All is Well

Today, I’m going to start with a story. I am on the email list for Havenlight Art, one of the local companies that prints and sells art created by a lot of the local artists who are members of the church. It is one email list I choose to stay on because I enjoy seeing new art that is available and honestly, I love getting a dose of Jesus in my inbox once a week or so! Way back in December, the week before Christmas, (Yes, I know that was less than four months ago. These past several months have been hard and have seemed so, so long.) I got an email that included an image of the Savior that I had not seen previously. I really liked it and kept the email rather than deleting it. After pulling that email up every day for over a week, I decided I should probably just buy a print. There was a sale happening that lowered the cost of framed art a bit, so I ordered a framed piece to hang as well as prints to give my kiddos at Easter. 

As for what drew me to this particular image, I think it was the way the red robes were rendered. Rather than being a field of solid red, they are painted in lines that to my eye, are reminiscent of dripping blood. In some instances, that would end up being a gory picture, but in this case, it just reminded me deeply of the love that the Savior has for us, for me, and the fact that He willingly shed those drops of blood on our behalf. Over the years, as my life experiences have expanded and my relationship with the Savior has deepened, I have become more and more aware of just how much love went into His atonement, and just how amazing His gift is. Life is hard sometimes, a fact that has been made all too real for my family and me over the past month, and through it all, He is there, extending his great love and mercy to every one of us.

About a year and a half ago, I happened across a conference talk that I didn’t remember although I’m certain I heard it. In it there was a quote that changed the way I view the atonement. Elder Merrill J. Bateman said:

For many years I thought of the Savior’s experience in the garden and on the cross as places where a large mass of sin was heaped upon Him. Through the words of Alma, Abinadi, Isaiah, and other prophets, however, my view has changed. Instead of an impersonal mass of sin, there was a long line of people, as Jesus felt “our infirmities” (Hebrews 4:15), “[bore] our griefs, … carried our sorrows … [and] was bruised for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:4–5). The Atonement was an intimate, personal experience in which Jesus came to know how to help each of us.

I love that idea of each of us standing in line, each of us having our moment in front of Jesus when He looked at us, knew us and suffered in that moment for each of us specifically. I love the idea that He looked at my face, knew my fears and my sorrows and my sins and frustrations and worries and griefs and that one of those drops of blood was shed just for me.  This idea has changed the way I view the atonement, and it has strengthened my ties to Jesus Christ. And this particular picture reminded me of that one drop of blood that had my name on it. 

Today is Easter and as such, the reality of Christ’s atonement and resurrection have been at the forefront of my mind not just today, but over the past weeks as I’ve studied and learned and worked to wrap my brain around some of the harsh realities of life that have been placed before me. This weekend is also General Conference, and I feel like that has been a theme throughout conference as well. There have been so many talks about how the Savior is always there for us and that as we turn to Him, He will strengthen us and lift us and encourage us and bring us joy amidst the challenges of mortality as well as even greater joy in the day of resurrection. It has been such a needed balm to my soul. Some of my favorite thoughts are that a heartfelt prayer for peace will be answered (Henry B. Eyring), we never have to walk our mountain alone (Brian J. Holmes), and no matter how bad things are now, your best days are ahead (Emily Belle Freeman). I know that when we go in with a receptive heart and a willingness to learn, the Lord will teach us in very personal ways. And I feel like I received the spiritual reinforcement I need to be able to keep moving forward with faith.

With how serious and heavy things have been of late, I find myself being more intentional about focusing on the good. I’m looking for those little things that bring joy every day and I’m allowing myself to feel that joy even though there are serious things in the back of my mind all the time right now. So, with that in mind, there were a few silly things in my kids’ Easter baskets along with their prints of the image of Christ I have already written about. They each had some Easter egg and Easter bunny rubber ducks, because everyone knows that we need more rubber ducks around here. (Still five more to find from Christmas…) There were also some wind-up hopping Easter eggs which remind Malia of the eggs in Rise of the Guardians. And my favorite “just because it’s funny” basket stuffer was some Dr. Pepper flavored marshmallow Peeps. Malia’s response upon smelling and tasting them was, “That’s not right.” Because the flavor and aroma were exactly like Dr. Pepper, but the texture was definitely not. 😂 

Nathan and Malia were the only ones home this Easter, which while quiet, is beginning to feel a bit more normal. And Malia (almost) always appreciates having one of her brothers here. The exception to that is when Nathan tries to steal her food. Because not only are her holiday candy options a bit more limited due to the peanut allergy, but even when she was a tiny thing, she would share anything with her brothers except her food. That was where she drew the line. And as a youngest child with three older brothers, I feel like she was so smart that way. 😜 Anyway, Nathan teased her as she defended her nut free chocolate treats and today their whole good-natured bantering made me smile. It’s the little things, right?

One of the highlights of the day was an unexpected call from Matthew this evening. We did not know that he would get to call home for Easter, so it was a wonderful surprise! I think it was good for him too, because his mission president was called to be a general authority seventy during the morning session of conference yesterday which means that he will be leaving his calling as a mission president a full year earlier than expected. Matthew was planning on having the same mission president for all but his very last transfer, so this is a big change that has the mission in a bit of a hubbub this weekend. The mission president had a zoom meeting with all the missionaries last night to give them all some info about timing and what info he has, which is not much. The new mission president has been called although they don’t know who it is yet, and he will begin serving on July 1. Until the announcement yesterday morning, only the current mission president and his wife and the church leaders who had called him knew about this change. The mission president has two children still living at “home,” and even they didn’t know until yesterday. So big surprise for almost everyone.

Matthew is feeling a bit stressed about this upcoming change. Transfers are also this week, and there is a very serious rumor that Matthew will be training a brand-new missionary, so he is also feeling a bit anxious about that as well. Hopefully having a few minutes to chat with Kevin and I have helped reassure him that he really is capable and prepared to be a trainer and that while having a new mission president will definitely bring changes, it will also bring blessings. The Lord knows who He needs as well as where and when He needs them, so this is not a coincidence or a mistake. It is a part of the Lord’s plan for the current president and his family, the new president, the mission, and the missionaries. 

I feel like the big takeaway from this conference is that everything centers on Jesus Christ. And when we put him at the center of our lives, we are capable of much more than we are on our own. As life continues to bring us challenges, as I know it will, I hope that I will not just remember that lesson, but that I can live it. And I think that is one of the big challenges of mortality-to actually live what we profess to believe, to keep moving forward with faith in Jesus Christ. But if we can do that, if we can endure as Elder Bednar taught in this conference, in the end, all will be well. As the historic hymn says, “Come, come, ye saints, no toil nor labor fear; but with joy wend your way.” I feel like that should be my motto for this next six months-come to Christ, fear not what the future may bring, and find joy in the journey, for all is well.

