Memorable and Unforgettable General Conference

APRIL CONFERENCE 2020

In October Conference, Pres. Nelson made the following statement in his last address on Sunday Afternoon: "...the year 2020 will be designated as a bicentennial year. General conference next April will be different from any previous conference. In the next six months, I hope that every member and every family will prepare for a unique conference that will commemorate the very foundations of the restored gospel.....Select your own questions. Design your own plan. Immerse yourself in the glorious light of the Restoration. As you do, general conference next April will be not only memorable; it will be unforgettable."

Prior to the conference as the worldwide pandemic was developing, things began to be announced that signaled some definitely unique features--first, General Authorities were told to stay in their places rather than travel to Salt Lake for the conference; then leadership meetings held the week prior to conference for general leadership of the Church were cancelled....and then no audience in the Conference Center...and then and then and then...more and more announcements were made until the final announcement that the Conference would be done almost entirely online.  Only the speakers and people giving the prayers assembled in a small auditorium on Temple Square, keeping social distance from each other (except the one handshake that happened between Pres. Nelson and Pres. Oaks as Pres. Oaks returned to his seat after speaking.  Habits die hard).  The Tabernacle Choir would provide the music by using pre-taped and past performances.  We all were commenting that this alone made these upcoming conference both memorable and unforgettable.  Some of these things had happened in the past, but not since World War II. 

I certainly had prepared more specifically for this conference than any other conference in my life.  We had watched videos about the First Vision, I had read a book and articles about it. I watched some YouTube resources about the priesthood and I had pondered on some of the topics that we had been directed to think about it.

And then Conference happened.  From start to finish--amazing!  I can't even describe how it was for me and I know that it was that way for others as well.  Each of us seeking and finding revelation in different words, talks, and moments.

Saturday morning throughout the conference, I was thinking a lot about China.  Then on byutv between the session they showed two specials about the recent BYU performances there.  I thought it was an interesting coincidence as my thoughts had been thinking about China that morning.  One feeling I had strongly that the day would come that there would be temples in mainland China.  I wondered if it would ever be possible in our lifetime for Gary and I to serve in China on a mission.  And I wondered why I as a little girl growing up in Richland, WA, grew to feel the way I do about China and Chinese people. Undoubtedly, part of that reason is the three children of Chinese descent that I have been privileged to share my life with. And the five years that we lived in Hong Kong as a family.  But is there more???

The Hosanna Shout to celebrate the bicentennial year of the First Vision on Saturday morning was a sweet moment of praise to God.  Standing in our own homes and sharing this experience with a world wide audience was unbelievably amazing.  The new proclamation about the Restoration, the list can go on. I am putting some of my favorite phrases from my notes in another post tomorrow.

The dogs love it when Gary sits on the couch and they can join him.

And then the conference is drawing to a close and Pres. Nelson approaches the pulpit for his final remarks.  The idea that more temples might be announced went through my mind, but life has been so crazy that it also seemed possible that those types of plans were on hold for the moment.  Then mid-way through his remarks, he stated something to the effect--"It might seem odd to be talking about temples in a time when the temples are closed, but the temples will be reopened and the work can not be slowed" and then he announced eight new temples in this order:   

• Bahía Blanca, Argentina.
• Tallahassee, Florida.
• Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• Benin City, Nigeria.
• Syracuse, Utah.
• Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
• Shanghai, People's Republic of China.

If you know anything about me, you can imagine that I was happy for Argentina, Florida, Congo, Nigeria, and Pennsylvania.  I thought briefly about my friends who live near Pittsburgh and how excited they must be.  

"Syracuse, UT":  I can tell you that my first thought was that he misspoke and meant Syracuse, New York.  Afterall, the Church is building a new temple in Layton just 15 minutes away from our house.  Surely that was "our" temple for the rest of our lives.  But the tears flowed immediately and I realized in that second that it was us!

That thought lasted only a second because "DUBAI"  That is the Middle East!!! Austen had served there or near there in the Air Force.  I had friends who had lived there and served later in a very unique senior mission there. Wow....

And then, Pres. Nelson paused ever so briefly, teared up, and said-- "Shanghai, People

s Republic of China."  Pres. Nelson has a long history with the People's Republic of China starting as a world famous heart surgeon. He speaks Mandarin as well as several other languages.  He loves the Chinese people.  But just another WOW, WOW!!! I never thought yesterday as I thought about temples in China that it would be this conference that this would be announced!!! And I just cried and cried--happy tears that came and went all afternoon and evening.

As soon as the closing hymn began--which was also amazing with choirs from all over the world singing "We thank thee, O God, for a Prophet.", my phone started beeping like crazy with texts, emails and messages from family and friends celebrating all of the news.  

