Our bishop is amazing and wanted to have all of the youth over for a special combined young women, young men. So our church starts at 9am. We have YW & YM first, then go to Sunday school and then sacrament meeting is last. All of the youth leaders picked up their kids and were expected to be at the bishops house by 8am. The bishop and his wife are truly amazing people they had a breakfast feast full of eggs, sausage, pancakes, grapes, and drinks. Everything was green, I mean everything, the eggs, sausage (i know how do you get sausage green, apparently you steam it in really green water), green pancakes, green grapes even the powder sugar to sprinkle on top of your pancakes had green sprinkles in it. They are of Irish decent and being as St. Patrick's day was this week they "greenafied" us! (That word is from Wicked, I haven't seen it yet but I listen to the sound track over and over.) So we ate from 8-9 and then at 9 the bishop gathered everyone around there were probably about 100 youth, and then he gave the most amazing lesson.
The bishop talked about Integrity. He said that as he and his wife were talking about it, his wife said that "integrity is what you do when nobody is watching." He talked about that and then he said, My definition is "Integrity is what you do when everyone is watching." He talked about how nowadays we have facebook, cell phones, email, and went on to list several other things. Bishop told of when he was in high school and how there was a young "mentally challenged" young man that transferred into his high school named George. He gave us some history about how this poor young man was just tortured and teased relentlessly. He stopped to share a side note story. He had taken his wife and all of their children to Belize and were staying in this amazing place off the beach. He said they had struck up a conversation with the people staying next to them form their balcanies, They had asked where they were from and when they said SLC the woman said that she was also from their and then when they asked what their last name the woman said that she went to school with an O'Leary. The bishop got talking to her and she said "Do you remember what I did in school?" or something like that, and the bishop did remember her. Before the bishop could answer she said "I set the school on fire." The bishops response was "Oh, I didn't remember you for that... I remembered you for asking George to prom and then not showing up." He then went back to the other story. He said that one day George came into the lunch room got his lunch, and then the students started to sing "George, George, George of the jungle" it was the really big cartoon then. Anyway they convinced him to get up on one of the tables and start to dance. The bishop got really teary eyed and said that as he saw all of these kids in a circle around him singing, clapping, and mocking this poor young boy, He couldn't take it any more. He said "I'm not telling you this to boast, but I couldn't take it anymore and I pushed my way though the crowd and took George by the had, helped him off the table and picked up his tray and told him "Come on George, your going to eat by us today." He went on to say, that there were countless times that he had not done the right thing that he has made the wrong choice, but that day when everyone was watching he made the choice to have integrity and stand up for what was right. He said "It wasn't like I had the desire to not be popular, I just couldn't stand by and watch them do that to George. He again said "Integrity is what you do when the whole world is watching."
He finished by saying that he had just stopped by a young mans house that had gotten home form his mission and as he was leaving the young mans father said " Joe will always think of you as his bishop." he then said "I don't know if you will always think of me as "your bishop", but you (then he got really teary eyed again) will always be My young women and My young men. I will joy in your successes, I will sorrow when you sorrow, I will help you in any way I can."
I love our bishop. I will be really sad to see him get released. I know the time is coming, but I will really miss him. He will always be my bishop. He was the one in my hospital room when I was soooo sick right after we were married, He has been the one in the blessing circle of my two girls, He has been the one who has prayed for me when I was so sick and pregnant. He will always be my bishop.
Sunday school was awesome as well. I was a little late (I was looking for my husband, who was having a Elders Quorum meeting none the less) and then In Sacrament meeting the newly returned missionary Joe spoke. I love him. He was one of my Sunday school kids when I was first in the ward. He is such a good kid and did an amazing job. He has grown so much. Man I feel old. I keep telling myself, "I wasn't that much older than they were when I was teaching them."
1 comment:
That is an amazing story - just what I needed to read!!
Post a Comment