The Shakespeare Festival and the First Week of School

We had a wonderful week at the Utah Shakepeare Festival.  We maxed out on plays and saw two every day.  The acting was amazing and it was so great to enjoy theater again.  Gloria and Mike came up Tuesday night and saw Richard III with us (it was dark and long, but because of the acting it was enjoyable).  The actor who played Richard III (Aiden O'Reilly) was a man who had some obvious birth defects (in real life) and was legally blind.  He's an example of someone who has overcome, because he was a fabulous actor.  We saw him again in a reading later in the week.  To read the script he had an extra light over his stand and a magnifying glass.  He had to have his head right down on the stand to be able to read the script, and yet he was still able to act.

Gloria and Mike came up again on Friday night for Pirates of Penzance (which was well done, but my least favorite).  We also drove down to St. George on Thursday night and joined them again for Count of Monte Cristo at Tuachan.  This one was probably my favorite of the week.  It was 1:00 am before we got home, though, so we were tired.

We also saw Comedy of Errors, Comedy of Terrors, Ragtime, Cymbeline, and Intimate Apparel.  Many of the actors, maybe even most of them, were black.  In Ragtime and Intimate Apparel they were true to race, but most of the shows had color-blind casting, which is always interesting.  

Roy, Catharine, Mike and Gloria

Roy likes to take pictures at the dinner table--
usually I have food in my mouth,  I lucked out this time.

Many of our grandkids started school while we were enjoying theater.  

Bevy and Harvey (yes Harvey is going to pre-school)

Greta

Ruby

Ori, Effie, Yuna, Doyeon, Hyeji and Dojin

Ila (not too happy about school apparently); and Finn

Gunnar and Oli 

I can't believe how grown up everybody looks in their back to school pictures.

Speaking of looking grown-up, Hyeji 
got braces this past week.  Both she and Gunnar
are close to being teen-agers.  I think with their
actions, they are pretty much there already.

 On the way home from Cedar City, we stopped in Santaquin to see Grandpa Rasband.  He doesn't get out of bed much and he's on hospice.  Keep him in your prayers that he can be comfortable.  

I don't look at social media very much, so I was surprised to hear that people were "offended" or "unhappy" with Elder Holland's address to the BYU students.  Elder Holland.  I am certain that Elder Holland was aware that his words would spark some conflict--but the church has to be clear on where it stands on the issues of today.  I think that there are those who think the church will change their opionions on what is sin and what isn't.  The doctrines of the church will not change. We are definitely experiencing the signs of the times.  I want to be clear that I am fully committed to follow the living prophets, seers and revelators that have been called to be our light in the wilderness in these troubled times, whether it be President Russell M. Nelson or anyone in the first presidency or the quorum of the 12 apostles.  As time goes on there will be more and more division in the views of the world and the views of the church.  In the YW/YM class today, we discussed a talk by President Ezra Taft Benson from 1980--14 Fundamentals of Following the Prophet

14 fundamentals of following the prophet

1. The prophet is the only man who speaks for the Lord in everything.
(Follow the prophet and the gates of hell will not prevail against you).
2. The living prophet is more vital to us than the standard works.
3. The living prophet is more important to us than a dead prophet
4. The prophet will never leave the church astray
5. The prophet is not required to have any particular earthly training or credentials to speak on any subject or act on any matter at any time.
6. The prophet doesn’t have to say “thus saith the lord” to give us scripture
7. The prophet tells us what we need to know, not always what we want to know.
8. The prophet is not limited by men’s reasoning.
9. The prophet can receive revelation on any matter—temporal or spiritual.
10. The prophet may be involved in civic matters.
11. The two groups who have the greatest difficulty in following the prophet are the proud who are learned and the proud who are rich.
12. The prophet will not necessarily be popular with the world or the worldly.
13. The prophet and his counselors make up the First Presidency—the highest quorum in the Church.
14. The prophet and the presidency—the living prophet and the first presidency—follow them and be blessed; reject them and suffer.

Whether the prophet "urges" me to get vaccinated, or tells me that something is wrong or right, I am committed to listen and act.