Generation of Promise * Our Book of Mormon Journey * Day One

Youth Conference this year was put on by the stake. They said they would be calling "Goodly Parents" to be in charge of the kids while they were up there. I was STOKED!!! One youth camping trip I wouldn't have to be a part of. About two weeks after this announcement, we got a call from a member of the stake presidency....Mike and I were called to be "Goodly Parents." To be honest, I was not happy! I dislike camping, I am in no way a scholar of the BOM, and I felt very inadequate. But as with every situation in my life, I know it was brought to us for a reason. We therefore accepted the call. I will just say this experience was one of a few that have forever changed my life. It was beyond amazing, and just what we needed. I am going to try and capture here in this blog post some of what we got to experience. Unfortunately I can't convey the experience exactly. The spirit was so strong and it testified over and over to each and every one of us while we were there.

Generation of Promise * Our Book of Mormon Journey

Day One

On July 25, we met as a tribe (ward) at our church. They had set up the cultural hall for us to journey in Jerusalem.

Once we in Jerusalem, we were greeted by beggars and villagers. We had to purchase our breakfast and water bottles.

Here is a beggar and some of Nephi's family: Sariah, and sisters

They couldn't figure out what the contraption I was using was, and why was it blinding them? (everyone played their parts so well.) 

Me, Holly, Mitzi, Steph, and Britt

Two sets of the "goodly parents" Us and the Harringtons 

Make a wish...Britt, Holly, Kayla and Shannon 

After collecting our items we sat and watched a short production

I am Mormon, an ancient prophet of the Lord. I have seen your day and I know of your good and righteous desires. I commend you for your integrity and virtue. It is a cruel world you live in today. Yet even through the darkness of evil, ye have embraced the light. Ye are truly noble youth.

I have been sent and commanded to share with ye the history of my people as told through the prophets of the Book of Mormon. I have spent many, many years compiling this precious book so that you, my young gentiles, would come to the knowledge of Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. This book contains stories of great and noble men and women who had great faith in Him and there are also other stories of men and women who were not strong in honoring the Lord or His commandments. I would plead with ye that ye will give strict heed to the counsel that is contained in this book. Ye will come to know some of their great stories personally over the next three days.

Lehi as he warns the people of Jerusalem of the destruction that will happen if they don't repent.

Laman, Lemuel, Sam, Nephi, Sariah, Lehi, Miriam and Rebekah

We all follow the counsel of Lehi and depart to the valley of Lemuel (aka hit the local Maverik for a drink, and head up to camp.)

Once we were at camp, we set up tents, hung out, took a rest, ate pizza, and got to know our "families" a little better. As you can see, it didn't take Mike long to start playing with the kiddos.

After camp was set up we journeyed back to Jerusalem where we watched Nephi and his brothers get the plates from Laban.

The guards

Laban

Laman, Nephi, Sam, and Lemuel

I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save He shall prepare a way that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

When we returned to camp there was a Liahona waiting for our family. It instructed us of what we were to do next.

Our Liahona instructed our family to head to games.

These games were great. It helped us bond as a family. We had to work together to accomplish all the tasks, and they were fun.

After games, we went back to camp, decorated our tribe flag, and went to dinner.  After dinner we  headed to one of the most monumental moments of the whole youth conference. The kids got to participate in an interactive iron rod. They were blind folded and asked to journey up the mountain side while holding onto a rod. There were tempters along the way. The thing that was the most interesting was how easy it was for them to let go. I was amazed! The people they heard along the way were people they loved and trusted. They made such slight suggestions like, "There's a big rock right in front of you. Hold on to me and help you walk around it." How many times do we want to take a short cut through the rough spots in life?

As "goodly parents" we were trying to help them find the rod, stay on the rod, and try to ignore the temptations.  It was really a hard task, much like parenting in real life. I wanted to take pictures of them, to document the experience. But if I even looked away for an instant, kids got too far ahead and we couldn't reach them. Some slipped off in that tiny moment when my head was turned.

As the kids came off the rod, the sun had set and there was a slight drizzle coming down. There were 3 still scenes of Christ's life. 

Mary and the Baby Jesus

Jesus healing a blind man

Crown of thorns, red scarf, and a whip. Representing the Crucifixion of Christ.

They were then taken to the Tree of Life where Lehi, Sariah and an angel asked if they would partake of the fruit. They were also given a piece of paper and a pencil to reflect on the experience they just had.

This tree was so incredible. I cannot describe the spirit that filled that amphitheater as these kids walked in. We had time to sit in the presence of this tree and fill the rain drizzle on our heads.  

We were the first group through, and as we waited for all 150+ youth to finish, we were getting really wet. We had make shift ponchos and jackets to help keep us warm. After a little while we went over to the pavilion to hear some final words from our speaker.

We were able to gather for family devotional and family prayer before the kids went off to bed. It was so inspiring to hear of the things that touched them. A few kids said they didn't want to come to youth conference, but were already so glad they did. One kids said he was excited to continue reading the Book of Mormon because now he understood it so much more. Mike and I were able to bear testimony to them of our love for Christ. It was amazing how after only one day, these kids felt like my own. I was determined that each and every one of them would have a "a-ha" moment while up there.