Live Enlightenment

Having spent the majority of my childhood living in the Salt Lake valley, attending General Conference in person was always an option. In those days there was no ticketing system and as now, there were always more people who wanted to attend than could be accommodated, so you had to be downtown super early to get in line and hope that you could get in. With seven children in the family, hauling all of us downtown might have seemed like a Herculean task to my parents, so even then, we usually watched conference at home. I do remember attending regional or area conferences in the tabernacle occasionally though. In the ensuing years, it seems that the number of people on hand for each conference has grown exponentially, so attending in person, even in the much larger conference center, is a tricky thing. The ticketing system helps mediate that desire and makes it so you don’t have to get in line at 5:00 in the morning, you just have to get tickets and that in and of itself can be tricky. 

Last month, we got a notification that our stake was allotted a small number of tickets for this month’s general conference. Kevin asked our kiddos if they were interested and we got some very enthusiastic responses. Malia has never attended general conference in person and Tawni, who grew up in New Mexico, also fell into the “never done that” category. We ended up with tickets to the Sunday afternoon session, so Daniel, Tawni, and Nathan made their way down from Logan to attend the session. Nathan came down on Friday since he had a mission reunion that evening, and Daniel and Tawni arrived this morning just as I was pulling muffins out of the oven. Because even when headed downtown, our traditional conference breakfast was necessary. And it gave the kids muffins that they could easily eat for lunch before entering the conference center! 

Kevin and I both got our shingles vaccinations in the past couple of days and were not feeling our best (that particular immunization is a doozy) and I’ve had a headache for two full weeks now, so the four kids headed downtown via the train. The boys told me that Tawni was ridiculously excited, and I know Malia was excited too. She was a bit disappointed that she missed conference with Pres. Nelson by a week and was even a bit more disappointed that there were no new temples announced as he usually announced the new ones at the end of the Sunday afternoon session. Despite that, she had a good experience. Tawni also enjoyed the adventure and got to hear one of her mission presidents speak (Elder John D. Amos) which was fun!

This past month has been a bit hard around here, and the spiritual lift that we got from listening to conference was welcome. I’m looking forward to being able to revisit all these talks over the next six months.

Spiritual Enlightenment and the Traditional Breakfast

It is perfectly normal for families to have traditions associated with holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. We certainly have our fair share of traditions on each of those holidays. In church culture, it is also very common for families to have traditions associated with General Conference. And we have some of those as well. In particular, having sausage and muffins for breakfast is one of those unalterable traditions for us. When I was growing up, my mom always made muffins on the Sunday of General Conference. I continued to that trend with my own children, adding sausage to add some protein and balance our meal a bit. And my kids have continued that tradition as they have moved out and into their own abodes. 

Kevin and Matthew were on the road this morning driving home from St. George so they had their muffins for lunch, but the rest of us were well fed by the time conference started today. 😀

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch…

Like many church member families, we have general conference traditions. While Kevin and I are not home to participate in said traditions, Matthew and Malia didn’t want to skip them. Yesterday Matthew peppered me with questions so that this morning he would have all the knowledge he needed to make our traditional muffins and sausage for breakfast. He already knows how to cook and has made muffins in the past, but he wanted to make sure he remembered how everything went together, and he did a great job! My parents took pity on my two teens and offered to feed them dinner this evening, but Malia has a friend who was being baptized this evening and it was really important for Malia to be there, so they ate lunch with my folks instead. My mom knows that bao is one of Matthew’s basic food groups, so they lucked out and got bao! Yum! 

Daniel pulled out his culinary skills as well and celebrated general conference by making key lime pie for his friends. I love that all my attempts to teach my kids to cook have been fruitful. And that while they might not have loved it when it was happening, they appreciate it now!

Daniel's Turn

The Logan institute choir was invited to sing for this evening’s session of general conference. Daniel has been singing with the institute choir the entire time he has been at USU and has loved it. It has been one of those places where he can relax, let go of some of his worries for a while, and let the Spirit flow. When he found out they had been invited to sing, he was super excited but not certain that he would be invited to participate. When news about the invite got around, interest in the choir suddenly increased exponentially. There were so many people who were interested in singing for conference that they had to hold auditions. Daniel told us there were about 1600 people who auditioned for the coveted 360 seats, but he’s a guy and he can sing, so I didn’t think he would have too trouble getting in, and that turned out to be completely accurate. 

This ended up being a great experience for Daniel. Not only did he have a wonderful time, but he found new meaning in one of the hymns they sang, one of which he had not been particularly fond of before this choir experience. Memorizing the lyrics and rehearsing regularly allowed the meaning of “Jesus, Once of Humble Birth” to sink into his heart. I love how music does that. I have always believed that music can convey the Spirit in ways that nothing else can, and I also believe that because of its ability to invite the Spirit, music has the power to change the hearts both of those who hear and those who perform. I’m so glad Daniel continues to find joy in music and for this amazing opportunity that he had. I hope it will always be remembered with joy!

Sprinting Towards Eternal Salvation

This weekend is general conference. We had all planned to watch all the sessions from home, but last night Nathan and Matthew were given an unexpected opportunity to attend the Saturday evening session in the conference center. Kyle, one of Nathan’s roommates from last fall, called Nathan yesterday afternoon. He was downtown and had become the sole possessor of four tickets for last night’s session. He invited Nathan to attend, told him Matthew was included in the invitation, and told them they needed to be in the conference center in just under an hour. It is a good 35 minutes from our house to downtown. Add time to change clothes, park and walk to the conference center, and the time was very short indeed. But Nathan was not going to turn down an opportunity to see conference live, so he and Matthew both changed as fast as they could and headed out the door just minutes after the phone call ended with the hope that they could make it in time.

We got a message from Nathan just minutes before the 6:30 deadline letting us know that they had squeaked in just in time. They had pretty much run from the parking garage to the conference center and poor Matthew, whose legs are half as long as Nathan’s, had to sprint to keep up. In fact, by the time they got to their seats, he had to pull out his inhaler. But they made it! Stevie, another of Nathan’s previous roomies, was also invited so there were four of them.

