Sarah was a beautiful bride, and David seems to be a great catch. I’m very proud of her, and happy for her. Sarah has always been a wonderful example to all those around her, and a near-perfect daughter. I’ve had some trouble giving her up and getting used to the idea that she belongs to someone else now, but I guess that’s a necessary part of the eternal plan of happiness for her – and me, too.

I’m a little slow posting this, but wanted to summarize highlights of the conference I attended Oct 23-25.  I was on the organizing committee and received the assignment to design the website (www.kirtlandsaconference.org) and handle registration.  It’s been very time-consuming, but rewarding.  We had 230 people in attendance – I believe the ratio was about 3 women for every man, which was good for us guys – not so good for the girls.

We had some minor glitches with registration, but no major problems.  I was fearing that we’d have a hundred people show up that were unregistered, but we only had about 15.  It looks like we made just enough money to cover all expenses so we’re happy about that.

I was fearing the dances since I don’t know how to, but somehow it was fine.   A few women wanted to dance with me and didn’t seem to care that I didn’t know what I was doing.  The most notable women I met were Jean from Stow, Ohio, Klixi from somewhere in Michigan, and Cheryl who lives close to Palmyra, NY.  I ended up spending the most time with her, and she was a lot of fun.  She talked me into skipping out on the final portion of the conference – a panel discussion, which I kind of regret.

We had some excellent speakers and workshop presenters.  The highlight was the Sunday morning service in the Kirtland Temple.  The weather was perfect – lots of sunshine which helped since there are no lights in the temple – just lots of windows.  It was quite different than being in any other temple or any regular chapel for that matter, because of all the sunshine pouring in.  I got to help pass the Sacrament.  I had stories (from my children) about the hard seats at the Temple, but they weren’t that bad.  They have cushions, actually, although the backs are straight and hard.  I sat with Cheryl after passing the Sacrament.  We were together all day actually, up until the time to go home about 4 PM or so.  She’s really nice, and fun, but not sure if I should pursue the relationship further at this point.

Here’s what I placed on the home page of the website a week or two after the conference:

We wish to thank all those who were able to attend the 2009 conference, held October 23-25.  We had 231 participants from 20 states and Canada.  Forty-seven donated blood as part of a service project.  We wrote 54 cards/letters to missionaries, and 58 cards to servicemen and women, as part of another service project.  We had 4 main speakers, 12 workshops, 2 dances, and 5 meals.  And let’s not forget the many volunteers – both single and married – who gave their time to make it all happen.  We thank you all!

The highlight of the weekend was the Sunday morning sacrament service & testimony meeting at the Kirtland Temple where we had 80 choir members and dozens bearing their testimony.

The numbers don’t tell the real story, however, of how lives were touched and testimonies strengthened.  If you were there, we hope you had a special experience.

Here are a few comments by our participants:

“A big THANK YOU to all  who worked so hard on the conference. It was really great; just the right mix of spiritual activities and fun. The speakers were all fantastic. The food was really good and the sack lunches were more than ample. Again, thank you.” Joyce

“Thanks for a fantasic conference. I hope to attend the 2010 conference. It was very uplifting and lots of fun meeting new people.” Marlene

“Thank you so much for everything. I really appreciate everything you did to make the conference so wonderful. Thanks again and blessings from above.” Gretchen

“You all did such a great job and I thank you for the experience.   This was my first conference and I enjoyed it immensely.  All three days were oustanding and the sacrament meeting at the temple was more than I could have ever imagined.  This was my first trip to the temple in or out and I was just overwhelmed with the presence of the spirit. I am praying for and looking forward to a working temple in Northern Ohio…Kirtland being my choice of where.  Thanks again.” Caroleanne

“THANK YOU for a great conference.  We were ALL so pleased, and so spiritually fed.  And it was FUN, too!” Pamla

“THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART — IT WAS THE BEST USE OF TIME AND MONEY SPENT ON MY PART IN A VERY LONG TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!” Gloria

My college career at Virginia Tech was a turning point in my life in many ways.  It was my first experience of being on my own, it’s where I had my first date – and my first break-up.  It’s also where I had my first real exposure to religious beliefs outside the Catholic Church.  In particular I remember attending meetings of Campus Crusade for Christ and making some friends who were quite active in the group.  I wasn’t easily swayed, however, and could never quite embrace their beliefs or life-style.

