We Believe ...

I meant to write this a week ago when my feelings were fresher, but life happened, and I wasn't able to put my thoughts into words until today. The house is trashed, and I have ten thousand things to do today, so I thought that the best way to handle it was to block it all out for an hour or so as I finished this blog post.

That's right. I admit it ... I'm an avoider.

Laney has always impressed me with her willingness to share her enthusiasm for her faith with anyone and everyone. I don't think that anyone who knows her in high school has any doubt about what religion she follows. She's a Mormon. She knows it. She loves it. She lives it.

Laney never hesitates to share her testimony on social networks as well. Her facebook status today? "Heavenly Father can move my mountains!" Number one: Bravo for such great faith! Number two: Hurray for listening to and receiving the message in seminary today!  Those kind of statuses make your seminary teacher/mom super happy after a difficult morning. But moving on ... it is refreshing to see the youth who use social networking to spread positive thoughts and feelings. Reading some of the goofy status updates where youth (and some adults even) use facebook to deal with their relationship issues or brag about their not-so-cool weekend exploits makes me EXTREMELY grateful that facebook did not exist when I was in college. I shudder to think what sort of statuses would have ended up on my wall. And facebook flirting? ... you know, where people (generally girls) write goofy messages on guys walls to get them to notice them (I guess) ... horribly embarrassing (and I'm not ashamed ... okay I'm a little ashamed ... to say that I would have probably been that goofy/embarrassing in my younger days).  So hurray for my facebook free youth!

So, anyway, I'm grateful that Laney generally avoids the goofiness of facebook statuses. And that leads me to the purpose of my post today. I know that many of Laney's friends do not share her beliefs at all. I'm sure more than a few of them may even think that she is dead wrong, but no one ever comments negatively on her status testimonies of her belief.  They probably just react the same way that most of us do when we read a facebook post that we don't agree with ... we read it and ignore it, even though we do gain a bit of insight into the people who are posting them, I guess.

Well, last week someone actually commented on one of Laney's statuses with which they disagreed. I'd never seen that happen before with a Laney post, so it stuck out to me. Laney simply said that she loved the Book of Mormon and that it had made a difference in her life. One of her friends commented on this status, and cautioned her about her faith in the Book of Mormon, asking her to truly examine the Bible before putting her trust in another gospel.

When I first read the comment I checked out the guy who made it. I did not know him, so I looked at his facebook profile. It listed him as being a recent employee of the Waynesville School District, and so I immediately thought he was a teacher. ... and I was furious. A teacher criticizing a student's religious beliefs would be so far over the line of acceptability. I was going to have to raise a gigantic stink about it. Well, it turned out that he was actually a custodian who worked in the theater department while Laney was at play practice, and he no longer is working for the district, so my anger was diffused very quickly, and I didn't think that I needed to make a big deal about it.

Before I go any further I need to make this clarifying point. This post is in no way meant to speak negatively about Mr. Wood's comments or beliefs. I thought that he stated his disagreement with Laney in a kind and well thought-out way. You can't be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for more than twenty years like I have and not hear the issues that others have with your faith. I have heard extremely ridiculous arguments by people who are obviously not informed at all and have no basis in reality, but I have also heard arguments by well meaning people who simply don't agree with some of the basic tenets of our faith. Disagreement does not equal hatred. And so I really want to emphasize the fact that I do not fault Mr. Wood for his post at all.

Instead, what I really wanted to talk about was the responses to Mr. Wood's comments written by two young men who are members of our church and also friends with Laney. After reading Mr. Wood's comment, these two young men bore their testimony of the Book of Mormon in a clear, concise, and eloquent manner. They did so without anger or ridicule. They simply stated their belief. I thought it was beautiful.

