Thanksgiving & Brother Wirthlin

Now that Thanksgiving is over and the leftovers are all gone I'm taking a moment to think about Gratitude and Blessings. It was a real pleasure to gather with my family and catch up with everyone and look in shock and amazement at how grown up all the children are getting. We missed seeing Laurie and Peter and their families but Laurie sent out an email describing her holiday adventures and I was grateful that my holiday was less eventful than hers was and that her holiday had a happy ending.

I had a computer chat with Peter the other day while his wife Bonnie was seeing Twilight with some friends from her ward and it was good to see Jonathan and Becca and their new dog Bella - video chatting with family is so much fun!

It's been a tough year for most of us in one way or another but there have been lots of reasons to rejoice and plenty of highs to celebrate as well. One of the best things we enjoyed in 2008 was the Fall General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was just full of messages of hope and faith and I felt very encouraged to hear from the leaders of our church. My favorite talk this conference was absolutely the one that Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin gave titled "Come What May, And Love It." The whole talk was just great - lots of excellent suggestions on dealing with life's difficulties; I especially enjoyed the story about his daughter and her blind date, so funny.

Elder Wirthlin passed away in the evening on December 1, 2008 (just the other night). He will be missed but I'm certain he will be happily received by his wife and family that preceded him into the next life. Thank you Brother Wirthlin for your example and your inspiring gospel messages!