Update on August 23, 2009

President Andersen has been at a Mission Presidents' Seminar in Hong Kong this past week. The office has been quieter.

Wes finished the audits for Sukhbaatar, Khailaast, and Chingeltei branches. The Asia Area has the reputation of having 100% of their audits finished and turned in on time by the end of August each year.

This week's addiction recovery was step 4: Truth. Participants are to review and write a moral inventory of their lives, listing their strengths and weaknesses, being honest in what they write, and seeking guidance from the Holy Ghost.

Reviewing your life
"I invite each one of you to thoughtfully review your life. Have you deviated from the standards that you know will bring happiness? Is there a dark corner that needs to be cleaned out? Are you now doing things that you know are wrong? Do you fill your mind with unclean thoughts? When it is quiet and you can think clearly, does your conscience tell you to repent?

“For your peace now and for everlasting happiness, please repent. Open your heart to the Lord and ask Him to help you. You will earn the blessing of forgiveness, peace, and the knowledge you have been purified and made whole. Find the courage to ask the Lord for strength to repent now” (Richard G. Scott, in Conference Report, Apr. 1995, 103; or Ensign, May 1995, 77).

Para Olympics in Mongolia



Thursday morning most of the seniors (Lassons, Caldwells, Stevens, and Elder Jackson) went to the Para Olympics. It is a wonderful event. Elder Jackson, in the name of the Church, sponsored the event and bought the trophies and plaques.

We were impressed with the participant's effort and abilities. What we learned from watching them is that you just need to face the right direction and keep going. Also we learned not to coast when you get near the end; keep going.

A large group of our L.D.S. single adults came and helped with the event; we were proud of them. We understand in the afternoon they tied a string from a blind runner to one of our single adults so the runner would stay on course. But a single adult sometimes had trouble keeping up with the blind runner.

Stake Conference in Ukiah
This Sunday morning before church we were able to listen to the Saturday evening session of stake conference in Ukiah, California on the internet. Because some areas of the stake are a long ways away, this was an experiment to broadcast conference to the outlying areas. We enjoyed seeing the people and hearing the talks. Among the speakers were President and Sister Bunker, the new mission president for Santa Rosa, California, and President and Sister Hunter (son of President Hunter), the Oakland Temple president.

The Sunday morning session broadcast will be broadcast at 1 am this Monday morning. I'm not sure we'll be up for that session.