Enjoyed a wonderful satellite broadcast for Stake Conference this morning.  It was especially nice listening and realizing that my recently returned missionary brother was at the BYU Marriott Center listening to the same talks.  For some really great talks by Marlin K. Jensen, Ann M. Dibb, President Boyd K. Packer, and President Deiter F. Uchtdorf stay tuned…I’ll link to them when they appear on lds.org. 

Meanwhile, just been thinking a bit about Sister Dibb’s wonderful talk.  Daughter of President Thomas S. Monson, she has much of his story telling style, and mannerisms.  A delight to listen to, she spoke of baking homemade rolls for some young women in her ward.  When the rolls began to give off a wonderful aroma, the girls were just drinking in the smell and wanting to know what it was.  Sister Dibb went on to tell them how she wanted to share with them the “real thing,”  that they have become too used to the “counterfeit rolls” bought from the grocery store.  Click here for her roll recipe, and for the recipe, gluten-free style click here.

In her talk she explained the importance of work and sometimes even sacrifice to obtain that which is REAL and true.   She invited us all to commit to that which is real.

Lately I have been drawn to my roots, you might say.  I have a desire to learn crafts and cooking skills that seem old fashioned these days and some that were even foreign in my home growing up.  (Even though my Grandma Lois practices many of them.)  My mother had tried to teach me to sew one summer, but not much came of it other than an apron made in Girl Scouts.  When registering for our wedding, I asked the designer if I could register for a sewing machine.  Yes, he thought I was crazy since I was working full-time and had no one to teach me.

Besides sewing, I have an itch to learn to bake my own bread of all kinds, make hummus, pesto, and other delectable items that are so easy to purchase ready-made.  Before the grower was born, I was trying to figure out how to join the local Quilt Guild.  But already a part of a Healthy Cooking Group and the Midway Art Association, I decided it would have to wait a bit.  There will be time…one day.  🙂

So where is all of this passion coming from?  I believe that it my quest for the beautiful and divine, as Sister Dibb spoke of, to obtain the real and true.  She spoke of beginning her rolls 5 hours before the activity that evening.  Many things in life that are truly real take time.  They take planning and preparation.  Yes, it is easier to go buy rolls in the grocery store, but the smell, the experience, the taste, are only truly real if we make them ourselves. 

I believe that in order to obtain the real and true, we have to make and refine our priorities.  That we decide what is most important in our lives and not allow the counterfeit to overwhelm our minds and take up our time.  Though it may be unrealistic to bake real homemade rolls each day, I can do one, maybe two or three real activities with my kiddos and husband each day. 

Enjoying real meals together, real family prayer and real scripture study is a given.  Then comes a real activity or two…painting together, preschool with the builder’s cousins and friends, dancing, making music on the piano or singing in the car.  Working outside in the yard, practicing our ASL with Signing Time.  There are so many, and no, they can’t be done each day, but we can enjoy a couple real activities and therefore, enjoy a real and true life together!  Thank you Sister Dibb for the wise counsel and encouragement!