#77: The Challenge of Infertility.

Although I really enjoy blogging about the events in mine and Diane's lives, most of the time I don't get very personal. Instead, I try to keep things lighthearted (and hopefully funny) by focusing on easy topics like vacations, date nights, or ward activities. However, after some encouragement, today I decided to post something very personal. 

Each year in September, my favorite blogger/mentor, Jocelyn Christensen, hosts a 13-day blogger event celebrating "The Family: A Proclamation to the World", in which she collaborates with a few other big LDS blogs and invites smaller bloggers to guest post about topics related to the family. A few months ago, Jocelyn asked me if I would like to participate in this year's family celebration, and I eagerly accepted. But, after my initial excitement, I was stumped as to what I should write about. I thought that maybe I could write something clever and superficial about Star Wars families, but it just never seemed right for the occasion. I knew that Jocelyn's celebration of the family was meant to inspire and encourage people, not just be funny. 

After praying with Diane and then discussing it with Jocelyn, we felt that it would be appropriate to talk about something that has been a significant part of our marriage--the challenge of infertility. If you would like to read the post, please click here to follow the link to Jocelyn's blog. Our greatest hope is that our story will be able to help others who may be struggling. For those of you who were already aware of this challenge, Diane and I wanted to thank you for your prayers, fasting, and love. We are blessed to have some of the greatest family and friends in the world!

#76: Inspirational Story from Stake Conference.

For those of you who may not know, Mormon congregations are called "Wards", based on geographical location. Anywhere from five to 10 wards are combined into larger groups called "Stakes" (like a stake to hold down a tent--not like a steak made up of delicious dead cow).

Stake. Not Steak.

Every six months, the members of a Stake get together for "Stake Conference" to hear sermons from the Stake President and other members of the congregation. Since I have never yet had to speak during Stake Conference (knock on wood), in the past I have been tempted to treat Stake Conference as a "Vacation Weekend" with no typical Sunday responsibilities. But as I have matured gotten older, I have changed my perspective. I now look forward to Stake Conference as a great opportunity to be edified, unified, and purified (I can't think of any other "fieds" off the top of my head). My favorite session of Stake Conference is the Saturday evening adult session. I suppose it's because you feel an extra measure of the Spirit since you are making a bit of a sacrifice to go to Church on a Saturday night.

Last night during the adult session, there was a particularly touching and powerful story. Near the end of the meeting, the Stake President asked an older couple to come up to the stand. And this is what they said (paraphrased): 

We're happy, but not because we are rich. We're happy, but not because we are famous. We're happy, yet we've become acquainted with grief. Three of our children have died, and two more are close to the veil. Having one of your children die before you is a difficult thing. It turns out that my wife and I each have an ancestor who married a first cousin. These marriages led to a rare genetic mutation passed down from generation to generation. In past generations of our families, this gene has only been recessive (rather than dominant), and therefore, we were not aware of it. This gene is very rare, and only one in 750,000 people have it. It turns out that when two people who both have the recessive gene marry and have children, then their children may inherit the dominant gene. In our case, five of our children inherited the dominant gene. The result of this gene is diabetes, seizures, kidney failure, urinary failure, occasional deafness, and early death. It is a disease that destroys the central nervous system.

People sometimes ask us, "Once you knew you both had this gene, why in the world did you keep having children?" Well, we didn't. We discovered the mutation only after all eight of our children were born. Imagine our dismay. We were simply left with a dilemma that required us to pull together, rather than pull apart. This was a time to be united. We have been very blessed, because in most families, this disease splits families apart. In our case, staying united was a family effort. Our three daughters who were not affected with the dominant gene were patient and gracious to their siblings. They have now given us seven grandchildren. We have had to learn many things, and we had to learn them the hard way. 

One of the most difficult things to change our minds about were the secret goals we had for our children. They have still done amazing things, but it didn't seem possible at first. Our children are eight extraordinary individuals. All of our sons served missions, even if those missions were served at home, and all of our children have been endowed in the temple. At the time that we discovered the mutation, I was serving as the youngest Stake President in Utah. Many people expected that I was a rising leader in the Church. Indeed I was, but not in the way they expected. I became a leader as a faithful, sustaining member, not as one who would sit on the stand. Our family became the most important aspect of our lives. Our priorities shifted. It was never easy. I went from becoming an important businessman to a humanitarian worker at the Road Home so I could spend more time with my family. Like the people of Alma, the Lord made us equal to our task. We are happy because of the joy that the gospel brings into our lives. We may have lost our children in this life, but we know that our lives our eternal. We look forward to that with all of our hearts. We find no greater joy than to by doing what the Lord would have us do. Our lives didn't necessarily turn out how we planned, but we have learned to be ready to change lanes and even change directions if the Holy Ghost directs us so. We know the gospel to be true. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

#75: Back to Seminary ("Call Me Maybe" Spoof).