This was the first time Matthew has had the opportunity to attend a session in person, so he was super glad that things worked in their favor. Nathan loved the atmosphere in the auditorium and specifically commented on how amazing it was to hear all conversations stop and watch as all in attendance stood as the prophet entered the room. I’ve experienced that same occurrence, and the sense of reverence is akin to being in the temple. Seriously, you can feel the righteous power those men who are prophets and apostles hold as they arrive. 

I’m so glad two of my boys were able to have such a great experience. And I’m even more glad that the opportunity to have such an experience was important enough for them to drop everything and run to get there. I would hope that they, and me and the remainder of my family, would always be ready to change directions on a moment’s notice and sprint towards the Savior at top speed. I guess that’s another metaphor for how I want to live my life-I want to be ready and willing to drop everything and run as fast as I can to do whatever the Lord asks of me. I know I’m not there yet. There are still times when I move forward more reluctantly than I should, but I’m a work in progress and hopefully my desire to be better will help me make those changes one day, one invitation and one sprint at a time.

Pure Joy

Last March I briefly mentioned that I applied for and was invited to participate in a multicultural choir that was slated to sing for General Conference in April 2020. I didn’t give a lot of details of that time, just mentioned it as I was dealing with the fallout of the COVID induced shut down. But now it’s time for me to tell the story.

In January of 2020, the church announced that there would be a multicultural choir singing for the April 2020 general conference. They were accepting applications from anyone who lived along the Wasatch front and was interested in participating. I applied, as did my sisters Rachael and Esther. In mid-February we were notified as to whether or not we would be able to sing. I was invited to participate, but neither of my sisters were. I had some very mixed feelings. I was so excited to participate but also so disappointed that my sisters would not be able to have the experience with me. I love them and am so grateful for them though, as they both encouraged me to do it anyway, which of course I was anxious to do. I accepted the invitation and rehearsals began a few weeks later.

At the first rehearsal, the sister who works for the church and coordinates the choirs told us how the multicultural choir came to be. In October 2019 general conference, Pres. Nelson had announced that conference in April 2020 would commemorate the 200th anniversary of the First Vision. He invited all of us to prepare by studying the restoration. He also announced that the Saturday evening session would be a very special one associated with that anniversary. The church choir coordinator was making plans to invite a certain area to provide a choir as she always does, but the prophet changed her plans when he personally requested that a multicultural choir be assembled for that special session. She quickly shifted gears and once the announcement was made, the applications started rolling in. There were only 360 spots available in the choir and the church music department received 6300 applications. They had no idea the response would be so overwhelming, and they worked long hours to select who would be invited to participate.

At that first rehearsal she told us that they had been guided by the Spirit and knew that there was a reason each one of us was in attendance. They didn’t know they reasons, but they knew there were reasons and said that some of us might know why and some of us might not. At that point, I had no idea why I had been included.

Some other tidbits that were shared with all of us during that first rehearsal were the facts that the choir was compiled with careful attention to what the membership of our worldwide church looks like. There were representatives from six continents. I don’t remember the exact numbers at that time, but there were a multitude of countries and languages represented. As I looked around at all the others in attendance, it was clear that my half Chinese heritage was actually one of the less exotic ones. I was born in Utah, have spent most of my life here, and speak only English. And yet I had been included in this amazing group. I honestly felt a little bit unworthy of my spot. However, the Lord is infinitely merciful and later that evening after I returned home and was preparing for bed, through the Spirit the Lord shared with me why I was able to be a part of such an amazing event. I won’t share that reason here as it is very personal, but I had no doubt as to why I was asked to sing. It was one of those “spiritually defining memories” (Neil L. Anderson, April 2020 General Conference) that confirmed to me that the Lord loves me and knows me better than anyone else, better even than I know myself.

We only had six rehearsals in which to learn all the music, so things moved fast. Unfortunately, COVID moved even faster. After our third rehearsal, the prophet made the decision to close general conference to the general public. At that point we were informed that we would still sing for general conference with just the speakers and the choir in attendance. Within just a few days the plan changed again, and we were going to prerecord our numbers so they could be played during general conference. But the world was shifting too quickly and overnight, everything was shut down due to COVID. That meant our choir was shut down as well. We were told that we were tentatively rescheduled for October 2020, but I was still enormously disappointed. It was just one of a multitude of disappointments my family was dealing with at the time and as I tried to help my kids weather the unknown world we suddenly found ourselves living in, I kind of had to push it to the background of my mind and keep moving forward.

As we all know, things had not improved by October 2020 and general conference was again a broadcast with just the speakers in attendance. April 2021 followed the same pattern and after that, I kind of gave up hope. It had been over a year, and it seemed the choir was a thing of the past. During that year the choir members had been invited to participate in several virtual choir projects (one that ended up being a part of a worldwide young adult broadcast) and that was super cool, but it felt like the opportunity to sing live would never materialize.

But the Lord had other ideas, and in June I received an email letting me know that we had been given the green light to sing live in the October 2021 general conference. I was so excited and replied that I was definitely still interested in participating. At last, it looked like we would be able to sing! But COVID wasn’t done with us yet. In August, as infection rates began to rise once again, the leaders of the church felt a need to make changes to the choir in an attempt to make it safer for all of us. Instead of 360 members, the choir would need to be cut in half in order to make social distancing possible. The church music department listed a number of other COVID accommodations that would be made and again asked for responses about whether or not we wanted to participate. Not surprisingly, there were far more people who still wanted to participate than they could accept. There was a long week of waiting as once again they let the Spirit guide them as they cut the choir down to 180 members.

With 50% of us getting the ax, I fully expected to be cut from the choir. Yes, they did say they would hopefully be able to ask those people cut from the choir to participate in the future, but no one knew when that would be, and it seemed easier to assume I would not get to sing rather than get my hopes up. But the Lord’s ideas are often different than my own and once again, I was invited to participate. I’m going to be completely honest when I say that it has been a very humbling experience to be chosen not once, but twice to participate in this choir. It is a confirmation to me that the Lord sees me, knows me, is mindful of me. I’m not just a face in the crowd to him. I’m important and loved. Yet another “spiritually defining memory.”