I don't know Adam Goff. I think he might have been one of Laney's EFY friends. I do know John Bonney (although I think I will always think of him as ten years old ... sorry John). His family was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood twice, and so they attended church with us years ago. Before I comment specifically on their response, here is a screen shot of the facebook conversation they joined:

Laney Blau

October 16 via mobile

I love the Book of Mormon. It has changed my life infinitely for the better!! :)

Unlike · 

• You, Adrienne Fowers, Jana Gillman, Sam Norris and 38 others like this.
• 

  Robert M Wood I don't want to sound negative, and I know you take your faith very seriously, which I applaud. That being the case, I would strongly encourage you to CAREFULLY compare the Bible and the Book of Mormon. In Galatians 1:8-9 it's written "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!" And I can recall hearing the Book of Mormon being called "Another Gospel of Jesus Christ" before it was changed to "Another Testament of Jesus Christ" and even on mormon.org it claims the Book of Mormon is also a Gospel. I don't want to sound like I'm attacking you, but I'm genuinely concerned. Carefully compare the two. The Bible is ALWAYS right. Make sure you're not being deceived.

  October 16 at 9:57pm · Like
• 

  Adam Goff Please excuse me, but I'd like to also share some insight.
  
  I agree that the Book of Mormon is a gospel, in fact, that gospel is entirely the same as that of the Bible. Without challenging anyone's scriptural knowledge, I know for myself that both the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Testament found in the Book of Mormon testify of the same God, and the same Atonement of Jesus Christ. All three have the same mission, which I think is beautifully stated in 2 Nephi 25: 26 "We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."
  
  I know that the Book of Mormon is a companion to the Bible. "Another Testament" doesn't mean that it is a contradicting one, but rather a confirming one. Both books are the word of God, and both are essential to understanding the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

  October 16 at 10:17pm · Edited · Unlike · 4
• 

  John Bonney Robert, the Bible is a compilation of many different pieces of scripture. It wasn't a blank book, handed down from Moses all the way to John. There are many verses in the Bible that say something similar to Galatians 1:8-9 - Revelation 22:18-19, for example, or Deuteronomy 4:2. But we see the entire Bible as scripture (because it is!). 
  
  The purpose of verses like these is to tell us not to change the word or alter the scripture/prophecy. It doesn't mean there can't be other pieces of Christ's word out there, ready for us to read and learn from. The Book of Mormon doesn't contradict the Bible - they actually complement each other quite nicely. Try giving it a read sometime! 

  October 16 at 10:36pm · Unlike · 3

This is why this conversation really touched me. Every day I check facebook out to see what's going on in the life of the people I know and love. Lots of times I find wonderful things. I really love to share in the triumphs and joys of people I have come to know through the years. In some ways it has helped me to get to know people more than I ever did in person since I am so slow to open up to others. I really do think of it as a blessing in my life in so many ways. But facebook can be goofy as well. I am friends with many, many youth because of my years working with Girls Camp and now as a seminary teacher. And so many times I want to reach through cyberspace and give a giant hug to some youth, asking them ... no BEGGING them ... to think about what they are posting online. Take a look at your wall. Now imagine yourself sitting around the fire one evening fifteen years in the future with your special someone leaning on your shoulder. Just for kicks you decide to look at your old facebook statuses because we all should know, once something is posted online it never, ever goes away. Is this the way you want to remember yourself? Really. Some of us should really ponder that.

But Adam and John were such good examples to me of what it means to be steadfast and immovable, strong in their faith, and willing to stand up for what they believe. I was sooooo grateful to know that there are young men out there who are strong in this way, unafraid to defend their beliefs, but also able to do so in a way that was not inflammatory or degrading. It was not hateful or mean spirited. It was not haughty or prideful. It was perfect. I know that these young men are going to be amazingly awesome missionaries some day, and that was comforting to me. I wish that more youth (of all faiths) could communicate on facebook in such a positive and clear way. And it means a lot that they would take time out of their days to defend a Laney status, especially when I know that so many read this and said nothing.

There are some amazing youth in the church, and I appreciate all of them who stand up for what they believe.  And during this last week I have been especially grateful for two young men who were great examples of what exactly that looks like in real life.

