Month: March 2019

Elders,

I’m a little tired tonight. Ended up with another trip down to Ephraim, UT late last night and ended back home just after 2:00am. I’m not in my 20’s anymore. I don’t bounce back quite the same as I used to.

Prior to my whirlwind tour of Ephraim, we had our Elder’s Quorum Axe Throwing event. I hope everyone had a good time. We all were able to get the axes to stick to the target. Some of us were better than others but overall we ended up splitting into two competitive teams. Both games were decided by the final thrower – pretty evenly matched. I’m not sure if Larry or I had the record for the furthest distance the axe rebounded after NOT sticking into the target. It probably wasn’t the actual goal, but it was still fun. Thanks to everyone that came out. I hope we can get another activity lined up soon. It is good to gather together as men and enjoy each other’s company. It was a fun guys night out but it would be fun to go with your family as well. (look for a groupon).

Here are a few snaps from the event – thanks Bruce.

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Last Sunday we were led by David Oka to discuss the talk “The role of the Book of Mormon in Conversion”. We had a number of you make comments and help frame the lesson. I really enjoyed hearing the personal stories and testimonies of many of you. We all come such different backgrounds and circumstances. It builds my testimony and faith to hear you bear your testimonies. Thank you for opening up and sharing with the quorum.

This coming Sunday is a Fast Sunday due to April General Conference. It is also a 5th Sunday. On 5th Sundays we gather with the Relief Society and learn together. The talk that we’ll be discussing is “Stand Forever”. https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/lawrence-corbridge_stand-for-ever/ by Lawrence Corbridge. I have read through the talk and have found it very insightful. There is so much mis-information out in the world. He talks about how we learn and where the gospel fits in. I think it will lead us to a great discussion. The Dalton’s will be presenting the material and guiding us through the talk. It will be great.

Other announcements can be found at our ward website (thanks Aimee): https://westland9th.weebly.com/announcements.html

Thanks as always. I appreciate your kindness and support,

President Oldroyd
801-573-6828

Elders,

It’s hard to believe that it is already mid-week. I hope that you are all enjoying the good weather. Officially today is the first day of spring, so we are right on track. I’m sure we still have a storm or two to go, but we are on our way to warmer weather.

We had the sister missionaries over for dinner tonight. It was fun to see them in more casual clothes. You have a picture of what a missionary looks like and they did not fit the mold that I was expecting. While from their dress they were less formal, their spirit, and enthusiasm were contagious. We loved having them over. They talked about their missions, their mission calls, and their families. My kids might not admit it, but I think they really enjoyed having them over too. We almost didn’t eat either. We had a time mixup, dead car batteries, late meetings, and the kids didn’t start the rice… Only a last minute run to Pollo Loco saved the day. We ate, shared stories, and enjoyed their company.

The missionaries are just wonderful. They carry that missionary mantle – you can feel their love for you and for the Savior. They were impressed to share a message and challenge around prayer. It was just what our family needed. Just this morning I was having a discussion with one of my children about the efficacy of prayer. My child was talking about how prayers aren’t answered and that God doesn’t care to help. The example was brought up about studying for a test, praying, and still failing. The sister missionaries talked about prayer and how some prayers take time and patience, but that God hears all our prayers. I don’t know how well the message was received but I feel that it was inspired.

On Friday, we have the opportunity to go and do proxy sealings at the Jordan River Temple. If you have not signed up for the 6:30pm session and are able to attend, could you call or SMS Bro Waddoups (385) 630-5521 and let him know that you are coming? He is coordinating and making sure that we have room to occupy all that are interested in coming. Please bring your family names and we’ll try to get through as many as we can on Friday.

This Sunday we will be taught by David Oka. He will lead us in a discussion of Elder Bowen’s talk “The Role of the Book of Mormon in Conversion” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2018/10/the-role-of-the-book-of-mormon-in-conversion?lang=eng I am excited to learn from Bro Oka and each one of you. I appreciate all of the comments and participation in quorum. We have a great group of men.

Tuesday 3/26, we are having an Elder’s outing. We will be going to Axe Arena (6212 State St, Murray, UT 84107) at 7:00pm to try our hand at throwing axes into bulls-eye targets. The cost is $15/person. We will have a signup sheet go around on Sunday to gauge about how many people to plan on. It should be a ton of fun. If you have doubts, just ask the Haws’ family. Bring a son or a daughter, or even *Gasp* your neighbor.

On March 31, we’ll have a combined 2nd hour meeting with the Relief Society and we’ll be discussing a talk by Lawrence Corbridge titled “Stand Forever”. https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/lawrence-corbridge_stand-for-ever/ Elder Corbridge was assigned to read through a large swath of material on the internet that was antagonistic to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He talks about what he learned and what we can do to prepare ourselves to Stand Forever. He talks about knowledge and deception, methods for learning, and the importance of asking questions. It is a wonderful talk and message. It will be great to get your input on this as well.

In my last email I mistakenly announced Sunday Snacks for 3/31. That day is fast Sunday so we’ll move it to April 28th. Sorry for not thinking.

Enjoy the rest of the week. You are all great men and I’m grateful to know you.

