Month: April 2020

Elders,

I hope that you took the opportunity to participate in general conference this past weekend. It was memorable and remarkable in so many ways. If you didn’t have the chance to listen live, please listen either on the website or the app. I would like to hear from you. We would all like to hear from you and the things you learned and more importantly, felt. If you would be willing to share, please let me know. I would love to be able to share video, audio, or written feelings and testimonies. We can’t share in person during sacrament meeting or quorum meeting, so let’s share digitally. If you would like to participate, please let me know. I can help with getting you recorded or taking your written feelings as well. I really hope you’ll take part. We could all benefit from hearing from each other.

It is great to have Elders Mack, Tommy, and Jackson all back in the quorum. The drive by parades were fun and we are anxiously awaiting hearing from them once the quarantine is lifted and we can all get back together again. 

This Sunday is Easter Sunday – we get to celebrate the empty tomb. Christ rose from the dead and forever changed the world. We all get to be ressurected after we die. Our spirits and bodies reunite in their best form. What an amazing gift. He conquered not only death but sin as well and made the way back to our Father possible. We stand all amazed. 

Tomorrow is Good Friday. It is the day we commemorate Christ’s crucifixion. President Nelson has invited all of us to fast tomorrow. He said:
“I invite all, including those not of our faith, to fast and pray on Good Friday, April 10th, that the present pandemic may be controlled, caregivers protected, the economy strengthened and life normalized.”

Let’s unite our faith, prayers, and fasting throughout the world . We can help miracles happen when we are united. There is great power in prayer and fasting and more as we unite together.

On Easter Sunday, the Bishop has authorized each household to administer the sacrament. This is a wonderful way to celebrate Easter at home.

Please consider sharing your conference thoughts and feeling with the quorum. We would all love to hear from you.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend,

President Oldroyd
801-573-6828

Elders,

How is everybody doing? After family prayers last night I asked my regular question “What’s the plan for tomorrow?” and everyone looked at me like I was the dumbest person in the world. It was just force of habit and I realized what I had done but I had to try to cover for myself and so I tried to ask about specific homework and such – fail. I was exposed. We are not the social butterfly family of the ward and so this isn’t as challenging for us as it must be for some others, but it is still hard to wake up and have every day be pretty much the same as the day before. I hope that you are doing a better job than I am at finding ways to make each day memorable and different. I hope that you are finding ways to “friend and befriend” and not just “hunker and bunker”.

It was fun to do our parade last Sunday and see Elder Mack and Elder Tommy. They both look so good. We love them and are so grateful for their service and that it has been interrupted. They have been, and will continue to be, forces for good in the world.

This weekend is General Conference. It will be something different and it will be a great experience. We get 5 sessions of prophets, apostles, and general leaders of our church speaking directly to us about our Savior and what we need to know in these tumultuous times. It will also be a celebration of Joseph Smith’s wonderful experience – the first vision and the kicking off of the latter-day restoration. The church has put together many resources to help us to prepare for conference – from selected talks, to videos, podcasts, and artwork. This will indeed be a conference to remember. Many people are posting on social media a snapshot of our day – the empty parking lots, quarantine, gas prices, etc so they can remember in years to come what this time in our life was all about. Consider posting, or at least recording in your journals or elsewhere your feelings from this conference. It will be memorable in many ways.

Due to General Conference this weekend we are NOT authorized to perform the sacrament in our homes this Sunday.

The world is in turmoil. 10 Million Americans filed for unemployment in March. This set a new record for the United States. April may eclipse that mark too. Our quorum has, and probably will continue to be impacted by economy. Right now I am only aware of one quorum member that is seeking employment, but if there are others I would love to know who and see what we can do to help. 

Bryan Harper is looking for a position in analytics, process improvement, or product management. If you know of any openings or any companies that are hiring, please consider reaching out to Bryan. 

Elders, our quorum needs all of the ministering skills that you have. Ask the Lord for ways that you can minister and he will prompt you in ways that you maybe hadn’t thought of before. Look for little things. Look for big things. Look to “friend and befriend”. God loves you all and will bless us and help sustain us through our troubles.

Enjoy conference! Let me know what I can do to improve and be better for you.

Thanks,

President Oldroyd
801-573-6828