The April Ensign –

I am not sure if this is just a great issue or if I was more prepared to read it, but I found the April 2008 Ensign to be wonderful. Besides inspiring stories, I learned something about the calling of a new president that I did not know before. On page 17 under ‘When the Prophet Dies,’ it says that the complete Quorum of the 12 vote to see if they should reorganize the First Presidency or whether the Quorum should preside over the Church. Of course the only time I can think when that might happen is if the Senior Apostle was so sick or mentally disabled that he could not lead. However it does show that the Lord has a way to make sure that the Church always has strong leadership.

I really enjoyed the article on Elder Cook. Obviously he was well prepared by the Lord to serve at this time. The next article on ‘Finding Answers from Conference’ with stories from some Saints on how the conference helped them make decisions that changed their lives. The one about the couple who thought they would stay home for a while after serving 3 missions in 6 years especially struck me. I must confess the thought of waiting a year instead of 6 months between missions has crept into my mind but this reinforced the need to go right back out while we are healthy. However I do not think Mary will let me sell the house so we have only a condo to maintain.

The article that struck me most was the one on tutoring in Washington D.C. The effect on the students and the tutors are amazing. It made me think about tutoring in South Provo where there seems to be a need among the schools there. It would give me a chance to keep my hand in teaching English or reading or something until we leave again.

‘The Joy of Nurturing Children’,’ By Divine Design,’ ‘My Journal, My Testimony,’
and ‘In the Path of the Tornado’ all held my interest and gave me things to think about. So I devoured the Ensign and was truly spiritually fed. Later I will go back and read some of the articles again to see what I missed the first time. It is great that no matter where in the world the Saints reside, they can have this wonderful information come into their home each month.