Counsel on a Tuesday

From the time I was a little girl, I have always remembered sitting on the pew one certain Sunday and being so excited to have my dad in the congregation with us.  I scooted my cute little self down the bench and sat on my dad's lap.  The smell of his cologne and the feel of his suit jacket against my cheek as I snuggled on his lap are still vivid in my memory.  This Sunday is such a strong memory because my dad has almost always held a calling that required him to sit on the stand during sacrament meeting. Whether it was being a member of the High Council or a member of the Bishopric, my family rarely got the chance to sit with my dad during sacrament meeting.

In March of 2007, my dad was called to be bishop of the Graham ward.  You can imagine my disappointment (it was rather selfish) upon hearing this.  It not only meant that the rumors about our ward being split were true, but that my family was going to be a in a new ward, which meant not having my best friend Sarah at church with me anymore.  I let myself sit in my selfish sadness for a little bit, but then realized that I needed to stop being a self-centered teenage girl and support my dad in his new calling.

This post tonight is about the importance of supporting, listening to, and obeying our church leaders, specifically our bishops.  I went in tonight in a skirt and blouse for an interview with my bishop here at BYU-I.  He walked out of his office with a warm smile and an outstretched hand, and he knew my name.  This may seem like a silly thing to be impressed with, but as a bishop at a university you not only have a lot of names to remember, but they're constantly changing because of the in and outflow of students from semester to semester; so I was impressed.  He sat me down and we had a very nice chat.  He asked a few questions about my major, how my grades are, how I like it here and just some more basic get-to-know-you questions. When we got to the concept of the honor code he asked how it differed from Provo to Idaho, and after explaining, he simply said that as a ward they really try to adhere to the rules and regulations set forth by the university. He encouraged me to do all I could to help others obey the honor code and live up to the standards we are expected to live by.  He also encourage me to seek out opportunities to help others, specifically opportunities to serve my roommates and make their lives a little easier.

As I sat listening to the counsel he was giving, the thought ran through my mind of how much I appreciate bishops.  They are honest, good men who do their best to fulfill their calling. Now, some people have had experiences with bishops that are not pleasant to say the least.  They are simply men, imperfect human beings, who received a calling which they might not have stepped into as well as they should have. However, bishops are good, honest men.  :)

In the past three years I have come to appreciate bishops even more after seeing my dad fulfill his calling as bishop. This has helped my testimony of bishops to grow stronger and my obedience to their counsel to become more consistent. I have a strong testimony of listening to and obeying our bishops. They are men called of God to serve His people, and we must all do our part to help our bishops in any way possible.

So I loved receiving the few words of counsel that I did tonight from Bishop Byerly. Not only that, but when asking about my dating life, I responded, "Yes, I'm dating." Upon seeing the foolish grin on my face he responded, "And judging from that expression things must be going well. It looks like you are in love."

It was a good night.