Interested in really finding out what Latter-Day Saints really believe? Don't listen to hearsay. Go straight to the source. Check out MORMON.ORG. It is user friendly and very informative.

Snakes in a Bathroom ... The Movie

I have a confession.

I hate to clean bathrooms. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE clean bathrooms. Believe it or not, I actually prefer clean bathrooms to dirty ones. ... It's really true.

But I would love it if bathrooms magically cleaned themselves. There is something about getting on my hands and knees and scrubbing away at the residue filth of bathrooms that just gives me the heebie jeebies. So I avoid it like the plague. Well, I don't entirely avoid it. We don't live like animals ... for the most part. But I content myself with light touchup work rather than the hardcore scrubbing that a bathroom really needs. Most of the time that is enough. The bathrooms stay relatively clean and odor free, and Team Blau is happy.

I'd like to think that I am a happy cleaner ... like this lovely lady:

But in reality I'm more like this one:

Okay, I'm not really like her. ... I don't have a baby to carry everywhere ... but having teenagers is almost the same, I think. 

Well today my cleaning demons came home to roost.

I have three boys (four if you count Herman, and I probably should for this post). And I have four girls (and I will not count myself for this one), and girls can be just as bathroom messy, if not more, than boys. We have three bathrooms in our house, and the middle hall bathroom is the one that seems to get the most use from everyone. And with so many kids using the bathroom throughout the day a gentle drive-by cleaning just isn't going to cut it. Yesterday was my Day of Reckoning. As I walked by the bathroom over and over yesterday during the day I could smell the dirtiness. You know that antiseptic smell that greets you every time you enter a hospital? You know, the smell of bleach and clean? Well, this was the exact opposite of that smell. It hadn't quite reached "dead animal hidden in the wall" smell, but it was headed in that direction.

And for a situation like that I have to pull out my old favorite to show my reaction:



I was done. I had reached the point of no return. I could go no further living in a house with a bathroom like that. Do I hate cleaning bathrooms? Yes. But I hate smelling bathrooms WAY more, so the day would not end until that bathroom was clean. So I headed to Lowe's and bought the most powerful cleaners in their collection. The kids headed to bed, and I got to work.

I donned my hazmat suit:

You think I jest, but I'm serious here. There was some serious nastiness going on in that bathroom. I covered up.

And then I scrubbed. I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed. I polished and scraped and filed and did whatever I could to eliminate every single nasty germ out of that room.

I was feeling good. Accomplished. The bathroom was glistening as I headed for my last task of the night. The nasty, nasty bathtub. Okay, it wasn't totally nasty. It looked relatively clean on the surface. But lurking, far below my natural eyes was a hazard I could have only imagined in my nightmares. And trust me, this will probably star in my nightmares for many years to come.

As I was scrubbing the tub floor I noticed a little bit of hair sticking out of the drain. Just a little bit, but with so many long haired beauties using this bathroom I knew that there was a lot of hair shedding going on, so I decided to reach into the drain and grab what I could. Thank all that is holy that I was wearing super thick latex gloves because what appeared may haunt me for the rest of my days. I grabbed onto the edge of the hair and began to pull. And pull. And pull. And pull. I was like a firefighter, pulling a hose from its resting place. When I finally got to the end of the line I had pulled out a hairball that was one and a half feet long and one inch in diameter. It looked like a gigantic hair snake. I really should have taken a picture of it, but I was on the verge of casting up my crumpets and ruining my newly sanitized bathroom. It was DISGUSTING. Since I don't have a picture I will just have to give you an approximate replication of what it looked like:

It even had that very serious young man attached to it. That's how gigantic this ball of hair was. Ewwwwwwwwww!

Needless to say, now that tub water is draining much faster.

Finally, at around 12:30 am I climbed into my very comfortable bed, content with knowing that I had a sparkling clean and odor free bathroom ... for at least six more hours. 

Today the battle to keep it clean begins ... and I will lose it, I know. But like I always say, Life is a Marathon, Not a Sprint. I may lose this battle today, but one day I am going to win that war. 

