I blogged about this before but one of the things I like about living here in Utah County is the depth of the sports program. I think that it is very valuable to the youth, as well as to us older guys. It is fun to get out and play sports with other members and get a little exercise in the process.

Our Men’s basketball team took 2nd place in the Stake tournament and were then invited to play in the Regional tournament. We were excited about that and knew that we would have some fun games. Cami has been at all of them except the one tonight, which was probably a good thing.

We have won 4 in a row in the Regional tournament and had some really good games. The team we played tonight though completely dominated us. They had one player that played for UVU last year, another that played at some college out of state and then another one that could have played in college. It was just bad from the start. The one guy that played at UVU had their first 20 points in about 4 minutes and we never had a chance.

No big deal though, we had fun and still get to play one more game (it is double elimination). We will play next Wednesday, so we will see how that goes.

Over the last couple weeks, we have done a few fun things as a family. I have been a slacker in updating my blog recently, but I wanted to write about a few things we have done in the last couple weeks.

A couple weeks before the break, our priests quorum had a planning meeting where we talked about what we wanted to do over the next 6 months. One of the things that was suggested was a winter campout. We planned it for the Friday night before Valentines day. I admit that I was not too excited to go, but eventually agreed that I would attend. A week or so before we went, I went to Sportsman’s Warehouse and got a bunch of cold weather gear. Things like wool socks, hand warmers, new gloves and a poncho. I felt like I was pretty prepared and got layered and went.

We decided to go to Lehi to some hot springs out there. We went and set up camp for about a half hour, then headed off to the hot springs. The parking lot was about a quarter of a mile from the hot springs and walked down to them. It actually was really warm and quite nice. I was pleasantly surprised.

We spent an hour or so there and then headed back to the camp where we had a little fireside presentation and we hung out and tried to stay warm. That night it snowed a couple inches and was very cold. I was not too excited to set up a tent to sleep in, so I offered to drive, then slept in the back of the van. While it wasn’t super warm, it was certainly better then being out in a tent. We got up, cleaned up and then headed home. Overall it was a lot of fun and I would do it again if asked.

That Saturday, was Valentines Day. Cami always does such a good job with Holidays and getting the boys excited about the little things. We always make little heart pizza’s and have fun together. This year was no different.

On Sunday of that week, we went up towards Park City, Utah and spent time with my Aunt and Uncle at their cabin. There were other family members that I haven’t seen in a while and it was a lot of fun to spend time with them. Koby and Spencer met some cousins that they had a lot of fun with.

We got there Sunday afternoon and stayed up eating and playing games well past midnight. Then we got up early and played on the snowmobiles, played more games, went out sledding with the boys and played more games. Then we stayed there and helped clean up and play more games then eventually headed home at about 5:30 that night. It is only a hour and fifteen minutes away, so it was close enough to get to very easily.

It was a lot of fun to catch up with family and spend time with them. We are looking forward to more chances to see them  and play some more games.

The next weekend, Tim and I took the boys to the UVU basketball game. This is one of the very fun things that we love to do together. There is a big practice gym behind the stands that we sit in that they go mess around in while they are not watching the game. Every once in a while they come watch a bit with me and eat popcorn and treats, then it is off to play some more and pretend to be college basketball players themselves.

Then tonight, the boys decided to make a tent in their bedroom that they are sleeping in tonight. They were pretty creative and excited about their tent. They wanted to get bathed and brush their teeth at about 7:15 tonight so they could lay in their tent and read books.

Finally at about 8:00 we read scriptures and said prayers, then they settled down and are sleeping right now. They are a blast and I love hanging out with them. I wish that I could spend more time with them, but love the time I do have at home with everyone and look forward to coming home after work and seeing them all.

So here is another thing about Utah that is different than anywhere else I have lived.

I am in the Young Men’s program and am the volley ball and basketball coach. They not only have a very organized and well run sports (youth and adult) program, but they have tournaments all the way to regionals.

About three weeks ago, we had the stake volleyball tournament, which our team won.  Then, the last two weeks have been the regional tournament. Last week we played the first two rounds, and then yesterday we played the championship game.

I am proud to say that our young men won the entire regional tournament. It was very fun to watch and coach. We had practice every week after young mens and most of the time we just messed around and had fun.

We came into the final day of games in first place and  in a good position to win the entire thing. Because we had beaten the other team already, we only had to win one more match. If they had beaten us in the first match, we would have had a chance to play them again for the championship.

The first game of the match we lost. Then the second game we won. The third game we were losing 11-3 and came back and won 17-15. It was really great and the boys were so excited. They even gave us championship t-shirts to commemorate the victory.

It was a lot of fun and now we look forward to basketball season, in which the boys are predicting another regional championship.

Every once in a while, we have a fun activity at our church and tonight was one of those times. Our ward is supposed to have activities, but there has been a lack of them the last year or so.

But the Elders Quorum tries to have regular activities that give us a chance to get together and share good times.

We had a pumpkin carving contest tonight, along with dinner. We had everyone bring a soup or dessert and there was a good variety. I think that everyone got a good meal and there weren’t too many spills.

It was pretty well attended, which was great. We even had to set up more tables then we originally had. I am not sure that happens much, but it did tonight. Our 2nd counselor, Kregg Chidester was in charge of taking pictures and when I get them from him, I will post some of them here.

We had a contest and prize for the most creative and the scariest pumpkin. The pumpkins that were carved were actually pretty good and everyone seemed to have a good time.

