Busy Weekend

I have just had a really interesting week. My Mission President was here from the Philippines for General Conference and training as he is an Area Authority 70. He arrived in Salt Lake last Wed. He called a friend of mine from our mission and told him to call and invite me and Monica to go with them on Thursday to dinner and a private viewing of the new Joseph Smith movie. We were able to eat dinner and listen to Elder Gaviola talk to us about his training meetings with President Hinckley and the Apostles. At the movie we were in the presence of members of the 1st quorum of the seventy and area authority 70’s from all over the world. It really was amazing as Monica and I talked about the work of Joseph Smith and what the Gospel has become. No doubt Joseph knew this and saw how far the Gospel would reach. I think we had someone there from almost every continent who all believe the same things and have testimonies of the restored gospel.
Friday we spent the evening at our mission reunion. We had about 70 people from our mission show up. It was a great time catching up and having Elder Gaviola give us an update on the work in the Philippines and bear testimony of the importance of spreading the gospel.
Saturday, I had been asked by Elder Gaviola to attend conference with him. So I attended the morning and afternoon sessions of conference with the other area authority 70’s. We sat on about the 15th row right in front of the pulpit. Again I was surrounded by these General Authorities from all over the world, all of whom share the same purpose in spreading the gospel. During the afternoon session I sat next to a man and his wife who were there from South America to be sustained and set apart as an area authority 70. They had told their children that they were going to the temple (they would have to fly to Guatamala to go to the temple). So after conference when he turned on his cell phone he had several texts from his kids asking if they really heard his name in conference. They had no idea he had been called to be a 70 and he had known since December.
I guess my point is that this was a very special conference for me and the spirit really was amazing and my testimony was strengthened as I spent those few days in the midst of spiritual giants. We truly are blessed to have Prophets and Apostles to teach us the will of our Father in Heaven. We are blessed to have the truth of who we are as sons and daughters of God. I just wanted to share a little bit of my weekend with you, I really can’t explain all that I learned and how I felt this weekend.

Cam