Today, at least, I will devote much of my day to giving great thanks for being born at a time when heavy plastic gloves exist. 

Oh drat! I hate that this is true!

Ten Amazingly Amazing Events from the Great Laney/Mom Trip to Utah 2012

The Salt Lake Temple at night. Beautiful!

Every post I start on this topic ends up getting into long-winded territory, so I thought that I would simplify things and just talk about ten amazing things that I experienced this weekend as Laney and I headed out to Utah for a BYU visit and to attend Conference. Here you go:

1. The Drive

Actually I don't have any great pictures from our mega road trip out to Utah. A lot of it was in the middle of the night anyway, so there weren't lots of great picture opportunities. I will say this ... it is the longest that I have ever driven anywhere without Herman. I was a bit nervous about it. We decided that we wanted to drive straight through without stopping for a hotel at night so that we could get to Utah and then get home faster. It is an eighteen hour trip if you don't ever stop, but in reality it is closer to twenty-four hours. We drove and drove and drove. I made myself stop between midnight and four each day so that I could get some rest at a rest stop along the way, but other than that we drove like maniacs (safe maniacs) to get there. Laney was able to drive a lot, but I am such a nervous nelly that I never fully relaxed as she was driving. She kept assuring me that she was a safe driver, but I always flinched every time she hit the brakes. But we made it. And I loved having the time to just spend with Laney talking about things. It was even nice just hanging out and not talking. I think every mom should plan a trip like this with their daughter. Best part of the trip? We made it to Utah and home alive! And I only got honked at one time. Bonus!

2. BYU Visit

I don't have any picture of this part of our trip either. Weird. Laney and I headed to BYU - Provo as soon as we got into town so that Laney could check things out. We picked the wrong day to come, though. There was a BYU football game against Utah State so the place was packed. So many visitors! We ended up having to park at the temple and walk forever to get to the main campus. My swollen feet were not happy with that, but it was a great walk and a good way to catch glimpses of campus life. Originally Laney wanted to go to see BYU - Idaho first and then compare the two schools, but we just did not have enough time to do that. She got to do that last April anyway, so it was okay. She really seemed in her element as she walked the BYU campus. Because of her time there for EFY she was very familiar with things, and she shared some of her experiences with me as we walked. That was neat. She really does love Provo and the BYU campus there, but she said that she loved the school at Rexburg so much more and it seemed to fit her personality better. She was torn as to what decision to make. I know she wants to make the right one. I told her that I know that she will be happy wherever she goes because it is in her nature to be happy. She wasn't going to make the wrong decision, no matter where she chose, so she just needed to follow her heart and trust herself to make the right choice.

3. Trip to Brighton Ski Resort

This was kind of a last second plan. Laney thought there was a possibility of maybe seeing some friends on Friday evening, so we waited to see if that was going to work out. When it seemed like it wasn't going to happen Laney said that she wanted to go driving in the mountains. After looking online to find the best places I saw that the trip to the Brighton Ski Resort was one of the suggestions. Herman and I went there for our honeymoon nineteen years ago, and we thought it would be fun to head back there. You know what's strange? I don't remember anything about our honeymoon there. My mind is all foggy about it. So when we drove there it was like I was seeing everything for the first time. It was such a beautiful drive! So many times I wished that I could stop the car and just stare at the views. Being with Laney at that spot where Herman and I celebrated the beginning of our eternity together was almost surreal. I thought about everything that has happened in the last nineteen years. When I was there at Brighton for our honeymoon I had no idea that life would take us where we have ended up, but I couldn't have asked for a better path. I love my life! Herman and I are totally going to come back here soon.

