Hello Again!

President Boyd K. Packer, age 90, passed away July 3rd at his home.

This has been a busy last week and a half since I last wrote! Just a few hours after my last post, our family piled into the car and drove across the country to visit family in Utah! Yippee!

We arrived last Saturday afternoon and spent some time with my mom's side of the family. On Sunday evening, my little sister was baptized!!! (Read a post about her here.) Monday morning, we got in the car again and drove up to Idaho, where we spent the last five days with my dad's side. Several late nights, a couple of tubing trips, and plenty of cousins later, we made it safely back to Utah and just finished watching lots of great fireworks! 

On another note, President Boyd K. Packer passed away yesterday, July 3rd, at about 2 pm Salt Lake time. He's enjoying the fireworks from a different view this year. :) 

There will now be two new apostles during October's conference. Say prayers for those men and their families, as well as the First Presidency and the remaining Quorum as they prayerfully choose these holy men. 

If you were wondering, here's the new state of things:

President Monson is still the president of the Church and therefore authorized as the only one who can receive revelation for all 15,000,000 of us. President Eyring and President Uchtdorf are still President Monson's counselors. 

The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is down two, though there are still thirteen apostles (if you are confused by this, click here). Russell M. Nelson is the new President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, though he hasn't been sustained yet. Can you imagine how he felt when he heard the news? Here are his last three talks: 

The Sabbath is a Delight--April 2015

Sustaining the Prophets--October 2014

Let Your Faith Show--April 2014

Boyd K. Packer has been giving talks for forty-five years! Here are his last three:

The Plan of Happiness--April 2015

The Reason for Our Hope--October 2014

The Witness--April 2014

I love "The Witness" especially!

Here are several articles remembering President Packer and giving the details about the funeral service:

President Boyd K. Packer Dies At Age 90

5 Things We'll Never Forget About President Boyd K. Packer

President Boyd K. Packer, Champion of Families, Master Teacher, Resolute Defender of LDS Doctrine, Dies at 90

24 Inspiring Quotes from President Boyd K. Packer

Funeral Services Scheduled for President Boyd K. Packer

Anyway, I hope you will take some time to ponder on President Packer's life and example, and say some prayers for his family to be comforted at this time in their lives. 

Happy almost-not-fourth-of-July!! (The time on this post is Eastern Time, but I'm on Mountain Standard Time, so right now it is about 11:15 pm for me, even if the post says 1:15 am.)

Okay, this was supposed to be a short post. Sorry! Good night!

As Sisters in Zion We'll Gather Together...

Did you watch the General Women's Session last night?? Wasn't it just fabulous? What was your favorite talk? Tell me in the comments. 

LDS.org now has the highlights of each talk here so that if you didn't get to watch it or you want to keep it fresh in your minds till the talks come out in print, you can review them now. 

***I'm not going to comment on every talk. You'll just have to do that yourself in the COMMENT section. ;) It's there for you!***

There was a strong emphasis on defending and building the family, especially since this year we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Family Home Evening and the 20th anniversary of The Family: A Proclamation to the World, and because that is our main role as girls and women. 

Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson, Young Women General President, said, “The proclamation on the family has become our benchmark for judging the philosophies of the world and I testify that the principles set forth within this statement are as true today as they were when they were given to us by a prophet of God nearly 20 years ago.” (emphasis added) The family is being attacked from every angle! Sister Oscarson challenged each of us as sisters to commit to boldly defend the Proclamation on the Family and keep those values alive. 

President Henry B. Eyring was the concluding speaker. I really enjoyed his talk. It was sweet, and you definitely need to go back and read/watch it when you have the time. He spoke about the Holy Ghost and its role in comforting Heavenly Father's children.

He told about a little boy who died at the age of five unexpectedly on a family vacation. He visited with the boy's family and testified that the Holy Ghost was there, in that room with them. 

He also spoke about a young lady who was at the funeral. She told President Eyring that she had come to the funeral to possibly offer comfort, but she was also seeking comfort. She had recently lost her own child. The woman was holding a little girl in her arms. President Eyring leaned over to look into the child's sweet eyes. "What is her name?" he asked the young mother. 

She replied, "Her name is Joy. Joy always comes after sorrow." Joy does come after sorrow. The Holy Ghost will bring us peace, joy, and comfort beyond imagination. 

I hope every covenant sister in the Church got to enjoy this broadcast! It is always so wonderful. 

Also, don't forget to watch General Conference this coming Saturday/Sunday (info), and have a lovely Sabbath afternoon!

P.S. Can you think of some Personal Progress ideas? You can write a few of your own in Faith (faith in living prophets, faith to follow prophets, etc.), Individual Worth (along the lines of 'prophets speak to you and answer your questions in General Conference'), Knowledge (increasing your knowledge of the gospel), and so forth. But don't limit yourself to these! Be creative!

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