Probably the most amazing thing was that people actually stayed after to help clean up. That doesn’t happen that often, but when it does, we are sure grateful for the help.

A lot has happened at the ward the last couple months. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but lots none-the-less. I have been striving to keep up on my responsibilities as Elders Quorum President, and Cami as Young Women’s 1st Counselor. No matter what calling we hold, whether it is in primary or nursery or a presidency, there are certain challenges and struggles. We constantly have to stay focused and realize that the challenges that we face in our callings are a blessing in our lives. What is a problem or challenge often turns into a blessing and if it doesn’t, it is usually because of something that I am doing (or NOT doing).

I have thought long and hard about how to better connect with the Elders in the Quorum and, more importantly their home teaching families. I worry that I am not doing all that I can to ensure that needs are being met and that problems are being resolved.

Another aspect of the calling that I was somewhat troubled over was my teachers every week. The first week of the month is the Presidency’s turn to teach, and that generally worked out fine. The 2nd and 3rd Sunday’s are lessons from the "Teaching’s of President’s of the Church" series. This year we are studying President Spencer W. Kimball and it is wonderful. The only problem is that I lost Collin Richardson, who taught the lessons for me since I was called as president. He was actually released about 4 months ago or so to be the 11 year old scouts adviser and I have had to assign people every time those lessons came up because I just couldn’t feel good about anyone and that it was the right calling for anyone. The 4th Sunday of the month is the "Teaching for our Times" lessons which are decided on by the stake presidency and are taken from the most recent General Conference. I had Eric Parlin teaching those, but he held 3 other callings and there were some brethren with no callings, so I released him this last week.

To solve these problems took some thought and advice from Bishop Dalton and President Wolfley (2nd counselor in the stake). First for the callings.

We have a member of the church, Tracy Truesdale who is a convert of about 11 years, but just recently re-activated and re-motivated to the gospel that I have been fortunate to get to know fairly well. I assigned him to be my home teaching partner so that I could work closely with him and teach him the importance of home teaching and he has been great to work with. Actually I got to know him pretty well a couple years ago when I was the ward mission leader and we worked closely with him and his family as they fought through personal problems and temptations to return to church. I have always been super impressed with him and have had a big admiration and respect for him as an example of someone doing what he knows is right no matter how hard it is for him. He has a great family.

Anyways, I talked to him about teaching our 2nd and 3rd Sunday lesson and he accepted the call. He taught for me a couple months ago and was nervous and worried about the whole thing. He has never held a calling before and was faced with the challenge of preparing and delivering a lesson. It was a little rough, but went fine. When I was contemplating calling him, I thought that he would benefit from a mentor to help him learn how to prepare a lesson and also how to deliver a lesson on schedule. The right person for the calling escaped me and I couldn’t totally decide on who it should be. Then a new family moved into the ward who I thought would be perfect. I talked to the Bishop and got permission and called Kregg Chidester to mentor Tracy and help him with the lessons. They were both happy to work together and move forward, so I am excited and confident that they will do a great job. I think that it will only take a few months for Tracy to feel comfortable preparing and delivering a lesson and I am excited to see his growth.

He received the Melchezidek Priesthood last Sunday and invited me to be there with him, which of course I was honored to do. He said that his next goal is to take his family to the temple to be sealed together for time and eternity. What an exciting time in his life.

The 4th Sunday lesson was still up in the air and we had a member of the quorum that we felt would do a good job, but we haven’t called him to that position yet. Actually, he had a priesthood interview on Sunday with my first counselor, Todd Mackey and he was supposed to talk to him at that time about it, but I haven’t heard how that went, so I need to talk to Todd and get the scoop.

The main challenge that we faced as a presidency, at least in my opinion was that the home teaching numbers were a little lower than I want. January was a pitiful 12%, February was much better at 39% and March we hit 46% so there were obvious increases in the percentage’s, and as a result the lives of much more of our families were blessed with the home teachers in their homes. I haven’t gotten the numbers for April yet, but expect them to be in the 30-40% range. Our goal is to get the numbers to 50% for May and then to 60% by June and hold that number consistently. To accomplish this goal, we knew that we had to conduct regular Priesthood Interviews, but it was like pulling teeth to get them done. After an interview with the Bishop, we decided that the best way to do that would be to meet with each of the elders on the first Sunday of the month, and make them come to the house of the presidency member that they report to. As we decided if this was what we wanted to do, it was very clear that this would be the most efficient use of our time as most of the Elders live within about 3 or 4 miles of each other. So what we did was schedule the brethren to come to our houses in 15 minute intervals and have them report on how they are doing and what we could help them with. Then we gave them their new assignments and sent them off to serve until next month. I finally feel much better about what we are doing with the interviews and know that the percentage numbers have to increase. I am excited to see what happens over the next few months.

I am even more excited to see the affects this has on the lives of the members in our ward and especially on the elders that make the visits and take responsibility for their families. The numbers and having a high percentage are a distant 2nd in terms of importance when each family is concerned and I am more worried about being there for those families that need the visits. There have been a few families that I have talked to the last few months that needed visits, but didn’t even know who their home teachers were, and that is troubling. Hopefully this works.

Well, I know that the church is true. There is no doubt in my mind and my testimony grows stronger with each passing day. I am trying to be more kind to those around me and find myself not treating others as they deserve from time to time. I am trying to do better and trying to realize that they are Gods children too and I try and love them with that understanding.

Maybe one day I will have Christ-like charity. Hopefully it is sooner rather then later.