President Sweat

A few months ago, President Baughan received a letter from Salt Lake letting him know that he and his presidency would be getting released in November. Andrew had been serving as a counselor to President Baughan for five and a half years. He LOVED serving with those men. President Baughan, President Fischer, Brother Pool and Brother Carper are amazing. They spent many Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings together. They have grown close as they has served. Andrew has learned a lot from each of them and will miss serving with them.

Trevor Pool (Exec. Sec.), Scott Fischer (1st Counselor),

Joey Baughan (Stake President), Andrew (2nd Counselor)

John Carper (Stake Clerk).

Two members of the Quorums of Seventy came to reorganize the stake: Elder Whitney L. Clayton and Elder Peter M. Johnson. On the Friday night before stake conference, the members of the outgoing presidency and their wives got to have dinner with the Seventies. We ate at the Baughan's home. We had the main dish catered and brought salads and desserts to finish the meal.

Andrew was nervous about the dinner. He knew since he hadn't served the whole nine years with this presidency, there was a chance that he could be considered to be the next stake president. He was NOT up for that. He was terrified. He said, "I'm not going to even say anything at dinner. I'll just sit there." I thought it was so funny that he thought he could act differently on a single evening and that could somehow change the revelation that the Seventies would receive. I told him, "You think that's going to fool the Lord?" He thought I was mean. And hilarious.

When we showed up for dinner, we had assigned seats and guess who got to sit right next to Elder Clayton? Me! Ha! I am not a sit-there-and-say-nothing kind of girl. Sorry, Drew. :) We had such an enjoyable dinner! Lots of stories shared around the table. I LOVED hearing Elder Johnson's conversion story. He grew up in New York City. His parents divorced when he was young. His mother moved to Hawaii when her first grandchild was born there and he stayed in NY with his dad. During his teenage years, they had close family friends that were Muslim. They taught Elder Johnson about their faith and he converted to Islam. He found that gang members didn't mess with Muslims, which was a great side perk. When he was in high school, his mom sent him money for airfare to Hawaii and told him he could move there if he wanted to. He decided to go. He loved basketball and played on his high school team. He had hopes of playing in college. The only school that gave him a scholarship was BYU-Hawaii. He played there and learned some about the church. He met with the missionaries and had a good impression from the things he learned, but wasn't ready to commit to baptism. His coach at BYU-H transferred to Dixie College and invited Peter to come with him. Peter hoped to eventually play D1 basketball and knew his chances were greater if he transferred than if he stayed in Hawaii, so he moved to St. George. He met with the missionaries again while there. These missionaries invited him to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. When he did, he knew it was true. He shared that with the missionaries, but told them he wanted to wait to get baptized until he was back in Hawaii and his mother could be there. When he moved back at the end of the school year, he didn't immediately seek baptism. However, after some time, he had a distinct spiritual prompting where a New Testament verse came powerfully into his mind, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." He knew that it was a commandment to be baptized and he wanted to show his love for the Lord by keeping that commandment. He found the missionaries and told them, "I want to get baptized!" He has been a faithful member of the church ever since. He ended up playing basketball at  Southern Utah University in Cedar City. He met his wife there, where she also played on the basketball team. I loved hearing that story. What an amazing way for this stalwart brother to find his way to the gospel. His mom now lives in Winston-Salem. She is not a member of the church, but came to the Saturday evening adult session of stake conference to hear her son speak. It was really special.

Elder Clayton strikes me as one of the smartest people I've ever met. He has an amazing memory. As we went around the table introducing ourselves, we shared where we had served missions or where our children had served. He had a personal story connected with EVERY place that was mentioned. It was amazing! It was neat to get a glimpse into the global church and how things are progressing around the world. Growing like crazy in Africa. Not so much in Europe. 

They are both amazing men with strong testimonies and you can feel the Spirit when you're around them. I was so happy we could spend time with them that evening. And with the other men and women who have also served and sacrificed for many years right here in our own stake.

