June 22, 2003

• My weekend update . . .
  
  Sunday:
  Sacrament meeting was very good today. I really felt the Spirit, and was touched by the speakers. Allison spoke on controlling your thoughts- a topic I needed to hear. Sister Rider (sp?) spoke on missionary work- a topic I wanted to hear. And some one from the high council spoke on getting out of debt- a topic that was irrelevant to me personally, but that for some reason carried a spirit just as strong as the others. I was reminded of how much I love the Church, and how much it helps us in our daily lives. I felt so refreshed.
  
  And in priest quorum, we covered the Bishop’s desk with starburst wrappers, and I was reminded of how much fun I have had with my brothers and sisters in the Church. I felt so loved, and I don’t care if that sounds cheesy.
  *sigh* I am exausted today. I need another nap.
  
  Thursday-Saturday was Youth Conference . . .
  
  Thursday:
  
  For youth conference this year we had been putting together a dance to perform. Thursday was many hours of practicing, finalizing, and putting together that dance. It was stressful, I loved working with Brother Bodily. And the dance is fun, even if sometimes I think our both the BG 1st and 2nd wards are A.D.D. Some people just don’t know how to listen. Oh well.
  
  After the practice, we went to stay with our host families. I went with Jeff P, Andy I, A.J. S, Brad S, and Andrew– we stayed at the Prows’ house. It was fun– despite my dislike of AJ. We had pizza and ice cream as AJ hacked onto the computer. We visited Andy’s 9.9 rating on hotornot.com, and then we went to the basement.
  
  We started with a little pool to get things started, and then Jeff, AJ, and Andy started playing “ball-ball”- a game where they take turns chucking a ball at eachother. First one to his knees loses. He he, it was interesting to watch. There were some good ball shots. I wish I had a better arm- I would have joined in then.
  
  From there we played “topless ping pong” (no, Gina was not there ) We played 2 against 2, and for every point lost, you were hit with a ping pong ball. They left some nice donut welts, let me tell you. It was sooo much fun, in a strange way. Something about the pain was addicting, but man, I sucked at it. As AJ, JP, and Andy will attest.
  
  We played ping pong until Andy accidently let go of his paddle and it smacked Jeff across the forehead. We went to sleep just before 3. I slept on the floor– which was extremely hard and uncomfortable, so I didn’t particularly enjoy those 4 hours of sleep I got.
  
  Friday:
  
  Friday was the most fun I had. It had it’s down moments, but it also had some of the best. ” . . . It still brings a smile to my face . . .” (the Ataris).
  Anyway, we went the beach party on Lake Michigan. It was a little cold, but it was sunny, and we had a good time. Played some football. I scraped up my foot on that disgusting sand. hehe, that just reminded me of Gina and Andy’s sand fight. Good times, good times.
  
  You know, despite being surrounded by so many of my good friends (Andy, Jeff Prows, Gina, Dana, Megan, among others), I really missed Weggs. I remember him at some of the other beach parties– I missed those walks with him where I could get so much lifted. I needed those- without something to lift the stress, it just sits there making me . . . I don’t know. I guess it turns into little voices that make me crazy- no, unwell.
  
  The Sweetwoods took us back to the church- a fun car trip if way longer than it should have been, and despite being exausted. Saw Brother Smith on the way home. Listened to some good music . . . I’m stealing the CD from Andy, and will let you know when I burn the next CD with it all. I’m liking that Simple Plan song, “I’d do anything” more and more everytime I hear it . . . at this rate, by September I’ll be so obessed with it I will hear nothing else, I will bleed that song. lol, but seriously *sigh*
  
  Anyway, we made a nice emergency stop for JP– the poor guy was really suffering in that traffic let me tell you.
  
  We returned to the Prows’ to get the sand off of us. And then we were off to the Church.
  
  We practiced the performance a bit, and then ate dinner. After that, there was a devotional to tie the dance to the gospel and inspire us right before our performance.
  
  I love Brother Bodily. You don’t even have to speak very long with him, just standing next to him is inspiring. He has really left my in awe of mankind’s potential- in everything. Those words used to describe Captain Moroni in the Book of Mormon keep coming to my mind.
  
  “If all men . . . were . . . like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would [be] shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men” (Alma 48:17).
  
  Brother Bodily is such a man. If we could all be like him, there would be no end to our sucess; there would be no limit to our potential. I am so grateful for the latter-day “Captain Moroni-like” figures we have to lead us.
  
  Our performance friday night was great, despite a few kinks in the finale. It was so much fun. I was pleasantly surprised.
  
  After the show, there was a dance. It was alright, despite the fact that I ditched the first part of it. Andy left for the dance to go to his best friend’s graduation party, and I just wanted some time to myself. During Youth Conference, I did spend more hours dancing than sleeping anyway. Besides, the little people were acting up. Luce wouldn’t stop singing that stupid song in my ear– “suffication, no breathing, this is my last resort” I loathe that song. I hate it more than “your body is a wonderland.” I don’t know how it got in my head- I don’t listen to it. Someone must have mentioned it, or that phrase, or something. And Haley kept trying to battle it with Simple Plan, “another day is going by, I’m thinking about you all the time, but you’re out there, and I’m here waiting. And I, I wrote this letter in my head, cause so many things were left unsaid, but now you’re gone, and I can’t think straight . . .” But that didn’t work. It only made Luce laugh- “haha, you can’t think straight” ::snarl:: Ahhh! The little people!
  
  After I pulled myself together, I went back to the dance where I danced with Emily and some others. I’m going to miss Emily; she’s moving to Nauvoo in a few days.
  
