Come and Listen

President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor to our Prophet, Russell M. Nelson,

spoke to thousands during a devotional here in our area on September 14.

Here in the White Mountains, on a Saturday evening, we had the rare opportunity to gather and listen to a visiting leader, a member of the First Presidency of our church. Once upon a time, when I was a youngster, it wasn't that unusual to be visited in person by the general authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but the membership has grown so large now (more than sixteen million members in more than 30,500 congregations in more than 160 countries) that it doesn't happen so often anymore.

The Church is organized with a president (whom we believe to be a prophet of God) and fourteen apostles (each one a prophet, seer, and revelator) to serve, inspire, and lead the Church and its members. Essentially, there are fifteen apostles in all, when you include the prophet and the two apostles he calls to be his counselors, along with "The Twelve" who have been called as special witnesses of Christ. There are other leaders called to assist in church-wide work, from Seventies to the Presiding Bishopric to Mission Presidents to localized Stake leaders and  Ward Bishoprics.

Our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, has called as his two counselors Dallin H. Oaks and Henry B. Eyring, from among the apostles. It happens that President Oaks is the senior member of the apostles (meaning he has served in that capacity the longest, other than the Prophet himself), and is therefore likely to become our next prophet if he is still living when President Nelson is called home. Which isn't as much of a sure thing as one might suppose, given that President Nelson recently celebrated his ninety-fifth birthday. You see, the man is in excellent health, extremely energetic and active, regularly traveling the world to serve the membership and the Lord.

As President Oaks stated at the devotional that night, regarding our Prophet, "There aren't many ninety-five-year-olds of whom you can say, the best is yet to come!"

It was a beautiful, blustery day as monsoon season begins to wind down.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Late on Saturday afternoon, Sarah, Chris, and I made the almost-hour-long drive from Pinetop-Lakeside to the neighboring towns of Springerville-Eagar, where the devotional was held in the Round Valley Dome. The Dome was built to house the local high school's football field, but it's also used for many civic events. In fact, when we were evacuated during the Rodeo-Chediski Fire in June 2002, we spent our first day in the dome with thousands of other refugees, until a local family opened their home to us for the rest of our week-long displacement.

A nice shot of Round Valley Dome in Springerville-Eagar, by Jill Adair.

Photo "borrowed" from ChurchofJesusChrist.org website.

The drive was gorgeous, weaving through the thick forests of the northern part of the Fort Apache reservation, but the heavens poured rain down, heavily, for half of the trip. We're approaching the end of monsoon season, and the clouds have been getting in their last licks.

My deliciously greasy burger at Trailriders Family Restaurant in Eagar,

Although the devotional wasn't slated to begin until 6:30, people began to arrive more than two hours early to get good seats. Parking at the Dome itself was closed, but there were nearby chapels where we could park and then be shuttled by school bus to the Dome. The shuttles started running at 5:00.

Since Sarah didn't get off work until 3:00 that day, it was nearly 4:00 when we headed out from my house. However, we made good time, arriving in Eagar around 4:45. We stopped at a restaurant called Trailriders, right across the street from the chapel where we planned to park and catch the "shuttle." The place was packed with people in their Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes, grabbing dinner before the devotional, but the restaurant did a good job of getting everyone served quickly. We were done and out by about 5:30.

The crowds arrive and look for the best seating to see President Oaks.

The chapel parking lot was filling up by the time we arrived, but we found a space, parked, and hiked a short way to meet the bus as it arrived. It filled up while we were still waiting in line, though, so we caught the next bus, which arrived immediately after the first one left. It dropped us off at the Dome around 5:50. A police officer at the door quickly checked my purse, and then we were in!

There was still plenty of seating inside the Dome, but the crowds were huge. In these photos, you can see the many rows of chairs lined up on the football field in front of where we were seated. What you don't see are the football stadium bleachers behind me, which were also quite full. By the time we arrived, the seating choices were between the chairs on the field, where you would be closer but unable to see much over the heads of those in front of you, or sit farther away on the bleachers, where you'd at least see the speakers' tiny faces in the distance (plus, their faces were projected on large screens). We chose the bleachers, but sat on the lower benches toward the front, just high enough to see over the heads of the people on the field.

And more crowds. The choir was already seated up in front behind the stand.

It was easy to know when President Oaks arrived. The mild roar of thousands of voices instantly hushed. Everyone rose to their feet and watched respectfully as President Oaks and his retinue entered and mounted the steps to the speakers' stand. They took their seats, and then the crowd also took to their chairs. ChurchofJesusChrist.org reported that there were about 8,500 people in attendance from the seven local stakes [a stake is made up of several wards, with each ward a congregation of several hundred church members] that were invited to the event. I believe it!

Not everyone present was a church member, either. Many people invited non-member friends to join them, and civic leaders from the area were also in attendance.

Another good photo of the event from ChurchofJesusChrist.org, by Jill Adair.

The devotional lasted an hour and a half, with six speakers. First up was Raymond S. Heyman, a former mission president and currently an area Seventy from Arizona. He reminded us that, while we come from many cultures and speak many languages, "the language of the Holy Spirit is our common language." He was followed by his wife, Diane, who shared the story of her health challenges that began with a stroke while she and her husband were presiding over a mission in South America. During the ongoing, frightening struggles, she said, she learned that "God is in the details of our lives."

People started settling into their seats about 15 minutes before the meeting.

Next, General Authority Seventy Wilford W. Anderson (also from Arizona) spoke alongside his wife, Kathy. Together, they spoke about the importance of following the living Prophet. "Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same." (Doctrine & Covenants 1:38)

Kristin Oaks, wife of President Oaks, took the stand after the Andersons concluded. Her remarks were brief and echoed the words of the previous speakers on the importance of hearing the words of God's Prophets, praying for personal confirmation, and then following. She also mentioned that this was President Oaks's first time to visit this part of Arizona, and how he was excited by the number of elk and wild turkeys he'd seen during his stay!

After they arrived, our speakers took their seats on the stand.

President Oaks then concluded the meeting by speaking to us for about twenty minutes. He reminded us of the importance of studying the gospel and praying "with real intent" and "with full purpose of heart"; that "faith means to trust in the Lord," as well as in His timing, His plan, His commandments, and His promised blessings. 

He also spoke about the many "major initiatives" that have been implemented since Russell M. Nelson became our Prophet in January 2018, including: the merging of High Priest Groups and Elders Quorums; the move from three-hour church blocks on Sundays, to a two-hour block, with more emphasis on Church-supported but home/family-based gospel study; the use of the full name of the Church as established by the Savior Himself, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, instead of shortened nicknames; the upcoming change from church affiliation with Boy Scouts of America to new, recently-announced youth programs; and the replacement of traditional Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching programs with "ministering."

President Oaks and his companions wave to the crowd as they leave.

That last change is one that I've embraced from the start, although it's a tough one for me, given my social anxiety and fear of rejection. I love the idea that we should be serving each other out of love, as inspired by the Spirit,  with less emphasis on duty and monthly visits and prepared/suggested lessons and checking items off a list. As President Oaks stated, we should focus less on "visits" and more on "results," motivated by love, compassion, and true charity, as directed by the Holy Ghost. He explained that the First Presidency is aware that most wards are struggling to give up the old "report-my-monthly-visits" mindset, and Church leadership is working on ways to guide us into the ministering heart-set. I look forward to it!

It was a wonderful, uplifting meeting, and I left resolved to do a little bit better, one step at a time. I'd like to be as President Oaks described President Nelson, our Prophet: he is "living in crescendo!"