On Saturday is when Elders Clayton and Johnson did all the interviews to seek the inspiration for who the Lord wanted to serve as the next stake president. Andrew's interview was one of the first ones. They asked him a few quick questions and sent him on his way. He came home feeling pretty relieved. A couple of hours later, they called him back. His stomach sank. He DID NOT want to get that call. He has a small glimpse into what is required of a stake president from serving with President Baughan. And it is exhausting. He didn't think he was up for it. His second interview was also quite short. They asked him a few follow-up questions and sent him on his way. As he was leaving, he saw a brother from the stake walking up with his wife. Since they hadn't asked for ME to come with him to the second interview, Andrew figured THAT must be the new stake president. Again, he had a sense of relief. About an hour later, his phone rang again. This time they wanted BOTH Andrew and I to come back to the stake center. What a roller coaster! More butterflies, more doubts, more fears. Or at least that's how Andrew felt. I was happy and just rolling along with whatever came. I love serving the Lord. Andrew is amazing and I felt happy and excited to share him with the stake if that's what the Lord had in mind for him.

When we got to the stake center, Elder Clayton took Andrew into his office by himself first for a few minutes. Then he called me in by myself. The first thing he asked me was, "Does your husband love you?" I thought that was such a sweet question. I could answer emphatically and without hesitation, "Yes!" He asked me a few other questions and then said something along the lines of, "Are we ready to pull the trigger, then? Because if you're ready, then we're ready." Ummmm....I still wasn't exactly sure what trigger we were pulling. I was still thinking maybe they had called that other man as the stake president and were calling Andrew back into the presidency as a counselor.... I probably should have asked follow-up questions. But I figured I was willing to support him in whatever calling they were extending. He called Andrew back into the office as well as Elder Johnson and extended the calling to Andrew to serve as the next president of the High Point Stake. There was a very sweet spirit in the room as they extended the call. And when Andrew accepted it, it seemed that his fears and doubts were pushed aside and he was ready to serve. After giving us some insights into a few brothers in the stake, they asked Andrew and I to pray together about who should be called to serve as his counselors. It was a sacred experience. Andrew had a couple of brothers in mind that logically made sense to him. As we asked the Lord for direction, our thoughts were turned to two brothers that he hadn't considered at all, one of whom he hardly knew. I'm so thankful to know that the Lord directs His church and helps call the people that He wants or needs to serve. When we felt good about submitting names for counselors, we left the stake center hand-in-hand, hoping we would continue to be guided and directed for the next several years as Andrew serves in this calling.

The High Point Stake Presidency

Robb Anderson, 1st counselor

Andrew, President

Mike Evans, 2nd counselor

Both of these faithful brothers still have YOUNG kids at home. I'm so thankful to them and their wives for being willing to serve. It will be a HUGE sacrifice for them. I hope they will be strengthened and blessed for their service. 

The outgoing presidency.

The High Point Stake was brand new when Pres. Baughan 

and Pres. Fischer were called to preside over it. I'm so thankful

for the way that they helped establish it.

They have led with love and their service will be missed.

With their wives, who spent many Sundays 

and Thursday evenings without their husbands. 

With Brother Carper and Brother Pool,

who will stay in as Stake Clerk and Executive Secretary.

With Elder Clayton and Elder Johnson

So happy we could rub shoulders with these great men.

And with our girls.

So thankful that Whitney and Caroline are supportive

and understanding about Andrew's service.

Also grateful for Brandon's support from afar.

They are great kids who make it easy for their dad to serve.

In these first couple months of service, there have been ups and downs. It is amazing to see how many faithful saints sacrifice and serve for the church to work in this little part of the Lord's vineyard. I am so grateful for all of them! And I feel of their love and support for Andrew and for our whole family, which is humbling and inspiring. 

UP: Andrew attended a training in Charlotte with President Eyring and Elder Gary E. Stevenson. Amazing. The stake president's wives got to go down and meet them for a luncheon. I got to sit right next to Elder Stevenson! The stake president who was seated on the other side of him had some Asian business connections in common with Elder Stevenson, so the conversation mostly shifted in that direction. Andrew and I mostly chatted with the Smiths, who preside over the Hickory Stake. 

DOWN: This calling can be enormously overwhelming. Even though Andrew is good at delegating and his counselors are amazing, there is still SO MUCH TO DO. And so much to think about. And a thousand decisions to be made. His mind is constantly swirling. And there's only so much I can do to help. I hate seeing him stressed out. 

UP: Andrew is really good at teaching and training. And he LOVES doing interviews. They just had their first ward conference and it went SO WELL. He came home on a spiritual high. I love days like that.

I'm sure there will continue to be many ups and downs over the next 8-10 years. How weird to think about being in a calling for that long. I am grateful that Andrew was willing and able to accept this call and hope I can be the strength and support that he needs here at home.