Now let me tell you about all our COVID accommodations. First of all, every one of us was required to be fully vaccinated. We would be socially distancing during all rehearsals and performances. We would also be rehearsing in the Tabernacle on Temple Square rather than a normal church building so we could have assigned seats to facilitate contact tracing in case of positive cases. We were required to wear masks except when actively singing. If we were exposed to a positive case of COVID, we were required to wait three days and then test ourselves before returning to rehearsals. If we were sick at all, even the sniffles, we were asked to stay home just in case. Rehearsals were recorded so those at home for illness or waiting to test could still learn the music. As our performance date approached, we would be regularly COVID tested to ensure we were all well. We were told numerous times during our first few rehearsals in August that we were the guinea pigs for the Tabernacle Choir. If we could meet and perform safely, they would be able to do so as well. So now I can honestly say that I’ve been a test subject in a medical experiment. I believe human testing is legal in this case as we were all fully consenting adults. 😂

We were also told that we were a historical choir. Not only were we an unprecedented multicultural choir, we were the first church choir to return since COVID hit and the first to rehearse in the pandemic. We were also the first conference choir (other than the Tab Choir) to rehearse in the Tabernacle. And when we moved to the Conference Center for rehearsals a few weeks later, we were the first again. We were the first church choir to participate in a “test to sing” protocol and just two days after our first testing date when we proved that all the precautions were working by having everyone test negative, the Tabernacle Choir was able to hold their first rehearsal in over a year and a half. I guess we did a pretty good job as guinea pigs. 😁

Singing in this choir has been a great experience. One of my favorite moments occurred in one of our first rehearsals this year. We would sing hymns to warm up as people arrived and checked in. One week there was a request to sing “I Am a Child of God” with everyone singing in their native language. To be in the middle of that group and be one of only a very few singing in English was very powerful, a tangible reminder that the church is a worldwide church and that in the gospel, none are excluded. No matter where we are from, what language we speak, or what we look like, all are welcome and loved in Christ’s church. We are all children of God. I don’t necessarily forget that, but sometimes I think that because I have spent the majority of my life here in Utah where the church is based, I don’t see the reality of how varied our church really is. And what a touching reminder singing with this amazing group of people has been.

Another of my favorite moments occurred at our last rehearsal. Each week one or two choir members were asked to bear their testimonies at the beginning of rehearsal. On this last evening, a brother from Rwanda was invited to share his testimony. He told us he was in Rwanda during the genocide that occurred in 1994. During a short 100 days, over a million people were killed. He said that as a result of that horrible event, a lot of children were abandoned on the streets, and he was one of them. He lived on the streets for a few years and at some point in his life, he met a group of church members and was converted. He then referred to the third verse of one of our songs, “Consider the Lilies,” that says “Consider the sweet, tender children who must suffer on this earth. The pains of all of them he carried from the day of his birth.” He bore his testimony that the Savior does indeed know and care about each and every one of those children, and he knows that because he was one of those children. He told us that when he watched general conference broadcast from the conference center, he never could have imagined that he would be standing in the conference center, singing in general conference. It was a powerful reminder that I’ve led a very easy life, a charmed life you could say, where I never went hungry, was never without a home or a family, my physical needs were always met, and I grew up feeling safe and secure. I never had to sacrifice family and friends in order to be a follower of Christ. I was never forced from my home by political upheaval or a natural disaster. I was never a refugee in a country where no one spoke my language. And these things are the realities of life for so many. I was so humbled as I thought of how blessed I have been and so in awe of the spiritual strength of all those who have weathered the worst kinds of storms and still remained optimistic and strong in the gospel. I hope as I move forward, I will look at my life with a great deal more gratitude than I have in the past.

After just six rehearsals, conference day arrived. The tabernacle became COVID central as we all arrived to test prior to rehearsal. If our test came back negative, we were given a blue sticker to put on our security badges. Throughout the day, security was looking for those blue stickers just as much as they were checking badges. Once we acquired our much-coveted blue sticker, we headed over to the conference center for a short rehearsal, lunch, and an even shorter camera check before conference began.

I thought I would be nervous knowing that the entire world would be watching, but I wasn’t anxious at all. As we settled into our seats and the organ began to play the prelude music, all I felt was peace and calm. It was akin to the feeling I get in the temple. The audience was very small, just a few general authorities and their families, and so there was no rustle that accompanies a large crowd. Everyone was sitting quietly, listening to the music. Add to that the presence of the prophet, apostles and other church leaders as they began to take their seats, and the Spirit was there in spades. That auditorium became a sacred space, and I was completely at peace.

This was the first conference held in the auditorium since October 2019 and it was also the first to have live music in that same period of time. I feel so blessed to have been a part of that. Music can invite the Spirit like nothing else can, and as we sang, we were not performing, we were worshipping. I love singing, always have. But as often happens with life, it has been pushed to the background by other responsibilities. While I’ve sung with numerous ward and stake choirs over the years, I’ve missed singing with a large choir. But I didn’t realize just how much until I was offered the chance to sing with this choir. Being able to raise my voice with all those others in praise of our Savior brought joy to my heart. Afterwards, I had a variety of people tell me that I looked happy as I sang. And they were exactly right. I was happy, joyful in fact. What a glorious experience it was. The only thing I missed was having my family there with me. Due to COVID, we were unable to invite any of our family to be present in the conference center and I wish they could have been there with me.

As with so many good things, it all went by too quickly. Before I knew it, the session was over. But we were blessed in one more way. As soon as the prayer was said, Pres. Nelson gathered up his wife and they made a beeline for the choir loft. Pres. Nelson spoke to our director, gave her an elbow bump which is the COVID equivalent of a handshake, and then waved and blew kisses to the choir. I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried, but I was in good company as most of the choir, both men and women, had tears in their eyes. What a tender mercy that the prophet took a moment to acknowledge us. After all we had been through and how long we had waited to be there, it was a sweet moment that brought more joy to my heart. Pres. Nelson had requested just such a choir and while it took much longer than we had planned to get to sing, he honored us in those few words and actions.

As soon as the prophet and his wife left the auditorium, the sister who coordinates the conference choirs came back in, her eyes wide with astonishment. Concerning Pres. Nelson’s visit to the choir loft, she said, “That never happens!” That made our small moment with the prophet that much sweeter knowing that it was not a frequent occurrence. I will cherish that memory.

Once the church leaders were gone, security gave us the ok to leave the loft and we were led back to the lobby of the conference center. As previously planned, we gathered outside for an unofficial group photo. It just so happened that there was a KSL camera man onsite and some of the choir members, all juiced up on joy and adrenaline, decided we should sing for him. Everyone was happy to comply, of course, and we sang “I Am a Child of God” in native languages and then “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet.” Our director joined us and when she asked if we wanted to know what the prophet had said, there was an enthusiastic shout of, “Yes!” She said that he asked where she got the choir and said we sounded like the Tabernacle Choir. What a sweet compliment. I don’t know if it’s true or not, I haven’t listened to the recordings yet, but whether true or not, it was a very kind and heartfelt comment.

