Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Having Prophets and Apostles Close

This past weekend we had stake conference.  The Saturday evening adult session was as usual at the stake center and the stake presidency spoke.  The Sunday morning session was at the Dee Events Center and was for nine Ogden stakes.  The prophet, Thomas S Monson, was there, as was Elder Neal L Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  President Rosemary M. Wixom, the general primary president was also there as well as Elder Marlin K. Jensen, of the Seventy.

This was the same venue where we had come to see Elder Jeffrey R Holland speak for pioneer days in July.  When we had gone to see Elder M Russell Ballard at the Browning Center on the Weber State University campus, it was not as personal of a setting as I would have liked, since I think there were three or four stakes at that as well, but I was able to pick a seat four rows in front of him and see him very well, just by arriving a half hour or early.  I think we were actually an hour early, but it appeared that a half hour would’ve gotten us the same seats.

In the Dee Event Center, they sit the bishops and stake presidents down on the floor where it would be possible to get a seat as good as we got at the Browning Center, but in the non VIP seats, it was difficult to get a seat less than nine rows up with having arrived an hour early.

All of this is nice history information of how things went down, but here is what I wanted to share.  Every time I stand when the prophet enters the room it is very moving for me.  I remember what it was like to live so far from Salt Lake City when we lived in Indiana.  I hope I never forget how great it is to be in the same room with the prophet and apostles.  To have the opportunity to be near 3 apostles and the prophet over the last  four months has been so great.

Since my son and I also went to the priesthood session of General Conference at the beginning of this month, I should also include in this the great privilege I have had to be in the room with all of them, although in an even less intimate setting.  Conference was always something to see on TV.  The conference center, tabernacle, and temple square was always something almost exotic.  Certainly something I imagined rarely seeing, if ever.  Now every time we go down there and see the temple and the Church’s presence, it moves me.  I look forward to when my other can go too and taking both my boys.

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