Great Blessings and Big Changes

On Sunday April 25, 2010 the Caldwell East Stake reorgainized the ward boundaries for our ward and increased our ward boundaries significantly, nearly doubling our members. It is very exciting! As part of this, they also reorganized our ward and released our wonderful Bishop Mooso, and called Brother Stan Bair to be our new ward bishop and father of our ward. Bishop Mooso has been so fun and great to have as a leader of our ward for the last 5 years. He and his wife have been wonderful to watch out for everyone and help and lead. We will miss seeing his smile up on the stand and the fun times when his little Carson runs up and sits on his lap! And we also know that the Stake Presidency was inspired and that they chose the perfect man for the needs of our ward right now! Bishop Bair loves the Lord very much, and his family. He is always kind and gentle with others and quick to admit his weaknesses and just as quick to acknowledge the Lord's hand and faith that He will help us. We know he is the man the Lord trusts to move forward the work of saving souls in our ward.

We were very surprised when we got a call from the Stake President's office for Brent and I to come in for an interview. President Gabrielson let us know that Bishop Bair had asked for Brent to be his 2nd counselor. Brent didn't quite know what to say but that he would do it. President Gabrialson asked him how he felt and Brent thought for what seemed like a long time and just said "Humbled."

He asked me how I felt and I shared this experience (in not so many words to the Stake President!):

The night before we had been at cubscouts with the Bears and working on the leadership achievement. One of the boys was not being very good at listening and obeying and I got a bit upset with him and soon realized that I didn't have what it took to teach this lesson and turned it over to Brent (which is what I should have just done from the beginning!).

I had a special feeling as I watched Brent teach them about the Savior and the kind of leader He was - that He loves us, that He is the Good Shepherd that leads and his Lambs follow (not beats them from behind) that He never asks those he leads to do things that He himself is not willing to do, and that He blesses us and lets us know of His love for us. Brent taught the boys that was what a good leader was. At the end he was reviewing with the boys and asking them questions and asked "So who should we be like?" and one of the sweet boys pointed to Brent and said "you". Brent smiled and said "like Jesus". But right then I knew that wherever the Lord asked Brent to serve that the Lord knew he would try hard to be like the Savior in loving people along and that he would be a good leader, both at church and at work. I feel so blessed to be married to such a good man. I love you Brent and we support and sustain you and are proud of you!

At the Stake Meeting, Bishop Mooso and his wife shared their testimonies which were very sweet. One thing that stuck out to me was from Kyla - that she said that even though this calling had required a lot of time from her husband, the times they were together as a family while her husband had been serving had been the best ever. Even though Brent is not the bishop, I am already starting to feel this blessing too. Brent has always been wonderful to us - but I have noticed a different feeling in him. He has been so much more sweeter with me and the children - much more patient and kind and loving. This was just the change that our family was needing in our home and I am working hard to change my heart so that I can be more like this too especially with our sweet little children.

When Bishop Bair stood and shared his testimony, he talked about why he chose his counselors and he said about Brent that "Brent was a good man and always smiling and that he made him feel young!" :-)

Brent's Mom and Dad and brothers Rob & Gary & Jeff & David and his family all came over to Caldwell for Brent to be ordained as a High Priest. It was so fun to have them all here!

In Brent's ordination and blessing from his father, he said: (To be filled in as soon as I find my notes :-))

When President Thacker set Brent apart as a 2nd counselor, one of the profound blessings that stood out to us was that President Thacker blessed him to be able to see the face of the Savior in every single person he met.

It was a very special experience to watch our stake presidency and our wonderful Bishop Mooso lay their hands on Bishop Bair's head and set him apart to be the Bishop and to witness the passing of the keys of the priesthood. I bear my witness that the Priesthood power is real and has been restored in it's fullness directly from the Savior through his servants. The Bishop, Bishop Bair, does hold all the priesthood keys necessary to act in place of the Savior in our ward as the Father of our Ward and a judge in Israel and also to feel and show the love of the Savior and mercy that the Savior offers through the Atonement. He is the Father of our ward and was blessed with the Love of the Savior to love us as a father and will counsel with love, with kindness, and will be inspired to know just what our ward and members of our ward need. He carries a great responsibility to build up Zion in our ward and will need the best of all of us, in each and every calling, to fulfill this responsibility to the Lord and in the process we all we be blessed together.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the True Church of Jesus Christ. Here can be found the path we need to tred to find forgiveness through the Atonement and to receive the ordinances that will enable us to return to our Father in Heaven and Eternal Life and Joy. The church is organized with all the keys of the priesthood, and also in such a way to look after the needs of each one of us to bring us all closer to him. Here is happiness, here is truth, here is safety, here is peace, here we can be blessed, here we can have happy lives and families, and here we are needed and need each other. I am so grateful to know this and to witness the blessing of the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life and for my family.

If any of you reading this aren't members of our faith, I invite you to learn more about the Church - how it was organized and was restored from the Savior himself through the prophet Joseph Smith, how it works, what it teaches, and to read the Bible and Book of Mormon and find out what they teach. And to come and see - come to our meetings, visit with the missionaries, pray about it, and find out for yourself if it is true or not. Heavenly Father does answer prayers and He will let you know what is right and what your family needs, but he will not force you along. He lets you choose. We are all children of our Father in Heaven, brothers and sisters, and he wants us to take good care of each other and wants so much for us to choose to return to him after this life and to be united as one family- and here is where you can find the path that leads to Him. He is just waiting to bless us, but we have to choose it, and keep choosing it every single day. I hope that I can do better at that each day and my whole life long.

I share this witness in the name of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.