General Conference

General Conference morning was full of exciting news from Salt Lake City.  News about lowering the missionary age was all the buzz.  The age for YM to enter the mission field is 18 and YW is 19.  When I went to band camp that morning, the youth were super excited about the change.  Some of them were making plans to prepare for their mission.  Some of them will be on their mission a year after this announcement.  

Another announcement that created a buzz in AZ, was the announcement of the Tucson temple.  I know that the members in that area have wanted a temple for a long time.  The Barneys used to come up to the Mesa Temple and now they go to the Gila River Valley Temple.  After the dedication of the Tucson temple, they will go there.  After the dedication of all the temples that have been announced in AZ, there will be 6 temples in AZ.

I really enjoyed listening to the conference talks.  I really enjoyed listening to Elder Holland's talk.  He bore a powerful testimony about how Christ called his disciplines.   This was my favorite talk on Sunday.  I missed most of the talks on Saturday.

"To which Jesus responded (and here again I acknowledge my nonscriptural elaboration, perhaps saying something like: "Then Peter, why are you here?  Why are we back on this same shore, by these same nets, having the same conversation?  Wasn't if obvious then and isn't it obvious now that if I want fish, I can get fish?  What I need, Peter, are disciples - and I need them forever.  I need someone to feed by sheep and save my lambs.  I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith.  I need someone who loves me, truly truly loves me, and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do.  Ours is not a feele message.  It is not a fleeting message.  It is not hapless.  it is not hopeless, it is not to be consigned to the ash heap of history.  It is the work of Almighty God, and it is to change the world.  So, Peter, for he second and presumably the last time, I am asking you to leave all this and to go teach and testify, labor and serve loyalty until the day in which they will do to you exactly what they did to me."

It was a great Conference weekend with great talks to guide us through this next 6 months.