Best wishes,

President Oldroyd
801-573-6828

Elders,

Well, that was a nice little snap of winter. Hopefully that is the last snow of significance this season. It certainly messed with the morning commute.
One thing you probably don’t know about me is that I am a steam room junkie. Some day I will get a steam room installed in my home (ok – probably not) but there are few things that I enjoy more than sitting in a eucalyptus steam room after a good workout. If I’m lucky, I’ll bring an orange to enjoy while steaming. Ah – heaven. As I came out of the steam room earlier this week there was a guy sitting in the hot tub just outside the steam room. He had a large tattoo on his back running from one shoulder to another. The tattoo script boldly said Philippians 4:13.

I’m not a proponent of getting inked, but I do admire the guy for his bold testimony. Phillipians 4:13 says “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” It is a beautiful statement of faith and power. Do you believe it? Do you have faith that you can “do all things” through our Savior? It isn’t likely tattooed on you skin, but how about in your heart? Have you stepped outside of your comfort zone and put it to the test? I probably should have stopped and asked the guy about his faith and the impetus for getting his tattoo but unfortunately I didn’t. It would be good to hear his story.

This past Sunday we had a discussion around Sister Craig’s talk “Divine Discontent”. Ken led the discussion and we talked about the difference between divine discontent and paralyzing discouragement. There isn’t a clean line between the two and it is easy to slip into discouragement. Three things that can help keep Divine Discontent from turning into Paralyzing Discouragement are: 1) Act with faith – step out of our comfort zone and act, believing that God will help make us better. 2) Follow promptings to do good – whether it is our thoughts or promptings of the spirit, “Never suppress a generous thought” and 3) Let the discontentment lead us to Christ. We realize that God wants to transform us into something magnificent. We ended with the story told by CS Lewis about God remodeling a house and that he isn’t happy with just a few changes – he wants to create a castle.

Ken challenged us to look for the divine discontent in our lives and lean into it and let it work miracles in our lives. It was a great group discussion. Thanks to all of you for participating.

A couple of announcements:

We talked briefly about the Utah Area Plan (http://utah.lds.org) and passed out the family goal-setting cards to be given out by the ministers to their ministering families. The card encourages us to set some simple goals in four key areas of our life. We have asked the ministers to follow up on the cards and the goals and help to implement the plan in each of our houses. We ran out of cards so we’ll get some more ASAP. In the meanwhile, you can go to the website above for more information.

A week from Friday (3/22) we will go and do temple sealings as a ward. We encourage everyone with a recommend to come participate in the 6:30 session at the Jordan River Temple.

3/26 (Tuesday), the elders will be going to Axe Arena (6212 State St, Murray, UT 84107) at 7:00pm to try our hand at throwing axes into bulls-eye targets. The cost is $15/person. We will have a signup sheet go around on Sunday to gauge about how many people to plan on. It should be a ton of fun. If you have doubts, just ask the Haws’ family. Bring a son or a daughter, or even *Gasp* your neighbor.

3/31 (Sunday) – 2:00pm (right after the church block) we are asking everyone to bring a snack to share (healthy or otherwise) and spend 30 – 60 extra minutes just talking and socializing with other members of the ward. We’ll start off easy with snacks and see where it goes.

Elders, you are all fine men and I am proud to get to know all of you. You can, as the tattoo said, do anything through faith in the Savior. Have a wonderful end to your week.

Best wishes,

President Oldroyd 801-573-6828

Elders,

Good evening. I hope that you are all doing well this evening. Today is Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. While the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints doesn’t directly celebrate this religious holiday, we certainly eagerly anticipate the Easter season, celebrating the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The season of Lent is designated as a period of 40 days before Easter. It is a time for believers to prepare their hearts, minds, and bodies for Easter. Traditionally, believers prepare through prayer, doing penance, repentance, charity, and self-denial. The 40 days is significant because that is how long Jesus fasted in the wilderness. It is also the number of years that the Israelite children wandered in the wilderness. It is a good opportunity for each of us as well, to reflect and rededicate ourselves to increased worship of the Savior. The Come Follow Me curriculum is a great way to ease in to increased gospel knowledge and scholarship.

This coming Sunday in quorum we will study Sister Michelle Craig’s talk from conference titled “Divine Discontent” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2018/10/divine-discontent?lang=eng . It is a great talk and I’m excited to have Ken teach us and lead a discussion around the talk.

We want to congratulate Val and Wendy Christofferson on their calling to serve in an inner city mission in Salt Lake. They are going to do a fantastic job and we wish them all the best.

We have a couple of calendar items to remind you of:

• Friday March 22 – 6:30pm Ward temple trip to the Jordan River Temple for a sealing session.
  
• Monday March 25 – 12:30-4:00pm Service opportunity at the soap factory. We have been asked to fill 2 slots. Bruce Haws has volunteered to fill one spot and we could use another volunteer. The soap factory is located at: 3602 S 7200 W, Magna, UT 84044
  
• Tuesday March 26 – 7:00pm – Axe Throwing at the Axe Arena – 6212 State St. The cost is $15/person. Bring a brother, neighbor, son or daughter and come get some first-class stress relief with members of the quorum. Everyone is invited. It should be a lot of fun. We’ll have a signup sheet on Sunday.
• Sunday March 31 – 2:00pm (right after the church block) we are asking everyone to bring a snack to share (healthy or otherwise) and spend 30 – 60 extra minutes just talking and socializing with other members of the ward. We’ll start off easy with snacks and see where it goes.

Elders, thank you for all that you do. I encourage you to reach out to and continue ministering to your companion and to your families. We are going to wrap up our formal ministering interviews this month. Thanks for being flexible and generous with your time.

Love you guys. Have a wonderful week,

President Oldroyd
801-573-6828