As I’ve said before, it was all over too soon. The hours had flown by and before I knew it, I was headed home. I spent the remainder of the weekend listening to conference with my family and found joy there as well. Not only was I with my most favorite people in the whole world, but conference was a great reminder that living the gospel will bring us joy. There were quite a few speakers who quoted Pres. Nelson who said, “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.” As I pondered on that, I was reminded that sometimes joy is a choice. In fact, often it’s a choice. It makes me so grateful for the “find the good” attitude Kev has been encouraging all of us to cultivate over the past year and a half.

Just a couple more highlights from conference. There were several comments that seemed meant just for me and my circumstances. It seems there is concern amongst the church in general that matches the concerns my ward leadership has in our own neighborhood which is a confirmation to me that the Spirit is guiding all of us in our respective callings. There were things said that match my own thoughts which was a confirmation that the Spirit has been teaching me pure truth. And I was given the opportunity to raise my hand to sustain the church leaders while I was in the same room with them. That was pretty neat!

In his closing remarks at the end of conference, Pres. Nelson posed the question, “How will we be different because of what we have heard and felt?” I have several things that have stuck in my mind that I hope will guide and direct me as I move forward. There are ways that I can improve, and I hope will remember the promptings I have received and be humble enough to act on them. How blessed we are to live in the time of the restoration of Christ’s church. How blessed we are to live in a time when there is a living prophet and living apostles on the earth. How blessed we are to have the opportunity to hear them speak every six months. How blessed we are to have the technology that puts their words at our fingertips at any time. And how blessed I have been that the peace and calm I felt during the session I attended on Saturday remained with me all weekend.

The choir was allowed to listen to the very beginning of the Saturday morning session while we waited for everyone to finish with their COVID testing. As Pres. Nelson opened the conference, he urged everyone to seek for pure truth, pure doctrine, and pure revelation during this conference. For me, I feel to add that I have looked for, and found, pure joy as well.

 

‘Tis Sweet to Sing

You may recall that I was invited to participate in a multicultural choir that was scheduled to sing for general conference last April. You may also recall that the world tumbled into chaos and completely shut down three weeks before that specific conference. It was one of many events cancelled and was one of my own personal disappointments. But the choir was tentatively rescheduled to sing for conference in October, so I was hopeful. As we all know, the world situation had not improved by October and general conference was once again an all-virtual event with no live music. Once that passed, the hopes that the choir would be rescheduled seemed to vanish and I resigned myself to that fact. After how many things my children had lost though, my own disappointment over this seemed small indeed.

In mid-October, I received an unexpected email. Those who had been asked to sing with the multicultural choir were invited to participate in a virtual choir. It was for an internal project, one that would not be broadcast but would be viewed by upper church leadership. Our children were also invited to participate if they desired to do so. I, of course, was thrilled to be able to do something, to sing for something, even if it was all alone in my basement. Nathan and Malia were also excited about the project and jumped on the bandwagon. We learned the songs and then spent a morning doing all the recording. It was something different, a break in the normal COVID routine, and a most welcome one. We submitted our finished files and I figured that was the end of it.

Apparently, the church leaders who viewed the virtual choir recordings were happy with how they turned out because last month, I got another email asking for permission to use some of those recordings in an upcoming worldwide broadcast. I sent permission for both Nathan and I (it was the one song Malia didn’t learn and record) and then as requested, kept my silence.

This evening there was a worldwide devotional for young adults. The virtual choir recording was one of the musical numbers. Nathan was at work during the broadcast, but his social network started contacting him as soon as they recognized his happy, singing face. I am so glad that it was a positive thing for Nathan. It was neat for me to be a part of something like that, but I am far more pleased that Nathan was able to be a part of it. He has lost so much in the past year and I wish that I could give it all back to him. I can’t, of course, but I’m grateful I was able to be a part of giving him this one small thing. Although nothing can replace the feeling of singing with a real, flesh and blood choir, the current modified way of doing things still gave us an opportunity to participate in something real, to share our talents and contribute to what I hope was a spiritual experience for people the world over.

The Lord has blessed my family and I abundantly in terms of musical talent and while my opportunities to share that talent currently seem very small indeed, I’m grateful for the chance to come together with so many others to share our testimonies and love of the Lord through our talents. It was a reminder to me that even though we all feel isolated by this pandemic, we are actually all in this together. Even though we are still physically separated in so many ways, we can still reach out to one another and connect in meaningful ways, sharing our love and supporting those all around us. It reminds me of a song, one that seems fairly on point for our current world situation. It may seem cheesy, but sometimes I think that truth can be found in unexpected places.

Just One Voice,
Singing in the darkness,
All it takes is One Voice,
Singing so they hear what's on your mind,
And when you look around you'll find
There's more than

One Voice,
Singing in the darkness,
Joining with your One Voice,
Each and every note another octave,
Hands are joined and fears unlocked,
If only

One Voice
Would start it on its own,
We need just One Voice facing the unknown,
And that One Voice would never be alone
It takes that One Voice.
Would never be alone
It takes that One Voice.

 

 

Disappointment

Malia has been off-track, so today was her first real day of online learning. We had everything set up, all her logins ready to go, and knew what was expected of her so I assumed it would be smooth sailing. I was, however, much mistaken. Malia usually loves school, generally learns quickly and is usually one of the first in her class to complete assignments. But that girl was nowhere to be found this morning. Her first two assignments took her nearly four hours to get through and there were tears, stubbornness, refusal to follow directions, etc. It was the kind of response I usually get about cleaning her room, not school. At that point, Kevin, Malia and I had a bit of a Come to Jesus talk about the expectations associated with school at home. And then I looked at her tearstained face and asked what else was going on and she told me that doing her work at home means she can’t talk to her friends. I knew immediately that was the real problem.

The topic of our discussion shifted a bit at that point. We talked about disappointment and how this insane situation means all of us are feeling disappointed because we can’t do things we were looking forward to, things that are normal, etc. Nathan has had tours, festivals, concerts, and most likely a play cancelled. Matthew also has concerts that were cancelled, rehearsals that aren’t happening and a postponed musical. Symphony performances and outings are off and while some things may be rescheduled, I suspect others won’t. Everyone is cut off from friends and colleagues. And as for me, the general conference choir is officially cancelled. While that is in no way unexpected, it is still a disappointment. It is, however, tentatively rescheduled for October and if it happens, I’ll clear my schedule to make sure I can still participate.

