Day 280: Priesthood Session

It's general conference time again, and today we've enjoyed several fantastic messages from the General Authorities and auxiliary leaders of the Church. Tonight, Mike, Dallin, and I carpooled to meet the other priesthood holders (Dad, Dave, Ben, and Steve) in the family to attend priesthood session in Bountiful.

The good news is that tomorrow we get to do it all over again. It's one of several reasons why I love this time of the year.

Day 15: Dallin's a Deacon

This afternoon, my 12-year-old nephew Dallin (I may have mentioned him once or twice in the last little while) was ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood and to the office of a deacon. His dad, my brother Mike, officiated, with the assistance of Grandpa Plowman and three of his uncles (Ben, Steve, and yours truly). He's looking forward to passing the sacrament and all of the other things that deacons get to do, and we're proud of him.

It was also nice to meet Bishop Bruce Newbold, who presided over things. You may remember him as Parley P. Pratt in How Rare a Possession, as well as a number of other Church films.

In the above photo, the Church's newest deacon poses with Grandpa and Grandma Plowman.

Day 7: My Dinner with Dallin 2012

Earlier today, I picked up my nephew Dallin for our annual birthday outing, which includes lunch at the establishment of his choice and a shopping trip (i.e. me paying for a present that he gets to pick out for himself at the local toy or video game store). It's really a win-win deal, as he is a great kid to hang out with in general, and as he approaches his twelfth birthday next Tuesday, he talked with excitement of his upcoming ordination to the office of deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood.

Dallin chose Arctic Circle for lunch, and after we enjoyed a good meal there, we were off to the store, where he chose a set of Pokémon cards (displayed in the photo) along with Mario and Luigi LEGO-ish figurines (which, I think, he mainly chose for his little brother Jackson's sake).

Good times were had by all.

Eden's an Elder

It seems like it was just 18+ short years ago that my cousin Eden was born. Earlier today, he was ordained to the office of elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood.

There sure do grow up fast, don't they?

At Scott and Clauida's invitation, most of the Plowmans headed down to Lehi after church to take part in this event, as did Jamie (Scott's brother) and Julie's clan.

Eden, former Utah state high school filmmaking champ, is now in his first semester at BYU. He was his typical “aww, shucks” self and seemed humbled and grateful to have so many family members and friends show up to support him.

There was plenty of good food, including hot dogs cooked by Scott, to go around.



I was content mainly to hang out and get caught up with Jamie's and Scott's families and their many comings and goings, as well as with Claudia's parents, Tony and Margarita, who are always more than happy to help me practice my Spanish.


A brief, tense moment occurred when my two-year-old nephew Jackson, while exploring Scott and Claudia's large backyard, climbed up onto the swimming pool covering and immediately sank down into the pool. Several people rushed over to help, and fortunately Madison was standing right there and quickly fetched him out and back onto dry land again.


As a consolation prize, he got to wear a much-too-large for him t-shirt, pictured above, while his clothes cycled through the dryer.

Good times were had by all.