Fairs and Pageants

So, we had our first BYUSA activity and on all accounts, it went really well. We had some funny moments with our "petting zoo" turning out to be 5 animals (a rat, snake, two hedgehogs, and a reptile). We had a bunch of people come out to see that part, but people did have heaps of fun doing other random things. We had water games (yes, I did get dunked in the dunk tank), booth contests (these were really successful), food (free popcorn + candy floss), live music, and an animal show. The event ran really smoothly and we didn't have any major hiccups. We met all of our goals especially with our attendance being over the desired 1500 people we wanted.

I wanted to show this picture of candy floss (cotton candy in American) and the BYUSA shirt that we designed for the coming year. People were screaming for them and the reviews of the design are pretty good so far. I also forgot to mention that the weather turned out to be perfect (as you can see behind me).

Then the next evening, I went with the presidency, Bro. Cox and Bro. Ward to watch the "Mormon Miracle Pageant" in Manti, UT. The organization and show was amazing! The performance helped me to visualize what happened in the scriptures and what happened to the pioneers. My faith in the church and gospel was renewed through the experiences I had in Manti.

We did have a visit from some protesters who came to Manti from all over the United States. I wondered why these people came to 'contend' with us (at Manti and general conference), but did not mobilize their efforts against other religions? Why did they ask their little 10 year olds to convert the Christians to...Christianity? One young man seemed very confused after we told him that we were LDS and Christian too.

Anyway, long story short, I left the pageant (protesters and all) with a renewed commitment to the gospel BECAUSE of the persecution...but above all, because of the spirit we felt. The TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. I know that Joseph Smith did see God the father and Jesus Christ. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God.

Meeting President Henry B. Eyring

I really wanted to mention on my blog how grateful I was to meet President Eyring in the Bountiful, UT Temple last Saturday, May 31st.

Zenger and I attended a session in the morning and this encounter helped me to realize a number of amazing things. President Eyring is just a man. Certainly he has a specific foreordained calling and mantle, but he's just like you and I. We often think that general authorities are 'superhuman' and it's nice to be reminded that we are all relatively normal people trying to build the kingdom.

These aforementioned statements do not take away my knowledge of President Eyring's divine calling. I know that he is a man called of god, "by prophecy and by the laying on of hands." I know that he has a work to do and that work will lead him to do many wonderful things to build the church.

One of the other things that impressed me about our meeting, is his wife, Kathleen Eyring. She stood there patiently, room after room, as President Eyring was greeted by the many members and temple workers who were anxious to shake his hand. I don't know if she'll ever remember this but I went up to Sister Eyring in the temple foyer and thanked her for being an excellent example of patience. I am grateful for the wives of the general authorities; women who are equal to the demands of the callings of their husbands and who serve, namelessly, as 'helpmeets' in building The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I know this church is true and am thankful for the blessings that I receive constantly. Blessings like meeting President Eyring and his wife, Kathleen.

Moving On

Since elections, my life has seemed like one really long day. I keep wondering when I'm going to wake up and realize that this is not a dream. I was barely able to wrap up my time as the SHA VP when "lo and behold," here I am moving into the President's Office. In fact, an administrator introduced me today as the "student body president" and I almost turned around to see who he was pointing to. This office makes me a little nervous and that nervousness is probably the reason why I spend almost every waking moment in room 3410 of the Wilkinson Student Center. Oh boy. I now officially have no life outside of church, BYUSA, and homework.

Anyway, here are a few links to the online articles the Daily Universe did of the BYUSA election: Feb 26 Article, March 6 Article, and then the final March 10 Article. You'll notice that I did post my least favorite article the Daily Universe printed. That's right, it's the photo that makes me look like I'm crying. Although I do get emotional sometimes, I would like to point out that I was not crying.

However, I have posted one of my favorite photos because it has two of my favorite people in it, Linze and Chance, and I would like to show everyone how tan I got in the middle of winter (you also may not be able to notice that I have chapped lips from the sun and wind). Anyway, camPAIGNing was a definite learning experience and heaps of fun at the same time.

So, since then we have created the 2008-2009 BYUSA Presidency from a list of 27 fully qualified applicants. Probably one of the most humbling experiences of my time here at BYU; I really wish we could've had everyone be a part of it. Then we passed the torch...how funny?!

Our presidency also had the chance to go to the Utah Leadership Academy (ULA) at Snow College in Ephraim, UT. We met a whole bunch of really cool people from all the student governments in Utah. We really went out this year as ambassadors of BYU and have had heaps of awesome feedback about how were "different." Certainly we had our fair share of random BYU comments, but overall it was good times had by all! Heaps of good relationships formed and more than a few beautiful women there too.

Then Chance and I got to hang out with the Service Council. We went down in two vans to the Utah Campus Compact (UCC) at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, UT. This pic is at Cove Fort--the place that President Hinckley's father used to live in.

The most helpful part of the trip was getting to know student leaders from around the state. We saw some of our friends from EFY and ULA there; we also made some new friends.

I also got a bunch of messages about this website, and then found this website. Just some interesting reading (for my mum, pretty much).

Well, that's an update on the life of Adam Ruri AND if you found this page, congratulations. I intentionally did not tell anyone and I don't know that I'm going to continue to update it. But, maybe. We'll see.

Disclaimer: I made the page for a school project and I actually enjoyed it.