February 20 and 21, 2016
The top photo is in the mission home in front of our family picture.
The bottom one was at the San Pablo Stake Center.
I believe
it was in December that we heard that we would be hosting President Russell M.
Nelson in our mission. Of course, it was exciting news but also a little
overwhelming to think that we would be meeting and spending time with the
President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles! We were excited to think that
our missionaries would have the blessing of being taught by President Nelson
and then we received news that there would be a Priesthood Leadership Meeting,
a Special Sisters Meeting for the Auxiliary Leaders, a Young Single Adult
meeting, a special San Pablo Stake Conference but NO meeting with the
missionaries! We were so disappointed that our missionaries wouldn’t have that
experience. In talking with the San Pablo Stake President, who happens to work
for the Church in the Philippines Area Office, we found out that when they were
making the schedule for President Nelson he was asked which he thought would be
more valuable—a YSA meeting or a missionary meeting. He chose the YSA meeting.
It was disappointing and sad to me. President Mangum said that if there could
only one of the meetings, the YSA meeting would give more people the
opportunity to be taught by President and Sister Nelson. I have to say it was
incredible to see the excitement of the Young Single Adults and what some of
them were willing to sacrifice to come to the meeting. The building was packed
and the meeting was wonderful.
There was a
lot of activity at the Mission Home, Office, and grounds as well as the two
Chapels were President Nelson would be attending. It was sometimes humorous to
watch the Facilities Management getting everything ready for the visit. As we
received our final schedule we found out that we weren’t invited to the Special
San Pablo Stake Conference but were assigned to go with Elder and Sister Bowen
(Shayne Bowen of the Seventy and 1st Counselor in the Philippines
Area Presidency) to a different special Stake Conference in the Santa Cruz
Stake. I was disappointed once again that we wouldn’t be able to hear President
Nelson speak to the San Pablo Stake. We also found out that I would be speaking
for 7 minutes at the special Sisters Meeting. It was overwhelming to me to
think about speaking with Sister Nelson as well as Sister Bowen, Sister Tobias,
and Sister Amstead (Manila Temple Matron).
The long
awaited day finally arrived. President Mangum went to one chapel for the
Priesthood Leadership Meeting with Elder Nelson and I went to a different one
for the Special Sisters Meeting with Sister Nelson. We both had wonderful
training and were blessed to be able to be taught by President and Sister Nelson as
well as spend time with them. President Nelson is amazing;
he has so much energy and had an iPhone and iPad he was using at age 91! (I
kept thinking about how hard it was for my parents to even use the remote
control sometimes or for Bart’s parents to answer their Face Time.) President
Mangum asked if the rumor that he still snow skied was true and he said he
hadn’t been for 10 days because he hadn’t found any snow in the Philippines--unbelievable! He was so kind, genuine, and personable. I was impressed with
Sister Nelson’s grace, poise, and respect for others. I learned so much
about being a woman of God as I observed her interact with the sisters and
Priesthood leaders.
After the
first two meetings we met at the San Pablo Stake Center where the Sisters
Meeting was held and had a light lunch before the Young Single Adult meeting.
The chapel and cultural hall were filled with beautiful Filipino Young Single Adults. It was
thrilling to see. At the YSA Meeting Sister and Elder Tobias and Sister Bowen
bore their testimonies. Elder Bowen spoke, then Sister Nelson, and President
Nelson was the concluding speaker. Sister Nelson taught about the gifts of the
Spirit and how each spiritual gift we receive we take one step closer to our
Heavenly Father. She asked the question “What would you want to do and what
would you be willing to do tomorrow if you knew you would be meeting with the
Savior face to face?” It’s an overwhelming thought to me; I have so much to
improve. She ended by telling them that their true self is spectacular and they
should never settle for less! President Nelson taught many things to the young
single adults about marriage, schooling, and spiritual preparation. He taught
the importance of learning who we really are. He told them they that they need
to expect and prepare to do the impossible. He taught the importance of
learning to access the powers of heaven and how we need to ask inspired
questions as we pray. He talked about the importance of following the prophets.
He left a beautiful blessing on the Young Single Adults. It was very powerful
and I know that he is a prophet of God.
The missionaries
serving in the San Pablo Stake had the blessing of attending the special San
Pablo Stake Conference and singing prelude as President and Nelson came into
the Chapel. We were in Santa Cruz with the Bowens for the special Stake
Conference there but we were told that the chapel, cultural hall and other
rooms were overflowing. It was an amazing and spiritual experience for them to come listen to
the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The special Santa Cruz Stake Conference was an inspiriting meeting as well. Elder and Sister Bowen are wonderful speakers and great to be with. That night our sweet
night guard was saying what a rare experience that was for the Filipino
members to have President Nelson come to their stake. I said yes and then told him it was rare for the members in Utah. We
seldom see an Apostle at a Stake Conference in Utah any more.
After the
Stake Conferences we met at the Mission Home where President and Sister Nelson
came in for a few minutes before traveling to Manila. They were kind and
personable asking about our family. We had a sweet conversation with them,
particularly Sister Nelson, as we shared our experience of losing daughters to
cancer (President Nelson had a daughter that died of cancer too). She asked about our son-in-law’s new wife and we expressed our
gratitude for Wendy. She shared sweet feelings of a second wife and the closeness you feel to the first wife. It was a sweet experience to share a few minutes with these devoted disciples of Christ. Some of the feelings I had are so sacred that I can’t share but I will share that as
President Nelson said good-bye to us we had a glimpse of what it must be like
to have the Savior look in your eyes. I felt like President Nelson knew
everything about my sins, weaknesses, insecurities, but all I felt was pure
love radiating from his glowing face. It was a priceless experience and I’m not
sure why we were so blessed to have this opportunity but it is something we
will always remember and be grateful for!
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| Top: Special Sisters Meeting Left center: Imagine my surprise when I got emails about my picture in the Church News. Center: President Nelson and Elder Bowen shaking hands at the Priesthood Leadership Meeting with President Mangum in the background. Right Center: The Bowens are inside the Chapel door shaking hands before the Santa Cruz Stake Conference. Bottom left: Young Single Adult Meeting Bottom right: San Pablo Sake Conference from the Church News |
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