While checking out ldsliving.com tonight, I stumbled across this awesome video from Lehi High School's Seminary teachers. Nerdy? Yes. But totally awesome? Heck yes.

#74: Coriantumr and Shiz as a Primary scripture.

Hands down, teaching the 11-year old Primary kids is my favorite calling in the Church. I think 11-year olds are the perfect age because they still love to learn and participate, they typically don't have cell phones (which means they aren't tempted to text or play Temple Run during class), they frequently have good insights into the scriptures, and they are often down-right hilarious. 

The other day I was thinking back to my own time as an 11-year old in Primary, and I remembered something that still makes me laugh. In Primary, each week a different child is asked to share a scripture at the end of the group Primary meeting. Usually, the child chooses an uplifting verse like "Ye are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14) or "I will go and do the things which the Lord has commanded" (1 Nephi 3:7). But SOMETIMES, the child has a unique sense of humor and things don't go quite as planned. One such Sunday, it was my best friend's (Aaron Ludwig) turn to share a scripture. I vividly remember the shock on the faces of the Primary Presidency when Aaron shared the following scripture:

"Wherefore, he did pursue them, and on the morrow he did overtake them; and they fought again with the sword. And it came to pass that when they had all fallen by the sword, save it were Coriantumr and Shiz, behold Shiz had fainted with the loss of blood. And it came to pass that when Coriantumr had leaned upon his sword, that he rested a little, he smote off the head of Shiz. And it came to pass that after he had smitten off the head of Shiz, that Shiz raised up on his hands and fell and after that he had struggled for breath, he died" (Ether 15:29 - 31).

Amen, Aaron. Amen.

Coriantumr happens.

#73: Bear Lake 2012.

What a great weekend! I took work off Thursday and Friday so that Diane and I could go up to my favorite place on earth: Bear Lake at the Utah-Idaho border. 

As a kid growing up, the company that my mom worked for owned a condo at Bear Lake's "Ideal Beach Resort" on the south side of the lake, and we spent a week there every single summer until I left on my mission. I have so many good memories of Bear Lake, in particular spending my birthdays there as a kid. When I was in high school, my parents even allowed me to invite a bunch of my friends ("The Brain Trust") to come up with us.

One thing I now know, but which I didn't know at the time, was that each summer when I was up at Bear Lake, Diane lived right across the lake in Dingle, Idaho the entire time (yes, Dingle is a real place). Man, if I only would have known, I would have swum across the lake to meet her (and that's saying something, since I'm a terrible swimmer). The fact that Diane spent her teenage years living at Bear Lake makes it even more of a special place for us.

This weekend we had an absolute blast. Diane's older brother Ben, his wife Sarah, and their four kids also came up with us. If you are interested, here are a bunch of pictures of our trip. I can't wait to go again next year!

Ben's youngest daughter tries to blow out the Olympic torch.

We rented a boat. I'm pretty sure this is illegal.

Tubing on the back of the boat. I only fell off twice!

Great view....of the lake.

Ben's youngest daughter swinging with me.
"Do again! Do again!!!"

Potential boyfriend?

We noticed a family preparing for the Hunger Games.

Adorable coneheads.

Sarah's sister, Mickey, spent the day with us on Saturday.
The kids loved watching her sing.

We saw this little guy lose his pants on the mini-golf course.
He didn't get a hole-in-one either. Rough day on the course, Tiger.

After Ben beat me in our morning mini-golf game, I demanded a rematch.
Fortunately, I squeaked out a victory.
I'll be practicing for next year, Ben. You'd better watch your back.

You know those public service announcements for kids in Africa?
Well....

At dinner on Friday night, we noticed Santa Claus trying to hide on his phone in the corner.

Fortunately, Santa was a great sport and let the kids take a picture with him.
However, they were pretty curious why he wasn't wearing his suit.
We reminded them that even Santa needs to take a break every now and then.

Not to be outdone, on Saturday night at dinner
we ran into local news host, Brooke Walker, of KSL.
And no, I did NOT take a picture of Brooke,
because, well, that would have been creepy. 

A typical summer sacrament meeting in the Garden City ward.

And no, this was NOT stake conference.

A great view of Logan canyon on my way home.
Reminder: don't take pictures while you are driving.