I wanted to rush outside and grab my neighbors and laugh and cry together.  Instead we posted and commented on Facebook of our excitement, our joy, and our happy tears.  My Hong Kong friends rejoiced in the incredible news.  My friend who had lived in Dubai shared her excitement.  Others posted about their joy at the news of the other temples.  There was a sense of shared joy through out the world at these temples being announced.

A Syracuse friend posted: "Syracuse Utah temple!  And just like that, hope replaces fear."  Amen to that!

Truly a memorable and unforgettable General Conference!

Keeping Jena Busy

Jena is one of the most easy going people, but staying home is not her favorite activity.  She has been good to do extra household tasks and we added Disney Plus to add some options to her viewing.  But this past week, we have tried to find ways that she could serve others.  She has been facetiming friends and sending texts. On Monday and Tuesday, she drew pictures for each of her nieces and nephews often looking up pictures especially to copy for them, i.e. For Liam, she drew a bowtie--because he loves them and for Niki a guitar.

On Wednesday, Jena drew a picture for a young adult woman named Sarah who lives in Utah and is dying from leukemia.  We don't know her personally but saw a request for notes and put something together for her.  Jena drew a beautiful sunflower and we heard back that Sarah and her family loved it.

Friday, I had Gary pick up bags of M&Ms to share as conference treats.  When he brought them home, he said, I guess you are putting together Conference Bingo and that is why you want M&Ms.  Well, no...but he was so disappointed, I decided to do it. Luckily, conferencegames.churchofjesuschrist.org had great "Conference Square" games which worked perfectly and our neighbors loved the game and the treat.

But actually, I think our neighbors loved a brief chat at the front door and seeing someone new.  We would put the treat on the porch, ring the bell, and then step back about 12 feet for good social distancing.  Even though we only spoke briefly, it was nice to say hi to friends in person, not just on social media and texting.

I know I loved the brief visit I had with Dianne Lee when she dropped off a treat for me this week as well--a little Easter basket.

Thinking about others has made this week go fast.  I have been telling my clients to spend 30 minutes outside each day (safely) and 30 minutes a day in intentional interactions with people outside their immediate household and work.  It worked for us this week.  How about you?

Welcome home, sweet missionaries!

Have I mentioned that I love our neighborhood?  Here is an example.

Due to the current pandemic, at least half of all missionaries serving have been sent home.  This has included most of the senior missionaries and missionaries serving outside of their home country.  Due to restrictions, we will not have the usual "Homecoming" talks at Church and other traditional ways that we acknowledge their service.  And many of these missionaries had to cut their missions short and often with only very short notice to pack up and get to the airport.  Facebook has been filled with photos of airplanes filled with missionaries (in some cases the Church chartered flights to get missionaries home.)

Amy and Brandon Unck down the street set up this amazing sight.  These are the flags for the young men and women in our immediate neighborhood who have been serving missions.  And they posted this sweet message (see below).  The actual families of the missionaries received notes on their doorsteps telling them about the tribute.  Even though it is only four doors down from us, we hadn't been outside until one of the moms posted about it on Facebook.  They have flown for the past four days as the remaining missionaries that are known to be coming home arrived here safely.  We still have a few missionaries in our neighborhood and ward who are still serving for the time being although they are all confined to their apartments and serving through social media.

We have loved sharing our street with these flags and the sweet friendships it represents.

Week Three- Postscript

When I looked at my photos, I realized that I had neglected to include a couple of things which happened over the past week that I wanted to remember.

Spring is coming with buds and flowers starting to appear---although we did have snow on the ground last Saturday.

 

Someone in our neighborhood suggested a "butterfly" hunt, so we put butterflies on our windows and also on the little library.  Then the families could walk around the neighborhood and count the butterflies that they saw.

We have gotten some sweet comments about the library being helpful at this time with kids home and other libraries closed it gives an option for the readers in your family.

We (meaning mostly Gary) have been going through our stack of puzzles and putting them together.  He is very good at it.  I mostly "dabble" at it.

He has also been busy painting the downstairs guest room which had been flooded last fall.

The highlights of Jena's week were provided through Zoom:

Last week, her family home evening group in Provo did byuzoom Zumba for family night.  They had a spiritual thought and chatted a moment and then did about an hour of Zumba together.  Jena did it the whole time.  She then got to talk to her roommates who were still in the apartment.

Then this past Sunday, her YSA ward had a zoom "Sunday night gathering."  She loved seeing everyone and checking in with the bishopric.  So glad that she was able to have these connections with peers.

And that is how week three went in quarantine.