January 9, 2020

Elders,

Happy Thursday evening! I hope that your week is going well. It was nice to really get back to a routine this past Monday. Kids in school, Kris and I at work, lessons starting up, etc. There is something about getting back to a regular schedule that is comforting after a fun couple of weeks of chaos. One of our traditions over Christmas break is to go up to Crystal Hot Springs to soak and relax in the dense mineral water. Fun fact, it has the most mineral content of any spring in the U.S.. We love to go up there and just relax and talk. Some of it is just silly but some is serious and thoughtful. I love getting time with my family or at least the ones that could or would come.

As we are studying the first few chapters of 1 Nephi, take a look and liken it to your family. Where do you see yourself? What are your tendencies in difficult situations? What do you do with inspiration? How do you react to things that are hard? Look deeply into Lehi and his family. See where we can grow and be better. One scripture that caught my eye this time through is: 1 Nephi 2:7 where Lehi is talking to his ofttimes rebellious son Laman. He compares Laman to a river running into the Red Sea. He says “O that thou lightest be like unto this river, continually running into the fountain of all righteousness!” I’m not sure how Lehi meant it or how Laman interpreted it, but one of the names for Jesus Christ is “the fountain of all righteousness”. Make that find/replace and suddenly Lehi is counseling Laman to always be running into Jesus Christ.

Always running into Jesus Christ. That is a noble goal for each of us. If we try to find a way everyday to run into the Savior, our testimonies will grow, and as we start having these experiences we can bring faith into our conversations with family and friends.

Elders – thank you for being the example you are to me and my family.

This week we’ll get to hear from Brother Barlow – He’ll be discussing  Elder Renlund’s talk “Unwavering Commitment to Jesus Christ” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/10/16renlund?lang=eng
 I suspect he’ll be telling us more about the saints in the Congo.

A week from Friday on January 17th we will have a ward temple day in preparation for our ward conference on the  19th. We encourage you to come to the temple and enjoy the peace it brings. We are going to target the X:XX session (don’t know which one for certain just yet, but we’ll let you know on Sunday).

Look for the signup sheet for our winter “Meet and Eat”. It will be on January 25. Marshall Rudd is spearheading the organization for this. It has always been a fun activity – a time to get to know other friends and neighbors from the area. I hope that you’ll participate.

See you bright and early on Sunday for 9:00 Sacrament Meeting! Let me know how we can be of service to you.

Thanks,

President Oldroyd
801-573-6828