4. The Saturday Morning Session of Conference

I have always joked with the kids and said that when the Savior came back it was going to be during the Saturday morning session of Conference because it is so lightly attended. Only the diehards make sure to carve out their schedules so that they are there to see this session of Conference. Well this time it was different. There were so many people there ... more than I've ever seen. We tried to get in the Conference Center through standby tickets, but it didn't happen. We ended up watching in the Tabernacle, which was still way cool. From the announcement by President Monson that the age for missionaries was being changed to the amazing talks by the other general authorities, I thought that this session of Conference was the best overall session I have ever attended. There were so many messages that just struck my heart. I loved it so much, and it was a blessing to share the experience with so many other people in the Tabernacle. If you want to read about the experience I had when listening to President Monson's missionary announcement, check it out HERE. I will never forget it. Never.

5. Seeing Laney Interact with Her Friends

When I was Laney's age I wanted to be popular. That's not really the best goal. With my kids I have always hoped that they would be well liked and respected. Watching them interact with the world has been a treat because it seems like they have avoided all the social missteps that their mother had to suffer through. I especially love to watch Laney as she interacts with others. She has such a light and an enthusiasm for everything, and it shines in her conversations with others. When we stopped by the Deseret Bookstore at Temple Square on Friday night I found Laney talking animatedly with a young woman who looked about fourteen or fifteen. It looked like they had been friends forever. But later Laney explained that she had just met the girl there after Laney asked her what her favorite books to read were. This young woman was thrilled to talk to Laney and ended up getting her facebook name so that she could continue being her friend in the future. So neat to see how Laney's personality affects others. 

I know that Laney really wanted to spend lots of time this weekend seeing some of her EFY friends who were in the area, but it was Conference weekend, and that complicates schedules for everyone. Still, she was able to see Heath and Connor, two of her friends from the last two EFYs she has attended. I really, really love seeing Laney interact with EFY friends. I think there is something a bit magical about what occurs at EFY, and there is a special bond that participants share. Even though I have only met a few of her EFY buddies I hold many of them in very high regard -- from Brennan who puts together the cutest little Mormon movies that I love to watch to Gretchen who seems to be super sweet and righteous and kind in every way to Heath who I am convinced may be the most stellar young man in the Church (if you can make such a judgment call after only hanging out with someone for half a day) -- all of these youth are just amazing to me. And seeing how they love and respect Laney means the world to me as well. I feel like those youth know the real Laney, and it is great to see her feel so comfortable around all of them.

It was fun to see Laney get to spend a bit of time attending a session of Conference with Heath, Conner, and Conner's mom and sister. I have to admit that during this time I was really wishing that Herman was there instead of me. He is so much cooler as a parent, especially as he interacts with the youth. I feel extremely awkward and uncool, so I tried to hang back as much as possible and give Laney space. I don't really think she needed me to do that, but I felt like I needed to. I think Laney would have loved to have spent even more time with her friends, but everything worked out wonderfully, and it was great that she got to touch base with everyone again, even if it was only for a moment.

It isn't just EFY participants who like to spend time with Laney. We got to see a local friend unexpectedly when we finally got into the Conference Center for the last session of Conference. We had taken our seats and decided to get a picture at the bottom of the balcony that showed the choir behind us. As we began to pose for the shot I heard someone squeal "Laney!" (if it is possible for a sixteen year old boy to squeal). One of the young men from our stake was there with some of his family. He was Laney's "brother" when they went on Trek last year, so they are really great friends. I could just see in his face how much he admires and respects Laney, and that is wonderful to see.

So anyway, as a mom I was able to see Laney interact with so many people she admires, and seeing her having grown into such a confident and positive young woman as she enters the world is such a blessing to me.

6. The Sister Missionaries on Temple Square

Between the sessions of Conference the sister missionaries serving on Temple Square stood in a circle, holding signs denoting their country of origin and the language they spoke. Then they each stood and bore their testimony in their native language. I told Laney that if you got called to the Temple Square mission you would know that someone in the Church thinks that you are adorable because each of the sisters who serve there are so stinkin' cute. It was inspiring to hear so many testimonies in so many languages. I loved it!

