Primary programs

This past Sunday was the primary program in the Orchard 11th Ward, which I attended. It got me thinking about past primary programs, so I will remember what I can about them. But I won't remember this week, because that would be a little ridiculous.

2011. The primary program was on October 16, and my extended family had all come to hear my niece Allie sing her solo part. At one point, everyone had left the house to go to church, but my sister and her husband and I were still home. Susanne was singing "The Edge of Glory," and we got into a conversation about it. Matt had never heard it, and I mentioned that I had downloaded the song, so I offered to get my computer and play it. When I did so, Nan lip-synced to the song and was surprised that Matt had really not heard it. We got into a conversation about Lady Gaga, including how weird and crazy she is, but that if she's famous she can get away with it. Nan said she liked her, and I said that I had also downloaded  "Born This Way" and "Hair," and Nan said she liked those songs, but I complained how the Lady Gaga Pandora station seemed to play more Britney Spears than anything else. Then we went to church, and I felt bad going to church with "The Edge of Glory" stuck in my head. I was squished on a bench with Nan, Matt, Allie, and I think my cousins Peter and Jesse and Jesse's girlfriend Lisa. I think Peter said I was keeping the bench from burning up because I was the only righteous one. Matt asked me what the numbers were for at the front of the chapel; I told him they were the hymn numbers. After the sacrament, Allie and her friend Katy stood at the podium for their solo to start the program. While they were waiting, Allie bonked Katy, and Jesse found that especially hilarious. When Allie started she choked a little because she was nervous, but we were all glad that she didn't try to sing fancy. She did a good job. After the program I departed and went to my singles ward; I think Mark Millard was sitting in the foyer. During priesthood, Brother Kirkham announced that there was a fireside that night with Alex Boye, and Channing Elggren talked about how Mr. Boye had a really cool story. Then I went home where we had dinner, and after dinner we had two kinds of "fat man's misery"--one made with the traditional mint ice cream, and one made with pumpkin ice cream so that I could eat it. Sue said she didn't like mint so she was glad for the pumpkin one. Lisa's sister came with four kids; when the toddler girl came in, she proudly proclaimed to everyone, "I have a bunny!" Peter found that really funny. I left to go to the fireside, and Jesse was dismayed. I got to the fireside, and I saw that the regional center was full of old people, families, and full-time missionaries. I was neither old nor with family nor with an investigator, so I felt pretty out of place. The fireside started with the "I'm a Mormon" video of Alex Boye. I'm not the biggest Alex Boye fan, and I felt out of place and guilty for having left my family, so I walked past the young man in my row, got in my car, and drove home. Everyone was surprised I was back so early, but I explained my reasoning. My grandma said, "You don't like Alex Boye?" I said I didn't like his voice. We might have played the Ungame or something like that. After Lisa's sister left, there was a discussion about how good her kids were, but that "Garden" is a weird name. Before leaving, my grandma was scooping chocolate sauce out of the bottom of one of the fat man's misery pans.

2008. My mission journal jogs my memory of the events of November 9, 2008. During PEC, the branch president was looking at the list of people in the Branch who subscribed to the Ensign. There was one name he didn't know (I think it was Virginia Murray, or something like that), so he asked us to check it out. We were attending the Davenport Branch that week, and we sat in the front of the "chapel," right in front of all twenty primary kids. I think this was the year they sang "If the Savior Stood Beside Me." At one point a little boy hit his head against the sacrament table, and I could hear him utter, "What the heck is wrong with me?" The kids sang "I Am a Child of God," and then they sang a verse in Spanish, which really impressed Elder Love. Then after church we headed to Reardan to have dinner with the Petersons and the Bentzes. The Petersons and Sister Bentz (the Petersons' daughter) were all active, but Don wasn't a member. Nevertheless, he was always nice to us, and in fact he had made lunch that day, tater tot casserole. (That might have been the only area of my mission where I ever had tater tot casserole, but I had it several times there.) He was telling us about his tooth pain, and eventually he told us he had to go lie down because it hurt so bad. Elder Love asked him if he wanted a blessing. He said yes, so we gave him one. When we had given it to him, he had a shocked expression on his face. He said that his pain was gone. He said he had always been a skeptic, but he wasn't anymore. His wife and parents-in-law took the opportunity to explain that it worked because we had the priesthood, and that if he got baptized, he could have the same priesthood. Later we talked to Sister Phelps in Reardan; she was painting. We got back to Davenport and we told the Herrons (the couple we stayed with) about our experience with Don and the blessing. Then we decided to check out the Ensign referral. We knocked on the door, not knowing what to expect, but the old lady who answered the door looked at our tags and said, "It's Elder Love and Elder Melville!" She invited us in and told us how she had been baptized when she was eighteen because missionaries knocked on her door and she told them she'd let them in if they could answer three questions: Where did I come from?, Why am I here?, and Where am I going?. She had grown inactive (she said she "got [herself] excommunicated"--we didn't know if that meant she was really ex'ed or if she voluntary left) but she had kids and grandkids who were still active; her son had given her a copy of Rough Stone Rolling, about Joseph Smith. We visited the Murrays fairly regularly after that.

2007. Allie was a Sunbeam, and all the Sunbeams stood at the front of the stand when it was time for them to say their parts. Allie's teacher put the microphone to each kid so they could say their part. When it was Allie's turn, she froze up, so her teacher said her line for her. That night the Andersons came and visited us; Austin asked Allie about talking in church; I don't think he realized that she had not done her part, and she seemed a little embarrassed that she hadn't said anything.

2001-2004. I think during one of these years, Austin Anderson sat with the Primary kids so that their autistic son Ty could be up there. It was kind of funny hearing his deep voice with all the Primary voices and the few female teachers.

2000. It's possible this was 2001, but I'm not sure. I remember passing the sacrament on the stand, but they already had all the kids sitting up there, so it was kind of a headache getting the sacrament done.

1998 or 1999. I remember Evan Stewart reciting a scripture that said "that they may dwell with God." This had been a problem--when they handed out our parts, there had been some typos, and his typo read "that they may sell with God." When he said that in a practice, they realized the problem, and fortunately he was able to rememorize it.

1997. I believe this was the year when I was one of four kids who started off by singing "Scripture Power." We stood on the stand and sang the first verse, and all the kids came in during the chorus, raising their scriptures to the song. We might have held fake shields and swords, but I don't remember.

1996. I think this was the year they had asked me to tell the story of Thomas S. Monson and his Christmas train. I remember it had big words in it like luxury, and I wasn't sure if I was using them right. I remember seeing all the old grandparents in the congregation when I was telling my story.

1994. I think this was the year I was sitting next to Daniel Bitner near the sacrament table. He pointed out to me the baby sitting in the aisle playing with a hymnbook. We watched the cluster of pages fall out of the green binding and laughed. When we got home, my parents told me that I had done a good job, but Susanne kept remarking about how I had talked, thus implying I didn't do a good job. My parents tried to downplay that and insisted that I did a good job.