He'll Be Missed

Yesterday James E. Faust of the 1st presidency of our church died. It's a time that you feel so many emotions. For one it is always saddening to hear, as I have really come to love him these last couple of years. The things that he taught lately seem to hit home with me every time and I have come to have even a greater love and respect for him. I'm am going to miss being taught by him and hearing his testimony. It is also one of those moments where you are so happy for him to be able to go back to his creator whom he has been serving so faithfully his whole life.

It is also a very exciting time for me as well as the church, as this means that a new apostle will be called to fill the vacancy of the quorum of the twelve apostles, and the first presidency will be reorganized. President Hinkley still being prophet. There is something exciting about seeing the way the church is ran, how leadership transitions run so smoothly. No questioning who is going to fill the role, who will be the new leader. It just happens. And there is nothing more powerful that to sit and witness them being called and watching it at conference and seeing 21,000 people sustain him as the new apostle, and knowing that the other 12,000,000 members watching the broadcast are doing the same.

I have bittersweet emotions for this, as I realized that the weekend of General Conference where the prophet and apostles speak to the church as a whole for two days is the same two days I will be in Minnesota for our ScrapGirls retreat. We are finally all getting together and meeting each other as a team for the first time. I have rarely missed a General Conference as it is something very personal and important to me, to hear what the Lord would have us do right now as he speaks through these incredible men. So I've been torn up, so excited to go on the trip, and yet feeling disheartened that I will miss most of this conference. I hope that they will understand though if I get online for a bit to hear who the new apostle is and to be a part of that sustaining.