Once we had that little pow wow, Malia was able to clear her mind and get back to work. I think things will get a little easier once she has settled into a routine. In fact, I think things will get a little easier for all of us once we can find our new normal. And although it may seem like it right now, this won’t last forever. Eventually it will pass, and we will be able to return to our normal lives. And I hope that with that return to normalcy will come a greater sense of appreciation, an increased amount of gratitude for the many blessings that our lives hold each and every day. Even on the most ordinary of days.

Reality Sets In

Social distancing officially began three days ago, but with all the errands that have been necessary in the past few days, life kind of felt like business as usual for us. Today was the first day when we were all home when we wouldn’t normally have been, doing things we wouldn’t normally be do at home. We held our own little version of church, including the sacrament. Partway through the morning, I got an email letting me know that rehearsal for the general conference choir had been cancelled. As of now we are still planning to sing for conference but will do so with half the number of rehearsals originally scheduled. While it was in no way unexpected, it was a disappointment. There was no ward choir practice either and no presidency meetings for Nathan and Matthew. Our traditional big family dinner at my parent’s house was also cancelled. And with all those changes, the weight of the situation in which we find ourselves settled on my shoulders.

All of us have things that we will not be able to do as a result of the insane circumstances in which we find ourselves. There have been, and I’m sure will continue to be, cancellations of all kinds. We will be separated from those with whom we would normally associate. There will be disappointments of all kinds. And I suspect there will be an emotional toll as well. And yet, it feels like the Lord has been preparing us for this exact situation. We’ve had just over a year learning how to have church at home with the “Come, Follow Me” program. We’ve had a couple of years of ministering, which is the main way that the leadership in my ward is reaching out to all the members of the ward, making sure needs are met, making sure no one is completely cut off from others and helping lift spirits. The move to sharing most ward and stake announcements via email has given us a previously established method for getting information out to everyone. The new children and youth program is helping us meet the various needs of our young ones with the focus on family involvement. So although things are definitely not normal, I can’t help but feel that we’ve been given the tools we need to survive, and possibly even thrive, in these uncommon days, these last days.

The Eye of the Storm

Over the past several days, I’ve kind of been the mind of reason in our house. In all honesty, that is not my usual job. I’m usually the one keeping a calm face on to prevent our kids from freaking out any more than they already are, and then being overwhelmed by anxiety when their backs are turned. With that in mind, I’ve spent a good deal of time ruminating about why I’m so at peace.

Kevin and I were able to go to the temple last night. He scheduled a family sealing session several weeks ago because his sister had a bunch of family names that needed sealings. I feel like it was a blessing that all our schedules happened to align and that we were able to get one last temple trip in before the temples close for proxy ordinances on Monday. We don’t know how long any of the current closures will last so I’m very grateful we were able to go. As we walked around in the temple, we could hear the wind wailing through the ventilated elevator shafts. The halls were still peaceful and in the ordinance rooms it was still quiet, but the sound of the wind in opposition to the peace in the temple made me feel like I was in the eye of the storm. That thought led me to the idea that the world is very much in turmoil and while we won’t be able to attend the temple for an undermined amount of time, our homes can and should be that same peaceful refuge from a world in commotion. Kevin, noticing the same opposition as I did, had two hymns come to his mind: “Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me” and “Master, the Tempest is Raging.” He felt like both of those hymns express very well how our children are feeling in our current circumstances. Things are out of our control and there is fear and anxiety about what may happen, but if we turn to our Savior, if we lean on him and trust in him, he will guide us through whatever is coming.

As we drove home, I had another thought. There will be a multicultural choir singing for the Saturday evening session of General Conference in a few weeks. The church started accepting applications in January and I applied, as did my sisters Rachael and Esther. I was invited to participate and while I’m super excited about that, the fly in the ointment was the fact that neither of my sisters were. Over 6300 applications were received, so obviously, choosing who would participate was a difficult process. On the evening of our first rehearsal, those who were involved with organizing the choir and choosing the participants told us that the Spirit was key in making all those decisions. Those of us who were invited to sing were there for the reason. The organizers didn’t know, and we might not even know, but each of us was supposed to participate. We were also told that we and our families would be blessed for our service in the choir.

As I thought on that, I think this uncharacteristic calm I’m feeling is one of those blessings. When it was announced earlier this week that general conference would be closed to the general public, we got an email from the choir organizers letting us know that the music is very important to the general authorities and that we would still be singing. When the governor banned group gatherings of more than 100 (there are 364 people in the choir) I thought that might be the death knell of the choir. But it was not long before we got another email informing us that “the First Presidency is very much still planning on having us sing live for conference.” (It was in bold, just like that.) There will need to be some adjustments made to our rehearsal schedule, but the choir is still a go. They also told us that if we are nervous about attending rehearsals with groups of people that we can contact the organizers and they will work something out, but honestly, if the prophet says we are still singing, that is good enough for me. I trust that he has our best interest in mind and since he has a pretty direct line to the highest authority, I trust that my health and well-being will be taken care of as far as choir participation goes.

I think that sense of calm trust in our prophet has translated into my life as a whole as a blessing of my willingness to sing in the choir. I don’t know how long it will last. Hopefully it will continue for the duration, but I’m pretty neurotic sometimes so we’ll see. And as for conference, it will most definitely be a general conference unlike any I’ve experienced before. And I’m not worried about where to park anymore. 😉

Historic Times

Let’s talk a little bit about general conference. In the last couple of years, there have been a variety of procedural changes in the church. By now, we should all know that when Pres. Nelson uses the word “adjustment,” we should all brace ourselves for more changes. There were more changes this weekend, changes to the organization of the young men and young women programs. Nathan has been struggling with the way our priests’ quorum has been running of late, and the feeling I have is that these newest changes will be good. There may be some growing pains as everyone tries to put the changes in place, but I honestly think it will be good. The “Come Follow Me” program has been so good for my family. We’ve had to try a variety of different approaches to find what works for us, but overall, I feel like it has been beneficial for us. We’re talking about the gospel more frequently. We’re studying and learning together more frequently. We’re letting the gospel be a part of our day to day lives and conversations more frequently. And I think the new youth programs will do the same thing.

