In the second session of You Wouldn't Believe Me if I Told You, we backed off of explaining things about 'The Church' in general, and zeroed in on some specifics of my attempts to adjust to becoming and being a member. Towards the end I pointed out that we could back track God's hand in my life back further and further if we wanted to. Today, I'm only going to give you two sprinkles of "the further", one and a half lighter tales, one heavy. It could be triggering, more startling/confusing than anything, but I won't go into explicit details of any of it.
We're essentially ditching the outline project for a minute. We're going almost absolutely rogue in this session. This is one of those days where I'm writing my description before I'm beginning my recording, and I didn't even bother writing an outline this time. I want to try to tell you a little about priesthood keys, as promised... And I want to tell you about the times I've met leaders of the church (and/or their wives) face to face; not strictly in passing where I've seen them from a distant. Up close at varying degrees of personal.
Buckle up guys. I've been in the same room as many people in leadership positions within the church due to attendance at various events, but there's only a handful I've had the opportunity to gain an impression from. It's an honor I can't even put into proper words, but I'm going to try to do it some justice. As I share about these distinct experiences, I'm hoping I won't drift away on a tangent as I try to give you an overview of when I met the following people: President Matthew O. Richardson (and his abundantly warm wife, Sister Susan Richardson), who still currently oversees the vast mission territory over Minnesota and part of Wisconsin. Elder Jeremey R. Jaggi (and his beyond gracious wife, Sister Amy Jaggi), who is a current General Authority Seventy. Sister Wendy Nelson, a visible pillar of strength and beacon of light. (The wife of President Nelson, the current Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.) Elder Gerrit W. Gong (and his good/brightly-spirited wife, Sister Susan Gong), a current member of the Twelve Apostles. Elder Ulisses Soares (and his openly motherly wife, Sister Rosana Soares), another current member of the Twelve Apostles. Lastly and most recently, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf (and his radiantly cheerful wife, Sister Harriet Uchtdorf), another current member of the Twelve Apostles.
P.S. If you hadn't noticed how hard I fan girl after the aforementioned women- let me flat out say it. I hope I carry myself with even have as much grace and dignity one day. They're all forces of nature to be reckoned with in their own rights. The perfect measures of yin to the yang of their eternal partners in every way.
P.S.S. For those of you who were either brave enough or unfortunate enough to listen to the entirety of the bonus session (failed attempted live recording): I'm genuinely sorry that was such a hot mess. The greater the potential deed, the greater the optimism you tend to face amidst the work. Never give up. Never let chasing perfection take away from what you could have offered otherwise.
