spiritual giants.

Well this past Thursday I had the chance to take a little road trip to Salt Lake with my mom & sister. These trips are always fun and this one had a purpose of trying to find me a car. (no luck ugh)

Anywho we test drove some cars around town, had lunch at the delicious Dennys (one of our favorite places mmm) and then headed to my Uncle Joel's house to see his family & Grandma Rita who lives there. Now my Uncle Joel has always been the uncle who is kind of quieter. He is always so kind and growing up we'd run in and give him a hug and a quick update then move on to playing with our cousins. I have always known he's a great man, he's been in Stake Presidencies etc. plus his family is very strong in the church. Two of his sons are on missions right now. Buttt let me get back to the topic.

So there we are visiting with the family. Saw Grandma and then me, Jen, Grandma & my mom & Nephi (his son) all sat in the living room with him. I got the conversation started with a "What do you think about Mitt Romney" question. This led into a good few hours of him discussing & explaining various gospel concepts with us including experiences in our family & of my grandparents. Now the past few weeks I've been nervous & stressed for school & worried about my life in general right. Now I wasn't doing a whole lot for that and I was talking to him just cause he's amazing. My sister had a few questions for him she told us before we arrived. However...after leaving his house that night, my mind was blown. I felt a thousand times better, I felt like I had gotten answers to things I wasn't even aware I was looking for. He is truly a spiritual giant. There is no question in my mind that this man is a man of God and truly has a deep understanding of the gospel. I felt like I was at an amazing, personal fireside because it was so intimate. He explained various parts of the plan of salvation, the millenium, callings in the church, the gospel as a wheat auger (which is a brilliant concept) and then reminded us what amazing grandparents we have.

Now I've always known my Grandma Rita is a solid, spiritual giant. I didn't know my Grandpa Nick very well because he died when I was little but I've always known he loved this gospel too. However, listening to the way my Uncle Joel spoke to us about the two of them, gave me a newfound respect & love for those two people. I know without a doubt my grandparents received various revelation in their life and truly lived this gospel the way it's meant to be lived. Anytime I hear anything in the gospel I can find a way they showed that in their lives. They truly have & will endure to the end and I want nothing more than to be like them someday. Anywho the point of this is that often I don't think I recognize & show enough gratitude for the spiritual giants I have been blessed with in my family. I truly would not be where I am today without my family & I hope everyone can see those people. Sure we have the prophets & apostles, bishops & church leaders but it really blows my mind how incredible my Uncle, Grandma & others I know are. I strive to someday be even a hundredth of the person that these people are. Thank goodness for this gospel. Another post will come later with some of the stuff he said that truly hit me and the concept of the wheat auger as well as I can remember.