Keep It Up!

Our stake recently underwent boundary changes, making 10 wards from 8, requiring one ward to attend a church in a neighboring suburb. A lot of people were feeling lost and concerned about the future, a little displaced and out of sorts. Our Stake President was masterful as he conducted the meeting and there was no question when it came time for a vote that the Stake Presidency had made every effort to do the Lord's will. He told us that in order to grow we needed to be challenged and in meeting the challenge we would become what the Lord intended us to be. To the credit of obedient saints, there wasn't one dissenting vote.

This past Sunday our Stake was fortunate to have Elder M. Russell Ballard visit our Stake Conference. It had been 15 years since a General Authority had visited our stake and it will probably be at least that many more years before one visits again. He was inspiring on many levels. I was able to tell him about his words motivating me to begin this blog and he said to "Keep it up!" so I will try to post more often.

My favorite part was while he was speaking to the whole congregation on Sunday morning. He asked all the children to listen closely and he leaned into the microphone and said, "You have the right to be heard and understood but you do not have the right to be disrespectful to your parents." Good words.

He said a lot of encouraging things and told us that when he is very tired and wonders if he will have the strength to attend the next assignment or event, he looks at a picture of the Savior and remembers Him and finds courage to go on. I loved that. I love all of our General Authorities and appreciate the time they spend serving the members of our church.