For a Season

I was deeply moved by this past Sunday's Fast and Testimony meeting. The blessing of Brandon and Lara's baby was beautiful and set the perfect tone for the rest of the meeting.

As I listened to testimonies and watched those in the chapel, it was fun to see Kameron and Katie Kasparian, and their wonderful daughters. Kameron served in the Young Men's organization with the priests and me. He had a great rapport with the young men and often opened his home to activities, be it barbequing or playing video games. In quorum meetings with the priests, he knew how to make lessons relatable to their lives. He was not all that many years their senior. Graduation from college, courtship, first jobs and first babies were recent events for him. The priests loved Kameron Kasparian.

I noticed the Nathan and Cara Kasparian family. Their twins belong to the famous group of 9th Ward twins all born around the same time. They were also an integral part of the ward.

When Kameron and Nathan moved away, Eric and Lauren Danielson and Brandon and Lara Kasparian took their place. They, too, have contributed to the ward community.

I enjoyed listening to Sister Janice Kasparian's testimony and learn more of her life-long connection to the Bountiful Ninth Ward. Her words made me reflect on life and the nature of the Latter-day Saint ward. Ward membership is always in flux. People come and people go. Yet even when people attend a ward for only a short period of time, their impact is often felt for the remainder of others' lives.

Many of my children's most impactful and memorable teachers and leaders were only in the ward "for a season." To that point, my children have only been in the ward for a season. In truth, we are all a part of the ward for a season. We will all come and go in one way or another while, hopefully, the Bountiful 9th Ward will continue generations to come.

This thought has been on my mind a lot as I've learned more about the history of our ward. It has been remarkable to note the turnover in just the past ten years. In studying records from the 1950s and 60s, it has been fun to run across names that I recognize, but they are the exception. I don't recognize most of the names of old 9th Ward members that I come across.

A couple of weeks ago, I ran across Shannon Thompson and Brittney Anderson in Salt Lake City. It was fun to run into a couple of old ward members. It would have been nice to have time to catch up. They mentioned how they missed the 9th Ward and I commented that once a 9th Warder, always a 9th Warder. I think there is more truth to that than we realize. They are part of the history of this place. In their season, they served and loved. They made the 9th Ward what it was, and what it is.

We all have different life stories. I have enjoyed visiting with those who can tell me what it was like in the first years of the ward. My dad is a bit like that. He has deep roots in Brigham City and built his own home across the street from his grandfather's home and in the same ward as his parents' home where he moved in 4th grade. His great-grandfather was the bishop of Brigham City from 1857 to 1877 when the single ward divided into four. He continued as the bishop of the 2nd ward another 15 years. My dad was 12-years-old when the Brigham City 4th ward was divided and the 8th Ward was created on January 20, 1946 (sound similar to the Bountiful 3rd Ward and the creation of the 9th?). In the early 1950s, he helped build the chapel where he gave his missionary farewell. If I remember correctly, his was the first missionary farewell in the building. He left home for a mission to Denmark, military service in Korea, and school at BYU. A work opportunity after graduation brought him back, still a bachelor, to Brigham City where he met my mom, a first year high school teacher from Rexburg, Idaho. He built his family home in 1962 and sixty-one years later, still lives there. He turns 90 this year, having spent over 70 years of his life in Brigham City. Certainly my dad's life experience might bring to mind some 9th Ward members.

Compare my dad's experience to mine. I lived in the same home from birth to high school graduation. My childhood home will forever be the Brigham City 8th Ward. I still feel a strong connection to that place and those who were part of my primary and youth experiences. But then came a summer in a Jackson Hole, Wyoming ward, a year in a student ward at Ricks College, my mission branches and wards in Switzerland and Germany, a student ward at BYU-Hawaii, two student wards at BYU in Provo, a Salt Lake City student ward (where I met Nita), a ward in Sugar House for a couple of years (our newlywed ward where Joseph was blessed), the Valley Forge 2nd Ward in Pennsylvania, the Bountiful 22nd Ward for seven years (where Leah and Sam were blessed), and now the Bountiful 9th Ward (where Will was blessed).

I have such incredible memories from each of those wards. They all became homes to me. When I see young families like the Kasparians come and go, I think, "They are having their Valley Forge 2nd Ward or Bountiful 22nd Ward experience." I would have been happy to stay in either of those wards for the rest of my life. But circumstances and opportunities eventually brought me to the 9th Ward. Only God, and perhaps Nita, know what my future holds.

On Saturday, March 25, the ward will celebrate its 70th birthday. We hope that every ward member, whether they've been in the ward for 70 years, 70 weeks, or 70 days, will come and feel a part of this celebration. I hope we all claim the Bountiful 9th Ward as our own.

If one suspects that they will only be in a place "for a season," it is tempting to not want to invest the time and energy to develop friendships and make the place a home. Don't let that happen. The pain that accompanies saying goodbye is worth it. For however long you are here, make some great friends and some great memories. Make the Bountiful 9th Ward one of your homes.