April 3, 2020

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