The SECOND phone call with President Eyring and then some...

It was Thursday, Dec. 28th to be exact, and we had our oldest son Alex and his wife visiting us for the Holidays.  We had all just piled in the car, happy, a bit hyper, and hungry, heading out for some food and fun family activities, when THE PHONE CALL from President Henry B Eyring's secretary came, asking if we could please meet with President Eyring via video conference on January 2nd.

Needless to say, once I informed them who dad was on the phone with, the mood quickly went from this.....

To this......

 SO we did what any family would do after setting up an interview with President Eyring!!

Okay we did some other fun things we had planned as well......

Christmas shopping at the KC Plaza

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

But needless to say, it was very hard to not think about the phone call we had received earlier... but it didn't prevent us from enjoying our much needed time together.

Note to those who are not members of our faith:

Who is President Henry B. Eyring?

President Eyring was president of Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho, from 1971 to 1977. He was on the faculty at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University from 1962 to 1971.

He holds a B.S. degree in physics from the University of Utah and master of business administration and doctor of business administration degrees from Harvard University.

He is the First Counselor President Thomas S. Monson.

Who is Thomas S. Monson?
President Monson is the current and 16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is considered by adherents of the LDS church to be a "prophet, seer and revelator of God's will on earth.  He has received four honorary doctorate degrees, as well as the Boy Scouts of America's Silver Buffalo and the World Organization of the Scout Movement's Bronze Wolf-both awards the highest given in each organization.  He was appointed by Ronald Reagan to the U.S. President's Task Force for Private Sector Initiatives.  Him and his wife Beverly Johnson Monson are the parents of three children.

President Thomas S. Monson, President Henry B. Eyring and President Dieter F. Uchtodorf make up the First Presidency of the LDS Church.

Members of the First Presidency are special witnesses of Jesus Christ, called to teach and testify of Him throughout the world. They travel frequently, addressing and encouraging over 14 million members and interested nonmembers, as well as meeting with local leaders.

When they are not traveling, members of the First Presidency counsel together and with other general Church leaders on matters affecting the worldwide Church, such as missionary work, temple building, spiritual and temporal welfare and much more.

Learn more at mormon.org

The FIRST phone call with Elder Oaks

It was a normal Friday mid-afternoon, and like most Fridays, we were all anxious and ready for the weekend to begin.  Rodney just happen to leave a bit early on that particular Friday as to get an early start on our much needed date night.  Little did he know that when he returned to work on Monday, he would find a message on his voice mail left from the secretary of Dallin H Oaks from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles asking President Ames to please give Elder Oaks a call back.  With the church membership being over 14 million people, what could Dallin H Oaks possible want to talk to Rodney about.

It wasn't until Rodney (immediately) phoned the office of Elder Oaks that he realized Utah was one hour behind, so obviously no one was at the church office to answer the phone.  Rodney then left for court, and recalls, "I had a hard time focusing to say the least, knowing that when I returned to the office, I would be speaking with Elder Oaks."  When he returned from court, the phone call from Elder Oaks came.  Rodney's phone call experience: "Once he answered the phone, I immediately felt at ease and could feel his love.  I felt very comfortable and felt that he was sincere in everything he said and in listening to what I was saying".  

Elder Oaks asked if he could visit with him and and his wife, and they arranged a time and place in where the interview of us would take place by video conference.

Tuesday, December 11th we met with Elder Oaks where he asked us both a series of questions. One of the questions Elder Oaks asked was if we spoke a foreign language??  Rodney informed him that he in fact did speak a little Spanish and Finnish and I informed him (in my southern accent) that I spoke "southern fluently" with my momma and her family being from the south and all, Memphis Tenn. to be exact."  Elder Oaks didn't respond at first but then looked up from writing and said with that great smile you see in his picture above, "You know...I understand exactly what you mean! I was just at a Stake Conference in the South where they spoke southern and I could hardly understand what they were saying"! As my friend Kristine said, "I think you pretty much sealed your fate right then and there"! With the knowledge of course that all mission calls are inspired and prayed over. It was an overall amazing experience to visit with Elder Oaks and both Rodney and I loved how comfortable he made us feel, his sense of humor, love and mostly his genuine, kind demeanor. 

Note to those who are not members of our faith:

Who is Dallin H Oaks?

He is an American Attorney, jurist, author, professor, public speaker and religious leader.  Since 1984, he has been a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS church). He is a former professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School, a former president of Brigham Young University and a former justice of the Utah Supreme Court.  Throughout the 1970's and 1980's, Oaks was considered by Republican U.S. presidential administrations as a top prospect for appointment to the United Stated Supreme Court. In 1976, Oaks was listed by U.S attorney general Edward H Levi among potential General Ford Supreme Court Candidates.  In 1981 he was closely considered by the Ronald Reagan administration as a Supreme Court nominee.
 Who are the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles?

THE QUORUM OF THE TWELVE
Boyd K. Packer	L. Tom Perry	Russell M. Nelson	Dallin H. Oaks	M. Russell Ballard	Richard G. Scott
Robert D. Hales	Jeffrey R. Holland	David A. Bednar	Quentin L. Cook	D. Todd Christofferson	Neil L. Andersen

There were twelve leading disciples or "apostles" chosen by Jesus Christ nearly two millennia ago.  One was a tax collector, and several others were fishermen who plied their trade on the waters of Galilee.  When they were called to serve, they devoted themselves to being witnesses to the world of the one who called them.
Mormon Leaders- Quorum of the Twelve-The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is led by twelve apostles.  The men who hold that same title today come from a variety of fields as well, including law, business, medicine, academia and judiciary.  When they were called to serve, they too put aside their respective professions to serve full-time as witnesses of Christ.  They are but another example of the literal restoration of the Gospel.

More info can be found at momon.org