Special Stake Conference

May 2, 2010
We had a special Stake Conference today. Elder Quentin L. Cook, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came to visit. No one knew that Elder Cook was coming till about three weeks ago so the Stake only had a short time to prepare. From what I understand he was out here to train the presidencies of the ten local stakes and other leaders, and, I believe to start training Jerry Garns, a long-time friend and acquaintance, who was just released as the Valencia Stake President, and called to be an area Seventy last month at General Conference.

I saw Jerry just before the meeting started and congratulated him on his new calling. I know that’s a bit of an awkward thing to do; it’s not the kind of position someone aspires to or takes pride from, and it’s more a privilege and responsibility than an honor, in the secular sense. Jerry was typically self-depreciating and expressed a hope that he would grow into the position. I’m sure he will.

I also spoke briefly with President Lindberg. He was a little nervous and at the same time excited about the whole thing. It’s amazing to me. I’ve watched Steve since he was a small boy and to see the way he’s grown, not just older, but in the grace and strength of Spirit. He is a gentle, wise and really caring person.

I suspected the audience would be larger than normal. We’d been given printed invitations to pass out to friends and neighbors, and I figured that as the word was out we would also get visitors from neighboring stakes, so even though conference didn’t start till 10 AM I went down to reserve a seat for us at 7. There were several members of our ward already there and two investigators who will be getting baptized sometime later this month or next. In the end our ward had at least 4 investigators there, including Kyle’s friend Josh Koulzen (sp?) who we had invited. Bob Keller, the former Santa Clarita Mayor and current city councilman was representing the city and was attending with his wife. I had the chance to talk with him before the meeting and thank him for the support he had given us during the Prop 8 debates and demonstrations. I also spoke briefly with him after the meeting and could see that he had been touched by the messages.

By 9 AM the chapel was full and most of the seats in the cultural hall were taken too. Luckily Cherryl had the day off. She, Adam and mom sat with me just three rows from the front where we had a great view of all speakers. Eventually the crowed spilled over into the Relief Society Room, Scout Room and the Primary Room where closed-circuit television was hooked up. Sherree Poire-Packer and her husband and child sat near the front where an ASL missionary signed the talks for her. I took notes of all the talks. I wish I knew short-hand or some other form of quick, accurate note-taking, but I don’t, so what I write here is essentially expanded notes.

President Lindberg spoke first about families. He referred to “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” I don’t remember if he read directly from it, or if he simply referred to it, but the gist of this part of his message was;

“The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.”

He referred to, what the First Presidency has called the “preeminent importance of the family”, and that what we are taught and commit to in the temples is vital to our families. He told us that our homes should be just as sacred and protected from the outside world as the temple is, and that to do this there are four essential family activities that we must do daily:

• Have family prayer
• Hold regular Family Home Evening
• As parents, conduct family gospel study and instruction
• Have regular wholesome family activities

In closing he bore witness of the sacred calling of President Monson as the prophet, seer and revelator of the church, of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and the plan for eternal families.


Sister Wilson, the Stake Relief Society President spoke next. She asked, “What quality defines us best as Latter-day Saints?”

Answering her own question she quoted Matthew 22: 37-40; “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

She said that for all the good we are doing in the world, the one place for improvement is among those closest to us. That we must learn to love as the Savior does. She gave four things to focus on:

1. Be more considerate and sensitive to the needs of others – encouraging to the youth and those we love.
2. Be complementary to others
3. Be charitable, with our time as well as our means. She explained that sometimes giving our time is more beneficial and meaningful to the recipient than giving money.
4. Be grateful – showing our gratitude not just by what say, but by how we live.

As a summary she read from Alma 7: 23 & 24;

“And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive. And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.”

She than expressed her gratitude for all the service the sisters in the stake had given in the past years and bore her testimony of the gospel and the truthfulness of the church.


The Stake choir sang a rendition of “Have I Done Any Good in the World Today”


Elder Garns spoke next and expressed gratitude for all the past Stake Presidents who had mentored and taught him: Presidents Stevenson, Larkins and McKeon, and bore testimony of President Lindberg’s calling and capabilities. He expressed his feelings of humility and his desire to learn and fulfill his current calling.

I believe he said he was quoting Elder Bednar who said that when we listen to talks in the church we should not write what is said, rather we should write the things we feel (this while I’m working hard to write down everything as accurately as I could) because it is what the Spirit whispers to our hearts and minds, and it is by the Holy Ghost that we are taught, that while one person hears and learns one thing from what is said, another may get something entirely different, each getting the message that is uniquely tailored to them.

