President Eyring

Today coming into Sacrament meeting at church I look up to the front where our bishopric was sitting, and next to them was sitting President Eyrings son. I turned to my roommate and she knew what I was thinking, she said, “He is our stake president!” Cool huh? So just before the meeting got out he got to stand and say a few things.
The topic today in Sacrament meeting was Being Prepared, so he shared some stories with us about his father. He told us that he was asked to write a biography on his dad so he has been going through his journals reading his history. I will try to tell the story the best that I can…
Brother Eyring said he and his family lived in California on a hilltop Estate with tennis courts, a swimming pool, huge home, and just about everything a kid could want growing up while his father taught at Stanford University. During his time at Stanford he got three BIG opportunities to go elsewhere, like the head guy from NASA came to his home in California and wanted him to be the Chief or assistant to him, and the other opportunities would have been very prominent jobs as well. He didn’t ever pray about any of the choices during that time, he just shot them down saying that he was happy where he was at. At this time his father was the bishop of the Stanford ward and spent many hours a week with his calling, one Saturday night when he had fallen to sleep his wife tapped him on the shoulder to wake him and said, “Honey, are you sure you are doing what you should be doing in life right now?” He said his dad was surprised by this question but he quickly got to his knees to pray and ask Heavenly Father. He said he did not get an answer that night, but he went to bishopric meetings the next day and he had a strong impression saying, “Don’t ever do that again, don’t ever get opportunities and not pray about them before you say no.” So of course he felt bad about not praying, but 10 days later he gets a call from Elder Maxwell who was the CES commissioner at the time. Elder Maxwell said, “Brother Eyring, I’d like to meet with you in Salt Lake.” President Eyring said, “I’d like to meet with you sometime too, I’ll let you know when I’ll be in Salt Lake next.” And Elder Maxwell said, “No, I’d like to meet with you tomorrow.” Haha So President Eyring says, “Well you know I teach at Stanford so I have class tomorrow.” But Elder Maxwell who I guess taught at University of Utah previous to this said, “Brother Eyring, I know what it’s like to have a class. You can get a substitute.” So the next night around 9:00 President Eyring is in Salt Lake at the home he grew up in. Elder Maxwell shows up and gets right to the point, “Brother Eyring, I’d like you do be the next president of Ricks College.” President Eyring said, “Ummm.. Ok I will pray about it tonight and let you know.” And Elder Maxwell said, “Okay you have until 8:00 tomorrow morning when we will meet with the first presidency.” So that night President Eyring prayed long and hard in the basement of the home he grew up in. He didn’t receive an answer to his prayers that night. So that morning he gets up and goes to meet with the first presidency where for the first part he just met with the counselors (I can’t remember who they were) because President Joseph F. Smith was very sick at the time, he was 91. The whole time he met with the counselors they didn’t even mention Ricks College, they just talked about his testimony and asked questions about President Eyrings life. Half way through the meeting President Smith comes in and sits by his counselors and one of the counselors puts his hand on President Smiths leg and says, “Brother Eyring, do you think this man could be a prophet of God?” Right away without a doubt President Eyring says, “I know he is!” and President Smith says, “We want you to be the President of Ricks college.”
So President Eyring and his family pack up their home in California and move to a Trailer in Rexburg Idaho while they waited for their home to be finished. That was 1971 which was the coldest winter in Idaho’s records. Their door on their trailer didn’t shut tight and they had snow come into their trailer and fill the entry way. President Eyrings wife never had grown up in snow before, and Brother Eyring was telling us that his mother had now felt how Eve had felt leaving the Garden of Eden. She had to give up something that was great but for something that was going to be even greater in the end, even if it included some struggles.
So he said the reason I am telling you this story is so you can be prepared when opportunities come your way, pray about them, and get your Heavenly Fathers advice and guidance. And also he said to write in our journals. He is so grateful for his fathers Journals to read through and learn from.
I really liked hearing stories from a son of an Apostle of the Lord. It was really cool to see his point of view and to hear him testify of the words of the prophets and of his own father. I realized at the end of his talk that it is so much like Nephi preaching of what his father had seen and testifying of his words.
Hope you all are doing well! I love you!