There have been a variety of changes for women as well. Last year, the general women’s meeting became a part of general conference weekend for the first time. Earlier this week, the church announced changes to who can be a witness for saving ordinances and women and girls will now be able to stand as witnesses. And last night, for the first time, new temples were announced during the women’s session. I was sitting in a stake center in Taylorsville when it was announced that a temple would be built in Taylorsville. Let me tell you, it was powerful to sit there amongst that group of women who were so filled with gratitude and joy that the room felt electric. I don’t even live in that city, but it was powerful for me as well. And I’m so enormously pleased for my folks and Kevin’s folks who do live in Taylorsville.

This was Malia’s very first women’s session and besides dinner and doughnuts with the cousins, aunties and both of her grandmothers, I hope she’ll remember the Spirit, the prophet telling us how important women are in the gospel, and the excitement and gratitude associated with temples. I know a lot of the doctrinal talk went over her head, but she was enormously excited to be able to attend the meeting (she wanted to sit on the very front row!) and I hope that her excitement and zeal for the gospel will continue. And as her mother, I hope that I can feed her spirit and her mind as she continues to learn and grow.

I came away from Saturday’s meetings with two general impressions. First, the youth are the future of the church. They will be the ones ushering in a millennial age and they need to be prepared. They need to be strengthened to meet the great challenges that stand before them. The Lord knows this and is helping us prepare them by providing us with programs in the church and in the home that will help them learn to receive personal revelation and lead to their continuing conversion.

My second impression concerns the women of the church. I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again, but I’ve never felt marginalized, belittled or lesser being a woman in the church. But I know there are women that do, and I think the Lord is trying to help all of us realize that we are not secondary to the men in the gospel. I think he’s trying to help the women of the church more fully understand their place and importance in the church, their role in the last days, how the power of the priesthood is available to us and applicable in our lives and to encourage us to rise up and become the great force for good that the Lord needs us to be. I’m currently serving in the relief society presidency and I think it has made me more aware of the needs of the sisters around me and I feel strongly that as women, we need to “do better and be better.” (quoting Pres. Nelson here) We have a great work to do and much to contribute to the progression of the gospel.

All this makes me feel like we are living in historic times, times that future saints will look back on as a changing point in the church, the age that helped prepare the church and the saints to usher in the prophesied days of the second coming. So what does this mean for me? For my family? We need to make our own personal adjustments, adjustments that will lead us to embrace these changes wholeheartedly. I know that if we do, we will be blessed.

Tailored to Each Person’s Needs

I know I say this every time, but General Conference was amazing. One of the things that always strikes me is that the things that stick out to us, the messages that impress us the most, are different for each member of my family. I felt that there was a lot of focus on being responsible for our own learning and teaching our families. I felt greatly impressed about the importance of the Come Follow Me program and how if we use it in our home, we will have greater spiritual protection and guidance in our eternal progression. Nathan heard a lot of things about looking for the light and how to face the future with confidence. It is a tender mercy that the words spoken touch each of us in different ways and that the Spirit helps each one of us learn what we need to learn.

As for how the Come Follow Me program is working for us, I think we’ve got a good routine in place. It lets all of us participate in not only our own learning but provides opportunities for us to teach our family members. It allows the kids to learn and grow without overwhelming them. And It grants each of us the chance to receive the guidance of the Spirit so that we can learn the things we are ready to understand. I occasionally get overwhelmed myself, but then I just need to remind myself that I don’t need to learn everything there is to learn every week. As with all things, line upon line. Here a little and there a little. The Spirit will help me learn what I need to know right now and next time I revisit this portion of the scriptures, hopefully I’ll be prepared to learn a little bit more.

Blessed

As of today, I am 45 years old. I suppose that folks at my age are supposed to be having a midlife crisis or something, but honestly, I think I’m happier and more content with who I am than I have been at any other age. I know a good part of that is the fact that I’m not having a migraine every day. That is an enormous blessing for me. But that is only part of it.

Back in 2015, there was a general conference talk titled “What Lack I Yet?” It struck a cord with me and I decided to follow the counsel given and ask the Lord where I could improve. He answered, of course, and I began my journey by seeking to improve in that one way. Since then, the Lord has given me more gentle guidance concerning ways that I am yet lacking. Some have been fairly easy to amend, others quite a struggle. But through it all, I have felt certain that I was on the Lord’s path. He has helped me see the kind of person he wants me to become and one small step at a time, he is helping me get there. He has also given me a glimpse of how he sees me, which has been both humbling and inspiring.

As a result of all this, I think that I’ve got a better idea of who I am and who I want to be. And I’m less likely to compare myself to others, which is always a recipe for contentment. I feel extremely blessed to have the Lord guiding me on my path through life, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) Not even the reinvention of an average stay-at-home mom.

Easter Blessings

With the ages of the majority of my children in double digits, the Easter festivities have mellowed considerably. We have been able to focus more on the real meaning of the holiday which has been fantastic. We still color eggs and do the egg hunt for Malia, but now I actually have kids that will eat the deviled eggs and egg salad that come afterward. In past years, Kevin and I ate as many hard-cooked eggs as we could before we tossed the last few just so that the kids could color them.

At eleven, this was Matthew’s last year to hunt eggs. Mentally, I think Matthew is done with the whole Easter egg hunt thing. However, he definitely still likes to have a basketful of sugar, so I suspect he persevered for the sake of the candy. He does still enjoy the fine art of dying eggs so he happily participated in that. Malia was as gung ho as ever about the whole thing and the big boys enjoy the copious amounts of jelly beans.

I always like when General Conference and Easter fall on the same day, so that was great this year. It is uplifting to listen to the words of the prophet and apostles and really ponder on the marvelous blessings we receive as a result of the atonement and resurrection. It makes for a wonderful experience. So it was a good weekend, a great holiday, not much in the ways of news to report, but fabulous just the same.

Happy Easter

With Easter and General Conference falling on the same weekend this year, we had a pretty low key holiday. We colored eggs on Friday, did a little egg hunt on Saturday and had Kev's parents join us for dinner this evening. Not having to worry about getting everyone to church on time or wondering if enough of my ward choir members would show up to sing was super nice. It was feeling so laid back that it didn't even occur to me to take pictures of most of our stuff so this is all you get:

Although we don't do the whole Easter Bunny thing, we do have fill the kids' baskets with treats and a chocolate bunny. I always make a bunny for Matthew using a chocolate mold a bought a few years back so he gets one as well. However, this year in addition to his chocolate bunny he got a 1 lb. gummy bunny. I kid you not. The thing is huge. And heavy. And it made everyone laugh. Matthew has discovered that it is pretty hard to eat. He'll probably be gnawing at the thing until the 4th of July.

