Mission President and Wives' Interim Seminar in Los Angeles

The morning we were leaving on our "vacation" we took another walk around the Flower Fields. This is the view from the parking lot of the nursery.

These are the yellow and orange wild flowers that are prevalent along the freeways these days growing right there in the parking lot.

The parking lot is actually quite beautiful with flowers and trees everywhere.

The most wonderful thing about our walk this particular day was I COULD BREATHE!!! And I wasn't coughing nearly as often. In fact, not that much at all. The new medications added to enhance the other medications appeared to be working. HOORAY!!!! 

Up until the day before, I was thinking I probably wouldn't last long in our meetings with my obnoxious, incessant, deep, juicy, annoying and constant coughing. 

But the day of our Mission President and Wives' Interim Seminar, I woke up with hope. Hope that I would finally be able to conquer my cough. Hope that I would be able to attend the meetings and be able to absorb all the information myself (rather than relying on Glen to tell me what was said) and be able to enjoy the wonderful feeling of being filled with the Spirit as we always do when we are being instructed by our inspired leaders.

We arrived at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott and thought about how it wasn't anywhere close in comparison to the beautiful Coronado Island Resort we stayed at 6 months ago for the annual MP and wives training. 

But, hey! We still had palm trees and blue skies, so what more could we want? Actually, I was very thrilled it was at a location close enough for us to drive. 

Instead of a beautiful, peaceful, calming waterfront view from our hotel room, we had a view of the airport and could watch planes coming in on both sides of us.

Looking at a big building and parking lots filled with parked cars, while listening to the construction noise going on in the hotel which was being renovated, was almost as calming as the luxury island resort...almost...

Actually, it didn't even bother us at all because we spent the majority of our time in the basement of the hotel in one of the ballrooms.

And look at the delicious lunch we ate our first meal there. All the food and snacks were very tasty.

We felt very privileged to be able to be there with other mission presidents and their wives from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii.

We spent most of our time being instructed all together in the big group. 

Elder Donald L. Hallstrom is in the Presidency of the Seventy that is over our group. Elder Carl B. Cook and Elder Ian S. Ardern assist him with his group of mission presidents in the United States. Elder Weatherford T. Clayton is a General Authority in training this past year and was there as was his older brother L. Whitney Clayton, Senior President of the Quorums of the Seventy. All their wives were there with us except the younger Elder Clayton's wife. 

I like it when we break off for a couple of hours when the men to do their business portion of the meeting because we women have a spiritual, instructional time together. Sister Hallstrom takes the lead and invites participation from the wives of the General Authorities, along with participation from everyone in the room. 

Every one of the General Authorities and their wives definitely do an excellent job modeling teaching in the Savior's way.

Our little getaway hadn't been as restful as I had hoped. I was still battling my cough, albeit the coughing had subsided a lot. More than that, Glen was still reeling from having sent yet another missionary home early earlier in the week.

Then as soon as we arrived in Los Angeles, we got notified that the Missionary Department had deemed another one of our missionaries needed to go home. It is a lot of work to send a missionary home early and it is very emotional--for the missionary and for us, especially for the mission president.

We felt bad that it happened while we were out of town and we didn't get a chance to tell the missionary good-bye. It also leaves a big hole that now needs to be filled as to what to do with the missionary's companion for the rest of the transfer.

By the end of our time together, we had been richly taught and the Spirit was felt strongly at the end when all the brethren and their wives were sharing their final testimonies with us.

This is the Lord's work we are about.

Our missionary purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.

We are here to teach repentance and baptize converts. Our unique message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is a blessing to all who will receive it.

Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and another testament of Jesus Christ. We have a living prophet on the earth today, President Thomas S. Monson. He leads the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints according to the way the Lord wants His Church run.

I know our Lord and Savior has redeemed us from the fall of Adam. Through Jesus Christ's Atonement, we are able to overcome sin and death and will live again.

We have the beautiful hope and knowledge of being reunited once again with our family members who have passed away. We have a loving Heavenly Father who wants us to return to Him and has provided a divinely inspired way to do it.

How thankful I am for the plan of salvation which comes to us through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.