7. Seeing Conference in the Tabernacle

Our original hope was to score tickets to get into each of the sessions in the Conference Center, but because there were so many people there this time (and because Laney and I were a bit scared to just stand on the corner and beg for tickets) we ended up watching Conference in the Tabernacle a couple of times. It was so neat to be in this building where Conference had been held for so many years. The history alone is amazing. Then to add to that 3000 other people who are watching with you and reacting with you to all that is said ... well, that is a choice experience. So many wonderful experiences while we watched together. Maybe one of the best ones was standing to sing "Called To Serve" during the intermediate hymn on Sunday morning. The people in this church know this song, so they belted it out. The feeling in that room was electric, and I was so grateful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

8. Our Saturday Night Temple Hop

At the Bountiful Temple.

Laney's original plan was to try and do baptisms at all of the temples in the Utah valley. All of them. It is a worthy goal, but logistically there was no way that we were going to be able to pull that off. Instead Laney decided that she wanted to at least go and visit all of them. That seemed a little more doable. After leaving the Saturday afternoon session we headed out. We started north at the Bountiful Temple and made our way south, visiting the Salt Lake Temple as well as the Jordan River, Oqquirh Mountain, Draper, and Mt. Timpanogos Temples. Lots of fun. Sally (our rugged GPS guide) took us on some weird scenic routes to get everywhere, especially Mt. Timpanogos, but we made it, and the temples are so beautiful to see in person. Laney made sure to stop and get some very artistic views of all of them. Although she didn't have time to enter all of them, she was happy to at least get to visit them.

9. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's Talk

Words can't express just how awesome this talk was. I LOVED it!! So, so much. What an amazing account of the Savior and his disciples. I won't say more. You just have to watch it.

10. Getting Answers to Prayers

What I love most about General Conference is that you don't have to actually travel to Salt Lake City to be there in person in order to get the most out of it. Hearing the words of our living apostles as they give us direction and counsel is a great blessing. This weekend I was privileged to get to experience Conference with thousands of other like-minded individuals, but the important messages that I heard were for me and me alone. I felt as if I got direct revelation for my own life and things that I needed to change and refine. I got further witness that Heavenly Father knows who I am and what I need most. I know that Laney came to Conference with some specific questions in mind, and those questions were answered. She KNOWS she is going on a mission. She KNOWS where she will be applying for college (thanks Elder Eyring!). She KNOWS the directions she wants to go in life, and that is very, very important. Seeing her joy at receiving personal answers to the questions she had was inspiring. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to spend time with Laney and experience such a moving, inspirational Conference. I wouldn't choose to do this every six months (even though I know that Laney would love to come out every time) but this was a trip that was valuable and worth it in every way. If nothing else, I feel as if I got the chance to spend quality time with my wonderful daughter who will not be with us for much longer, and these moments are precious to me.

The Moment

Could this be the very first Blau missionary
of this generation? I think so ... I KNOW so!

I have so many thoughts that I want to record about the events of this past weekend, but I just got home after a marathon 24 hour drive back from Utah. I'm exhausted. My feet are horribly swollen (they are not big fans of the mega-car trips). Plus I have a lot to do to catch up because of the time I've been gone. But I feel as if I absolutely need to write down this event before I do anything else.

Because it is life changing. For all of us. I want to always remember this moment in time, so I'm putting off  my recovery so that I can say the things in my heart.

Last weekend was the October General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I love Conference! Conference weekend is always an event weekend for the Blau family. It is a big deal. It always has been. Herman and I love it! Every one of the Blau kids love it ... even the little ones! It is a time when we can recalibrate our spiritual selves, hearing counsel from the Lord's anointed servants, counsel that makes a difference in our lives today!

We take each of our kids out to Conference when they turn twelve so that they can get a good picture of what the Church looks like outside our little pocket of Missouri. It is a big deal. We fly out and the kids get one on one time with Mom and Dad as we explore the Utah valley and attend Conference. Well, this year Laney wanted a chance to attend Conference so that she could also check out the two BYU schools in Utah and Idaho, trying to decide which school to attend. I decided to come out with her and make it a Mother/Daughter trip. Lots of fun/interesting times, but for this post I just want to talk about the Saturday morning session of Conference and the historic announcement that is going to change some Blau lives.

