General Conference Takeaways... And other random things from the week.

Last week I had a PPI with my bishop, and it lasted a solid hour and a half. If you are in 3rd ward, you know that this isn't all that uncommon with Bishop Call. As I spoke with him though, I got the sense that I was speaking with a man who was really trying to connect with me and be my friend. Even if he wasn't that good at it and was definitely keeping me longer than I would have liked, the genuine attempt he was making resonated with me. As I settled in and just rolled with what may be the longest "brief review" of a ward mission plan ever, the spirit was able to begin teaching me some pretty important lessons. I learned of some of the hardships Bishop has been through, and I understood how much of a sacrifice he was making, both physically and emotionally, to serve as our singles ward Bishop. He's been through things most members of our ward would probably never even imagine. I gained a greater appreciation for him and all that he does. It gave me a greater desire to be patient with some of his quirks and to search for the good he has to offer me, which is a lot! He is a great man, and I am glad to be serving with him.

Fast forward to General Conference, and that same principle was pressed upon my mind even more. A lot has been going on with many movements that have been attempting to undermine the leadership of the Church. To preface what I will say, I will let you know that I have been going through my own personal revolution of how I view the church in my own life, and my ability to separate doctrine and church culture. Especially in regards to gay people, which maybe I will write another blog post about someday. We'll see if this blog thing sticks. Anyways, as conference started, my main thought/question was should I follow the prophets and apostles? How can I know to trust and follow them with so many other things going on and SOO many questions that still need to be answered? Satan is alive and well and is definitely stirring the pot right now. It is hard to know what is right and what is wrong as those lines are continuously being blurred. First thought, which I got from Elder Hales was that we are first and foremost called to be disciples of Jesus Christ. If we don't have that foundation first, it doesn't matter who we follow! Second impression, which came to me during Elder Hollands talk, was that we are not following the prophets and apostles because they are people that we personally know or respect or appreciate. We are following them because we have faith in the office which they hold. The holy apostleship. Jesus Christ himself established that office and authorized the 12 to function under HIS authority. The Authority that the apostles hold is not theirs, it is the Lord Jesus Christ's authority. We are to trust the authority, not the person holding the authority. If I can learn to distinguish between those two things I believe that will protect me from losing my faith in the gospel because of the imperfections of men.

 I might add that I believe the Prophets and apostles are doing their very best to do the Lord's will. Two general conference talks helped me to enforce that belief. Elder Anderson (I think?) spoke about Elder Bruce D. Porter who passed away last year. He suffered from a debilitating kidney disease but he still served until the very end of his life as a general authority of the church. He served for 22 years and died when he was 64 years old. That means that when he was 42 he dropped everything to serve the Lord.... Think about that and compare that to most of our own retirement plans for the end of our own lives? Probably not exactly we have in mind. To add to that sentiment, another elder spoke briefly this morning about his own service in the Church. When he was released as a stake president his son told him he was excited to spend more time with him. 3 weeks later he was called as a seventy (an even busier calling), to which his son responded something to the tune of "That's okay, i know that we are an eternal family." This speaks volumes about how large the sacrifices the leaders of the church make for us and for the Lord. These are living breathing human beings who have worries, dreams, hopes, and cares just like everyone of us. I wonder if sometimes we hold them to a standard of a perfection that we wouldn't want to be held to ourselves. Mistakes can be corrected and Policies can be rescinded. But being patient and loving with one another, even with our leaders who are imperfect and that we don't agree with sometimes, that will edify and build the Church faster than anything else I know. Love is powerful. That is why love is the essence of the gospel. Our church leaders deserve our love and support, ESPECIALLY when it is hard to love them. That's the only real way to inspire any changes.


                                                                  Exciting Things

I'll talk about my week. Because I know you all want to know!

mmmm.... I've almost learned two new tricks on my skateboard. A full Cab flip and Blizzard Flip. Look them up! I skate with a guy named Jon Choi who used to be sponsored by Adidas, and he definitely pushes me to be better.

I had three tests this week. O Chem, Bioethics, and Biochem. My butt has officially been kicked. Only a month or so left of school :) Hallelujah.

I was officially offered an internship at Eye Care and Corp. for the summer. That will really be helpful as I apply for Optometry School again this summer. If you don't know I applied to a school in Oregon which has an early entrance type program. Essentially you can skip your senior and start Optometry school early and therefore be done a year early. I kind of applied for kicks and giggles, but then they actually invited me out for an interview! If I got in that meant I would I would have been starting in August of this year. They put me on their alternate list, which felt like an honor in and of itself. I decided to decline that offer and just finish at U of A as was originally planned. If a spot did open up, Moving to Portland and starting professional seemed a little too overwhelming at this point in my life. I have the OAT done already now though and I have the interview experience. So I am excited to really started applying for other schools this summer!

mmmm... On wednesday my roommate Jeremy had an interview with the stake president for the Melch. Priesthood. I'm excited for him and the changes he's making in his life to serve the Lord! Then we had a movie night at the beezies.

Thursday I studied all day and finished my last test, and then Jenny, Mckenzie, Shawn, Aaron, and Eleanor and I watched signs at my house.

Friday I went to Sauce with Alex, Carly, Travis and Alex's friend Katie. I got some weird salad pizza thing and was a bit bummed. But everyone else shared their pizzas so it was good. Then I dumped like 4 sugar packets in Carlys drink and she didn't even notice. Way to ruin my joke. Then we went to Brittanys for cookies

Saturday was conference and then a group of us went and saw Beauty and the Beast, which I liked a lot. I'm trying to not spend a lot of money so we went to the five dollar harkins (5 dollars all the time!!) and then my friend Milena said it was her treat anyways. Shout out for being a true homie.

The second session of General Conference starts in 15 minutes, and I grateful to be here at the institute watching it with some great friends. :)