The Two M's...

Contrary to popular belief, tonight I did NOT get a husband.  I know, I know... Yep, I know what you're thinking.  Yes, gentlemen - I am still single.

Tonight was the giant, singles-stake reorganization at the Conference Center in SLC, and the running joke within our ward was that we were all going to get our spouses names handed to us... so you had better show up!  Haha... Of course, this was false.  I'm on the fence, but I'm thinking that would be a terrible idea.  Haha...  My friend Amber had to work the Real game tonight (tough break for those guys - next time!) and she told me to pick up her chosen name too...  She's gonna be really disappointed.  If I make one up, is that a bad idea?  Haha... Really - just kidding.

The meeting tonight was actually pretty great!  The majority of the meeting was about what we, as young single adults, can do to help in our wards and stakes -  and The Two M's of the evening...  Missionary Work and Marriage.

Leadership spoke, and a common phrase was, "It only takes an invitation."  I couldn't help but think of Christ's invitation to "Come Unto Me."  Their first point was all about being a member missionary and fellow-shipping.  We were all encouraged to be better friends to those around us...

The second point was that we were put into our singles wards for reasons, and one of those reasons is marriage.  I use to hate those talks... I would always think, "We KNOW already! It's not like we're not open to the idea,"  but I've come to realize that I may know, and I may be open to the idea when the time is right, but not everyone feels the same way... There is so much fear.  Elder Ballard spoke to us at one point and stated, "Cast aside fear you have for the future.  You need to replace that fear and apprehension with faith."  I agree.

A member of church leadership for the YSA's, by the name of Christensen, told a story about a girl named Nicole in a ward he was serving within.  His wife was chatting with Nicole and the wife asked her if she was dating anyone.  Nicole replied, "Nope, but I hope too!"  A boy by the name of Spencer was standing nearby and heard her say this, and asked her out.  They got married a few months later... After this story I turned to my neighbors and stated, "Maybe I should speak louder," to which all those behind and in front of me started laughing... Nope, guess I'm already quite loud enough!

Another story about an "open-mic night" (I believe it was a speaker to begin with and turned into that...) in a particular ward told of a girl who stated that she was 29 and unmarried and wondering if she should move on to somewhere else cause she wasn't having luck there.  A man a few seats down took the mic next and asked her is she'd be willing to go out with a 27 year-old... he was that 27 year old.  The rest of the night consisted in the mic being passed between rows and certain individuals asking other ones out!  How does that even happen?!  Haha... All I gotta say is that was one brave 29 year old girl who began it all!  Haha... Karin and I promptly texted a member of our bishopric (sitting a few seats up from us) and requested an open-mic night. Hahahaha!  Their reaction was pretty classic...

Regarding that example, they related this back to the fact that we are to go to the ward we live in (boundary-wise) for a reason.I also didn't realize how many people "ward hop and bishop shop!"  I didn't even know you could do that... Well, now you really can't, but I didn't even think of doing that before. It reminds me of a quote from While You Were Sleeping, "Lucy, you are born into a family. You do not join them like you do the marines!"  You may not be BORN into a ward family literally, but you aren't really expected to just join whichever ward you please.

One more quote I just HAVE to share came from Elder Ballard... He was talking about meeting his wife and said, "I used every tool I learned on my mission to convince her that I was the only true and living returned missionary..."  Haha!  Oh, how I love you, Elder Ballard.  Classic.

Moral of the story - Singles wards in the west and changing to singles STAKES and I'm happy about it... I'm happy about the guidelines they are setting and I hope that people realize how important it is to follow the counsel that has been given.  I'm excited to see wards and stakes grow and change... It seems simple enough, and in a lot of ways it is, but it can make a big difference.

Other morals:  Be a missionary... and get married. 
*muah*

Song of the Day:  As my regular readers know, I like a wide assortment of music... Today, I'm in the mood for a little blues... Bring on some Jonny Lang with his song "Red Light."  He can seriously rip on the guitar and his smokey vocals - Mmm Mmm Good.  Enjoy!