We didn't have tickets to the Saturday morning session of Conference, but we thought that we had a decent chance of getting in through the standby line since Saturday morning is always lightly attended compared to other sessions. Looking back, I think I should have noticed that something was up because the Conference Center was packed. No one in the standby line was able to get in, and I've never heard of that happening on a Saturday before. I wonder if maybe somebody leaked that something big was going down that day. Who knows? Anyway, they have a new standby procedure that makes way more sense than what they had done in years past. Now they take everyone in line and sit them inside the Tabernacle to wait until seats are available. If none come up then we can just sit and watch the broadcast from the Tabernacle. It is still really cool to see it from there because of all of the history of that building and General Conference. The seats are a little uncomfortable, but I wasn't complaining. It was awesome to be there with 3000 other people watching together.

When President Monson got up and mentioned how every seat in the Conference Center was filled the entire group of us in the Tabernacle groaned because we knew that we had no chance to get in there through standby. But all was well! We just sat back and prepared to enjoy the session from the warmth of the Tabernacle. And what an amazing session it was!

As soon as President Monson began talking about the age of Elders who serve their missions I knew he was getting ready to announce a change for the young men who serve. I grabbed Laney's knee and whispered, "Get ready. Something big is getting ready to happen." And it was big. Up to this time young men have to be at least nineteen in order to serve a mission. Now the Church has announced that young men can serve when they are eighteen after they have graduated from high school. So exciting! I thought of Spencer and what this would mean for him. That means he will be leaving on a mission in a little more than four years. Four years! That seems so incredibly short to me. He is still so squirrelly (and I mean that with nothing but love). But it is wonderful to think that he can begin to serve the Lord right off the bat once he finishes school. He won't have to deal with any limbo as he waits around for his birthday that year. And for Spencer (and lots of other young men) that will be a great thing! I thought immediately of a few young men in our area that can receive great benefit from this new rule. I had no doubt that this was inspired.

But President Monson was not finished. He went on to explain that instead of 21, now sisters could leave to serve their missions when they are 19 if they wish. That was huge! Especially for the young woman sitting right next to me. Young women are not required to serve missions, but it is an option for them if they desire. Laney has been thinking a lot about her future in the past few months. I know that she has been wondering if she will serve a mission or not. I know that she wanted to, but the uncertainty of what life would bring for her at the age of 21 made it difficult to plan. We have always just told Laney to have it in her mind that she would be going on a mission. She should prepare for that no matter what. If she gets married instead, then that is okay. But if she doesn't get married then that is okay as well. She is ready either way. There is never any harm in being prepared for a mission, even if she never goes. What we have always wanted to prevent was Laney becoming one of those girls who heads to college, only interested in "Husband Hunting." You know who those girls are ... and for a bit we were worried that Laney would be that way because she understood the importance of marriage and family and was intent on being the best wife/mother that she could be. Nothing wrong with that. What is wrong is putting aside any personal growth at all through quality education and righteous studies simply so you can mold yourself into something that you aren't, just to catch a guy. We did not want this to happen. So we really talked to Laney about getting herself ready for a mission. That way she wouldn't end up in the middle of the college meat market game that is ridiculous in so many areas. Instead she would be preparing herself to be the best person she could be, ready for whatever Heavenly Father has prepared for her.

And Laney is ready. She could start a mission today. She is smart and courageous. Her testimony is stellar. She is willing to serve everyone. She knows how to make her bed, boil water, and iron a shirt. She is ready.

