Right in our own Backyard

A few months ago we learned that Youth Conference would be held here, in Salt Lake. That' s right - no traveling to exotic locations, no intrigue over what cool places we'd see, just boring old SLC. That's what I thought and man, was I wrong. We had a great time seeing parts of the valley and learning things I never knew.

Our first activity was a bike ride around Antelope Island. Like every kid I went in the Great Salt Lake when I was 7 or so, but I have never actually been out to the island. It was great! Because the weather has been so cool lately, the ride was really mild. Even the bugs weren't that bad, although the bites on my arms spoke a different story. We saw some bison, rode about 11 miles and no one died. Since I hadn't ridden a bike for over two years I was worried that I might be the likeliest candidate for an early coronary. Still, no harm done - even if I was the biggest guy on a bike.

One of the nice things about sticking close to home is that you know the cool things to do. I've ridden the Alpine Slide a bunch of times, but this was a first for Kennedy and Alex. Since we were close, Tara and the kids came up to enjoy in the fun. Kennedy wasn't too sure about the speed of the slide, so Alex and Tara flew past us on the hill while I kept riding the brake. No big deal though and we really had a good time.

Throughout the Conference we had several speakers who shared stories about famous leaders in Church history. One of the stories we heard a couple of times was that of Orrin Porter Rockwell. Sure I've heard many of the tales of the gun toting Mormon, but this was the first time I learned about the whole man - both the myth and reality. I hadn't known of his close relationship with Joseph Smith and the incredible promises the Lord made to his servant. It was really cool to find out about Rockwell and other members from the past.

My favorite part of the entire Youth Conference was our tour of Welfare Square downtown. Brother Goodrich guided us through all of the different buildings, and we learned about the tremendous efforts our Church is a part of to relieve suffering and strengthen individuals from around the world. As Brother Goodrich described some of the different programs the Church is involved in he stated, “I’m proud to be a member of a church who looks out for other people and follows the example of the Savior to seek after the needy and help them.” Listening to his statement I realized how proud I am to be a member of the Church.

I'm really glad I was able to go to Youth Conference again. Even if I didn't get to travel to distant lands, I was able to learn more about my hometown and myself.