general conference and assorted other tidbits

[ behind the scenes ]

Until this past General Conference, I had no idea how big a production it was. Of course, you imagine there are a lot of cameramen around to be able to get the various angles of the speakers and the Tabernacle Choir, the congregation and the outside shots. But there are many, many more people involved than that.

I had the opportunity (for the second time) to sign the songs for the Sunday afternoon session of General Conference. I arrived at the Conference Center at about 12:20 p.m. I entered at the Northwest doors (near the Conference Theater) and went through security, same as all those who were attending conference, then instead of going right to the Conference Center itself, I went left to the "backstage" area. There's a long hall that is lined with various pictures of the Tabernacle Choir and guest artists. Quite fun to look at. About halfway down the hall there's a studio that is used for ASL interpreting. To see what it looks like, go to http://www.honest2goodness.blogspot.com/. This is the blog for Nancy and Jim Macedone, who are in charge of scheduling interpreters for all Church productions (GC, YW/RS mtgs, Christmas devotionals, etc.) . They are also good friends of ours.

So, I get to the studio and say HI to everyone. Then I immediately go downstairs to the cafeteria for lunch. I get my food, come back upstairs (there are seating areas downstairs but the Tabernacle Choir members and assorted other people have already taken over) and eat. At 1:30 we have a prayer meeting where we are reminded of a few things and have a prayer. Then I run to the bathroom and brush my teeth and comb my hair. I go back to the studio and the makeup artist touches up areas on my face that might shine. Then we do a camera check and then I wait. I spend the rest of the time practicing my songs. General Conference starts, then the Tabernacle Choir sings the opening song. I do that one, then one more immediately after the opening prayer, then I'm done until the congregational hymn.

Because the Church borrows air time for areas outside of Utah, Conference is about 116 minutes. Speakers from the Quorums of the Seventy speak for about 7 minutes. Speakers from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speak for 15 minutes. The Prophet speaks for 20 minutes. However, because of differences in how fast or slow the speakers talk, a Seventy's talk may be 6 to 9 minutes, an Apostle's talk may be 13 to 17 minutes, and the Prophet may likewise be shorter or longer. Then you have the conducting business so where the time is stretched or shortened is with the music. You may have noticed the congregational hymn for the Sunday afternoon session ("Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah") was only one verse. The other musical performances may be lengthened or shortened by slowing down the music, adding/repeating verses, singing in a faster tempo or eliminating verses. There's a director who times everything and compares it to a written copy of where the conference should be at a certain time, and then relays the information via headphones to various people who then prepare for a shorter or longer song. I'm sure Brother Wilberg, the Tabernacle Choir director, has headphones on when he's not leading music to know if he needs to lengthen or shorten a musical piece. The cameras always pan out when the Choir finishes a musical piece so I don't know exactly where Brother Wilberg sits, but I'm sure it's near the organ so he can quickly tell the organist what to do. But there is no visual cue to tell the Choir members what's going on, so you really appreciate their professionalism and skill when they lengthen/shorten songs without missing a beat.

Usually Deaf members are invited to sign the songs for General Conference. We are given the songs and sheet music (as PDF attachments) a few days in advance. We write our own ASL glosses and send it back to Brother Sutton, who is the ASL materials coordinator and those glosses are put into a teleprompter. Then during the conference, the teleprompter operator scrolls the words to match the Choir's singing.

A funny thing happened during the Sunday afternoon session. Pres. Monson is continuing Pres. Hinckley's custom of ending the Conference with closing remarks. Well, he totally ad-libbed his remarks. I asked after it was over if he'd had prepared remarks, and yes, he did, but he did not follow them at all. So the director, etc. are probably sitting on the edge of their seats, not knowing when Pres. Monson will finish speaking and how much time for the music. So we don't know if the Choir will shorten the song, sing it as planned but faster or whatever. I'm standing just out of camera range to jump to the "hot seat" before the music starts so I am ready for when they do start singing. But it all came together very well and looked great. Kudos to the production crew!

[ happy birthday, Dad ]

In the spirit of Julie's birthday post, here are some of my memories of Dad:

The "projector". Seemed like we always had something going on around the house--adding on, improving, changing, maintaining. Now I find myself doing the same thing in my own house--in fact, I've told Steven more than once that part of the fun of owning a home is being able to do something to/with it!

Traveling. Loved the family vacations. Still remember the one we took the day after I graduated from high school--I had stayed at the all night party, came home with enough time to pack my stuff and get in the car--and promptly fell asleep. We were somewhere in Southern Utah before I woke up! We probably visited every tourist attraction (except Knott's Berry Farm--don't remember if we ever went there) in California. The best vacation of them all was our Hawaii trip!

