An Apostle Among Us

We had the incredible privilege of having an apostle of the Lord come to visit our Stake.  (It is rare for them to visit a Stake.  I don't even remember the last time this happened in our Stake, if ever.)  In our church, we have our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and his two counselors, and then we have an additional 12 apostles.  Dallin H. Oaks is one of these apostles (Above is a picture I found on the internet of him at Harvard.  I liked it because of his smile- a smile he shared a lot while he was here.)  (A Stake is made up of about 10 wards.  Each ward has about 200-400 people, not all come every week.  You are assigned a ward by where you live.  And that is what decides which building you attend and with whom you attend with.)

Anyway, the Saturday night adult session was truly an unforgettable experience!  I decided to arrive early since Grant was meeting with his choir, an hour before the adult meeting began.  Plus, I wanted to get a good seat because this doesn't happen every day.  Before I went in, I decided to use the restroom so I wouldn't lose my seat later.  After I was done, I walked out of the restroom, rounded the corner, walked a few steps, and looked up.  There, walking down the hallway in my path, were our Stake President, Pres. Eric Coppin, (who I know very well) and Elder Dallin H. Oaks!  It was really awesome but kinda shocking.  I froze!!  I didn't know what to say!  (This happened to me once before when I ran into Neal A. Maxwell, in the underground parking lot, on Temple Square.)  So I waved and nervously said, "Hi!"  Both of them smiled warmly and said hello back.  I couldn't stop smiling after that.  Next, I walked into the chapel and found a seat, then was able to ponder for a while until the Men's choir, which Grant was leading, came in to get ready to sing prelude.  Shortly thereafter, Dallin H. Oaks and our Stake Presidency came in.  All of a sudden, Elder Oaks popped up and made a B-line straight to my husband to shake his hand!  It was so incredible to watch, that it brought tears to my eyes.  He then proceeded to shake hands with the entire choir, including 3 of my brothers and my Dad.  Then he came down into the audience and shook hands with several people on the edges of the rows, while the choir stood and sang a few hymns for prelude.  (I found out later that he had shaken hands with my brother, who I was so happy and almost emotional to see in the audience since he rarely comes to church, and my Mom.)  After he took his seat on the stand, he turned and watched the choir finish their last few songs, with a pleased look on his face.  The meeting began.  First, the Bishop from 5th ward spoke. The part of his talk I liked the best was when he talked about making time for Heavenly Father and Jesus each day, like we make time for friends and family members (at home or online) each day. Then a lady from 1st ward spoke about family and mentioned that we should turn work time into family time.  After these talks, the Men's Choir stood to sing again.  This time, they sang a song requested by Pres. Coppin, "Awake and Arise," (which has been sung by the BYU Men's Choir in the past.)  I felt so nervous for Grant and his choir and prayed that they could do their best and be full of the spirit.  As they began, their voices were so beautiful and so powerful, and the spirit radiated so strongly, that I began to sob.  I looked up and saw that Pres. Coppin was also sobbing.  Elder Oaks looked so at peace.  Grant looked so full of passion as he led the men, and they finished even stronger than they started.  It was amazing!!  I couldn't help but feel very proud of my husband, my Dad and brothers, and all the men who were involved, for bringing in the spirit of the Lord with such strength!  After they were finished, the Mission President's wife bore her testimony and then Elder Bussey, a member of the Quorum of the Seventy spoke.  He spoke about placing God first and our spouses second, before all else.  Leave all else and cling to God and our eternal mates.  Also he spoke about seeing Christ in each of our family members.  He shared a neat story about mother chickens giving their lives for their chicks in a fire and how the mother died protecting the chicks, which each lived.  Finally, we were able to listen to Elder Dallin H. Oaks.  He asked us to listen to the spirit and to listen to the individual messages the Lord was sending to each of us through the words of each of his servants.  He also mentioned that the greatest weapon we possess is the truth of the gospel.  He stressed that our most important role is that we first be disciples of Jesus Christ and second is that of a spouse/parent.  If we aren't yet a spouse/parent, simply devote our time to Christ, and we will be blessed.  Later he talked about using our time wisely and making sure we aren't too busy to do the vital things in life.  We should give highest priority to family prayer, personal prayer, scripture study, family home evening (a time spent as a family- teaching our children, playing games with our children, etc.- at least once a week), etc.  I have to say that my favorite part of having Elder Oaks here was his incredible sense of humor!  And he had the cutest laugh ever!!  It was seriously so adorable!!  He told the men that 5 important things they should learn to say to their wives on a regular basis are-- 1) I love you! 2) I'm sorry! 3) Yes, Dear! 4) You look good in that! 5) We can't afford it!  And then he laughed and laughed!  It was so cute!  I loved having him be so personable and fun!  It really let you get to know him so much better than during General Conference, because it was just a different kind of a meeting, and he could just say whatever came to mind without any time constraint.  After the meeting, he waited around for probably a half an hour or so, shaking people's hands and talking to them.  It was really neat that he took the time to do that.  Grant and I had the chance to shake his hand.  We talked for a bit and I let him know that I really enjoyed his laugh!  He thanked me.  It was pretty incredible!

On Sunday, we were able to attend the meeting as a family.  Before the meeting, he walked around shaking people's hand for probably over a half an hour.  (Right before we got there, Grant was able to shake hands with Elder Oaks.  Our friend took this picture of her husband shaking his hand and Grant happened to be in it.)  Our girls (and their friends) were so excited to see an apostle and they were brave enough to go to him and shake his hand.  They all walked back with a perma-grin!!  :)  I was so happy they could have that opportunity! 

Some memorable things about the talks were:

Pres. Coppin- To the men- 1) Make your wife happy and 2) Make your Mom proud.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks- 1) We are in a time when Satan is attacking the family in full force!!

2) You smash your compass if you engage in inappropriate behaviors- for example, pornography.

3) We shouldn't make judgements on who would or wouldn't accept the gospel.  To share the gospel: simply talk about religion, give reading materials, invite to church or activities, bear testimony, etc.

4) Holy Habits- same for everyone= personal and family prayer, personal and family scripture study, meaningfully taking the sacrament and renewing our covenants each week, etc.

5) Righteous Routines- different for everyone, you need to figure out for yourself what yours are= for example, stay away from your weaknesses... take a detour to avoid them!

I felt so spiritually full after these two meetings!  I didn't want him to ever leave!  What an honor to sit at the feet of an apostle and listen to his words!  I am so thankful that he was able to come to our stake!  It was unlike any meeting I have ever attended!  It makes me even more excited for Christ's second coming because I know that sitting at the feet of the Lord is going to be even better... way better!  :)  It is hard to fathom just how incredible that is going to be!  I can't wait!