Sunday, May 5, 2013

Twenty Years

Last Sunday, the 28th of April, was the 20th Anniversary of the day I entered the MTC on my way to the South Africa Cape Town Mission.  Today is the 5th of May and 18 years ago I remember stopping off at a Spanish Branch activity with my dad a day after I returned home from my mission.  It is amazing how fast 20 years passes by.  I am on the verge of turning 40 but I don't really feel like I am that old.  Oh there are times when I wake up in the middle of the night because my shoulders are aching and there are times when it hurts to bend down and pick something up but in my mind I don't feel like I am that old. 

Wow, Jack is up here sitting by me and talking away about something whilst avoiding bedtime.  He just randomly stood up and looked at my hair closely and said he didn't see any white hair but lots of silver hair.  That's my boy, doing his best to make me feel older all the time.

The priesthood lesson today was on the Temple and referenced a talk from President Monson back in April 1993 just before I entered the MTC.  I downloaded that conference to my phone during the lesson and then tonight when I was cleaning up after dinner began listening to it.  There were talks in that conference that impacted me greatly as a missionary and have been a influence for good in my life.  F. David Stanley spoke on the importance of work.  Great lines in that talk and one that I will always love "Contrary to the belief of many, say and sit will never replace diligently do".  Our closing hymn today in Sacrament meeting was Jesus the Very Thought of Thee.  That was the first song I learned as a missionary and President Howard W. Hunter gave a remarkable talk in this conference titled Jesus the Very Thought of Thee where he reference the hymn throughout.  H. David Burton spoke about Heroes.  I remember that Elder Cole Kelly in the mission field laughed when we watched the Priesthood Session (tape delayed for a couple months in South Africa back then) and said I looked like Bishop Burton.  We also listened to Lessons I Learned as a Boy by President Hinkley.  That was a fantastic talk and one that I have loved for twenty years!  So very grateful for modern technology that provides us with access to these talks at our fingertips. 

If the next twenty years goes by as quickly as these last twenty...

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