Cool Story

I am such a bad blogger lately. It makes me mad.. but I just don't find the time anymore... or I find that I just blog stalk instead. HOWEVER.. I did get my blog book back and I LOVE IT! It definitely is motivation to keep going!! I have SOOOO much to blog about! SOO much! That is my goal for this week. I have a really cool story that I have been meaning to post. It is definitely one for the book!

About a month ago we went to Cabo with Brooks, Amanda, Baby Emma and Colby.. ( THAT POST IS STILLLL TO COME ;) ) Anyway.. on our way home we had a layover in Phoenix. Jesse and I were on a different flight than the others. We boarded the plane and went to find our seats.. (darn assigned seating anyway!) We found that we were the window and middle seat. The man who was sitting next to us in the isle seat was already there. He was an older gentleman.. wearing a very nice suit and tie. Immediately you could tell that he was not just your ordinary grandpa on an airplane. As we walked up to him I could tell that he had a set of scriptures and a few other church related things on his lap, and was reading a paper that said "The church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints... (this was Sunday by the way). As we were crawling over him to get to our seats I said to him, "Do you have our sunday school lesson today, since we missed ours?" He just kind of laughed and went on reading. A few minutes later Jesse noticed that there was a picture of the temple in Brazil on his scripture bag.. which is where Jesse served. Jess started talking to him about that temple.. wondering if he served there. He told us that he had been a temple president there (I think is what it was).. we then asked what he was doing in Arizona and he said that he had been to a stake conference. After another minute Jess asked him what his current calling is in the church... OHHH he is in the 70. Elder Merlin B. Arnold. I was kind of feeling embarrassed that we didn't know him.. but then thinking.. how would you know all 70? At least I don't.

I had been re-reading the book "The Peacegiver." I just happened to open it up after we got done talking. I read for about 20 or 30 minutes, then shut the book. While I was reading, he was taking notes from his conference he had just been to, then started reading his scriptures. As soon as I shut the book Elder Arnold said.. "are you ready now?" I was kind of confused and said.. um.. yeah! He handed me his scriptures and told me to start reading a certain verse. Before I started to read he told me that he was very glad that I was reading the book I was.. (its about the atonement for anyone who hasn't read it.. and its GREAT!!!) So he told me to start reading on a certain verse. I read about a half of a chapter and it was about the atonement. After I was done, Elder Arnold really did give us a lesson. He talked about the atonement and Christs love for us. It was SOO cool! The spirit was SOO strong on that little united airlines plane. It was really cool. He cried a little, laughed some and taught us a lot. He talked about the love between a man and wife, about cherishing your children, and I just felt so renewed. It was cool. When we had landed and were waiting to get off the plane he said, "There has to be some reason that we sat next to eachother on this plane, don't you think?" He took a card out of his pocket and wrote his name and phone number on it and asked for ours. He told us that right before they dedicate a temple they have a "VIP" day where the apostles bring friends and family and give them a special tour of that temple. He invited us to be his guests on that day just before the new temple is dedicated in South Jordan.. (Daybreak). HOW FUN! IT was such a GREAT experience! So fun! Not every day you get a run in with such an AMAZING person.