Richard G. Scott

On Sunday, our stake got lucky, and Elder Scott came for a visit. Everyone speculated as to why a member of the twelve would come and visit our small and seemingly insignificant stake. Was there going to be a new stake president? Maybe the stake boundaries were going to be changed? In the end, I still don’t really know why he was here, but at our house we made a big deal about it. Last Monday night our FHE lesson was on prophets, and we specifically talked about Elder Scott coming. Brooke, without any prompting on my part, decided that she wanted to shake his hand. I think there was a story in the Friend a while back about the primary kids shaking an apostle’s hand; she might have gotten the idea there. She prayed every night and every other time it was her turn to say the prayer that she would get to shake his hand, and I have to admit I was worried that I might not have enough faith to see her goal through.

Sunday came, and we were out the door by 8:30 for a 10:00 meeting . . . well, me and Brooke and Josh. There was no way on Earth we were going to make the twins sit there for that long too! (They showed up at 9:45.) Fifteen minutes later we were at the stake center, and upon walking into the chapel, we found that it was already 80% full, and some people were already sitting in the cultural hall. But after hearing Brooke pray all week, I was NOT sitting in the cultural hall. I walked into the chapel determined to find a seat when a kind usher stated that he had been instructed to fill the chapel (i.e. you couldn’t save seats) and so we sat down in someone else’s saved seat, about 2/3 of the way back, but in the chapel!

The meeting started early, and was really rather uneventful. Several of the local leaders bore their testimonies and then Elder Scott spoke for the last hour. When he started his talk he told a joke, “If you always want to wake up with a smile on your face, go to bed with a coat hanger in your mouth”.




I guess Brooke and Josh took him seriously!

The rest of the hour was spent talking about teaching your children, dressing modestly, the other side of the veil and then he bore his testimony, and the meeting was over. Towards the end of his talk Brooke asked when we could go home (I can’t really blame her since she had been sitting there for three hours), and I told her it was almost over, to which she replied, “Mom, I haven’t shaken his hand yet!”

The meeting ended, people got up slowly, lingering in case there was more, and while they lingered, Brooke booked it to the stand. Josh wanted to go with her, but in the end he was too scared.

She got up there as only a child can, weaving her way around people’s knees, and yes, shook Elder Scott’s hand! He asked her for her name and talked to her for a minute and then went on to the other people on the stand, and then left. Apparently his flight home made it so he really couldn’t stay long after the meeting ended.

I have to admit I cried. She was so determined and had so much faith, and I was so proud of her. She’ll be five in two weeks, she’s old enough to remember some of the things that happen to her now, and I KNOW she’ll remember this event for a long time. I will too.