After college I felt the next step was to get a good job, get married, and settle down.  Instead I returned home to Ohio in the Summer of 1975 without any marriage prospects and for a while felt like my life was over.  I didn’t enjoy the job at Timken, which I had all through college as part of a Co-op program, but they made me the most attractive offer so I decided to take it.  I didn’t like the idea of living alone so I went back to the farm.  Unfortunately things had changed while I was gone and I didn’t really fit in very well anymore.  There was no bedroom for me so my mother let me use the front porch as a bedroom.  It was small and cold, but most of all, I remember feeling alone and almost in a hopeless situation, despite the fact that I had a good job and plenty of potential.  My failure to find a wife in college was now seeming like a major problem.  I didn’t feel there was a way of meeting anyone now.  While my brothers and sisters were enjoying their lives and friends, I was often alone, and feeling humiliated.  I felt that I needed to get away, but where to go?  Moving into an apartment was not attractive option.

What I really wanted to do was leave everything and start a new life.  Then the thought came to me to quit my job and travel.  Initially the thought seemed like too much to bear.  Where would I go?  How would I survive?  What would I do at the end?  But the more I thought about it, the better I felt about it.  It was like a light had come on and I suddenly felt good and excited about my life.  I won’t go into all the details here, but that decision truly did change my life.  Ultimately, I settled in Salt Lake City, joined the Mormon Church, served a mission in Japan, made many friends, and met my future wife.

From May, 1976 to November, I traveled the U.S., mostly alone. There is quite a bit I could say about the trip, but to summarize, I was able to visit a number of friends from college, and family members in places like Virginia, Tennessee, Michigan, Illinois, Texas, Washington, and California.  I also visited a number of National Parks and several cities, including Salt Lake City.  There I was introduced to the Mormon church, which left a lasting impression upon me.  This was mid-way through my travels and I was there for less than 2 days.  I continued on for 3 more months, eventually running out of places to visit.  I didn’t want to return to Ohio and the only place that came to mind was Salt Lake City.  So I returned there, got an apartment, a job, and was soon immersed in the Mormon culture.  I became quite active in the church despite not being a member and was soon being taught by the missionaries.

I was raised as a  Catholic – attended Catholic Grade and High School, was an altar boy, never missed church on Sunday.  Actually I have some great memories of growing up as a Catholic, but as I grew older, I questioned things.  My mom and had many discussions about religion.  She knew I just didn’t have a strong faith in the Catholic church.

Let’s jump ahead to my college graduation.

After college I felt the next step was to get a good job, get married, and settle down.  Instead I returned home to Ohio in the Summer of 1975 without any marriage prospects and for a while felt like my life was over.  I didn’t enjoy the job at Timken, which I had all through college as part of a Co-op program, but they made me the most attractive offer so I decided to take it.  I didn’t like the idea of living alone so I went back to the farm.  Unfortunately things had changed while I was gone and I didn’t really fit in very well anymore.  There was no bedroom for me so my mother let me use the front porch as a bedroom.  It was small and cold, but most of all, I remember feeling alone and almost in a hopeless situation, despite the fact that I had a good job and plenty of potential.  My failure to find a wife in college was now seeming like a major problem.  I didn’t feel there was a way of meeting anyone now.  While my brothers and sisters were enjoying their lives and friends, I was often alone, and feeling humiliated.  I felt that I needed to get away, but where to go?  Moving into an apartment was not attractive option.  What I really wanted to do was leave everything and start a new life.  Then the thought came to me to quit my job and travel.  Initially the thought seemed like too much to bear.  Where would I go?  How would I survive?  What would I do at the end?  But the more I thought about it, the better I felt about it.  It was like a light had come on and I suddenly felt good and excited about my life.  I won’t go into all the details here, but that decision truly did change my life.  Ultimately, I settled in Salt Lake City, joined the Mormon Church, served a mission in Japan, made many friends, and met my future wife.

From May, 1976 to November, I traveled the U.S., mostly alone. There is quite a bit I could say about the trip, but to summarize, I was able to visit a number of friends from college, and family members in places like Virginia, Tennessee, Michigan, Illinois, Texas, Washington, and California.  I also visited a number of National Parks and several cities, including Salt Lake City.  There I was introduced to the Mormon church, which left a lasting impression upon me.  This was mid-way through my travels and I was there for less than 2 days.  I continued on for 3 more months, eventually running out of places to visit.  I didn’t want to return to Ohio and the only place that came to mind was Salt Lake City.  So I returned there, got an apartment, a job, and was soon immersed in the Mormon culture.  I became quite active in the church despite not being a member and was soon being taught by the missionaries.