School. Dad, I don't think I would have done as well in school as I did if it weren't for you. Same thing for Mom. I remember in 4th grade we made beehives, in 5th grade we had a States Fair and in 6th grade we had a World Fair. You both helped me so much with all those projects. I can't remember which grade (5th, maybe) but one year I got it into my head to sign up for the Utah History Fair and did it without even asking if it was OK--and you helped me put together a fantastic project about Great Grandpa Hanks' carpentry tools. That project won a prize! I also remember a biology class in high school with a student teacher who was just impossible for me to understand--and you gave me a zoology book that helped me pass that class. And the help didn't stop with high school graduation--I remember one nutrition class where I would tape the lecture and then you would transcribe the notes. I can't thank you enough for all that!!!

Soccer. I never played soccer until high school but I remember you coaching Scott, Julie and Mike's teams. Mom and I spent our Saturdays going from game to game and sometimes splitting game duty so we could watch as many games as we could.

Church. Your example of Church service has been wonderful. I grew up with the philosophy that one did not turn down a Church calling unless there was a very good reason, but if the Lord called us to a position, then He thought we could do it (even if WE didn't think so) and so everything would work out. Only once in my entire life have I had to turn down a calling, and even then, that was not what I thought it was, so it wasn't really "turning it down". I can't begin to count the ways Church service has blessed my life.

Family. My memories of growing up are speckled with memories of supporting family in various milestones and activities. We went to every baby blessing, baptism, Eagle Court of Honor, missionary farewell and homecoming and wedding that we possibly could. Thanksgiving is just not Thanksgiving without the big family dinner. Although that has evolved, we still have a family dinner of *some* sort. Christmas evolved into an individual family event but we still got together with G&G Allen and the Lemons a lot. I really enjoy the Allen family reunions we've had since discontinuing the big Allen Thanksgiving dinner. Steven's parents have expressed appreciation to me more than once for my support of Swain family events and activities. To me, it's no big deal cuz that's the way it's always been. And yes, we kids make sure to get together while you are gone.

This is kind of related to the school post but it still makes me laugh to think about it. In my 9th grade social studies class, we were supposed to do some research on some geographical locality and do a class presentation. I did mine on Crater Lake. I remember Dad going to the trouble of ordering some slides for me to use--and then my teacher said I didn't have to do the class presentation! I'm not sure why exactly (seems I remember he said something about not having to do it because I was deaf) but I remember Dad was NOT happy about it. I don't know if Dad ever talked to the teacher but after that, no teacher ever told me I didn't have to do something. That also taught me not to use my deafness as an excuse for not doing something.

Bishop. Dad was bishop while I was in Young Women and I thought that was the coolest thing. I remember one New Beginnings (I *think* it was New Beginnings) when each parent was supposed to tell a few things about their daughter and then give them a little gift that represented them. Dad gave me a necklace with a heart and the words "I am a child of God" inside and my birthstone. I still have it.

Family History. Dad really got into family history in later years. I have all the family history booklets you've made and plan to put them into a scrapbook. I'm glad to have them because lately my children have been asking me questions about various relatives. It's nice to have those booklets to refer to.

I know I'm a week late posting this and I apologize for that. Hope you had a great birthday, Dad! I love you!

[ baby ]

I had my first doctor's appointment on April 7th and I really like the doctor. She did an ultrasound and the baby looks to be just fine. The baby was quite active--we could see it moving all over the screen! Of course, it's too early to tell if it's a boy or girl--but we've decided to go for a surprise this time around. Christie and Jordan were quite excited to see the picture of the ultrasound. They keep asking how I'm doing and are always patting my tummy. It's just so cute!

[ kitchen projects ]

This past weekend, we tore out the dropped light fixture and replaced the fluorescent lights with six can lights. Four of them are in the area where the old fluorescent lights were and two are over the bar. We still have some patching and clean up to do but the difference is amazing. The kitchen feels bigger and more open, and the light is spread more evenly. Steven is off this week and we will fix the holes, etc. and paint the kitchen. At some point soon we hope to replace the old linoleum and carpet with tile. Then we'll be done with the kitchen for awhile and will move on to the next project. What that will be, I'm not sure yet.

[ christie's bedroom ]

This has actually been done for awhile--we finished just before her birthday--but I don't think I've mentioned that we've painted her bedroom. The walls and ceiling are a light blue and the loft bed and bookcase are pink. I'll get some pictures up soon.

[ christie and jordan ]

As mentioned above, they are excited for a new baby brother or sister. We've told them they have to finish 3rd and 1st grade, have all of summer vacation and start 4th and 2nd grade before the baby will be born--but that doesn't stop them from asking how much longer til the baby comes. LOL. They're doing great in school and are getting ready for their choir performance in about 6 weeks.

That's all I can think of for now. I'll add more as I remember.