But she was going to have to wait until she turned 21. She would attend college, keep working and growing, and if circumstances allowed, she would go on a mission. I know that she would be thrilled to do that beyond measure, but who knows what life will bring in the next three and a half years? I have the feeling that Laney needed a bit more certainty as she made her life plan. ... and President Monson just gave it to her. This announcement changes everything for her. Now it is not a question about whether she will go or not. She is going. Where she has been concerned about making college plans for next year, now she is concerned about getting ready for her mission. Don't worry. She will still be going to college. It will just happen after her mission. (and by the way, I think she figured out where that college will be thanks to President Eyring. I'll say more on that in the next post.)

It was absolutely amazing to be in the Tabernacle to hear this announcement with 3000 other people. There was an audible gasp as the announcement was made. Then chatter. We were all on fire with enthusiasm. At first Laney just stared at me with her mouth open. Then she turned to the girl sitting next to her, hoping to share her enthusiasm. Unfortunately Laney seemed to have sat next to the one girl in the place who was unimpressed with the news. Bummer! I have to say that I had felt VERY impressed that Laney needed to attend Conference today with a friend. I wasn't impressed that it had to be anyone in particular. Just someone in addition to me who was closer to her age. Originally I thought that it was probably just because I thought it would be great for her to see some of her friends from EFY while she was in the Salt Lake area. We had it worked out for one of her friends from EFY to be there for this session, but when we got up early that day we found a text saying that it wouldn't be until the afternoon session. No big deal. But as I sat in the hotel room I felt an overwhelming prompting to get someone else to come this morning with Laney. She has several friends who live in the area, but seriously, was I going to call someone up out of the blue at 5:30 in the morning and say that we needed them to meet us by 7 am for Conference? I have to confess ... I ignored the prompting.

Well, as I sat with Laney in the Tabernacle I could see that she was bursting with the need to talk to someone else who was affected by this announcement. Someone else who would be riding on a wave of spiritual enthusiasm that would not abate. I gave her a giant hug and rubbed her back as the tears ran down her face. Why do I never remember to bring tissues to things like this????  But as much as I was there to experience this with her, she just needed someone to (reverently ... and figuratively) jump in the aisles with her after this announcement. She was able to do this a little bit by texting her friend, so all was not lost. The jumping in the aisles would have to wait for a bit. But I have to say that I was sooooo grateful to be with Laney during this announcement, to see the pure radiant JOY on her face as she really saw the doors open on her future, giving her the option that she had desired so much. I will never, ever forget the look on her face when she found out that she could serve a mission in only fourteen months. It was like she received the very best gift ever. The windows of heaven seemed to open straight to her heart. Amazing.

And now things change for Team Blau. Laney will need to prepare to serve a mission beginning next December. And then, because of the new rule it looks as if we will have a non-stop line of Blau missionaries for the next fifteen years. It kind of scares me a bit to think about getting ready for that. I thought I had a bit more time. But the time is now, and although it is a bit daunting to think about getting everyone prepared to serve, I know that it will be important and worth it. Herman still has people who he baptized in Brazil more than twenty years ago write him to tell him how much they love him and what he brought to them. I think of my AMAZING, wonderful, righteous, fun, smart, kind, PERFECT missionaries, Sister Gomm and Sister Heckmann, and I love them so much for what they taught me. They made a difference in my life that is ETERNAL, and I have no doubt that I will have the opportunity to greet them in heaven with open arms and tears in my eyes offered in gratitude for the service they offered so many years ago. Now my children can have the same opportunity to make an eternal difference in the life of someone else. How could I not support them and sustain them as they make this choice in their life?

We attended the Sunday morning session in the Tabernacle as well, and for the intermediate hymn we all stood and sang "Called to Serve." Standing in that room with so many people as they sang this song was incredible. It was a powerful experience for me to hear all of these voices raised, singing this missionary anthem. I couldn't help but think of each of my children singing this song as missionaries with power and enthusiasm. I know that this change was inspired. It is going to change the dynamics of missionary service throughout the world. It is going to change the lives of so many young men and women for good. I can't help but wonder what amazing blessings are in store for the world because of this change. But this I do know ... Team Blau is all in. We are missionaries. We will serve whenever and wherever we are called to serve. Bring it on! We're ready!