The Richardson's: September 2007

My Beloved Family,
Sorry about the lack of pictures from my time here at BYU so far, for some reason I always forget to bring my camera places, I'll work on it for sure. BYU has been great so far, the people are nice, the classes are interesting (for the most part) and I'm happy. I wish you all could have the experiences I'm having here. This truely is the perfect place for me, not only am I recieving a great education, but this is the best place in the world for spiritual progression, and thats is why I really came here. The mix of church and school might not be everyones cup of tea, but it certianly is mine (not that I'm allowed to drink tea). When the hours change on campus the bell tower plays Come Come Ye Saints, and there is just something about having your Family Life teacher bear his testimony to the point where the spirit is tangible that warms my heart. But the highlight of my experience so far was yesterday at devotional. The Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley came to BYU to share a message with us. The doors for the devotional opened at 9:15 but I couldnt sleep I was so excited, so at 7:15 I headed over. There were already about a hundred people in line, so I joined them, and it was completly worth it. The Marriott Center was filled to the brim, over 20,000 people, and i was just 10 rows up. When he walked into the room everyone went dead silent and stood up, an immediate reverance joined us. There were many times throughout the next hour that I felt all the hairs on my body stand up, I could not have been happier. President Hinckley just blew me away. He truely is the most powerful man in the world, and yet he is gentle, meek, humble, and funny. There is just a purity and an aura about him, and I am so grateful for the oppurtunity I had to be there. He spoke on the 13th article of faith which states, "We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men etc." If you havent read this in many years, which Im sure most of you havent, I encourage you to give it a look and some thought. There truely is a higher and happier way of living, I think that is what this scripture is all about. I am still Tommy, but I'm much improved, in speaking to my siblings, I hope we can get to a point where our friendships really flourish, and a greater respect is earned. I know I will always be the youngest, but I hope we can gain from eachothers experiences and advice. I love you all and pray for you daily.

Thomas Stephen Richardson