He explained that in order to learn by the spirit two things must happen; we must understand by the Holy Ghost and be edified by what we hear. He quoted Doctrine and Covenants 50:22;

“Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together.”

He then told us of the four Prophetic priorities – the priorities of the First Presidency

1. Strengthen our faith in Christ
2. Strengthen our families
3. Care for and love each other
4. Strengthen priesthood power in the home.

Focusing on the first priority he said we need to develop a greater trust in God and in His willingness to help, no matter how great the need or circumstance, that God can make a way where there is none. We need to learn to obey His commandments and demonstrate that He can trust us to do what He asks of us. He taught that reverence invites revelation; that we need to be still to hear the promptings of the Spirit, and then act courageously to that prompting. He then said we need to learn to be patient and understand when God lets us struggle to grow.

In relation to this, and on a side note, this afternoon I was reading C S Lewis “Paved with Good Intensions” - a sort of summary of the principles explained in “The Screwtape Letter”. For those who have never read the book, the viewpoint here is from a senior devil teaching his nephew, a junior tempte, the best ways to tempt and corrupt a Christian convert. So everything is taken from a negative point of view. Screwtape writes to Wormwood, “Work hard…on the disappointment or anticlimax which is certainly coming to the patient during his first few weeks as a churchman. (By patient he means the recent convert.) The Enemy (meaning God) allows this disappointment to occur on the threshold of every human endeavor. It occurs when the boy who has been enchanted in the nursery by Stories from the Odyssey buckles down to really learning Greek. It occurs when lovers have got married and begin the real task of learning to live together. In every department of life it marks the transition from dreaming aspiration to laborious doing. The Enemy takes this risk because He has a curious fantasy of making all these disgusting little human vermin into what He calls His “free” lovers and servants – “sons” is the word He uses ... Desiring their freedom, He therefore refuses to carry them, by their mere affections and habits, to any of the goals which He sets before them; He leaves them to “do it on their own“. And here lies our opportunity. But also remember, there lies our danger. If once they get through this initial dryness successfully, they become much less dependent on emotion and therefore much harder to tempt.” (Italics mine).


Last of all, Elder Cook spoke.
He started off by relating his experiences when he was in the Philippines, how the people were such hard workers and so faithful in the face of grinding poverty and struggles. He spoke of teaching the principle of gratitude to our children, a love and appreciation for what the Father has provided, and that we show our gratitude by how we serve and live our lives.

He spoke of Christ’s final days before the Atonement and Resurrection. He explained how when Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he bled from every pore, that he was not only suffering for the sins of the world, but also for all the “unfairness” in the world, the suffering of those who did nothing to deserve it, the handicapped, the abused – both children and adults, those suffering from the wrong choices of others who exercised their free agency unrighteously, and how through the Atonement Christ is able to make all things right again.

He stressed our responsibility to share the gospel with others. He taught that we must try to pattern our lives after the Savior, to think about His life and message and example. He remarked how in the last two chapters of John that basically everything the Lord said was for us to go and teach the gospel.

He then bore his special witness of Christ. He said, as near as I accurately wrote it down; “I have had the kind of experiences that allow me to say unequivocally that Jesus is the Christ”

He then said that in his position it is his privilege to leave an Apostolic Blessing on us. He said: These are difficult times; there is a lot of noise in the world, many angry and unsettled people. He promised and blessed us that as we strive to live Christ-like lives, a peace will come into our hearts and we will not get caught up in it (the noise and instability), and that as we demonstrate a willingness to act as Christ did we will know how to reach out to our children and others – what to do to bring them back to the Father.

He blessed us that we would learn that there are things we can do without and to live on less, that we would have “sufficient for our needs” to provide for our families.

He blessed us that we would have warmth and unity in our homes and that our righteous desires would be fulfilled.

The meeting closed with the Hymn “I Believe in Christ”, after which Elder Cook stayed to shake hands and speak with anyone who wished to do so. The line was long as practically everyone wanted to meet him. I waited till the line was almost done and because it was short and there wasn’t any pressure behind me I was able to speak with Elder Garns and President Lindberg a little while longer, and then also with Elder Cook. I told him there were a number of investigators from our ward in the audience and how they had been touched, and also Bob Keller’s comments to me about the meeting.

Now that it’s over it has a kind of dream-like quality to it. There was a subtle and sublime feeling of peace and contentment left behind. I am relying on his blessing, especially since this year is going to be very challenging financially. As in all promised blessings, obtaining those promises always depends on our faith and faithfulness, but I know that Elder Cook really is an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, just as the Apostles in the time of Christ every bit as much as I know my own name. Today was a privilege and a real blessing.