  Jeff drove us back to his house. Things were really lame until Andy showed up. Jeff reminded us of our long awaited rematch. Remember when I beat Andy wrestling a while back? Well, he had sworn vengence on me and demanded a rematch, so we went at it. It was quite the struggle, let me tell you. Jeff and AJ were quick to point out that it really didn’t look good, and I must admit, it was a little . . . what’s the word?– sketchy? lol, it made for some good laughs though. The wrestling went on for a long time, no one could pull off more than a 2 sec. pin. We were just too evenly matched. Andy did this one move where he fliped me– it was really cool. But the rug burned, our muscles were sore, and we were drenched in eachothers sweat. He called for a draw, and I accepted the tie reluctantly. It was fun though.
  
  Jeff then killed AJ in a short and sweet match. That guy is ripped, let me tell you.
  
  Andy and I relaxed the rest of the night- we were pretty sore. We just talked and drank our milk as everyone else went to sleep. We stayed up a while talking– something that has been a tradition over the past few years. I refused to sleep on the floor, so Andy gave me half the couch– it was so much better than the night before on the carpeted concrete. And that was Friday.
  
  Saturday:
  
  I ran over to Andy’s house after showering and eating pancakes to borrow a pair of pants. My only pair had gotten sweaty the night before. I need to go shopping.
  
  Saturday was by far the most spiritual of the three days. Our morning was devoted to learning and listening to various speakers.
  
  Elder Hicken, a general authority who happens to be my orthodontist, gave the opening message. I was really touched by it, and felt very happy through the whole thing.
  
  His message adressed the theme from chapter 31 of 2nd Nephi. It is an amazing chapter, and he illistrated it so beautifully. For example, often when we read the scriptures that tell us to enter the
  “strait and narrow path” after baptism, we picture an even, fair, straight path between two points. Such is not the case. You will notice a difference in spellings between strait and straight. The former doesn’t not necessarily refer to a line that is uncrooked. Rather, it describes a narrow passage or path between obstacles, as in the narrow body of water between land masses. That makes more sense to me. That is life, that is the path home. It is not a straight line into heaven, rather, it is a treacherous journey between jagged rocks that threaten our divine nature. It is easy to walk in a straight line, but it not easy to walk the narrow passage of life.
  
  Even so, I bear testimony to Elder Hicken’s promise that “if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the words of Christ, and endure to the end . . . ye shall have eternal life” (2 Nephi 31:20).
  
  I attended 3 other classes- one on missionary work; one on premortal and mortal identity and divine nature; and one on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the latter we learned that Nephi was “fine,” and Andy commented that I looked kind of like Nephi. Then we learned that he was “ripped,” and so Andy decided that he fit the mold better and has taken to calling himself Nephi.
  
  The highlight of every Youth Conference (and EFY too for that matter) seems to be the Testimony Meeting. While this was not the best one I’ve been to, I felt the Spirit strong. It was very sweet and warm, and I most definately cried as the Spirit bore witness to me of the divinity of Jesus Christ, who lives and loves me. That ecstasy of emotional sensation bore witness of his restored Gospel, found complete in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I bore my testimony of the Priesthood, sharing with my stake the gratitude I felt for being able to work with Brother Bodily and Brother Schuple, and to hear from Elder Hicken and President Evans. I know that their Priesthood is divinely real, and that their teachings will lead to happiness. This Youth Conference they were more than just my Church Leaders, as Brother Bodily- Lynn- pointed out, they were my friends. That man has inspired me to higher potentials, and I am so grateful for the chance to have felt the Spirit with all of them.
  
  Our Saturday performance was by far the best. I was so happy through our waltz. I could feel the stress and tension lifting, despite my anxiety after the performance.
  
  I went outside for the first part of the dance and took many a walk. I sat in the grass near the Stake offices out back, and just watched the sky thinking of my friends and wishing Weggs was there to talk to him about them. I needed the walks with him back so desperately.
  
  The stupid voices in my head were acting up to fill the void. Haley quoted areosmith, “I don’t want to close my eyes. I don’t want to fall asleep . . .” and Luce just sat there laughing while Mervin moaned as usual. When I finally tuned them out, I returned to the dance, where I found a little comfort in Megan. After another walk, I returned to the dance and had a lot of fun dancing.
  
  People actually danced. I was amazed. It was fun. Had I not been down from things, it would have been the best dance I had ever been to. Which was good- it was Andy’s last stake dance. It was good to see him having such a good time. I tell you, the confidence of everybody was great, and people knew what to do. I had so much fun experimenting with all the stuff we had learned with Megan. And I enjoyed dancing with Emily.
  
  As the dance ended, I sudenly realized why we had Youth Conference. It was for us to bond as a youth, for us to gain confidence in our ability and in our potential. It was for us to share in eachothers testimony of Jesus Christ, for us to learn through dancing that discipline, hard work, unity, patience, long-suffering, communication, and faith accomplished great things- that by enduring to the end, we could experience joy greater than anything else. I have never seen the youth of our stake so active, so happy, and so close to eachother as I did that night. As Brother Schuple said, this youth conference has changed stake dances forever. It did more than that, if changed the youth forever. I only wish I had been more prepared personally to partake of the blessings of that Youth Conference.
  
  Though the dance was over at 10, I didn’t get to go home until after 11:30 because I had to help clean up. That’s what you get for having a dad in the Stake Young Men’s presidency. *sigh* It was long, but well worth it. I will treasure the smiles of Youth Conference forever.
  
  and that is my long report on the weekend. if you are interested in my fellow Youth at church, check out our Ward Youth Website at bg1.shorturl.com

  • 10:26 pm
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