Jan. 17, 2012

Youth Conferences at BYU 

During my Mutual age years, after age 13 that it, I was blessed to be able to attend Regional Youth Conferences at BYU. I think my memory has kind of made the two conferences into one since I remember certain details and am not sure during which year that they occurred. I was blessed both times to be on the region planning committees and the first year as a member of the Duchesne Stake Youth Council and the second time as the Chairman for the Region Council. I think because I was involved so heavily in planning both is the reason why they are gelled together. Both years were a lot of fun and it also gave me a chance to make friends in Roosevelt and other areas and towns that were involved in the region planning committee. We usually held our meetings in Roosevelt where the Adult Chairman lived.

The highlights that I remember best though were the bus trips from Duchesne to BYU and the experiences that involved the classes and firesides. I didn’t really care for going to class so the fact that I had to help other youth find theirs, then it kept me from being able to attend for the most part which was alright with me. I also had hall duty and found the challenges in keeping girls off of our level even though I wanted desperately to visit theirs so I could see Marie. We did get to do a lot together however at the meals and in between classes. I did like going to the firesides since I could go with Marie to them and that was well worth it. In fact during the second conferencew we had to perform for one of them. Kevin Wilkinson, Marie and I and Rhonda (who later married Kevin) and I think a couple more people sang a song that Kevin could lay on his guitar. I still remember the title “Ruby, Don’t take your love to town”. I was a bit embarrassed since the message of the song really didn’t fit the messages we were trying to portray at youth conference but we did it anyway. I don’t remember any recourse from our leaders although there probably should have been some and it seemed some council given as to which verses to omit.