WARD QUORUM SUMMER PARTY

Our ward is a little unusual. It has many ex Mission Presidents, Stake Presidents and church leaders. They are well connected in the community and in the Church. This year our Quorum summer party was held at Kim G. ranch in Midway. Midway is whee people build Swiss chalets and the main event is "Swiss Days". Kim has this large ranch with a beautiful home and this was the site of the party. The picture shows a view from his porch. Elder Holland is his next door neighbor and also attended the gathering

There was barbecued steaks and chicken, jello salad with all the fixings. There was a Cowboy singing group that sounded a lot like the Sons of the Pioneers as they sang their favorite cowboy songs. It was great.

Elder Holland spoke for a while and mentioned several intersting things:

1. The Twelve and First Presidency will attend Stake Conferences only rarely breaking a long tradition. They will focus on regional conferences and that has already started here.

2. Missionary work: He mentioned that the complement of missionaries in non productive areas will be reduced and used Europe as an example. More missionaries will be sent to the more productive missions and although they will not remove missionaries, their numbers will be reduced. Our mission now has 130 missionaries as opposed to 160 - 170 that we had. I always thought we could obtain the same results with fewer missionaries. This is also necessary because the number of 19 year old men has also dropped.

3. He talked about the work in Africa which is ever growing. He described early attempts in now Rwanda. He mentioned in some areas, if missionaries stood on a street corner and announced that they had a religious message, 400 would gather within minutes. He mentioned the interval closing of a Nigerian Temple which is in the best neighborhood. This affluent area now is the center of kidnapping of Europeans. Security will be beefed up but he stated that the Temple itself was never the target of trouble.

It was interesting to note how up to date these men are with the current difficulties in the world. The church is growing worldwide. It was interesting to hear hims speak so fluently about world conditions and the growth of the church in an ever changing scene. These men are on top of the problems.

Spencer gets baptized soon and Josh gets his Eagle this Sunday.. lots of family stuff

Love, Dad