I met with the stake relief society presidency, and the presidencies of my own ward and two others, at the church this morning at 7:45. Huge cinnamon rolls and milk were provided, which was nice. I'm the relief society secretary, the president is Shelbie, the first counselor is Emily, and the second is Maggie. Everyone seems nice and I think we'll get along great.
The stake relief society president only made a few comments since she had talked to the other presidents previously- comments like, we should all help each other out and not write things off as "not being our job". Her first counselor ended up talking for a very long time. Somewhere between forty-five minutes and an hour. She handed the new first counselors a thick folder of papers. And ours is a freshman. I hope she does okay.
The other counselor and the secretary were briefer. We had our picture taken, and Shelbie walked me home. Or more specifically, I walked her to her house, since she was on the way between the church and Blue Square. Not long after I was back, I got a text asking if I could meet with the bishop at 11:00, sent by the guy I had originally scheduled my appointment with (and apparently failed to cancel with) on Wednesday. I guess he was a little out of the loop about me going to see the bishop, and the meeting with the relief society presidency already having ended.
The other counselor and the secretary were briefer. We had our picture taken, and Shelbie walked me home. Or more specifically, I walked her to her house, since she was on the way between the church and Blue Square. Not long after I was back, I got a text asking if I could meet with the bishop at 11:00, sent by the guy I had originally scheduled my appointment with (and apparently failed to cancel with) on Wednesday. I guess he was a little out of the loop about me going to see the bishop, and the meeting with the relief society presidency already having ended.
I went back to church at 1:00, and we had a lesson on the importance of education. I also ended up watching David A. Bednar's devotional on the TV, though the Guide button on my remote doesn't work, and I had to flip through tons of channels to find it after frantic Google searches failed. He referenced a previous talk made by Gordon B. Hinckly about being a strong chain link in your family, connecting your past to your future.
One of the stories he told was especially interesting to me, about a guy from a tribal village, Fred, who was the half-brother of the chief. The people of the village wanted him to be the next chief. He had just recently converted to the Church, and turned them down. They persisted. He spoke to the village elders, explaining that he did not want to participate in the ceremonies and other duties of the chief that were contrary to the teachings of the Church. They basically told him to suck it up and sent him on his way.
Fred didn't know what to do. His family and the tribe weren't listening to him. He got in his car and joined the funeral procession as his half-brother was taken to be buried. The road split into two paths up ahead: the left and the right. The procession went left, but Fred turned right and sped away. He found out later that had he gone left, he would have been officially named chief by the people when at the funeral. Instead, he was prompted to leave, and he did.
Just a fascinating story, I think. It's interesting to learn of the different ways members of the church live around the world, and the trials they face. I found the story amusing because saying, "My family are forcing me to become a chief" in conversation would probably get some raised eyebrows among people who might jump at that chance. Sounded like a third world problem, heh heh.
One of the stories he told was especially interesting to me, about a guy from a tribal village, Fred, who was the half-brother of the chief. The people of the village wanted him to be the next chief. He had just recently converted to the Church, and turned them down. They persisted. He spoke to the village elders, explaining that he did not want to participate in the ceremonies and other duties of the chief that were contrary to the teachings of the Church. They basically told him to suck it up and sent him on his way.
Fred didn't know what to do. His family and the tribe weren't listening to him. He got in his car and joined the funeral procession as his half-brother was taken to be buried. The road split into two paths up ahead: the left and the right. The procession went left, but Fred turned right and sped away. He found out later that had he gone left, he would have been officially named chief by the people when at the funeral. Instead, he was prompted to leave, and he did.
Just a fascinating story, I think. It's interesting to learn of the different ways members of the church live around the world, and the trials they face. I found the story amusing because saying, "My family are forcing me to become a chief" in conversation would probably get some raised eyebrows among people who might jump at that chance. Sounded like a third world problem, heh heh.
