General Conference

My mother was given six tickets from the Bishop in exchange for giving a talk in Sacrament meeting. I have never been to General Conference before and I looked forward to going. Our tickets were for the morning-session on Sunday. My mother prepared a pic-nic lunch that we took with us to have after conference.

The traffic was pretty crazy getting to temple square. They were well organized though, even prepared for the Anti-Mormon demonstrations. There were policemen directing traffic and pedestrians. The demonstrators were shouting at all the people going to and from the conference center. Making such claims that we are vain and we need to give our hands to service to the Lord, etc. Umm, hello....we do.

We get to the door to enter and we are giving them our tickets and when they see Guy they ask him how old he is. Then they explain to us that they do not allow children under the age of 8 to sit in the conference center durring Conference and they kindly point out on the back of the ticket where it states this rule. So they tell me that they will have to escort Guy and I to the overflow theatre. Oh, great. It didn't even occur to me that he would not be able to behave through the two hours of the meeting.

I was actually glad to be alone durring one talk in particular. It was directed towards those who are feeling broken and discouraged. I was in tears durring the talk, because that is exactly how I was feeling. Guy fell asleep on my lap 30 minutes into the meeting. He was still sleeping when my mother and brother came up to me and offered to stay with Guy for me while I went in to the Conference Center. That was so thoughtful of them.

I went to the side door to try to get into the meeting. I had my ticket with me and I explained to the man at the door why I was entering so late. He couldn't comprehend how I would know where to go or how I could find a seat. He's standing there holding the door cracked only enough for him to stand in, looking dumfounded saying he's not supposed to let anyone in through that door, etc. I was patient, but not in the mood to argue with him so, I began to turn around and go back to where I came from. Then he calls to me, "wait, so are you with a group?" "Yes." I tell him. "Well, let me see your ticket, come on in."

I found my way to where my dad and Kari were sitting. I got there just a few minutes before President Hinkley's turn to speak. He's such a marvelous man. Hearing him talk about how he misses his wife was sweet. I loved that he spoke on such a personal level.

After Conference, we chose to go to Liberty Park for our pic-nic. We had tuna sandwiches. Then we all enjoyed watching Guy play on the playground. Aaron and I had played challenger on the see-saw. We even took some pictures, which I may post later.

I told Frank Saturday that I might be able to meet up with him Sunday evening, but I crashed when we got home and I didn't wake up until 5, so I didn't have time to meet up with him and I didn't bother to call either.

He called me Tuesday seeking closure in our relationship. He had a conversation with his sister and he mentioned that he had given me some money. They concluded that I would need to pay him back in order for him to obtain that closure. I told him I would, but I knew it wouldn't be possible right away. Frank was not aware of the new situation with my father and that my parents were now asking me for rent. When I finally shared this with him, he felt badly for asking for the money back. It's not as if I asked him for a loan. He wanted to do me a favor, so he offered it to me without any strings attached. He was satisfied in knowing that I was willing to pay it back, then told me I do not need to unless I want to or am able to in the future. Gesh!