I really enjoyed being able to stay home, listen to conference and spend time with my family. I think part of that is because Sundays definitely don't feel like a day of rest for me right now. So having conference let me actually take a breath and relax. And listening to conference all day was a great way to keep my focus on the Savior. Daniel and Nathan have both learned to love General Conference as well so it was a great day all around.

A Reminder for Matthew: The Lord Knows You, Understands Your Needs and Loves You More Than You Can Comprehend

The last post was a reminder for me and this one is a reminder for Matthew. At some point he is going to wonder if the Lord really knows what he is going through or if the Lord hears his prayers or even cares. I want to be able to remind him of an experience the two of us had that will let him know that the Lord really does know and care.

A few weeks ago Matthew quit eating. He would have a couple of bites of cereal for breakfast and a few bites of dinner, all usually under great duress. He came home from school with his lunch box still completely full. As is normal, after a few days of this, his appetite decreased and the problem became a vicious cycle. He had no energy, was tired all the time and had a slightly grey pallor to his face. He was unhappy and became overemotional at the drop of a hat. He was yelling and screaming at everyone. It was bad enough that when I made a doughnut for him and took it to school for his Halloween party that he didn’t even want that. I knew something was wrong but simply could not discover what it was. Honestly, I don’t think that Matthew even knew what was wrong. After a couple of weeks, I was getting worried. Kev and I tried to talk to him, tried to make him eat, but we could not figure out what was going on. We were concerned enough that I had decided that if we could not figure out what was going on I was going to employ the aid of other trusted adults in his life and see if they could get any useful information out of him. Other than that, our only plan was to pray, which we did.

A few days after that, I was helping Matthew with his homework when all of a sudden I realized that I was asking him a question. It was not something I had thought about in advance, there were just words coming out of my mouth all of a sudden that had absolutely nothing to do with the conversation we had been having. The question was, “Do you sit with friends at lunch or by yourself?” Right away Matthew told me that he doesn’t sit with friends but that they moved the food allergy table at school and now a bunch of hot lunch kids come and sit by him. Because I know him so well, I knew immediately that this was the root of the problem. Food is a scary thing to Matthew because of all his allergies and being surrounded by kids who are eating stuff he knows he is allergic to is a source of great stress. So I reminded him that as long as he doesn’t eat their food he will be fine. I also told him that none of the hot lunches at our school ever have any peanuts in them. (Peanut is Matthew’s worst allergy.) He responded, with a bit of wonder in his voice, “Oh, I didn’t know that.” Right away I saw his countenance lighten a little bit.

The next morning he asked for a huge breakfast. I gave it to him and he ate almost all of it. He came home from school with an empty lunchbox, a spring in his step, some color in his cheeks and the normal twinkle in his eye. As he continued to eat regularly, I was relieved beyond what I can express.

Yesterday I was reading through the conference edition of the Ensign preparing a visiting teaching lesson. I had decided to give my lesson from Elder Eyring’s talk entitled“To My Grandchildren.” The basic gist of the talk is that we can have happiness in family life by keeping the first two commandments. When we love the Lord, love others and live so that our choices reflect that love, the Holy Ghost will guide us to help us make choices and solve problems in our families so that we can be happy. It is a fabulous talk. As I was re-reading the talk, I suddenly realized exactly what had happened when Matthew and I were able to figure out why he wasn’t eating. It hadn’t occurred to me that the Holy Ghost was giving me the help I needed either because I’m super dense or because I’m so accustomed to those little helps that it didn’t seem out of the normal for me. I prefer to think it is the latter, but it could very possibly be the previous reason. Anyway, it was one of those moments when I was reminded that the Lord knows exactly what we need and he helps us in his own way.

So for Matthew: He loves a little six year old food allergy kid so much that he put words in the mouth of that child’s mom so that between the two of them they could figure out what was wrong and work together to solve the problem. It was an answer to a heartfelt prayer. He knows exactly what you are going through and he loves that you deal with your struggles with courage and faith. He won’t ever leave you to deal with life’s trials alone if you ask for his help. And he has promised you that someday your body will be perfect and you will be able to have a big bowl of ice cream, just like everyone else.

No matter where or when you need this reminder, it is still true. Just ask your mom. She knows.

Blog Stalking Has Its Benefits

It means that I can beg, borrow, and steal great ideas from all over the internet.  And that is exactly what I did as I was getting ready for General Conference.  In the past I've printed packets, put together bingo games, all the normal stuff you see to help keep your kids interested and reverent during conference.  At the last General Conference, the packets lasted about twenty minutes and then chaos reigned which meant that when we got to the end of two days of conference, I realized that I had missed pretty much all of it even though I was sitting there in front of the t.v. the entire time.  This time I decided I needed another plan of attack.  I remembered that Tiff has posted links to some ideas of activities for conference, so I hopped on over to her blog and looked them up.

On Monday our family home evening lesson was on General Conference.  I used Elder Uchtdorf's message from this month's Ensign and we talked about how we can prepare for conference and what the benefits of conference are.  Then I told the boys we would have a couple of new (hopefully fun) activities to help us focus on conference and be reverent so we could all listen and learn.  After wondering all week what the activities would be, I unveiled them yesterday.  I used our gospel art kit to put pictures representing different topics up on the wall (including a sheet labeled "Other") and provided pictures of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and a pad of post-it notes to write down names of other speakers.  After each person spoke, their picture or name was taped to the picture representing the topic they spoke about.  Matthew wanted to tape up a picture every now and then which is pretty much the most I expected out of him.  And Daniel was perfectly content just doing his own thing.  But Nathan really loved this activity.  He listened carefully to each speaker, watched to make sure he spelled their name right, and then we discussed what they talked about if he wasn't sure.  He told me he definitely wants to do this again.

I also created some conference buckets, each one with a topic on it (faith, family, scriptures, etc.) and a small treat inside.  Each time they heard the word that was written in the bucket, they got to take two of whatever treat was inside.  If the entire talk was on the topic of a bucket, they got to take five treats.  All the boys liked this one, but again Nathan was the one who listened the best.  Matthew did pretty well for being four, but by the end of conference on Sunday he was pretty much just jumping up when Nathan did and grabbing whatever treat Nathan chose.

But overall I think our experimental activities were a success.  I think we will do it again next time.