Rough Stone Rolling

A lot has been shared today about President Hinckley. I offered my thoughts on other blogs, but won’t expand on them here. Suffice to say, my family and I love him, and when we heard the news we cried and prayed together. Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

Recently, a brother in my ward, with whom I worked on a stake level, split from his wife (no kids, thank goodness) and moved to another area. The ex subsequently went inactive and as the divorce is approaching finality, the EQ handed her name to us (HPG).

Yesterday I invited one of my new home teachees to join us for dinner at the home of some dear friends. Over the course of the evening I learned she was divorced (I had assumed otherwise) and had a raging monthly dating docket, mostly with other singles in our ward (Ironically, our family ward is possibly the largest “singles” ward in the Church). Although she’s been on-again-off-again with a few brethren, she has her sights on the almost-divorced brother. She was a little sheepish admitting that, but I shrugged it off, saying, hey what happens, happens. But then she added, she’ll have to get in line because a number of other sisters are also gunning for the guy— most of them friends of the ex.

This was fascinating stuff to me, especially after complaining not a week ago how divorced brethren are lepers in ward society. It’s also illuminating how dynamic the singles scene is in my ward. Here I was under the impression the sisters were forlorn refugees from the Island of Misfit Toys when, in fact, they’re running around feverishly like vestal minxes– and they have a friendly, open competition over the quarry. As this goes against my experience with singles wards, it made me wonder if it’s because ours is a family ward, and that it rotates a steady influx of young, active couples who mix with the singles, inadvertantly encouraging them to pair up themselves. Or perhaps, this is the attitude of the new Church singles, so much more grounded and confident than the lost tribes we were…

About the soon-to-be-sprung brother, it makes me a little envious. Not that I wish to be single again, nor do I wish I’d be in the crosshair of any of these women. It’s his being divorced and still the object of such interest– from women who knew his wife, no less. The surplus of single females in our ward alone would inspire an Aaron Copeland score accompanied by a sonorous voice-over that says: “Sisters. It’s what’s for dinner.” He is seemingly destined to never go solo on any evening he chooses not to.

Speaking of divorce, a brother recently submitted that was he told by two credible sources– after being a counselor in three bishoprics– the Church hierarchy doesn’t want names of divorced brethren submitted for bishops’ positions– not just men who are divorced, but even those who were divorced and remarried. This reminds me of the times I tease my bishop and he says, “Yeah, you laugh, Dave. Just wait ’til you’re in this chair.” Next time I’ll just grin and say, “Yeah, ain’t gonna happen, bishop.”

One last thought:

In sacrament meeting yesterday a new young couple in the ward spoke. The subject they were both asked to speak on was “talents.” The husband talked about the Parable of the Talents and gave a fair, garden variety talk. His wife, who looked all of 19, read us the entire book, cover-to-cover, of “The Little Engine That Could” (in this version, the engine was a “she”).

Yep, they’re gonna fit right in.