Yesterday I was released from a church calling I've had for almost ten years. I'm still processing the change and will tell you more in a later post. Feel free, though, to post any condolences or congratulations as comments on the current post.
As for life going on, it apparently does. And so this week I'll be getting back, I hope, to diligently writing my book. This morning I finished a Shakespeare class I got to take over from an ill colleague. Wednesday we'll have a math tutor come to help one of the kids. Margaret and I will be attending our monthly book group on Friday (the book is Misquoting Jesus). And THURSDAY we get to go to the Lifferths, eat dessert, play "guitar hero" (which I do NOT do well), and administer a test to Noah.
We're looking forward to it!
About Me
- Bruce Young
- I'm married to the marvelous Margaret Blair Young, a fine and accomplished writer and a remarkable person. We have four children and four grandchildren (plus five recently added step-grandchildren!). I teach English at Brigham Young University, including courses on Shakespeare, C. S. Lewis, and world literature. Besides my family, my faith, and the topics just listed, my passions include the Beatles and the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas. I currently have a number of blogs: "The Face of the Other" (for an explanation of the title, see here, here, and here); "Welcoming the Other", and several on politics and related matters (including here).
11 comments:
Well I guess I'll be the first to say horray (it does seem a little odd to be cheering on the end of something that was such a big part of your life, but I'm happy for you).
Don't think you won't have another calling--WAY quicker than we imagined!
The appropriate response to the news of Bruce's release is THANK YOU.
From me personally:
I am proud of you. I am in awe of the way you have magnified your calling and the many ways the calling has magnified you.
I love you dearly.
I thought of the first time I took your hand and you looked like you'd die of shock on the spot. Holding hands became quite comfortable. Now you hold not only my hand, but quite comfortably hold the Lord's and humbly, gratefully accept His guidance.
It was wonderful to be in the temple with you on Friday.
Igualmente, mi cariña. I love you.
How the heck do you do an enyay on a blog???
OK, mi esposa. Voy a mostrarte como hacer un "enyay": primeramente, debes abrir "WordPerfect"; entonces, debes hacer (?"press"/presionar) CTRL-W; entonces, en el "window" (ventana?) con simbolos que se abre debes encontrar y "click on" (no sé la palabra) el simbolo "ñ"; y "cut and paste" el simbolo del documento de "WordPerfect" al "screen" con el "post" que escribes y que quieres poner en el "Blog." ¿Entiendes?
OH!!! You mean it's just a case of "cortar y pegar!" Why didn't you say so??
I'm sorta intrigued by this. What was the calling you held for 10 years until you were released a few days ago? Apart from General Authorities, one rarely hears of anyone serving that long in a particular calling.
Hi, Garry. Some background to the story: We spent May-Dec. 1996 in Europe (one month traveling from St. Petersburg, Russia, through the Baltics, Germany, Austria, Italy, and France, to London; then six months helping direct BYU's Study Abroad program there). After we got back, into a house that had been partly reconstructed because it had partly burnt during our absence, I headed off to Cambridge, MA, for 3 1/2 months of research.
A month or so after I returned to Utah (this would now be June 1997), I was asked to serve as 2nd counselor in the Provo Utah Central Stake (Stake Pres. was Lewis Billings). In April 2000, when Pres. Billings was released and Brian Wolsey became our Stake Pres., I was asked to serve as 1st counselor.
I knew we were going to get a new counselor at stake conference this April (the conference was held last weekend) since David Sanchez, who's been 2nd counselor for a while, had been called to preside over the San Bernardino CA mission. He'll be starting service this June but has been doing heavy-duty preparation, along with his wife, for several months now.
But stake conference brought some surprises. Last Saturday night after the adult session, Pres. Wolsey called me in and told me I would be released the next morning. I had a bit of a restless night. Margaret didn't find out until the change was announced in the meeting on Sunday morning. Pres. Sanchez and I gave our farewell testimonies, and the two new counselors came to the stand and also spoke.
So it's been a major change in our family's life. Our youngest son was five when I was called in 1997; he's now fifteen. So he can hardly remember anything else and has grown up without his dad sitting with the family in church--except when we travel outside of the stake.
There's more to the story . . . but I'll tell you about that in a week or so.
Well, I don't know how much of the current story is confidential but I think it's safe to say that Mom's prediction turned out to be pretty true.
*sigh* Dad, I thought you were going to get a break. God (quite literally) knows you've earned one! I thought you'd get a chance to finish up that book, and spend some more time hanging out and relaxing, and all that sort of thing! Well, I'm proud of you, if a little sad in . . . well, in a proud sort of way.
Well, here's to hoping for the best and that you will get a break someday (hopefully before you die, and even then, I'm sure they'll find something for you fast enough!) You do a great job in all the work you do, and you bring a lot of blessings to a lot of people through it.
Loves!
~Rob~
My idea, Rob, is to somehow use this as a motivation to spend MORE time with you guys (kids et al.). Exactly how I'll do that, I'm not sure. But I'm going to have to squeeze out a bit of my wasted time (or reduce my at times obsessively detailed class preparation) to make some time. Wish me luck!
Well, okay, but you seriously don't waste enough time! Probably the overly detailed preps should be reduced. :) Good luck!
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