After flogging our poor little Prius through 60 MPH cross and head winds crossing the plains of Kansas then up 10% grades to the Eisenhower tunnel to emerge on icy slick roads on the western slope of the Rockies and then through the southern deserts of Utah, we arrived in Salt Lake to Hotel Hathaway (what we call Jerilyn's sister's, Jan Hathaway, home basement). This is our staging point for repacking our bags to go to the MTC for a week, then repack again for the assault on to Africa. But first we must be set apart as missionaries. This means that we are given a blessing by one having the authority from God to set us apart, like being given our commission as an officer in the military. From this moment on we are to live a new set of rules as special representatives of Jesus Christ. We will wear name tags showing who we are whenever we are in public and to wear a suit or a white shirt and tie or a missionary dress except when we are working in service projects.
We are in rather a peculiar circumstance. Normally the setting apart is done by the stake president at home, who would be our close friend, Alan Gauldin, president of the Springdale Arkansas stake. But for the last 33 years we have been close friends with David and Sue Bednar, who for the first 15 years of our association we thought were just normal fun friends. Then David was called as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He couldn't believe it and neither could we but there he is. Actually we should have known something like this would happen. While we were serving together in various callings we would often get in to gospel discussions and would be amazed at his insight and spiritual maturity and wondered how did he get so old and still be so young. Now what makes this association with him so amazing is that in this calling as an apostle of Jesus Christ he has been set apart by a prophet of God to be a special witness of Jesus Christ. Like the ancient apostles he is a traveling witness of the divinity and reality of Jesus Christ. We'll just let that sink in for a while and let you ponder what that means.
So as our friend and an apostle, our stake president arranged for Elder David A. Bednar to set us apart. On Thursday afternoon we arrived at his office in the church office building next to the Lion House and the Joseph Smith building across a square from the Salt Lake temple.
There we sat with him, Sue, our good friend Carol Skeeles, and Elder Ulisses Soares of the presidency of the first quorum of seventy who was to assist Elder Bednar in our setting apart.
Elder Ulisses Soares
Carol, and her late husband, Kirk Skeeles and best friend, were part of the Gang of Three or the Bedskroes as I used to call us. So we recalled old times together and entertained Elder Soares.
Then Jerilyn and I were asked to hold hands, unusual for a setting apart, and Elder Bednar and Elder Soares then placed their hands on our head and proceeded to give each us a blessing preparatory to us entering the mission field. Just recalling the moment brings tears to my eyes. Promises were made and blessings pronounced that entered our ears and hearts. Words cannot describe the feelings we had, the increased love we felt for each other and for the savior, and the desire to give that feeling to others. Isn't that what this is about? This is not just another adventure around the world but an adventure into the hearts of people, individuals. To go see our good friends whom we have never met.
