greaterthansparrows

Today the brethren covered Primary for the last hour.  That's been done on occasion, but this wasn't for the sake of a visiting teaching gathering, but for a baby shower. I don't know of anyone at this moment who is expecting, and I guess that, in and of itself, is unusual.  This wasn't that kind of a shower.  It was not for any specific person, and we were asked not to wrap anything.  This was to create a ward 'stash' as a welfare effort. I, for one, check through clearance racks from time to time and buy things to have on hand when someone IS having a baby and I might need a gift.  I took my smallest size sleepers and contributed them today.  We have a lot of turnover in ward membership, and we have people who show up because they have a child in the hospital, or are transported from outlying areas to the NICU at Tacoma General.   It and the local children's hospital, part of TG, are a block away. Its new outpatient building abuts the backsi...

Today we had stake conference, one of those times that they take a date for the whole state of Washington, and Alaska too,  and give us 15 minutes for hymn, prayer, and business at the beginning, and then broadcast from Salt Lake.  We had Brother Hales and Brother Perry, after starting off with  Marcus Nash of the 1st quorum of Seventy, who was called after being a stake president in Lynnwood.  He was greeting us as old home folks. The best talk, I think, was Sister  Carol McConkie a counselor in the general presidency of the Young Women.  I think that was because her talk was more personal, sharing experiences from the time she and her husband presided over the San Jose, CA mission. But the crowning point of the morning was after the conference.  Two members of our ward were presented for sustaining to be ordained elders; we were included in the groups for both.  One has been one of our temple students, just waiting for the Melchizidek prie...