Happy Anniversary!
On April 14th my parents had their 35th wedding anniversary. Just thought I'd throw in some fun pictures for my friends to see of them (for kicks and giggles). I probably don't say it enough, I just assume they know, but I love and appreciate my parents very much! In so many ways they are wonderful examples to me of the person I should be. It's funny to me too as I've gotten older to catch myself doing something where I say, "oh my gosh, that's totally what my mom/dad does!" But as I have also gotten older and have grown closer to my Heavenly Father, I have been even more grateful for my parents and what they've done for me. They have been a tangible, on-this-earth example to me of the love that my Heavenly Father has for me. As I've looked back on all the 'rules' they gave me as I was growing up (even ones I thought were there to purely ruin my fun and were a little strict...but as my cousin Ashley knows, you just didn't argue, it wasn't worth it, you just obeyed!) As I've been able to look back and have seen the wisdom in these 'rules' and the blessings I've received from them (or the heartache I got from not following them), and I think about how they held their ground even if I talked back or was rude to them about it, it shows me how much they really cared for me and loved me to do that...to take all the flack I gave them knowing they were doing something better for me. Recognizing this, I've been better able to grasp the concept and understand the relationship and care our Heavenly Father has for us as he gives us commandments and guidelines to follow. He loves us that much! Sometimes I may not really understand why He's given us a certain commandment...but I don't need to. I just need to know and understand that He loves us more than we could know, and therefore only has our best interest in mind. And He puts up with all the 'flack' that is given Him because 'we don't want that' or 'why this or that' and even those who choose not to even recognize Him as who He is, because He loves us and He wants the best for us. I will always be grateful to my parents for the example they are to me in that way more than anything!
Thanks Mom and Dad...and Happy Anniversary! Of your 35 years of marriage...I'm sure the last 28 were the most enjoyable (right?!) Ha! Ha!
President Thomas S. Monson
K, I get another small perk at my job that I really enjoy. BYU encourages all their employees to attend the weekly devotional. Some years I'm really good about attending, and not so good other years. But I always enjoy them and there is always something you can gain from them if you go with the right attitude (kind of like church). Another great thing is that when something big happens, like the announcing of the new First Presidency, everyone at my work wants to see it and so we gather into the meeting room and turn it on the TV. It was neat to hear President Monson answer questions in such a casual setting. He is the master storyteller! There was a question that was asked that seemed small and 'get to know you fun'...and yet he gave my favorite answer to it. A reporter asked him his favorite color (along with other 'favorites'). His response to this was so thought provoking...he responded 'yellow'. He said that as a man who worked in the newsprint business he learned the importance of the color yellow because it was the color that gave life and light to all the other colors. It is also the color that will fade the fastest. He mentioned that he can see a picture and know right away if the yellow has faded because all the other colors will have faded as well and will have lost their 'light'. I loved that...so much like the spirit in our lives. I can't tell you how many times I've met people who aren't members who say, "there is something about you" or "there's just this light about the mormons", etc. That light, the 'yellow', is the Spirit. If we don't take care of ourselves and our testimonies...that spirit fades and in a sense, so do we as well. It's very obvious when you see a person who once had that light and you see it fading. And how awesome it is to see it come back, the contrast. SO...next time you see a picture and the brillant blues and greens and red...don't forget about the yellow!
President Hinckley's Passing
The night that President Hinckley passed away Rand and I were at a ward Elder's Quorum dessert night at our neighbors when one of the couples there received a text from their parents. It was a neat experience as it was announced to everyone there in the room to feel the reverance there for President Hinckley. I think most all of us there were not surprised or caught off guard by the news. That night Rand and I went home and turned on the news and listened to all the coverage about his passing. I definitely was grateful to be in Utah at the time where the church does get so much coverage and we could see and hear so many people pay tribute to this wonderful man and prophet of God.
That next week had a lot of coverage about his life and service and the forthcoming funeral services. That Saturday morning I watched the funeral proceedings. It was really neat to see all the people lining the streets as they headed to the grave site. I loved seeing everyone with their canes in honor of him! Following this they showed the video of his life...what an amazing, hard-working and faithful man! What an example! I thought alot about this during that week as I listened to everyone talk about him with such high regard; not just those who were members, but so many other non-members as well who loved and respected him. I thought about what it was that made him so loved and respected universally. The answer I came up with is that he was SO Christ-like. He did all the things that I, and I think most of us, would like to do and be. He knew who his Savior was and he learned of him and studied his life and served him so much, that he truly had the Saviors image in his countenance.
If you haven't read his biography, Go Forward with Faith, written by Sheri Dew, I suggest you do. One of the best books I've ever read! Just like when you would see him or hear him speak, it makes you want to be a better person! That was always his message, to "stand a little taller and be a little better".
One quick story: I am really grateful for the employment I've had at BYU and the opportunities it has afforded me to meet different people as well as different leaders in the church. In June of 2006 I was working for the Campus Visits office. Because this office would eventually be moving into the new Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center, we were invited to attend the groudbreaking. I went with my boss and some others from the office. We were able to sit about 3 rows back and were able to be a part of this event with President Hinckley and other church leaders. Following this event, my boss Troy, was so kind and let me take his ticket to the birthday luncheon for President Hinckley (the groundbreaking was held on his birthday). Troy could tell I was so disappointed that I couldn't attend this because I wasn't an administrator...so he gave me his ticket and he went to lunch with some of his friends. I attended the lunch and it was so awesome and amazing to be sitting just 2 tables away from President Hinckley. I wish now that I would have had the guts to go up and shake his hand...but I didn't want to bother him and intrude on the family table (and security would only bring him in once everyone was seated, and escorted him out before we left). It was still a really neat and humbling experience to be so close to a prophet of God and such a wonderful man!
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