FHE.... It's good for everyone

Last night I had the opportunity to attend our monthly Senior Family Home Evening (FHE). It was a delightful evening. This is a very special opportunity for 8-10 single seniors to get together, discuss the gospel, sing together, pray together, learn more about each other, and enjoy a snack as we visit. We have a really fun and motivating group. Our "family" gathers together on the second Monday evening of the month.

Last night David drove and Mother, Teresa, and I were escorted to Bill's home. He treats us with such respect, opening and closing doors, making sure we are safely to our destination. The door was open and Bill was waiting for us with a smile on his face and open arms. We visited, laughed, and joked until everyone who was available was there. The evening started with prayer and a song. Now, you need to understand that we love to sing. Not only that, but we have some wonderful voices in our group. We also have a very good organist David, and a back up Teresa, and if neither of them are available Bill can step in also. As you can see, music is important to our "family".

We discussed our "family business". This week we decided that our hot air ballooning activity will be on Sept. 20th and "0 dark thirty" in the morning. The object is to lift off just as the sun is coming up in order to maximize our time prior to high winds and heat destroying the peace and serenity of the activity. We are hoping that we can get two or three rides done that morning. Most of the "family" have not been ballooning before so it will be new to most. David is also going to bring his boys (4 and 6) to the activity so that will add another layer to the fun. The next activity we discussed was to begin putting together a fireside for the stake. We have designated the fifth Sunday in November (11/30) for the activity. We are asking Brother Handy to present the program "Evidence of Christ in the Americas", which is a slide show that he has put together as a result of several trips to Central and South America as well as many years of study. He has done it previously for multi stake single adult conferences, but we felt that our stake general population (over the age of 12) would enjoy the evening.

The next order of business was a personal profile by Chris. She told us about growing up in Colorado, being in the Air Force, stationed in Japan, and some of the more bizarre places she has been while part of the military. She said that she has been escorted (blindfolded) to top secret facilities, done the necessary electrical work without moving very far one way or the other, and then being blindfolded until she was returned to the starting point. She has seen experimental aircraft, ordinance most of us never hear about, and been in a variety of missile silos. She has worked in telecommunications as a result of her military background and continues in that area today. She is an avid Family History buff and has specialized in Scottish history and "clan" lore.

Teresa gave the lesson on Testimony. It was a simple and beautiful lesson that lifted my spirits. She stressed that the gospel is "Simply Beautiful and Beautifully Simple". She referenced the most recent conference talks on testimony to remind us that a testimony is not a travel log, health or family update, a thank you note, a sermon, or an expression of our love of family. It is bearing our knowledge of the Godhead, prophets, scripture, the atonement, and the truthfulness of the gospel. She reminded us that a simple four sentence testimony, in the presence of the Holy Ghost, is more powerful that any prepared speech or lesson.

We had a closing prayer and sang another song, "There is Sunshine in my Soul". Refreshments were fruit, cheese, and cookies interspersed with plenty of conversation, stories, and more enjoyment of each others company. After a pleasant ride home, again dropping off Teresa, we bade good night to our escort and visited awhile with Porter, my grandson who has been visiting and spent the evening dining with his Aunt Anna. A very pleasant and uplifting evening right to the last.