Although I like the Mormons, and even had a desire to become one of them, my lack of spiritual skills (that’s one way to describe it) kept me from accepting baptism.  I just wasn’t sure enough about the church to make that kind of committment.  Things went on this way for some time.  I continued meeting with the missionaries and attending church, but also felt obligated to attend Catholic mass and meet with the local priest there in Salt Lake.  Time passed – nearly two years as a matter of fact.  I went through several sets of missionaries and still couldn’t make a committment.  I tried fasting a number of times – two days in a row one time and three another time (although I did drink water).  The sign or revelation I was seeking didn’t happen.  In September of 1978 (approx.), the missionaries were teaching me a complete set of lessons for the second or third time.  After the final lesson, and with no real progress having been made, they weren’t sure what to do next.  We had set an appointment, nevertheless.  At our meeting, I was surprised when they announced that they were going to have to stop meeting with me.  They had prayed about it and felt that’s what they needed to do.  This was more than a surprise – it was a shock – and I found it quite upsetting.  I remember going out that evening for a long walk, feeling depressed.  I wasn’t too far from downtown Salt Lake and I made my way to the Temple and the adjacent Visitors Center.  Inside I met one of the workers and we started talking.  I’m not sure why, but I decided to tell him all about my experiences with the church and the missionaries.  I didn’t hide the fact that I was feeling low about what seemed like a rejection by the missionaries.  He then counseled me to pray – but not a normal prayer.  He felt impressed to advise me to pray until I received an answer – up to 4 hours, as I recall!  I returned rather late that evening to my house, but pondered his words, and then decided to try it without further delay.  I knelt beside my bed and started to pray.  I prayed and prayed and prayed.  I got sleepy and did fall asleep for a little while, but after 4 hours I still hadn’t received an answer and decided that was enough.  I got into bed and went to sleep.

The next day (I’m pretty sure it was the next day anyway), I went to work as usual, but was called into the boss’s office.  He informed me that they needed to lay me off.  What a shock!  That was totally unexpected.  I was told to leave as soon as I packed up my things.  I spent the next few days in a state of depression, but knew I needed to find something else.  One of the employment ads I answered led me to a recruiting agency where I was very surprised to meet the very same man I had met less than 2 weeks earlier at the Temple Square Visitors Center.  He was an employment recruiter.  To make a long story short, he found me a job within a week or so in Springville, UT.  I commuted from Salt Lake for a while and moved there in December.  My next door neighber was Bob Hatch.  He was a very spiritual man and a Latter Day Saint.  He became a good friend, taught me more about the gospel, helped me see that I already had a testimony –  and ultimately baptized me the following October (1979).  I was 27.  I still remember exiting the baptismal font with Bob and feeling an overwhelming sense of joy.  I hugged him and exclaimed “I did it!”, although felt later it would have more appropriate to have said “WE did it!”.  I still maintain contact with Bob today (2009).

At first I had no desire to serve a mission.  I had been wanting to get married for many years and felt that I was finally ready, but this goal continued to elude me.  So one year later, I once again was eager for a change in my life and felt that serving a mission was the right thing to do.  At age 28, I needed special permission, but church leaders reluctantly agreed to let me go.  I had worked in engineering for several years, had saved money, and even owned a house.  Because of this, I was able to completely finance my own mission.  Going into the Missionary Training Center was a real shock to my system – I was used to living alone, and suddenly being forced to live in close quarters with young men much younger than myself was stressful.  Added to that was the tremendous pressure to learn Japanese, memorize lesson plans and scriptures.  I was there for 2 months and steadily fell further and further behind schedule the whole time.  To top it off, I was made a District Leader, which meant additional responsibilities and time commitment.  Actually, the thing that really topped it off, was the fact that I felt I had an inadequate testimony.  It was a constant worry that I didn’t have a real testimony – kind of a continuation of the feelings I’d had the previous 4 years.  I will digress here and fast forward several months into my mission.  I decided to hold a special fast and selected a special spot to pray outdoors late in the evening for the purpose of gaining the sure knowledge that I felt I needed.  This is not unlike things I had done during the years that I investigated the church.  I’m not sure how long I prayed that evening – 1 or 2 hours I believe (nothing compared to Enos’s prayer I’m afraid), and still didn’t get that special witness I wanted, but did receive an impression – almost a voice telling me that I already had everything I needed.  To this day, I feel that my testimony is inadequate and yet I do believe in the gospel with all my heart and have not had one day of inactivity.  I don’t think I am alone in this.  We all must live by faith.  Even the Prophet of the Church does not know all things.  I know that I have been given sufficient faith, and sufficient determination, to remain faithful.