about ice storms before.  News reports told of roads and transportation systems shut down.  They detailed the plight of hundreds of thousands of people without electricity due to cut power lines.  But never having lived anywhere but Utah during cold winters, I had never experienced a real ice storm in person.  

In Utah, we usually only get the soft and  fluffy stuff.  It either melts almost right away, or builds up in soft piles that can be easily wiped away.  Sometimes it gets a little soggy.  But even the wet snow and slush is still squishy and somewhat easy to deal with.

Then I went on a business trip to Maryland in January.  It was cold the whole week.  That alone was notable.  Obviously we have cold in Utah too.  But the humidity in Maryland made that cold cut straight to the core.  It reminded me of how much the humidity in Brazil made the heat feel hotter.   Even once we entered nice climate-controlled buildings, the cold feeling lingered with me.  I was glad I had my lab coat to keep me warmer while we worked. 

I suppose it is that same humidity that helps in the formation of the ice in the ice storms.  Our storm happened on our third day in Maryland.  I was astounded.  Finally, I had first-hand experience to help me better understand the difficulties that come with such a phenomenon.  I walked from our hotel to a nearby restaurant for breakfast.  On my way back, I saw a car that had slid over the ice through the disability parking stalls up onto the sidewalk in front of the restaurant.  Fortunately, nobody was hurt and nothing was damaged.  Our rental car was a covered in a 1/2-inch thick layer of hard ice.  One of my coworkers was the one to rent the car on this trip.  So he got the "opportunity" to figure out a way to get it off the car.  The little bit of paper towel we had left in the car the night before apparently was just not going to cut it.  So he just got in the car, turned on the engine, and hoped the heater would melt the ice quickly.  It didn't seem like it was working, when he spied something in the rear-view mirror.  The rental car company had furnished the car with an ice scraper that had been placed mostly out of sight behind the headrest of the rear seat.  We were saved from having to walk to work that morning.  Still, the short drive was somewhat perilous.  And we did witness one car slide into a curb.

To save wear and tear on windshield wipers, and to make scraping ice easier, most drivers in the area would lift up the wipers from the windshield when leaving their cars parked while ice is possible.  Once again, this was a first for me.  But I could see the benefit of that.  Still, many people simply chose not to drive at all.  When we did get to work, we soon discovered that most of the employees at the company hosting us were either late to work, or simply opted to not go into work at all that day.  It hindered our schedule a little, but I wasn't about to speak critically of those who chose not to work that day.

Though the ice storm only lasted one day, the ice itself remained the rest of the week.  I was fascinated by it.  It was so foreign-looking and interesting to me.  It coated lawns with a beautiful solid white dome.  Sidewalks remained covered in a sheet of solid ice.  Ice like that would only form in front of my house if I neglected to shovel the snow and allowed two or three days' worth of elementary school pedestrian traffic to pack it down.  

The storm also prompted the closure of virtually all of the schools in the area as well.  This in turn compelled President Obama to complain.  Even the school attended by his daughters was closed for the day.  Obama, supposedly toughened by years of living in the frigid Chicago area, was dismayed that a little bit of ice caused such a fuss.  But I don't suppose that Obama had to personally drive out in that weather.  Had he done so, I doubt he would have been so critical of the school administrators.  

I for one do not blame them one bit.

Where Do You Sleep?

We had tithing settlement last night.  It was the best one we've had yet with the kids.

• They almost all came into the bishop's office within a few minutes of our turn starting
• They actually stayed in their seats for most of the meeting
• They didn't write on the walls with markers
• They had a great learning moment with our bishop

Sure they were wild and crazy and chased around the gym and halls while we waited for our appointment.  But hey, we've had worse ... much worse.

Our bishop was great.  He thoughtfully and kindly taught our children not only why we pay tithing, how the Church uses tithing funds, and the importance of declaring our tithing status with the bishop each year.  

Then the bishop asked each child to state whether or not they were "a full tithe payer."  It was nice watching our girls cheerfully and excitedly blurt out "yes!" when each was asked.  When the bishop asked our son, we had to pull the ear buds of Mommy's iPod out of his ears to compel him to hear and answer the question.  He answered "yes," but was obviously annoyed at the interruption of his search for Star Wars video clips.  (Isn't technology great at keeping kids still for at least a minute or so?! :)

The best part of the meeting was when our bishop asked us all if we had any questions.  Our son and younger daughter shot up their hands, eager to ask a question.  Our son was called on first.  He asked some vague question that was probably loosely relevant to the purpose of the meeting.  Then the bishop called on our daughter.  I was charmed by the way she grinned with little bright white teeth gleaming and her head slightly cocked to one side as she asked, "um ... where do you sleep?"  It was so adorable to witness her naive, but sincere curiosity in such a simple little question.  The thought of the bishop taking up residence in a Mormon church, huddled in some corner classroom on a cot was so humorous to me.  And never mind the thought of the poor former bishop, released just a year ago, displaced from his "home" just days before Christmas.  Of course the bishop was very kind in his answer.  He just smiled, perhaps holding back a chortle, and answered simply that he was just like our family, and had a home nearby, with a nice warm bed to sleep in.

Of course, to our young daughter, it seemed natural to assume that the bishop lived at the church building.  She only ever really saw him at the church.  Or, at least, if she did see him elsewhere, he wasn't dressed up in his suit.  This was her first year in the main primary as well.  So she is still learning so much and figuring out how things work.  And of course, she had seen lots of the church building, nearly every hall, chapel, and room.  There was a kitchen, and bathrooms.  But she hadn't ever come across a room with a bed in it!  Hmmm.

I guess it just goes to show how much the bishop really does do for us.  It truly is nearly a full-time job in and of itself, despite the lack of pay.  Yet the bishop, of course, still has his own family and non-ecclesiastical career to maintain.  It truly must be possible only with a great deal of divine help.  It's definitely a post I would not feel up to holding.  I am extremely grateful to those whom the Lord does prepare and help to be called to such a position.