This is one of those posts where my inadequacies of writing do not do the day justice!
Today we had a special stake conference. L. Tom Perry was in town doing some leadership training with stake presidencies & bishops and chose to come visit our stake. What an amazing conference it was!! One we will never forget. We sat in the very front row. We showed up an hour and a half early to get a good seat. All of the rows were taken pretty much except the front row. Because who ever wants to sit there? We did & I'm so glad we did!
Once it got started our Stake President was announcing the program & he was the first speaker. He was getting ready to go right into his talk after the opening prayer when Elder Perry called out that there was suppose to be a special number first. Then he called to the Stake President, "I know you're excited to speak, but..." It was pretty funny right in the middle of a conference.
Jim L. Wright, who is one of the new area Seventies, was also at the conference. He was the second speaker. He talked about how he loved to hear Sister Beck talk about LOVE at her home growing up. How every Family Home Evening her family sang "Love at Home". When she was 15 she couldn't take it anymore & asked her Dad if they could stop singing that song. Her Dad told her that once she learned lesson 1 they could stop singing it. She said she never learned lesson 1.
Pres. Stott {our stake president} then got up to introduce Elder Perry. Can't remember how exactly it came up, but he mentioned Elder Perry was 88 years old. He looks wonderful for his age, by the way. When Elder Perry got up to speak he mentioned how getting old was great. He joked how everyone talks about how old he is! Also, when he's at family gathering he's no longer required to play kickball with the kids. He gets to sit in a chair & relax. He doesn't get sunburns anymore because he, again, gets to just sit in a chair & relax. He said it's a great stage in life!
When it was Elder Perry's turn to speak he spoke a lot to the "young people". He talked about how technology changes all the time now. How he's gone through palm pilots, blackberries, ipods & now he has an ipad. He's up with the times! Heehee He talked about how great it was to have over 2,000 talks right in his hand without having to have a big briefcase anymore. He told kids how they now have to show their parents how to use the remote & if the computer has problems the kids are the ones that usually have to show their parents how to fix it.
He talked about how important an education was. This is something that has become a big topic at our home. Erik & I did not go to college & we regret it all the time. We tell our girls that they will go to college. Not sure how it will happen, but we tell them all the time how important it is to go. For him to look right at Kylie & talk about the importance of an education was priceless to me!
He also talked about how important it is to be prepared for the future. He said when he was a kid he had a paper route. He lived during the Depression & talked about how hard those times were. He would put his earnings from his paper route in a glass jar. At times he would find IOU notes from his mom in his jar. She would borrow money during tough times to provide groceries for the family. He at one point had $20 in his jar & his dad advised him to invest it in stocks. He didn't know what stocks were, but decided to invest in First Security Bank. His $20 bought 20 shares. He was even invited to come to board meetings as a share holder. A few years later they announced that stocks were doubling & his 20 stocks had now turned into 40. He said that continued to happen & it eventually paid for his entire mission & even gave him a good start on his education.
There were multiple times that he would point & speak directly at Kylie. Telling her what she needed to do to be prepared in life. Sounds like a little thing, but it was very powerful! He ended with telling children (& pointing at Kylie again) to follow these 3 principles:
{1} Be prepared
{2} Anticipate your needs for the future
And most importantly...
{3} Keep your feet firmly planted in the foundation of the Gospel
He said if you do these 3 things your life will be blessed abundantly. What a beautiful talk he gave & a great reminder to everyone of the important things in life!!
After the conference was over we waited patiently for the opportunity to shake his hand. While waiting our Bishop & his wife came up & asked Kylie what it was like to have an Apostle look, point & speak directly at her? She just said, "good." I'm not sure yet if she fully comprehends. It took more than 30 min to get our turn, but again great things come to those who wait. Once the line died down we got up & shook his hand. As we came up he saw Kylie & said, "Oh, the front row girl." Kylie was all smiles. We had a few people behind us, so we moved along.
We went back to our bench to grab our scriptures, bags, etc. Once of the counselors in our stake (Pres. Strong) asked Kylie what it was like to have an apostle speak right at her? Apparently, we weren't the only ones who noticed.
By this time the line was gone & we walked back towards Elder Perry. Brother Wright was standing with him & I told him how we've had the opportunity to work with his niece Jenny in the Easter Pageant & how much we love her. At that point Erik leaned in to Elder Perry & told him how I bumped into him a couple of times when he came to the Pageant years ago. {The story's HERE if you don't know/or care to know it.} He laughed & said how he remembered seeing the Pageant. He commented a couple of times on how wonderful the Pageant is. He asked the girls about being in it & Erik as well. Erik told him how he looks forward to it every year & loves being in it. Kylie let him know that she's had the chance to be the Dead Girl. He again commented about what a great work the Pageant is. He even commented how great it was that we sacrifice our time to be involved. He knew how much time it takes. He said he was all lined up to come this past year to see it, but then they took him out of the Missionary Department & how he was a little sad not to see it again.
What a wonderful experience for our little family. I love that we now have this fun memory to add to our history!
**I can't believe I forgot the conversation my girls had with Elder Perry. When we were talking to him about the Pageant he asked Jadyn if she was best friends with her sister. She replied, while shaking her head, "No." Kylie said, "Not really." NICE!! We have family love at our home & now an Apostle knows it! ;) It was quite funny actually. Even he was laughing at it!
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