The Arrival

When we arrived at the mine it was all that I had expected and more. There were trees covering the entire property except for the three large ponds and the tails from last year’s destruction.  There was a large cabin on top of the highest hill surrounded by thick pines and birch trees. There was also three feet snow on the ground that had been tracked up by a couple of occupying moose that had spent the winter protecting the place.

After taking a quick tour of the new equipment unloaded some of our gear into the cabin. It was a great to see a soft bed and a warm shower. Despite the great road trip a warm shower was long overdue. We cleaned up and headed out to the priesthood session of general conference. It was great to take a spiritual break and focus on the real job at hand.

Like all meetings where you listen to a prophet of God there was an overwhelming spirit however this meeting seemed to hit a little closer to home now that I was close to 3000 miles away from my family. When listening to each of the speakers I felt an overwhelming need to step it up as a father. This was rather convenient not that I was far from being in a place where I could fulfill this calling.

The last of the speakers was Henry B. Eyring who I feel speaks directly to one’s soul. He spoke about eternal families and what a father needs to do to ensure an eternal family.

“Let me suggest four things you can do as a priesthood father to lift and lead your family home again to be with Heavenly Father and the Savior.

First, gain and keep a sure witness that the keys of the priesthood are with us and held by the President of the Church. Pray for that every day. The answer will come with an increase in determination to lead your family, in your feelings of hope, and with greater happiness in your service. You will be more cheerful and optimistic, a great blessing for your wife and family.


The second imperative is to love your wife. It will take faith and humility to put her interests above your own in the struggles of life. You have the responsibility to provide for and to nurture the family with her while serving others. That can at times consume all the energy and strength you have. Age and illness may increase your wife’s needs. If you choose even then to put her happiness above your own, I promise you that your love for her will increase.


Third, enlist the entire family to love each other. President Ezra Taft Benson taught:


“In an eternal sense, salvation is a family affair. …


“Above all else, children need to know and feel they are loved, wanted, and appreciated. They need to be assured of that often. Obviously, this is a role parents should fill, and most often the mother can do it best.”¹⁰


One way for you to reproduce the successes of Father Lehi is by the way you lead family prayers and family time, such as family home evenings. Give children opportunities to pray, when they can pray, for each other in the circle who need blessings. Discern quickly the beginnings of discord and recognize acts of unselfish service, especially to each other. When they pray for each other and serve each other, hearts will be softened and turned to each other and to their parents.


The fourth opportunity to lead your family in the Lord’s way comes when discipline is needed. We can meet our obligation to correct in the Lord’s way and then lead our children toward eternal life.”


                                                                                                                        Henry B. Eyring


It didn’t take me long to realize that I needed to spend the next six months with the family rather than living like a cowboy in the last frontier. As you could only imagine the wife and kids were thrilled that I had a change in heart. I ended up spending a couple of days touring Alaska but ultimately returned to Utah for my daughter’s birthday party on April fifth.


We are now going to live the family dream of moving to the country. My wife and I have spent the past two weeks preparing our house to rent and we have our eyes set on a great Victorian house in Sanpete County. I will continue to update the blog with updates of our adventure however rather than gold digging you may see a little more of country livin.